Underrated Action Movies Based On Graphic Novels

Released in 2010, Red is an action-comedy that somehow only had a budget of $58 million. We bring that up because this cast is absolutely stacked with big names: Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, and Karl Urban. Not enough? Let's bring in beloved actors like Mary-Louise Parker, Brian Cox, Richard Dreyfuss, and Ernest Borgnine to round out the cast for good measure. It can't be easy to afford all that star power and still have money left over to make a successful action-comedy.

Based on Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner's limited comic series of the same name, Red follows Willis's Frank Moses as he reunites with his old Black Ops team to take down a hitman. Directed by Robert Schwentke, known at the time for helming Flightplan and The Time Traveler's Wife, Red does a fantastic job of balancing laughs from its A-list cast with enough PG-13 thrills to make it a fun time at the movies. It's just a shame adding Anthony Hopkins and Catherine Zeta-Jones to the 2013 sequel couldn't re-create the magic. 

Chris Hemsworth is one of the biggest movie stars on the face of the planet. And though Extraction is definitely as vicious as (if not more so) some of its big-screen counterparts, it is kind of funny to think of Hemsworth going from the box office records of the MCU to starring in an action movie for a streaming service. Even if that service is Netflix.

Based on Ande Parks's 2014 graphic novel Ciudad, Extraction was released on Netflix in 2020 and became the most popular original film in the company's short history. From first-time director Sam Hargrave, the movie is exceedingly ruthless with too many brutal kills to count. The story isn't much to write home about, but Hemsworth's performance, as well as the turns by the mostly unknown supporting cast, make the film a success, if you can stomach the bloody nature of the film's action. If you can get on board with the harrowing and graphic violence, it's a pretty good time.

Just before the Marvel Cinematic Universe became the hottest thing since sliced bread, three of its stars came together in a comic book movie of a different sort. If you could bring together Chris Evans, Idris Elba, and Zoe Saldana for a movie today, it would be hyped up beyond belief. Instead, this DC Comics-related film came and went without much fanfare, barely making its budget back at the international box office.

Based on the comic book series of the same name from the British duo Andy Diggle and Jock, this 2010 film plays a lot like The Expendables or The A-Team. It's about a goofy, ragtag team taking on the bad guys, and with an all-star cast, is there anything else you need to know? It's not exactly Citizen Kane, but it isn't trying to be. Sometimes, you just want to have a good, violent time at the multiplex, and The Losers offers that in spades. 

There is a pretty simple rule to follow if you're a Hollywood executive looking to make a successful, female-led action film: cast Charlize Theron. If we ignore Æon Flux (which is something we absolutely must do), the South African actor has an undeniable string of commercial and/or critical hits that spans two decades now. The Italian Job. Hancock. The Huntsman movies. Prometheus. Mad Max: Fury Road. Atomic Blonde. The Fate of the Furious. 2020's The Old Guard was just the latest in a long line of action films for Theron.

Based on Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernández's comic series of the same name (with a screenplay by Rucka himself), The Old Guard is centered around an immortal band of mercenaries as they go on a revenge mission to keep the true nature of their existence a secret. The Netflix film has a bit of a different aesthetic than your average action film thanks to its director Gina Prince-Bythewood. The Los Angeles-born director is best known for directing dramas like Love & Basketball and The Secret Life of Bees, and her eye for that kind of filmmaking elevates the quieter moments of the film beyond the traditional trappings of the genre.

When John Wick came out of nowhere in 2014 to become a surprise hit and launch a franchise for Keanu Reeves, the hyper-violent R-rated film was back in vogue. Highly choreographed action scenes became the name of the game, and the continued success of the John Wick series has shown that audiences crave the stylish, meticulous action it provides. In the wake of this, Atomic Blonde hit the scene in 2017 with Charlize Theron in the lead.

Based on Antony Johnston and Sam Hart's 2012 graphic novel The Coldest City, Atomic Blonde is set in the Soviet Union of 1989 just before the Berlin Wall collapses. The kinetic action-thriller stars Theron as an MI6 agent on a nigh-impossible mission in the heart of the USSR. And if Theron's name wasn't enough to get you onboard, how about we bring James McAvoy, John Goodman, Sofia Boutella, and Toby Jones along for the ride? Helmed by John Wick co-director David Leitch, Atomic Blonde is well worth your time.

Wanted was a huge hit for Universal Pictures back in the early days of the current comic book movie boom. The 2008 movie grossed almost $350 million against a $75 million budget, a phenomenal return for a property that hardly anyone had heard of at the time. Although, if you released an action film with a cast that includes James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, Angelina Jolie, Common, and Chris Pratt nowadays, you might hope the box office return would be even higher.

Based on Mark Millar and J. G. Jones's 2004 comic book series of the same name, Wanted is about a newcomer to a superpowered guild of secret assassins. Given that sentence, you know what you're getting into right away. It is filled with manic action sequences, and if you didn't see a double-cross coming, you haven't seen enough spy films in your life. A sequel was supposed to happen, but it never came to fruition, and today, the film is largely forgotten by modern audiences. But it's still plenty of fun to watch every now and then.