Ragesh Dipu
Almost all of us have played the part of a ‘Rambo’ inspired warrior or a ‘Bond’ inspired superspy in many of our childhood plays. We love adventure— or maybe a little more than — any romance. Adventure heroes drive exotic cars, handle mysterious weapons, and save the world from cold-blooded villains for us. More than a mere adrenaline rush, an action adventure film is our window to feed the explorer amongst all of us. Once in a while, a ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ can save our weekend after the desperate workdays. With that said, here’s the list of really adventure movies on Amazon Prime that are available to stream right now:
14. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
Set against the backdrop of the brutal Civil War between the Union and the Confederacy, ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ follow three men who embark on a quest to find a fortune. ‘The Good’ Blondie is a skilled gunslinger whose eyes set on the money. ‘The Bad’ Angel Eyes is a mercenary who will finish his task at any cost. ‘The Ugly’ Tuco is the most wanted outlaw fleeing the bounty hunters. Together, they comb the American Southwest for a mysterious strongbox with stolen gold worth $200,000. The plot revolves around the shaky triangle between the three, who have to keep each other alive to locate the gold hidden in an anonymous grave in a cemetery. ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ is directed by Sergio Leone and features an ensemble cast that includes Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach and Lee Van Cleef in the lead roles.
13. Logan Lucky (2017)
‘Logan Lucky’ is a roller-coaster ride that takes us through an edgy heist attempt. The movie follows Jimmy Logan who loses his job one fine fine morning. A desperate and vengeful Jimmy has only one way to bounce back — to rob the Charlotte Motor Speedway during a NASCAR Race. He convinces his brother Clyde and sister Mellie to help him to execute the robbery. But they need the expertise of Joe Bang, a professional safe-cracker who serves his term. Now, the Logan family has to break Joe out of jail, blow open the racetrack safe vault, flee with the loot, hide the huge amount of money, and return Joe to the jail. Everything in their plan looks fine, except a family curse looming over the Logans. Directed by Steven Soderbergh from a screenplay by Rebecca Blunt, ‘Logan Lucky‘ features Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, Riley Keough, and a surprisingly anew Daniel Craig, in the lead roles.
12. Annihilation (2018)
‘Annihilation’ centers on the mysterious disappearance of Kane, an Army Special Forces soldier during a covert operation. Though Kane is presumed dead, his wife Lena finds him unexpectedly in their bedroom one night. Kane looks so weak and has little memory about what happened to him. Lena takes him to the hospital. But some shadowy government agents kidnap the couple on the way. Lena learns that Kane was part of an expedition into ‘the Shimmer,’ an environmental disaster zone. He is apparently the only survivor returned from the Shimmer.
As Kane is dying, Lena decides to follow her husband’s footsteps along with an all-women team. She signs up for the dangerous expedition into ‘the Shimmer’ along with a team that consists of an anthropologist, a psychologist, a surveyor, and a linguist. The team crosses the border into the mysteries of the ever-expanding and shining membrane. Directed by Alex Garland, the movie is based on the novel of the same name by Jeff VanderMeer. ‘Annihilation’ stars Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, Tuva Novotny, and Oscar Isaac.
11. Cartel Land (2015)
‘Cartel Land’ is a docudrama about the vigilante groups fighting the deadly Mexican drug cartels. Set in the Mexican state of Michoacán, the movie follows Dr. Jose Mireles, ‘El Doctor,’ who leads a small-town rebellion of common people against the ruthless Knights Templar, the Mexican drug cartel. The criminals wreak havoc in the area and public life is a nightmare. El Doctor takes charge of the uprising and works towards a peaceful life. On the American side, a war veteran named Tim ‘Nailer’ Foley heads the paramilitary group, Arizona Border Recon. They guard Arizona’s Altar Valley, which is also known as Cocaine Alley, from Mexico’s drug cartels. They prevent the bloody drug wars from crossing the border. ‘Cartel Land’ earned rave reviews for the intense portrayal of vigilante groups which prevent organized crime along the Mexican–American border. The documentary film is directed by Matthew Heineman.
10. Mad Max (1979)
‘Mad Max’ unfolds in the backdrop of a dystopian Australia in the near future. Centered around Mad Max, an Australian policeman, the movie delves deep into the wretched lands reigned by criminals and thugs. The gangs fight over gasoline and scraps and attack anyone they come across. The Highway patrolman loses his wife and kid after a grisly encounter with one of the gangs of highway hooligans. He embarks on a vengeance spree in search of the gang members across the arid land of death and drought. ‘Mad Max‘ is directed by George Miller, with Mel Gibson, Joanne Samuel and Hugh Keays-Byrne playing the key roles in the movie.
9. The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984)
‘The Pope of Greenwich Village’ is based on the novel of the same name written by Vincent Patrick. The black comedy follows two cousins who plan a robbery. Charlie lives for his dream of opening his own restaurant. Paulie is a schemer who works as a waiter to make both ends meet. In order to make their life better, Charlie and Paulie design a scheme to steal $150000. Their plan is to invest the stolen money on a ‘sure bet,’ a racehorse. Paulie has some secret information about the horse to win the bet. But things go awry when the duo find themselves at odds with the local Mafia boss and the corrupt New York City police department after the robbery attempt. ‘The Pope of Greenwich Village’ features Mickey Rourke, Eric Roberts, Daryl Hannah, Geraldine Page, Kenneth McMillan, and Burt Young in key roles. The film is directed by Stuart Rosenberg.
8. The Man From Nowhere (2010)
‘The Man from Nowhere’ is a South Korean action thriller which follows Taesik, a washed out secret agent. He lives a lonely life as a pawnshop owner after the death of his wife. Taesik’s only friend is Somi, a cute little girl living next door. Apart from Somi, the only people Tasik interacts with are his scarce customers. But Somi is kidnapped by a gang, and Taesik has no other options but to go back to his old avatar of a secret agent. He has a terrible past to hide from the world, apart from saving the little girl. Taesik risks everything he has left to save his only friend who calls him ‘the man from nowhere.’ The movie is written and directed by Jeong-beom Lee, with Won Bin, Sae-ron Kim and Tae-hoon Kim playing the lead roles.
7. Bad Company (1972)
‘Bad Company’ is a Western flick which unfolds in the backdrop of the Civil War. The plot follows Drew Dixon, a young man who drifts across the hostile West because he wants to avoid being drafted into the Civil War cadre. Dixon joins a group of young men who nurture the romanticized American West of adventures and fortune hunters. The naive men soon realize that neither nature nor the authorities pay any sanctions to them. The wannabe outlaws soon turn into a loose group of desperate men. The realities of hunting down innocent people who are devastated by the Civil War were too much for them. ‘Bad Company’ is an ironic take on the Western genre, and it becomes a pitch-perfect Western saga in the process. The movie is directed by Robert Benton from a screenplay he co-wrote with David Newman. Jeff Bridges, Barry Brown and Jim Davis play key roles in the movie.
6. The Retrieval (2014)
‘The Retrieval’ is a Civil War-era drama based on slavery. The plot follows a boy who is sent to the north by a vicious gang of bounty hunters to locate a dangerous criminal. The boy, Will, travels through the war-torn small towns in the year 1864. Both Will and his uncle work for the bounty hunter gang led by Burrell. The gang makes a fortune by hunting down runaway slaves and fleeing criminals.
After his family was disintegrated, Will had been living under the wings of his exploiting uncle. The bounty gang uses the boy to cross the dangerous union lines and bring back the freed slave and fugitive murderer, Nate. Will locates Nate who is working for Federal troops as a gravedigger. The boy manipulates a story about Nate’s dying brother, and they start the return together. But Will’s uncle, the bounty hunters and the authorities have three different schemes for Nate’s head. ‘The Retrieval’ is written and directed by Chris Eska. The movie features Ashton Sanders, Tishuan Scott, Keston John, Bill Oberst Jr., Christine Horn, and Alfonso Freeman in the lead roles.
5. The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970)
Billy Wilder’s ‘The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes’ is a parodic take on the legendary detective mastermind, Sherlock Holmes. Wilder maintains Holmes’ shrewdness but explores the other shades of his character. Holmes and Dr. Watson take on the case of a beautiful woman whose husband has disappeared without a clue. The investigation leads Holmes and Watson to a group of monks, dwarfs and finally to an ancient royal castle in Scotland. Their journey ends with Holmes’ brother Mycroft, who has built a mysterious submarine for the British Navy. Wilder’s Holmes is much more empathetic and emotional than the other adaptions. The movie stars Robert Stephens as Holmes and Colin Blakely as Doctor Watson.
4. Shoot to Kill (1988)
Sidney Poitier’s return vehicle after a long break, ‘Shoot to Kill’ is a cat and mouse game between an FBI agent and an elusive killer. FBI agent Warren Stantin is on the trail of a criminal mastermind who disappears into the wilds of the Pacific Northwest. The urban detective Stantin unwillingly join hands with skilled tracker Jonathan Knox to locate his deadly enemy from the unending wilderness. The killer disguises as a hiker in a guided hiking trip led by Knox’s girlfriend, Sarah. Now Stantin and Knox have the killer under their nose but they don’t know which of the hikers is the one they’ve been looking for. ‘Shoot to Kill’ is directed by Roger Spottiswoode and features Sidney Poitier, Tom Berenger, Clancy Brown, Andrew Robinson, and Kirstie Alley in major roles.
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3. The Matrix (1999)
‘The Matrix’ is a futuristic saga set in the 22nd century. The plot follows Thomas A. Anderson who leads the life of an ordinary computer programmer by the day and a hacker, Neo, by the night. His double life is disrupted by Morpheus, a legendary computer hacker and a terrorist. The police target Neo after they come to know about his connection with Morpheus. He leaves his den for the real world which is a wasteland ruled by an advanced race of machines. They extract human beings’ body heat and electrochemical energy to survive and imprison the human minds within an artificial reality called the Matrix. Neo joins a group of underground insurgents who know the truth behind the Matrix. A human rebellion against the rule of the machines rises. ‘The Matrix’ is written and directed by The Wachowskis and features Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantoliano in major roles.
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2. Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’ is a sequel to the legendary action flick, ‘The Terminator.’ Though the human race emerged as the winners in the war with the machines, the vengeful machines managed to send an advanced Terminator, the shape-shifting T-1000 model, back in time from 2029. The T-1000 arrives to change the future outcome of the war by eliminating John Connor, who lives with his foster parents. John Connor also sends back a T-800 Terminator reprogrammed to protect his past. 10 years have passed since the events in the first movie and Sarah Connor, here, reprises her role as the mother of the future leader of the resistance. Arnold Schwarzenegger also returns as the T-800 Model Terminator. ‘Terminator 2: Judgement Day’ is directed by James Cameron, from a script he co-wrote with William Wisher. The movie features Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick, and Edward Furlong in major roles.
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1. Iron Man 2 (2010)
‘Iron Man 2’ is the sequel to the 2008 movie ‘Iron Man’ and is the third film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The dual life of Tony Stark as a billionaire industrialist and the armored superhero Iron Man has been exposed. The government, the press and the public are after him for the path-breaking invention. But Stark is reluctant to let go of his precious technology. Moreover, he has earned new enemies who have their eyes on the invention. Stark joins hands with Pepper Potts and James ‘Rhodey’ Rhodes to form a defense to safeguard his invention and the Stark empire from enemies from all sides. ‘Iron Man 2’ is directed by Jon Favreau. The movie features Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man, alongside Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Mickey Rourke, and Samuel L. Jackson.
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