Which action movies like John Wick haven’t you seen? As we patiently wait for John Wick: Chapter 4, which has a script and may be shooting this year (back-to-back with Chapter 5, potentially), fans might want to whet their appetite with similar slick action joints following a moody and efficient killer as the lead character. What is it about a perfectly-skilled loner who more often than not just wants to be left alone and not dragged back into the seedy world of crime and death, but ends up picking up the gun anyway?
It’s a classic trope of the genre, and there are many deft examples of said trope being done right. John Wick fans will be excited to know a TV show called The Continental is also upcoming, following the drama at the global network of assassin-hosting hotels. With no clear release date on that either, here’s a handy list of cool-as-fuck action movies you might’ve missed over the years; 10 movies like John Wick, for your viewing pleasure.
The Killer
John Woo, Chow Yun-Fat, 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, what more information do you need? Hard-boiled Asian classic The Killer is sadly unavailable to stream anywhere in the U.S., so you’ll have to go hunting on Amazon for a DVD or Blu-ray, but it’ll be worth the investment. If you’re a fan of Woo & Chow Yun-Fat’s other better known collaboration Hard Boiled, you’ll love The Killer; you don’t get one without the other.
The Killer follows an assassin (Chow Yun-Fat) who decides to hang up his pistols after blinding a woman (Sally Yeh) during a hit. He decides to take on one last job, to take the payment and give it to Yeh’s character so she can have surgery to restore her sight. His plans are waylaid when he’s double-crossed (classic), and must team up with a local policeman to defeat the bad guys. An iconic action movie that makes up part of John Wick‘s DNA, making it a movie like John Wick that you absolutely must see.
Commando
Arnold Schwarzenegger created a great template for the ‘merc dragged out from retirement’ in the 1985 classic, Commando. As retired Special Forces colonel John Matrix, Arnie finds his young daughter abduced by one of his old subordinates, for reasons which don’t even matter – because it’s all just an excuse to watch the Austrian Oak slaughter a hundred goons – literally (it’s been counted). Most famous of which is that asshole Bennett (Vernon Wells), who’s impaled on a boiler with a goddamn lead pipe. “Let off some steam, Bennett”, indeed. Commando is another movie that comprises the DNA of John Wick, looking at the body count alone. If you want another movie like John Wick, look no further.
Hotel Artemis
Hotel Artemis is best described as John Wick meets Bad Times at the El Royale. It’s a cast of colorful characters played by some truly great actors (Sterling K. Brown, Brian Tyree Henry, Jodie Foster, Charlie Day, Sofia Boutella) who cross paths in an underground hospital for L.A.’s criminal elite. The strict rules of Hotel Artemis are shattered when crimelord the Wolf King (Jeff Goldblum, having a great time) is brought in for emergency surgery. Playing off of the same strict code of ethics between criminals that makes the Continental so appealing in John Wick, Hotel Artemis brings it all crashing down in a similar way. If you can’t wait for the John Wick fourquel or its companion TV series The Continental to begin, you can do a lot worse than this slick tech-noir movie to scratch that itch.
Polar
Mads Mikkelsen jumped into the ‘lone gunman trying to retire peacefully but dragged back into the game violently’ subgenre with this 2019 effort, Polar. So similar to John Wick that it features an international company of hired assassins with their own pension plan! The differences don’t stop there, either.
Mikkelsen’s character Duncan, AKA ‘the Black Kaiser’, is a sombre hitman haunted by the complicated hits of his past. Two weeks out from retirement, the company that hired him (led by a gonzo Matt Lucas, of all people) suddenly decides that they don’t want to pay out the pension that he’s been paying into. Naturally, they send a squad of young hotshot (and coldblooded) assassins to retire him… from life.
Polar is a decent way to spend an evening with whatever’s left in your whiskey bottle, with ‘what-the-f*ck’ action scenes and a typically haunting performance from Mikkelsen. Polar wears its John Wick influence on its blood-stained sleeve, going so far as to give Duncan a puppy. It also gives a cheeky middle finger to John Wick by having Duncan unwittingly blow his own puppy to kingdom come, waking up from a PTSD-induced nightmare with his gun in hand and an itchy trigger finger. Rough. If you want a movie like John Wick, Polar treads a similar track while trying its hardest to be its own thing.
Equilibrium
If you’re looking for an action hero who is as deft as the Baba Yaga, John Wick himself – look no further than John Preston (Christian Bale) in Equilibrium. Riding the wave of dystopian future sci-fi actioners set in motion by The Matrix, Equilibrium (2002) was a slick movie that devised its own form of gun-based martial arts; ‘gun kata’. John Wick’s deft movements and handling of his firearms owes something to the pace and rhythm of Equilibrium‘s action sequences, which 19 years later (has it been that long?) still entertain.
John Preston is a man living in a society wherein all emotions are outlawed and suppressed by psychoactive drugs given to citizens by the state in the aftermath of World War III. After accidentally missing a dose, Preston must successfully suppress his newfound (and enjoyable!) emotions while continuing his job as a cleric that goes around punishing people for not taking their Prozium II. Naturally, his newfound emotions lead to a revolution against the state, and somewhere along the way John Preston slices someone’s face off vertically. John Wick would be proud (and would likely learn something). Equilibrium is one movie like John Wick that is worthy of being mentioned in the same sentence, for paving the way all those years ago.
Léon: The Professional
Known simply as Léon internationally, Léon: The Professional is one of Luc Besson’s most iconic movies. Starring Jean Reno as the titular hitman with a heart, the movie also featured Natalie Portman in a breakout role as a young girl surviving the slaughter of her family. Gary Oldman gives one of his most electric roles as the psychotic, corrupt DEA agent Norman Stansfield, determined to kill the only witness to his crimes; 12-year-old Mathilda (Portman). Breaking his own code of conduct to begrudgingly protect Mathilda, Léon wreaks bloody havoc on Stansfield and his cronies, and it’s a joy to work. As exciting as the movie is, it’ll also break your heart, so be warned. A movie similar to John Wick for its concept and lead character, it also tugs on a lot of the same killer-with-a-heart-of-gold heartstrings.
La Femme Nikita
Another Luc Besson joint that actually preceded Léon, La Femme Nikita (or simply Nikita as it was known in the US upon arrival) was a pioneer in the noir-action genre. Featuring a deadly female assassin called – you guessed it – Nikita (Anne Parillaud), La Femma Nikita gave cinema one of its best leading ladies in 1990. A convicted felon, Nikita is offered a new life by a shadowy agency as an assassin. She gets a full makeover from teen junkie to femme fatale, and struggles to balance her newfound love interest with her wetwork.
Bonus points for another turn by Jean Reno as a good guy-hitman, as well as advancing women’s ability to anchor dramatic, stylish action movies. La Femma Nikita went to spawn two marginally successful TV adaptations, the latest of which featured Maggie Q as the enigmatic Nikita. If John Wick ever deserved a paramour who was similarly trained in the fine art of murder, Nikita would be her.
The Guest
The Guest is a fantastic B-movie throwback to the action movies of yore, with a mysterious protagonist (or is that antagonist?) in the guise of Dan Stevens. Stevens plays army veteran David, who comes knocking at the door of his deceased army buddy’s family with the intention of looking after them like he promised his dying friend. The only problem is, David seems to have a violent streak and his intentions don’t seem to be all he makes them out to be.
Like John Wick, The Guest is a movie which delights in the efficient violence of its leading man. The man behind the camera, Adam Wingard, is the same man behind the upcoming Godzilla Vs. Kong. As soon as he was announced to be at the helm of that monstrous ship fandom was fairly well united in the agreement that he was the right man for the job. That’s down to the sheer pulpy enjoyment of The Guest, a movie that’ll serve you just as well as John Wick.
Shoot ‘Em Up
2007’s Shoot ‘Em Up was Clive Owen’s turn to be a runnin’, gunnin’, swingin’ dick of a lone action hero. As the enigmatic Mr. Smith, Owen delivers a quality turn as a grumpy marksman dragged into protecting a newborn baby from a corrupt senator for… reasons. It’s not important; the movie’s fun action sequences are not unlike John Wick‘s, and you get to see Clive Owen blow some bad guys away while mid-coitus with Monica Belluci. Take that, John Wick. Bonus points for hosting one of Paul Giamatti’s roles, as a witty assassin with a penchant for Second Amendment rights.
Atomic Blonde
Up until 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road, you might not have considered Charlize Theron as a go-to action starlette. But Fury Road changed everything, and Theron’s Furiosa was arguably the takeaway that everyone was talking about. Tough, resilient and adept at doing her stunts, a couple years later Charlize Theron helmed her own actioner thanks to director David Leitch – the billion dollar stuntman, actor, writer, director and producer who also had a hand in John Wick.
Leitch put Theron front and center for Atomic Blonde, the Cold War action movie that had more dubious relationships than a middle child and enough chop-socky action to put John Wick to shame. Fitting, considering Leith’s firm hand in bringing John Wick to the screen. Charlize Theron’s action sequences in Atomic Blonde and flawless British accent secured the movie a place as one of the greatest action flicks of the 21st Century, as well as the high honor of being ranked alongside John Wick as a similar movie worthy of your time, attention and money.
Do you think these actions movies are good for anyone who likes John Wick? If we missed some be sure to let us know!