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Amazon is ubiquitous. But for years–despite making billions of dollars–the company did not turn a profit and lost millions each quarter. Incredibly, this was by design. Jeffrey Bezos borrowed billions and continually expanded his empire, believing that growth and customer satisfaction was preferable to short-term profit.
Many companies have since tried and failed to emulate this success. And it’s no wonder; few companies have the means to bankroll a losing proposition for more than a decade or convince shareholders to invest in a theory rather than a solid path to success. But Amazon managed it, and today, it is an empire, with Amazon Prime Video as one of its biggest vassal states.
Amazon Prime Video’s movie line-up has always been formidable. And earlier in its history, it needed to be. Amazon had neither the original programming of Netflix nor the establishment prestige of HBO Max/Go. But what they did have was a sheer volume of mainstream, accessible content that it could cycle in and out every month.
And action movies, in particular, are a great way to draw eyes to a platform. They have mainstream appeal; they get at our base, common instincts for violence, retribution, and survival. And although they may not have the critical acclaim of, say, period dramas or indie comedies, action movies are inherently cinematic, in a way that those films are not. A proper action scene prioritizes angles and shots. It demands panning, tracking, and tilting–all the kinetic stuff that can only exist in film and cannot be reproduced in any other medium. A great action movie exists in a class of its own.
Here are 20 of the best action movies currently streaming on Amazon Prime–an eclectic mix of established classics and modern classics alike.