Film

The Package

Other titles called The Package: the 1989 film.

A no-frills action film where Steve Austin plays a courier caught between criminals, gangsters, and mysterious pursuers over a single package. It's the kind of lean, efficient thriller that knows exactly what it is: explosions, fights, and plot complications delivered at a sprint. For viewers who want their action movies honest and their runtime short.

TMDb rating2.6

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John Wick2014

Keanu Reeves as a retired assassin pulled back into crime underworld violence. Beautifully choreographed action, a simple plot that never apologizes for itself, and a clear line from setup to execution.

But It takes itself seriously in a way that demands you do too. No winking at the camera, and the pacing is deliberate rather than breakneck.

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Commando1985

Arnold Schwarzenegger as a retired soldier whose daughter is kidnapped, forcing him into a rampage against mercenaries. Pure action cinema: inventive kills, quotable dialogue, and the kind of confidence that makes absurdity feel earned.

But It's flagrantly '80s in its politics and sensibilities. If you need your action movies to feel contemporary, this won't help.

Commando poster

Death Wish1974

Charles Bronson as an architect turned vigilante after his family is attacked. A lean revenge thriller that influenced everything that came after, moving with purpose and never wasting a scene.

But It's deliberately grim and handheld, almost documentary in tone. The violence is presented as tragedy, not spectacle, which can feel heavy.

Death Wish poster

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The wildcard

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Ultraviolet2006

Both are courier-under-pressure stories that strip plot to its skeleton, but Ultraviolet does it with baroque visual insanity rather than efficiency—the same skeleton in wildly different costumes.

Milla Jovovich as a vampire-like warrior in a neon-soaked future, hunted by authoritarian forces. Pure visual excess: the action is barely grounded in physics, prioritizing style and spectacle above all logic.

But It's aggressively artificial and narratively incoherent. If you need plot logic or grounded fight choreography, this will feel like a migraine.

Ultraviolet poster
More like this (8)

Crank2006

Jason Statham as a hitman poisoned and forced to keep his adrenaline spiked through sheer mayhem. Deliberately unhinged filmmaking that matches its premise: propulsive, visually wild, and genuinely funny.

But It's aggressively chaotic. The style overwhelms the story, which is either exhilarating or exhausting depending on your patience for visual noise.

Crank poster

Dredd2012

Karl Urban in a future-cop action thriller that's essentially a siege film. Efficient world-building, genuinely inventive violence, and a lead performance that never cracks character for a joke.

But Judge Dredd isn't known to general audiences, so the world-building can feel like homework. Also genuinely brutal for an action film.

Dredd poster

Lockout2012

Guy Pearce as a wisecracking ex-con sent to rescue the president's daughter from a space prison. Knowingly fun, with strong chemistry between leads and action that never takes itself seriously.

But It's lighter and more comedic than most action films, which means the stakes never quite land. If you want tension, this isn't it.

Lockout poster

Fast Color2019

Gugu Mbatha-Raw on the run with a supernatural ability, pursued by mysterious forces. It blends sci-fi premise with car chase thrills while exploring motherhood and legacy with genuine weight.

But It's slower and more introspective than typical action cinema. The spectacle serves character, not the other way around.

Fast Color poster

Haywire2011

Gina Carano as a covert operative double-crossed and hunted across continents. Steven Soderbergh directs with cool precision, and the action scenes are shot like dance sequences.

But Carano is a fighter, not an actor, so the dialogue scenes can feel stiff. Also very quiet and controlled where you might expect bombast.

Haywire poster

Ninja: Shadow of a Tear2013

Scott Adkins as a ninja seeking revenge for his wife's death, delivering inventive hand-to-hand choreography and a genuinely committed performance in a modest revenge thriller.

But It's made on a shoestring budget and it shows. The acting outside action sequences is rough, and the plot is tissue-thin even by action standards.

Ninja: Shadow of a Tear poster

Midnight Run1988

Both feature a reluctant protector hauling a package (human or otherwise) through hostile territory, but Midnight Run invests deeply in the relationship between pursuer and pursued, turning the journey into the point.

Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin as a bounty hunter and his fugitive target, forced into an extended chase across America. It's smart action-comedy where the dialogue is as entertaining as the setpieces, and the leads have real chemistry.

But It's a talker. The action sequences are secondary to the banter, so if you want explosions and fights, you'll be frustrated by the character moments.

Midnight Run poster

The Night Comes For Us2018

Same delivery-gone-wrong-and-now-hunted premise, but from Indonesian action cinema, which operates on a different aesthetic: longer takes, respect for the choreography, and a willingness to let violence breathe rather than cut it to ribbons.

Joe Taslim leads a breakout action film from Indonesia with some of the best hand-to-hand choreography of the decade. It's gorgeously brutal, taking time to showcase martial arts mastery without cutting away.

But It's subtitled, and the plot is genuinely thin—mostly a vehicle for action sequences. It also doesn't pull punches on gore.

The Night Comes For Us poster

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