John Wick didn't just revive Keanu Reeves' career—it rewrote the rules of modern action filmmaking. With its balletic gun-fu, neon-lit underworld, and bone-crushing choreography, the 2014 film spawned a franchise that includes three sequels, a spinoff, and a prequel series. Yet for all its influence, a handful of action thrillers have managed to outshine the Baba Yaga's debut. Some came before, laying the groundwork; others built on its legacy, pushing the genre even further. Here are seven action thrillers that deliver a harder punch than John Wick.
Furie (2019)
Veronica Ngo stars as Hai Phuong, a former gang enforcer turned debt collector whose quiet life shatters when her daughter is kidnapped by a human trafficking ring. What follows is a relentless chase across Vietnam, with Hai Phuong taking on an entire criminal network to get her child back. Think Taken meets John Wick, but grittier and more grounded. Ngo—who also appeared in Star Wars: The Last Jedi—delivers a ferocious performance, and the fight sequences feel raw and exhausting. Unlike Wick's stylized assassin world, Furie roots its violence in grim reality, making every blow land harder. It's one of the best Southeast Asian imports in years.
Extraction 2 (2023)
Chris Hemsworth's Tyler Rake returns for another impossible mission: breaking a family out of a Georgian prison. The Extraction franchise owes a debt to John Wick, but the sequel surpasses its inspiration with a 21-minute prison-break sequence filmed as a single, immersive take. The chaos is large-scale and relentless, turning Rake into a mythic, near-invincible force. While Wick dispatches henchmen with surgical precision, Extraction 2 thrives on raw, cinematic endurance. It's a high-octane thrill ride that raises the bar for modern action.
Upgrade (2018)
Leigh Whannell's Upgrade takes the revenge thriller and gives it a sci-fi twist. After a brutal attack leaves Grey Trace (Logan Marshall-Green) quadriplegic and his wife dead, he receives an experimental AI implant called STEM that lets him walk again—and then takes control of his body to hunt the killers. The action sequences, where STEM moves Grey like a puppet, are wildly inventive and unlike anything in John Wick. It's a clever, underrated gem that proves technology can elevate the genre in fresh ways.
Hard Boiled (1992)
John Woo's masterpiece is the godfather of modern gun-fu. Chow Yun-fat plays Inspector Tequila Yuen, a Hong Kong cop who teams up with an undercover agent (Tony Leung) to take down a Triad arms-smuggling ring. The film's hospital shootout remains one of the most ambitious action set pieces ever filmed—a sprawling, balletic ballet of bullets that makes Wick's choreography look tidy by comparison. Without Hard Boiled, there would be no John Wick. It's chaotic, inventive, and pure Hong Kong action at its peak.
The Raid (2011)
Gareth Evans' Indonesian tour de force strips action down to its purest form: a SWAT team trapped in a crime-lord's apartment block, fighting floor by floor. Iko Uwais' Rama is a rookie cop who must survive endless waves of armed thugs and martial-arts masters. The fight choreography is brutal, practical, and unmatched—even John Wick can't claim the same raw intensity. The Raid set a new gold standard for action cinema, and its sequel only raised the stakes. For pure, unrelenting combat, nothing beats it.
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
Paul Greengrass' third Bourne film perfected the shaky-cam, close-quarters style that John Wick later refined. Matt Damon's Jason Bourne is a human weapon, using parkour, improvisation, and brutal efficiency to outrun assassins and uncover his past. The film's rooftop chase and hand-to-hand fights feel visceral and real, grounded in espionage rather than fantasy. While Wick operates in a stylized underworld, Bourne's world is our own—and that makes every punch land harder. It's a masterclass in tension and action.
These seven films prove that while John Wick changed the game, it didn't win it. Whether you crave the raw endurance of The Raid, the sci-fi ingenuity of Upgrade, or the balletic chaos of Hard Boiled, there's a thriller here that hits harder. For more pulse-pounding picks, check out our list of thrillers that never let go or dive into five underrated 2020s action movies.
