Best Action Movies of 2012
The 50 highest rated action movies released in 2012, ranked by viewer ratings on TMDB. Only titles with enough votes to count are included, so one-off five-star ratings can't skew the list.
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1
The Avengers (2012)
When an unexpected enemy emerges and threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of…
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2
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Following the death of District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman assumes responsibility for Dent's crimes to protect the late attorney's reputation and is subsequently hunted by the Gotham City Police Department. Eight years later, Batman…
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3
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1 (2012)
Batman has not been seen for ten years. A new breed of criminal ravages Gotham City, forcing 55-year-old Bruce Wayne back into the cape and cowl. But, does he still have what it takes to fight crime in a new era?
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4
Rurouni Kenshin Part I: Origins (2012)
In 1868, after the Bakumatsu war ends, the ex-assassin Kenshin Himura traverses Japan with an inverted sword, to defend the needy without killing.
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5
One Piece Film: Z (2012)
Zephyr, now known as Z, rides the seas with only one goal: Destroy all pirates and their dreams at becoming King of Pirates. When Luffy and his crew encounter him at sea, not only are they utterly defeated by the man with an arm made of…
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6
Justice League: Doom (2012)
An adaptation of Mark Waid's "Tower of Babel" story from the JLA comic. Vandal Savage steals confidential files Batman has compiled on the members of the Justice League, and learns all their weaknesses.
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7
The Raid (2012)
Deep in the heart of Jakarta's slums lies an impenetrable safe house for the world's most dangerous killers and gangsters. Until now, the run-down apartment block has been considered untouchable to even the bravest of police. Cloaked under…
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8
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit enjoying his quiet life, is swept into an epic quest by Gandalf the Grey and thirteen dwarves who seek to reclaim their mountain home from Smaug, the dragon.
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9
Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie (2012)
Sixteen years ago, a mysterious masked ninja unleashes a powerful creature known as the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox on the Hidden Leaf Village Konoha, killing many people. In response, the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze and his wife Kushina…
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10
Rise of the Guardians (2012)
When an evil spirit known as Pitch Black lays down the gauntlet to take over the world, the immortal Guardians must join forces for the first time to protect the hopes, beliefs and imagination of children all over the earth.
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11
Berserk: The Golden Age Arc II - The Battle for Doldrey (2012)
The Band of the Hawk and their enigmatic leader Griffith continue winning battle after battle as their prestige throughout the kingdom of Midland grows. But their latest task is one that has seen failure from everyone who has attempted it:…
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12
Skyfall (2012)
When Bond's latest assignment goes gravely wrong, agents around the world are exposed and MI6 headquarters is attacked. While M faces challenges to her authority and position from Gareth Mallory, the new Chairman of the Intelligence and…
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13
Berserk: The Golden Age Arc I - The Egg of the King (2012)
Guts, an immensely strong sword-for-hire, has little direction in his life, simply fighting one battle after the next. However, this all changes suddenly when he meets and is bested by Griffith, a beautiful and charismatic young man who…
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14
The Hunger Games (2012)
In a dystopian society where the Capitol forces each district to send two young tributes to fight to the death in a televised spectacle, a girl volunteers to take her sister’s place, setting the stage for a struggle of survival and…
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15
Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo (2012)
Fourteen years after Third Impact, Shinji Ikari awakens to a world he does not remember. He hasn't aged. Much of Earth is laid in ruins, NERV has been dismantled, and people who he once protected have turned against him. Befriending the…
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16
Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 1 (2012)
In 1970s India, Sardar Khan vows to take revenge on the man who killed his father decades earlier.
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17
Eega (2012)
A passionate flower decorator, Nani, falls for his neighbor, Bindhu, but their budding romance takes an unexpected turn when he crosses paths with Sudeep, a ruthless and powerful businessman.
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18
Confession of Murder (2012)
A serial killer reappears 15 years after his murder spree with a book detailing his crimes. The resentful cop who failed to catch him before is assigned to protect him. The families of the victims plan revenge. And as the media circus…
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19
The Tower (2012)
Tower Sky, a luxurious building complex, has organised a lavish Christmas party for its VIP guests. However, things go awry when a fire breaks out and thousands of lives are endangered.
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20
Beyond Outrage (2012)
As the police launch a full-scale crackdown on organized crime, it ignites a national yakuza struggle between the Sanno of the East and Hanabishi of the West. What started as an internal strife in Outrage has now become a nationwide war in…
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21
A.C.A.B. - All Cops Are Bastards (2012)
A look at the controversial riot cops unit, told through the stories of three veteran cops and a young recruit.
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22
Looper (2012)
In the year 2044, time travel has not yet been invented but in 30 years it will have been. When the mob wants to get rid of someone, they will send their target into the past where a looper, a hired gun, like Joe is waiting to mop up. Joe…
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23
Superman vs. The Elite (2012)
The Man of Steel finds himself outshone by a new team of ruthless superheroes who hold his idealism in contempt.
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24
Drug War (2012)
A drug cartel boss is arrested in a raid and coerced into betraying his former accomplices as part of an undercover operation.
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25
Resident Evil: Damnation (2012)
U.S. federal agent Leon S. Kennedy sneaks into the "East Slavic Republic" to verify rumors that Bio-Organic Weapons (BOWs) are being used in the country's civil war, which the U.S. and Russia are making preparations to jointly intervene in.…
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26
21 Jump Street (2012)
When cops Schmidt and Jenko join the secret Jump Street unit, they use their youthful appearances to go undercover as high school students. They trade in their guns and badges for backpacks, and set out to shut down a dangerous drug ring.…
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27
Dredd (2012)
In the future, America is a dystopian wasteland. The latest scourge is Ma-Ma, a prostitute-turned-drug pusher with a dangerous new drug and aims to take over the city. The only possibility of stopping her is an elite group of urban police…
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28
The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
A teenage Peter Parker grapples with both high school and amazing super-human crises as his alter-ego Spider-Man.
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29
The Thieves (2012)
A gang of South Korean thieves team up with a Hong Kong crew to steal a diamond necklace from a heavily-guarded casino safe in Macau. As the cops close in, old betrayals — and misunderstandings — resurface.
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30
Jack Reacher (2012)
One morning in an ordinary town, five people are shot dead in a seemingly random attack. All evidence points to a single suspect: an ex-military sniper who is quickly brought into custody. The interrogation yields one written note: 'Get…
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31
Get the Gringo (2012)
A career criminal nabbed by Mexican authorities is placed in a tough prison where he learns to survive with the help of a 9-year-old boy.
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32
The Grey (2012)
After their plane crashes in Alaska, six oil workers are led by a skilled huntsman to survival, but a pack of merciless wolves haunts their every step.
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33
Men in Black 3 (2012)
Agents J and K are back...in time. J has seen some inexplicable things in his 15 years with the Men in Black, but nothing, not even aliens, perplexes him as much as his wry, reticent partner. But when K's life and the fate of the planet are…
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34
Act of Valor (2012)
When a covert mission to rescue a kidnapped CIA operative uncovers a chilling plot, an elite, highly trained U.S. SEAL team speeds to hotspots around the globe, racing against the clock to stop a deadly terrorist attack.
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35
Safe (2012)
After a former elite agent rescues a 12-year-old Chinese girl who's been abducted, they find themselves in the middle of a standoff between Triads, the Russian Mafia and high-level corrupt New York City politicians and police.
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36
Safe House (2012)
A dangerous CIA renegade resurfaces after a decade on the run. When the safe house he's remanded to is attacked by mercenaries, a rookie operative escapes with him. Now, the unlikely allies must stay alive long enough to uncover who wants…
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37
Man on a Ledge (2012)
An ex-cop turned con threatens to jump to his death from a Manhattan hotel rooftop. The NYPD dispatch a female police psychologist to talk him down. However, unbeknownst to the police on the scene, the suicide attempt is a cover for the…
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38
John Carter (2012)
John Carter is a war-weary, former military captain who's inexplicably transported to the mysterious and exotic planet of Barsoom (Mars) and reluctantly becomes embroiled in an epic conflict. It's a world on the brink of collapse, and…
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39
Taken 2 (2012)
In Istanbul, retired CIA operative Bryan Mills and his wife are taken hostage by the father of a kidnapper Mills killed while rescuing his daughter.
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40
Premium Rush (2012)
In Manhattan, a bike messenger picks up an envelope that attracts the interest of a dirty cop, who pursues the cyclist throughout the city.
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41
The Expendables 2 (2012)
Mr. Church reunites the Expendables for what should be an easy paycheck, but when one of their men is murdered on the job, their quest for revenge puts them deep in enemy territory and up against an unexpected threat.
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42
Contraband (2012)
When his brother-in-law runs afoul of a drug lord, family man Chris Farraday turns to a skill he abandoned long ago—smuggling—to repay the debt. But the job goes wrong, and Farraday finds himself wanted by cops, crooks and killers alike.
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43
Underworld: Awakening (2012)
Having escaped years of imprisonment, vampire warrioress Selene finds herself in a changed world where humans have discovered the existence of both Vampire and Lycan clans and are conducting an all-out war to eradicate both immortal…
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44
6 Bullets (2012)
An ex-mercenary known for finding missing children is hired by a mixed martial arts fighter whose daughter has been kidnapped.
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45
The Bourne Legacy (2012)
New CIA operative Aaron Cross experiences life-or-death stakes that have been triggered by the previous actions of Jason Bourne.
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46
Here Comes the Boom (2012)
A high school biology teacher moonlights as a mixed-martial arts fighter in an effort to raise money to save the school's music program.
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47
Chinese Zodiac (2012)
Asian Hawk leads a mercenary team to recover several lost artifacts from the Old Summer Palace, the bronze heads of the twelve Chinese Zodiac animals which were sacked by the French and British armies from the imperial Summer Palace in…
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48
This Means War (2012)
Two top CIA operatives wage an epic battle against one another after they discover they are dating the same woman.
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49
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012)
Sean Anderson partners with his mom's boyfriend on a mission to find his grandfather, who is thought to be missing on a mythical island.
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50
So Undercover (2012)
When the FBI hires her to go undercover at a college sorority, Molly Morris must transform herself from a tough, streetwise private investigator to a refined, sophisticated university girl to help protect the daughter of a one-time Mobster.…