Action movies come in all shapes and sizes, from thrillers filled with car chases and authorities taking down bad guys to intense dramas involving criminals, gangs, heroes, and enthralling plots. The best action movies have a bit of everything and keep you intrigued all the way through.
The three action movies on Amazon Prime Video you need to watch in December include two throwbacks from the 1990s and one 2017 superhero movie you’ll want to watch back-to-back with the 2021 director’s cut to be able to compare, contrast, and discuss with friends and fellow fans.
Need more recommendations? Then check out the best new movies to stream this week, the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Max, and the best movies on Disney+.
Deep Cover (1992)
In Deep Cover, Laurence Fishburne is Russell Stevens Jr., a man who vowed to never become like his father after seeing him get shot and killed while robbing a liquor store when he was younger. Now grown, Russell has gone in the complete opposite direction of his father and works as a police officer. His rough-around-the-edges demeanor, however, makes him the perfect candidate to go undercover and try and make a huge drug bust. But as Stevens falls deeper and deeper into this character he’s playing, he becomes part of the dark, underground world and is forced to make seemingly impossible decisions as a means to an end.
Deep Cover is an intoxicating story of a cop living a life he maybe always felt he deserved while still fighting for what he truly believes is right and desperately trying to take down the bad guys he so loathes. The movie received rave reviews, particularly for Fishburne’s performance and the chemistry between he and co-star Jeff Goldblum (Wicked). Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times opined in his review that what sets the movie apart from others is “its sense of good and evil, the way it has the Fishburne character agonize over the moral decisions he has to make.”
Stream Deep Cover on Amazon Prime Video.
Cop Land (1997)
One of a few Sylvester Stallone movies outside of his big franchises, Cop Land is an action crime drama about a group of NYPD policemen who reside in the town of Garrison, New Jersey. Because of a loophole involving the fact that they technically live outside of New York, they are free from scrutiny from the NYPD’s internal affairs division. Their local sheriff further protects their interests by looking the other way. Thus, these rogue cops tend to do things their way. But when one of their nephews gets caught in a precarious position, these cops cross lines in a way they never have in order to protect themselves.
Cop Land dives into a story about what happens when one lie is attempted to be covered up by another, and the entire situation explodes in a domino effect that leads to death and destruction. With an incredible cast that also includes Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Peter Berg, Janeane Garofalo, Robert Patrick, and Michael Rapaport, Cop Land is one of those underrated ’90s action movies worth watching.
Stream Cop Land on Amazon Prime Video.
Justice League (2017)
Joss Whedon’s version of Justice League may not have been as well-received by critics as the director’s cut, Zack Snyder’s Justice League, that was released four years later in 2021. But it’s still a worthwhile watch for fans of the DC Comics characters that make up the superhero team of the same name. The story follows Batman (Ben Affleck) and Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), who recruit The Flash (Ezra Miller), Aquaman (Jason Momoa), and Cyborg (Ray Fisher) to help them save the world from Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds) and his Parademons following the death of Superman (Henry Cavill).
You’ll want to watch this movie first, then check out Zack Snyder’s Justice League, streaming on Max, afterwards to compare. The fan campaign calling for that movie yielded favorable results you’ll only fully appreciate by watching the original release of Justice League as well.
Stream Justice League on Amazon Prime Video.
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