YouTube is famous as a user-generated content platform, but it also has a large media library that includes thousands of titles ready to watch. Users can buy or rent individual movies, and users in the United States can subscribe to certain Primetime Channels, such as Starz. While there are tons of films available via purchase, plenty are also available to watch free, with ads. There are a few hundred movies that are free to view, and while that number seems drastically small compared to several thousand, the free selection has some good hidden gems.
With that, YouTube has several action movies available to watch for free with ads right now. Some are, decidedly, low in quality, while others are absolute fan favorites. From films featuring the iconic Jackie Chan to B-movie flicks, here are the best free action movies you can watch on YouTube right now.
10 Robot Overlords
Released in 2014, Robot Overlords is a 2014 British independent science fiction film starring Callan McAuliffe, Ben Kingsley, and Gillian Anderson. Alien robots from a distant galaxy conquer Earth and establish control over humanity, claiming that they only want to observe humans. Survivors are confined to their houses and implanted with a device that alerts the sentries if they go outside. If they refuse to comply, they are destroyed.
The film follows Sean Flynn (McAuliffe), a teen searching for his father who went missing soon after the robots invaded, and Robin Smythe (Kingsley), a man who is employed by the robots to be a proctor. Smythe is trying to get Kate Flynn (Anderson) to be his wife, but she’s mourning over the loss of her husband, and Sean’s father.
9 Stolen
Stolen is a 2012 American action thriller film starring Nicolas Cage, Danny Huston, Malin Akerman, M.C. Gainey, Sami Gayle, Mark Valley, and Josh Lucas. The film begins with Will Montgomery (Cage) and Vincent Kinsey (Lucas) as they are preparing a heist with their getaway driver, Riley Simms (Akerman). Things go wrong, and Will is arrested. After he gets out of prison, he must find $10 million within 12 hours to save his daughter from his former partner. An action film starring Nick Cage? It is an absolute must-see action film, especially since it is free to watch.
8 The Organization
The Organization is a 1971 crime thriller action film starring Sidney Poitier. It is the last entry in a trilogy featuring police detective Virgil Tibbs that began with In the Heat of the Night in 1967, followed by They Call Me Mister Tibbs! In 1970. In this film, Tibbs (Poitier) is called in to track down a gang of urban revolutionaries that are suspected of a series of crimes. Alongside Poitier, the film stars Barbara McNair, Gerald S. O’Loughlin, Sheree North, and Fred Beir. While The Organization received largely poor reviews from critics, it is certainly worth the watch to get the full Tibbs trilogy experience.
7 Blitz
The 2011 British action thriller film Blitz stars Jason Statham, Paddy Considine, Aidan Gillen, and David Morrissey. The film is based on Ken Bruen’s novel of the same name, which features recurring characters Detective Sergeant Tom Brant and Chief Inspector James Roberts. The film features a serial killer targeting police officers in South East London. Sergeant Porter Nash (Considine) is an outsider who is widely ridiculed by his fellow officers for being openly gay leads the investigation. He partners with the hot-headed Detective Sergeant Tom Brant (Statham) who has a history of violent incidents to track down the serial killer.
6 The Blackout: Invasion Earth
The Blackout: Invasion Earth, or just The Blackout, is a Russian science fiction action thriller released in 2019. Directed by Egor Baranov, the film stars Pyotr Fyodorov, Kseniya Kutepova, Svetlana Ivanova, and Konstantin Lavronenko. The film follows a sudden event that plunges the world into darkness, destroying all life on Earth except for a small area in Eastern Europe. The Blackout was initially conceived as a series, but the creators had only the first script. When it was filmed, Baranov made some changes to the history, and it was decided to move it in a slightly different direction.
5 Mr. Nice Guy
Mr. Nice Guy is a 1997 Hong Kong action-comedy film starring Jackie Chan and Richard Norton and was directed by Sammo Hung. The film follows Chinese chef Jackie (Chan), who accidentally gets involved with a news reporter that filmed a cocaine deal gone awry between the Italian mob and a street gang called The Demons. The mob boss sees the reporter, Diana, and her partner Richard, and has his gang give chase. Richard is captured while Diana flees, and she ends up bumping into Jackie. She accidentally switches her tape with one of Jackie’s cooking videos. Now, he is being chased by gangs who are trying to get ahold of the videotape.
4 Rise of the Legend
The Hong Kong-Chinse kung-fu action film Rise of the Legend was directed by Roy Chow and released in 2014. The film stars Sammo Hung, Eddie Peng, Wang Luodan, Jing Boran, Max Zhang, Wong Cho Lam, Tony Leung, and Angelababy. The film follows Wong Fei-Hung (Peng) who is destined to become a master of his time and become a legend in martial arts. It is set in 1868 during the late Qing Dynasty in Guangzhou, where two crime factions, The Black Tiger and the Northern Sea, run the Huangpu port. For years, the Black Tiger’s boss Lei Gong (Hung) has been trying to get rid of the Northern Sea leader. He recruits Fei-Hung to take on the opposing faction’s leader.
3 Kundo: Age of the Rampant
Kundo: Age of the Rampant is a South Korean period action film released in 2014. The film stars Ha Jung-woo and Gang Dong-won and is set in mid-19th Century Joseon. It follows a power struggle between the wealthy noblemen who unjustly run society and a group of righteous outlaws who go full Robin Hood by stealing from corrupt officials to give to the poor and starving. For fans of the Robin Hood trope, this is a must-watch.
2 The Great Battle
Released in 2018, The Great Battle is a South Korean historical epic action film starring Jo In-Sung, Nam Joo-hyuk, and Park Sung-woong and was directed by Kim Kwang-sik. The film follows the siege of Ansi Fortress and the 88-day battle that Yang Manchun (In-sung) and his Goguryeo troops fought against the 500,000 invading Tang dynasty men to defend the fortress. The film was released in South Korea on September 19, 2018, alongside Fengshui, The Negotiation, and The Nun, making it the most competitive week on the Korean Box Office that year.
1 Heat
Directed by Michael Man, Heat is a 1995 crime action film featuring an ensemble cast with Al Pacino and Robert De Niro leading, and Tom Sizemore, Jon Voight, Amy Brenneman, Ashley Judd, Wes Studi, and Val Kilmer in supporting roles. The film follows the conflicting relationship between Lieutenant Vincent Hanna (Pacino) of the LAPD and the career criminal Neil McCauley (De Niro), while also depicting its effect on their professional relationships and personal lives. The film received critical and commercial success and is considered one of the most influential films of its genre.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
