A Glean movie guide
All Action, Zero Romance
Just the adrenaline.
High-octane thrillers and gritty survival stories that skip the love interests.
Handpicked for this guide
The movie list
- 01
Mad Max: Fury Road
A visual marvel where the leads share mutual respect and survival instincts rather than a romantic arc.
An apocalyptic story set in the furthest reaches of our planet, in a stark desert landscape where humanity is broken, and most everyone is crazed fighting for the necessities of life. Within this world exist two rebels on the run who just might be able to restore order.
- 02
The Raid: Redemption
A relentless martial arts masterpiece focused entirely on a high-stakes tactical police raid.
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 the cover of pre-dawn darkness and silence, an elite swat team is tasked with raiding the safe house in order to take down the notorious drug lord that runs it. But when a chance encounter with a spotter blows their cover and news of their assault reaches the drug lord, the building's lights are cut and all the exits blocked. Stranded on the sixth floor with no way out, the unit must fight their way through the city's worst to survive their mission. Starring Indonesian martial arts sensation Iko Uwais.
- 03
Dredd
A lean, stylized siege film that prioritizes professional duty and survival over personal drama.
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 called Judges, who combine the duties of judge, jury and executioner to deliver a brutal brand of swift justice. But even the top-ranking Judge, Dredd, discovers that taking down Ma-Ma isn’t as easy as it seems in this explosive adaptation of the hugely popular comic series.
- 04
John Wick
A masterclass in world-building and stylized combat driven by a singular, lethal mission of revenge.
Ex-hitman John Wick comes out of retirement to track down the gangsters that took everything from him.
- 05
Predator
The ultimate sci-fi survival hunt where a military squad faces an extraterrestrial threat in the jungle.
A team of elite commandos on a secret mission in a Central American jungle come to find themselves hunted by an extraterrestrial warrior.
- 06
Sisu
A nearly silent, brutal war film about one man’s refusal to die while protecting his gold from Nazis.
When an ex-soldier who discovers gold in the Lapland wilderness tries to take the loot into the city, German soldiers led by a brutal SS officer battle him.
- 07
The Night Comes for Us
A hyper-violent martial arts epic centered on a former enforcer seeking redemption through combat.
After sparing a girl's life during a massacre, an elite Triad assassin is targeted by an onslaught of murderous gangsters.
- 08
Guy Ritchie's The Covenant
A grounded war drama focusing on the unbreakable bond of honor and debt between two soldiers.
During the war in Afghanistan, a local interpreter risks his own life to carry an injured sergeant across miles of grueling terrain.
- 09
13 Assassins
A patient, strategic samurai epic that culminates in one of the most impressive final battles in cinema.
A bravado period action film set at the end of Japan's feudal era in which a group of unemployed samurai are enlisted to bring down a sadistic lord and prevent him from ascending to the throne and plunging the country into a war-torn future.
- 10
The Fugitive
A classic cat-and-mouse thriller that stays laser-focused on a man clearing his name while being hunted.
Wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife and sentenced to death, Richard Kimble escapes from the law in an attempt to find the real killer and clear his name.
- 11
Extraction
A gritty mercenary tale defined by its impressive long-take action sequences and protective mission.
A hardened gun-for-hire's latest mission becomes a soul-searching race to survive when he's sent into Bangladesh to rescue a drug lord's kidnapped son.
- 12
Wrath of Man
A cold and calculated heist thriller that keeps its protagonist's motives strictly professional and lethal.
A cold and mysterious new security guard for a Los Angeles cash truck company surprises his co-workers when he unleashes precision skills during a heist. The crew is left wondering who he is and where he came from. Soon, the marksman's ultimate motive becomes clear as he takes dramatic and irrevocable steps to settle a score.