Drama, explosions, combats, romance – action movies have all of them. Although they are hardly ever recognized by the Academy aside from the visual effects or sound design, action movies always provide audiences with a good time. Therefore, TechTrends made a list of the best action movies of 2022.
Whether you like to see the best horror movies of 2022, the best drama movies of 2022, the best comedy movies of 2022, or the best action movies of 2022, stay tuned as this year is going to be fun. Studios are catching up on delays caused by the pandemic and releasing movies you have long waited for. Although this genre might not always have cinematic triumphs, action movies rarely let the viewers down. Nothing draws audiences to the movie theaters like a good action movie, with outlandish adventures, daredevil stunts, and cheesy, righteous heroes. This year is full of exciting movies, with many beloved franchises returning as well as star directors. So, stay tuned as TechTrends guides you through the list of the best action movies of 2022.
Best Action Movies of 2022; What Movies to Watch?
If you are looking for pure movie escapism, action is one of the best genres you can pick. Even if you enter the movie theater bummed out, on the way out, you will feel prepared to face the world like you are a secret spy. You can even take down a supervillain. The power of action movies is so tangible. Read the rest of the guide to find out what the best action movies of 2022 are.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
- Release date: May 6, 2022 (USA) Trending
- Director: Sam Raimi
- Stars: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Patrick Stewart, benedict Wong
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is one of the best action movies of 2022. Many MCU fans have keenly anticipated this next Marvel movie. It is scheduled to arrive on Thursday, May 6, 2022, in UK theaters. The filming started in late 2020 in London and was done in April 2021. However, Marvel executive Victoria Alonso revealed that it was undergoing reshoots. The release date has been changed twice due to the coronavirus pandemic. Aside from Benedict Cumberbatch leading the cast as Doctor Strange, the sorcerer, Elizabeth Olsen featuring as Scarlet Witch has attracted a lot of attention. Doctor Strange’s reliable friend and new sorcerer supreme Wong, portrayed by Benedict Wong, will also come back.
Scarlet Witch and Doctor Strange are going to team up to encounter many dangers since the multiverse is breaking down. The journey brings them to a new adversary and it turns out to be Wanda/Scarlet Witch. The Darkhold possesses her as she wishes to be with Billy and Tommy. Therefore, she goes on a killing spree, based on the trailer. However, this doesn’t indicate her character being killed off as she may redeem herself.
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Jurassic World: Dominion
- Release date: June 10, 2022 (USA)
- Director: Colin Trevorrow
- Stars: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum
Another one of the best action movies of 2022 is Jurassic World Dominion. It is the sixth Jurassic Park film scheduled to come out as well as the third season of the remarkable Jurassic World trilogy. For the first time after the original blockbuster in 1993, Laura Dern, Sam Neill, and Jeff Goldblum will reunite. There is a lot to be excited about when waiting for the movie to come out. So, without further ado, let’s dive into some of them. The creators of the movie wanted to release it in June 2021; however, due to the coronavirus pandemic, there was a postponement. Therefore, it will be released in June 2022.
Although the trailer showed dinosaurs running amok and causing chaos and destruction, the footage premiered at CinemaCon provides a better sign of what to expect. Aside from the reuniting of Laura Dern, Sam Neill, and Jeff Goldblum, the trailer shows Pratt riding a dinosaur.
Colin Trevorrow also revealed something about the themes of the film during the conference. “The film will explore the issue, ‘Would you be safe if dinosaurs lived among us?’” he said. “And the answer is no,” says the narrator. The director also said that the film would weave all Jurassic films together during his most recent interview with Entertainment Weekly. “To me, [Dominion] is the climax of one tale,” he said. The producers revealed that this film will try to show whether humans and dinosaurs are able to coexist and who the apex predator will be. There are going to be a lot of action scenes, eye-catching visual effects, and extraordinary dinosaurs.
The Batman
- Release date: March 4, 2022
- Director: Matt Reeves
- Stars: Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, Andy Serkis, Colin Farrell
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 85%, IMDb 8
If you didn’t know or haven’t heard already, Robert Pattinson is playing the role of Bruce Wayne in the new Batman movie. Zoe Kravitz features as Catwoman, while Paul Dano and Colin Farrell are Riddler and Penguin, respectively. This is one of the best action movies of 2022 as the DC hero has returned grittier than before in the movie directed by Matt Reeves. The movie shows Robert Pattinson as a young, emo Wayne starting to go around in Gotham city. In this nearly three-hour movie, Batman revs his incredible Batmobile, becomes friends with Catwoman, and faces baddies like Penguin and Riddler.
Many people were wondering what kind of a Batman movie it would be as soon as they heard Pattinson would be featuring the Caped Crusader. Based on the trailer, the story is dark and brutal with many famous DC villains, who make the movie exciting.
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Ambulance
- Release date: April 8, 2022
- Director: Michael Bay
- Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Eiza González, Garret Dillahunt, Keir O’Donnell, Moses Ingram, Jose Pablo Cantillo, and Kayli Tran
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 69%, IMDb 6.2
One of the best action films of 2022, Ambulance, shows director Michael Bay in his best action movie mindset. The Armageddon and Transformers franchise filmmaker comes back with a ride about two robbers who hijack an ambulance to escape. They also take a critically-injured cop as a hostage. This intense movie follows the story of a vet, Mateen, who needs a great amount of money for the surgery of his wife. He decides to join in on a bank robbery with his friend.
Avatar 2
- Release date: December 16, 2022 (USA)
- Director: James Cameron
- Stars: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana
After about 13 years of waiting since the first Avatar movie came out in 2009, the sequel is on the verge of being released. Fans assume that the late release of Avatar 2 is due to the fact that James Cameron had high expectations for its production. He needed time to run technological research and prepare cast members with months of training. Without a doubt, Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana continue their roles as Jake and Neytiri. Moreover, Stephen Lang, coming back as the dead Colonel Miles Quaritch, will join them. He is expected to be the key villain, but there have yet to be explanations regarding his resurrection. According to the producer Jon Landau, there will also be a new character called Spider, Jack Champion.
An interesting aspect of the movie is its exploration of the Pandora oceans, with a lot of underwater motion capture technology used. The two main characters are a family, doing their best to stay together. However, they are forced to depart their home when a threat comes their way. Therefore, Jake has to go to war against the humans. This is one of the best action movies of 2022.
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Black Adam
- Release date: October 21, 2022 (USA)
- Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
- Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Noah Centineo, Sarah Sashi, Pierce Brosnan
Black Adam is among the best action movies of 2022. Fans have long anticipated watching these powerful characters’ solo in the DC comics world. Black Adam was a supervillain but this movie will portray his antihero inclinations more. In this movie, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson leads the cast, joining the DC cinematic universe. He portrays the role of Black Adam, the comic book character. He is joined by Sarah Shahi as Adrianna Tomaz, Pierce Brosnan as Dr. Fate and Noah Centineo as Al Rothstein.
So far, we don’t know much about the narrative of the movie. All we know is that it is a spin-off from the 2019 film Shazam!. It will concentrate on the ani-hero, Black Adam, after he frees himself from imprisonment. Based on DC Comics, this character “allowed his power to corrupt his ideals and desires” which led to his banishment. He is now “a frequent enemy to Earth’s heroes”. However, he “believes he is the right person to lead humanity and any action he takes is necessary for the greater good”.
Everything Everywhere All at Once
- Release date: March 11, 2022
- Directors: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert
- Stars: Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Stephanie Hsu, Jamie Lee Curtis, James Hong
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 97%, IMDb 8.8
Going further as to what the best science-fiction movies of 2022 are, we reach one that is not only an emotionally affecting family movie but also a sci-fi adventure. Let’s get into the details of Everything Everywhere All at Once. The leading character of this movie is Michelle Yeoh as Evelyn Wang, who has to access her multiverse memories and skills to save the world. Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan and James Hong are also playing in this movie. According to A24, this movie shows an exhausted Chinese American woman who is desperate to finish her taxes. One of the reasons behind her struggle is that she is charged with saving the universe.
Operation Fortune: Ruse De Guerre
- Release date: March 17, 2022
- Director: Guy Ritchie
- Stars: Jason Statham, Aubrey Plaza, Bugzy Malone, Josh Hartnett, Hugh Grant
- Rating: IMDb 7.7
Another one of the best action movies of 2022 is Operation Fortune Ruse De Guerre. The story follows elite spy Orson Fortune, who has to track down the sale of dangerous weapons held by billionaire Greg Simmonds and stop it. He then joins a team that has some of the greatest operatives named Fortune and his crew, who recruit Hollywood’s biggest movie star, Danny Francesco, to assist them on their mission of saving the world. Don’t miss it.
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The Lost City
- Release date: March 23, 2022
- Director: Aaron Nee, Adam Nee
- Stars: Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum, Daniel Radcliffe, Patti Harrison, Oscar Nunez, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Brad Pitt
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 78%, IMDb 6.6
The Lost City is yet another one of the best action movies of 2022 that is worth watching. It is amazing when there is humor added to a high-paced action movie. Therefore, you can enjoy both when watching this hilarious action film. Sandra Bullock plays the role of a romance novelist who is kidnapped while on a book tour with her Fabio-parody cover model, Channing Tatum. A deranged billionaire, portrayed by Daniel Radcliffe, thinks her titular “Lost City” is real and has lots of gold. Brad Pitt also makes an appearance as a CIA operative who has to rescue them from an island that is volcanic and remote.
The Northman
- Release date: April 22, 2022
- Director: Robert Eggers
- Stars: Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Ethan Hawke, Claes Bang, Anna Taylor-Joy, Willem Dafoe, Björk
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 89%, IMDb 7.8
One of the best action movies to watch in 2022, The Northman, is a violent tale of revenge and folk savagery. An exiled Viking prince promises to get revenge on an uncle who took everything away from him. In this gritty saga, Prince Amleth’s father is murdered by his uncle, who had the boy’s mother kidnapped. After two decades, the prince is now a grown-up Viking who raids Slavic villages. Then, he encounters a seeress who reminds him of his promise to save his mother and kill his uncle for destroying his family.
Thor: Love and Thunder
- Release date: July 8, 2022 (USA) Trending
- Director: Taika Waititi
- Stars: Christian Bale, Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Taika Waititi, Tessa Thompson, Matt Damon
The Thor sequel is definitely getting a lot of love and a lot of thunder this summer after a long wait. Thor: Love and Thunder is one of the best action films of 2022 that you might want to watch in a few months. The movie is planned to be released on July 8, 2022, in theaters. The film has Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, and Tessa Thompson going back to their roles.
The last time Thor was on screen, he was with the Guardians of the Galaxy, going off to adventure. Although the Guardians might come back in this movie, the plot doesn’t revolve around them. The film might happen around New Asgard, with Valkyrie taking her throne. It seems that a villain, portrayed by Chrisitan Bale, will attack New Asgard, aiming to destroy it out of his hatred of all gods. Thor and Jane Foster will gather together with the remainder of the Asgardians to defend their world.