Five John Wick-Like 2023 Movies

John Wick is noted for its stylish yet vicious action, as well as its unexpectedly deep mythology. Here are five movies to watch now that John Wick 4 is out that suit that similar paradigm.

What was believed to be a non-descript action movie, John Wick captivated audiences on the back of impressive fight choreography (thanks to leading man Keanu Reeves’ experience in martial arts) and impressive cinematography.

Though it started out as a by-the-numbers revenge thriller, John Wick spawned three sequels and a spinoff that have delved deeper into the mysterious world the titular anti-hero occupies.

With the latest installment being praised as one of the greatest action movies ever, here are some other movies like John Wick to check out in 2023…

Atomic Blonde

Charlize Theron has become something of an action star in the last several years with spectacular performances in Mad Max: Fury Road, the Fast & the Furious franchise, Dr. Strange & The Multiverse of Madness. Atomic Blonde, however, was her first opportunity to lead a new franchise as she played a British Royal Intelligence agent during the Cold War. Full of spy craft and fun action sequences, this is definitely worth checking out if you loved the fight scenes in John Wick.

Upgrade

More sci-fi than action, Upgrade tells the story of a formerly-paralyzed man who is given an implant that doesn’t just allow him to walk, it gives him superhuman fighting abilities. Although it’s a completely different genre, Upgrade maintains a lot of the gritty realism and incredible fight choreography John Wick fans will love. It even ups the technical prowess with some of the filmmaking used in the fight scenes over Wick.

The Raid

It seems almost obligatory to mention The Raid (and it’s sequels) when talking about movies that compare to John Wick. The original movie follows a group of police officers raiding a crime lord’s building, encountering tons of resistance as they go. It features maybe some of the best action sequences ever put to film, and John Wick director Chad Stahelski has called The Raid one of his favorite action movies and biggest influences.

Kingsman

If it’s the stylish, fluid action that drew you to the John Wick franchise, there is perhaps no franchise out there that has been doing it better recently than Matthew Vaughn’s The Kingsman movies. While these are much more spy-thrillers and James Bond parodies than pure action like John Wick is, they’ll still blow your socks off with how they handle the action sequences.

The Matrix

Arguably the Godfather of modern western action and where director Stahelski and star Reeves first connected, The Matrix is the marriage of sci-fi with pure action. You’ll follow Reeves as Neo, a freedom fighter in the simulated world called the Matrix, where he becomes the only one who can bring down the machine overlords. It’s a different vibe from John Wick, but you can very clearly see how it was this movie that allowed this new action juggernaut to be born.