Action movies are hard to define but easy to recognize. It’s a genre that can encompass everything from franchise fare to director-driven work, but at the end of the day, a great one will leave you deeply satisfied.
HBO Max actually has a remarkably deep bench of great action movies worth watching. Because the platform can be difficult to navigate, it can be hard to surface the ones that you might actually be interested in. That’s why we’ve pulled together three very different action movies that are all worth your time.
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We also have guides to the best new movies to stream, the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on HBO Max, and the best movies on Disney+.
Speed (1994)
The only Die Hard ripoff that’s worth watching, Speed follows an LA police officer who gets trapped on a bus that will explode if it drives under 50 miles an hour. As he navigates Los Angeles traffic to avoid disaster, he must figure out who rigged the bus and why they did it.
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You can watch Speed on HBO Max.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)
The Hunger Games movies are better than you remember (unless you remember them being great). Of the original quadrilogy, Catching Fire is undoubtedly refines the ideas and cast of the original movie into something both entertaining and disturbing.
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Superman Returns (2006)
Superman Returns was made by some pretty problematic people, but it’s also a pretty effective Superman movie. A sort of pseudo-sequel to the Christopher Reeve films, this movie imagines an Earth where Superman has been gone for several years.
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When he returns, he discovers that the world has moved on without him, but also that Lex Luthor has been carefully planning for his return. Featuring a genuinely arresting plane crash sequence, plenty of nostalgia, and a sentimental sincerity that feels entirely justified, Superman Returns might leave you a little emotional.
You can watch Superman Returns on HBO Max.