25 best adventure movies of all time that you can find on Netflix
Watching adventure movies is a great pastime. These thrilling and action-packed films are bound to keep you on the edge of your seat.
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If you are currently stuck indoors, adventure films are a fantastic option for you as they are often full of exciting action sequences that are bound to get rid of boredom.
What makes a good adventure movie?
Top adventure movies stand out by combining suspenseful puzzles, exotic locations, and intricate obstacles.
All these factors mesh up so well that the viewer cannot automatically guess how the film will end. While the audience can come up with guesses, it is hard for them to come up with one consensus without getting to the end of the movie.
The best adventure movies that you can watch right now on Netflix
Our list of Netflix adventure films includes movies for both adults and children. It also has animations, comedies, and romance movies. There is something for everyone.
25. Jupiter Ascending
IMDb rating: 5.3/10
Source: Twitter
Jupiter Jones believes that she is destined for greatness. However, her real life is anything but magnificent. Caine, played by Channing Tatum, is a genetically engineered hunter.
He arrives on earth to locate her, telling her that her genetic signature marks her as the next in line for an extraordinary inheritance that could alter the balance of the cosmos.
Excited that her dreams have come true and a little scared of the journey ahead of her, Jupiter accompanies him on a new intergalactic adventure.
24. Spy Kids
IMDb rating: 5.4/10
Source: UGC
Rival secret agents Gregorio and Ingrid fall in love with each other and decide to raise a family away from the spy world. Everything seems fine until one day, two agents go missing.
After they too disappear, their two children, 12-year-old Carmen and 9-year-old Juni, who had no clue about their parents' past lives, are then recruited to help save them. Spy Kids is an excellent example of an adventure movie that appeals to both children and grownups as well.
23. Hold the Dark
IMDb rating: 5.6/10
Source: Twitter
Despite its low rating, Hold the Dark is one of the most thrilling and best adventure movies 2018.
Wolf expert Russell Core is summoned to the village of Keelut, Alaska, by Medora Slone. Medora wants him to hunt down the wolves blamed for the disappearance and presumed death of three small children, including her 6-year-old son, Bailey Slone.
What starts as a simple search for wolves soon descends along a scary path that involves unknown darkness, witches, murder, and filicide.
22. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny
IMDb rating: 6.1/10
Source: Twitter
The story follows renowned warrior-maiden Shu Lien. Lien comes out of retirement to retrieve the legendary sword of her deceased love Li Mu Bai. Unbeknownst to her, the warlord from the West Lotus clan and his clan members are after the sword too.
After they try assassinating her several times, she assembles a band of warriors and together, they travel and fight to get the sword to safety.
21. Mowgli: Legend of The Jungle
IMDb rating: 6.5/10
After Shere Khan, a violent crippled Bengal tiger, breaks jungle-law by hunting down and killing a family of humans for sport, the only surviving human child is found by Bagheera, a black panther.
Bagheera takes the child to the wolf pack, where Nisha and Vihaan adopt Mowgli. He is brought up as a member of the pack and enjoys playing with other wolf pups, although he grows much slower than wolves do.
Eventually, Shere Khan comes back for a showdown with Mowgli as he seeks to kill him just like he did his human family. This film is Netflix's live-action adaptation of the beloved children's story, The Jungle Book, and it is based on stories collected in All the Mowgli Stories by Rudyard Kipling.
20. DragonHeart
IMDb rating: 6.5/10
Source: Twitter
An old knight, Bowen, had been mentoring prince Einon in the hopes that the young prince will become a better king than his tyrannical father. However, after the king dies and Einon becomes king, he proves to be a much worse man than his father was.
Bowen, who believes that the dragon heart placed inside Einon's heart corrupted him, swears revenge on all dragons. 12 years after his mission began, he finds the last living dragon Draco, and Bowen soon realizes that maybe all he believed was a lie.
Other than the 1996 DragonHeart film, two more adventure movies in the series; Dragonheart: Battle for the Heartfire and Dragonheart: Vengeance are also currently available on Netflix.
19. National Treasure
IMDb rating: 6.8/10
Source: Twitter
Nicholas Cage plays historian and code-breaker Ben Gates who has been searching his whole life for a rumored treasure dating back to the creation of the United States.
He joins an expedition led by fellow treasure hunter Ian Howe in hopes of finding it. Howe betrays him, and Gates has to race to get to the document ahead of his so-called colleague and escape the FBI who, too, is after him.
18. Hellboy
IMDb rating: 6.8/10
Source: Twitter
In 1944, with the help of Russian mystic Grigori Rasputin, the Nazis built a dimensional portal with the intent to free the Ogdru Jahad to aid them in defeating the Allies. Once the portal is destroyed, the Allies team realizes that a small infant demon came through it.
Bruttenholm adopts and names the young demon. 60 years later, Hellboy is recruited by the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense to help them fight a resurrected Rasputin.
Hellboy movies are great adventure films for anyone who enjoys stories about the supernatural.
17. Swiss Army Man
IMDb rating: 7.0/10
Source: Twitter
The film follows Hank Thompson, a man who was marooned on a deserted island. After losing hope of being rescued, Hank sees a corpse washed up on the beach. He tries to resuscitate the man to no avail.
Before the corpse is carried by the waves back to sea, it lets out a loud fart, which Hank finds hilarious. Hank and his newfound corpse friend, Manny, begin an unusual friendship that keeps the viewer in stitches throughout the film.
16. I Am Legend
IMDb rating: 7.2/10
Source: Twitter
Will Smith plays Robert Neville in this action-adventure film. Neville is a brilliant scientist and a survivor of a man-made plague that transforms humans into bloodthirsty mutants.
He wanders alone through New York City, calling out for other possible survivors, and works on finding a cure for the plague using his immune blood.
15. Okja
IMDb rating: 7.3/10
Source: Twitter
This South Korean action-adventure movie follows Mija, a young Korean girl who tries to save Okja, her genetically modified super pig from an American corporation.
This is a globe-trotting story that sheds light on the cruel mistreatment of animals by corporations who see them as nothing but a source of profit.
14. Hugo
IMDb rating: 7.5/10
Source: UGC
The film is based on the book The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick.
The story follows a young boy, Hugo, who, after his clockmaker father dies, goes to live with his uncle. His only prized possession is a broken automaton that he and his father used to repair.
After his uncle mysteriously disappears, Hugo has to survive by himself as he also steals parts to keep repairing his automaton. Soon, the young boy discovers the decades-long history behind the seemingly simple automaton.
13. 127 Hours
IMDb rating: 7.6/10
Source: Twitter
127 Hours is on the list of Netflix adventure films that are based on a true story. The film brings to life Aaron's ordeal after he gets trapped in a canyon on a hiking adventure in Utah.
The hiker's right hand was trapped under a boulder and he could not find his way out. After realizing he had no way out since he had not informed anyone where he had gone, Aaron has to go to extreme lengths to save himself.
Good adventure movies are sometimes based on real-life stories, and 127 Hours proves it to be so.
12. Sherlock Holmes
IMDb rating: 7.6/10
Source: Twitter
This film, set in 1890 London, is best suited for action adventure movies fans. Robert Downey Jr. plays Sherlock Holmes, an unconventional scientist and eccentric detective-for-hire.
After preventing the ritualistic murder of a young woman by serial killer Lord Henry Blackwood, Sherlock soon finds himself in crosshairs with the law after more people die under mysterious circumstances.
Holmes and his partner Dr. Watson have to quickly solve these more murders done by a seemingly resurrected Blackwood before the police can find him.
11. Life of Pi
IMDb rating: 7.9/10
Source: Twitter
This film is based on Yann Martel's 2001 novel of the same name. Life of Pi is truly one of the best adventure movies available today.
Not only is the story quite fascinating, but also the visuals in the film are so beautiful that they leave the viewer entranced. The story is told from Pi's perspective as he recounts his life.
The narrator tells the audience about how he, the son of a zoo owner, lost his family in an accident in the ocean and had to survive in the sea in the company of an adult Bengal tiger
10. Thor Ragnarok
IMDb rating: 7.9/10
Source: Twitter
After Thor's father Odin passes away, the god of thunder and his brother Loki have to fight for the survival of their planet. Their troubles begin after their bloodthirsty sister Hela comes back home seeking the throne.
Soon, the warring brothers have to put their differences aside and fight for their home.
9. The Revenant
IMDb rating: 8.0/10
Source: Twitter
Despite being over four years old, this film deserves recognition for being one of the best adventure movies. After all, who can make a fight/sexual assault scene with a bear trend for weeks on social media?
The Revenant tells the story of Hugh Glass, who, after the native tribe of Arikara attacks his party and a bear mortally wounds him, is left for dead in the wilderness. Not accepting defeat, and in spite of his terrible injuries, Glass begins the gruesome journey back home.
He hopes to exact revenge on those who left him to die in the cold.
8. Into the Wild
IMDb rating: 8.1/10
Source: Twitter
This movie is adapted from a book by the same name written by Jon Krakauer. Into the Wild follows Christopher McCandless, who, shortly after graduating, rejects conventional life, and sets off on a cross country journey.
He refuses to inform his parents and sister where he is going. The story depicts his memories as he recalls his adventures of how he had spent his two years driving, hiking, and kayaking all over the country.
This adventure movie teaches the lesson on the importance of human connection.
7. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
IMDb rating: 8.2/10
Source: Twitter
If you are looking for a funny adventure movie, then Monty Python and the Holy Grail should be at the top of your list of adventure films to watch.
The film starts as King Arthur and his squire, Patsy, are travelling throughout Britain in search of knights to join the round table. After finding his knights, God appears to Arthur and asks him to find The Holy Grail.
With Trojan rabbits, showers of catapulted barnyard animals, and rude French soldiers, their journey to the cup is quite entertaining.
6. Coco
IMDb rating: 8.4/10
Source: Twitter
Sometimes, the best adventure movies are animations, because the characters and the worlds can be imagined in ways that are more detailed and fascinating.
Coco is set in Santa Cecilia, Mexico. It follows young Miguel who has always dreamt about being a musician. However, in his family, it is forbidden to play music let alone have the hopes to have a career as a musician.
Miguel secretly pursues his dream, and it lands him in the land of the dead. Coco was one of the best adventure movies 2017.
5. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
IMDb rating: 8.4/10
After high school student Miles Morales is bitten by a spider, he realizes that he now possesses the same powers as the already existing Spider-Man.
Confused as to how this is possible, he heads out to find the arachnid only to witness the superhero being brutally murdered. In a bid to honour the fallen hero, he decides to become New York's next hero.
This proves to be much harder than he imagined and thrusts him headfirst into an interdimensional conspiracy with multiple spider-heroes.
4. Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark
IMDb rating: 8.4/10
Source: Twitter
There is no denying it, Indiana Jones films are among the best adventure movies of all time. Almost 40 years after Raiders of the Lost Ark was released, Indiana Jones is still considered as one of the greatest film characters today.
This film is perfect for any action adventure movies fan. The first 15 minutes of the film are quite thrilling. One of the most thrilling and iconic scenes is where he steals the idol, and the temple destructs all around him.
If you are already an Indiana Jones fan, you will be glad to know that all his adventure films are currently available on Netflix.
3. Avengers: Infinity War
IMDb rating: 8.5/10
Source: Twitter
While other Marvel films feature the superheroes, this was the first time that almost all heroes from different movies were in the same film together. Avengers: Infinity War was one of the best adventure movies 2018 and was among the top five highest-grossing films of the year.
Infinity War brings all the superheroes together as they fight the Mad Titan, Thanos, who plans to cleanse the earth by killing off half the population as he has done to other planets before.
While Infinity War is available for streaming on Netflix, the second instalment, Avengers: Endgame is unfortunately not among the adventure movies on Netflix.
2. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
IMDb rating: 8.7/10
Source: Twitter
Most fantasy fans consider The Lord of The Rings series to be some of the best adventure movies of all time. From the storyline to the characters, and even the filming locations that they are filmed in, these films embody the true meaning of top adventure movies.
This second instalment of the series begins where the first movie, The Fellowship of the Ring, ended. The Lord of The Rings films must be watched in order if you wish to enjoy and understand the storyline.
Thankfully, the first movie and the third instalment are currently on Netflix.
1. Inception
IMDb rating: 8.8/10
Source: Twitter
Inception is considered as one of the top best action adventure movies today and was rated among the best films of the decade.
In this mind-bending sci-fi thriller, DiCaprio plays Dom, a man whose business is to commit corporate espionage by infiltrating the minds of his targets and stealing their secrets.
Dom is approached by a man named Saito, who promises to clear his criminal record if, instead of stealing a secret, he can implant an idea in his business rival's head. Convinced he can do it, Dom assembles a team, and together they attempt one of the most challenging and high-risk jobs yet.
Why are adventure movies so popular?
Adventure films provide the audience with new experiences and exotic locales that ordinarily would not be in other films. The travels, conquests, explorations, creation of empires, struggles, and situations are exciting to watch.
Have any of your favourite adventure movies been mentioned on this list? If not, will you watch any of the others included here? Hopefully, you have found some adventure films that you can watch right now on Netflix.
Source: Legit.ng
