The best revenge movies: what to watch on Netflix

The desire for justice sometimes turns into a thirst for revenge. This extremely strong feeling has inspired storytellers for centuries – from Shakespeare to Dumas – and continues to inspire directors of top films.

Movies with such plots keep you in suspense to the very end. Netflix has unveiled the best movies about heroes desperate for revenge.

Ballerina

The protagonist of Lee Jong-hyun's 2023 South Korean action film Ballerina is seeking revenge above all else. The dying wish of the talented dancer Min-hee (Park Yoo-rim) is that the gang of sex traffickers who ruined her life be destroyed once and for all.

Do Revenge

Teenage revenge is especially ruthless. Writer-director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (whose directorial debut, Someone Great, was released on Netflix in 2019) has made her second feature film. The plot is a classic one: when Drea (Camila Mendes), the most popular girl in school, and newcomer Eleanor (Maya Hawke) become victims of cruel rumors at their luxurious private school (run by the charming headmistress Sarah Michelle Gellar), the duo join forces to ensure that their tormentors get what they deserve.

Eye For An Eye

When a cartel boss (Xan Sejudo) is released from prison, he moves into a retirement home where he expects to retire in peace. His two inept sons take over his empire. But the tense film by Spanish director Paco Plaza is not just about family drama: unbeknownst to the drug lord, a nurse at the facility (Luis Tosar) has suffered through the sad career of a "thief in law" and cannot resist an overwhelming desire for revenge.

The Foreigner

Martin Campbell's "The Foreigner" begins, as many films in this category do, with a brutal tragedy.  When a terrorist attack leads to the death of an innocent teenager, the girl's father is consumed with the desire to avenge her. Jackie Chan plays Quan's grieving father, a restaurateur and former special forces operative during the Vietnam War. In his pursuit of justice, Quan finds himself in a tangled game of cat and mouse with an ambitious Irish politician (Pierce Brosnan).

Kate

The clock is ticking in Cedric Nicolas-Troyan's tense action movie Kate. The protagonist (played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is an assassin who is ready to retire after a difficult assignment. She has one day to take revenge. After learning that she was poisoned by a mysterious stranger, Kate tries to find out who organized her murder - all while her body is gradually weakening from the toxin.

Leon: The Professional

A movie that has long been a classic. At the age of 13, Natalie Portman made her big screen debut as a young protégé of a killer in Luc Besson's action movie. The now iconic film begins with the murder of the girl's family, after which she takes refuge with her neighbor, the killer Leon (Jean Reno), who reluctantly takes her in and teaches her the tricks of the trade as she seeks revenge.

Message from the King

The action movie tells the story of Jacob (Chadwick Boseman), a man who receives a disturbing mysterious message from his sister in California asking for help. Jacob responds to her pleas, only to find her dead. An investigation begins, fueled by revenge.

Oldboy

Park Chan-wook has created not only an unforgettable revenge thriller but also a landmark work in Korean cinema. The intense action thriller tells the story of a businessman (Choi Min-sik) who is finally released after 15 years of imprisonment in a hotel room. Unsure of why he was held captive, he tries to uncover the truth and discovers a much darker and more disturbing conspiracy than he could have ever imagined.

Your Son

A father's anger drives the intense drama Your Son by Spanish director Miguel Ángel Vivas. After learning that his son was brutally beaten outside a nightclub, surgeon Jaime (Jose Coronado) decides to find out the details of what happened and punish those responsible. As he learns more about the night of the attack, Jaime's obsession only intensifies.

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