2025 was a very good year for horror, a flat-out great year for movies primarily geared towards younger audiences (e.g. A Minecraft Movie, Lilo & Stitch, The Bad Guys 2, etc.), and a solid one for sci-fi, with Bugonia, Mickey 17, and Companion all standing out. But 2025 also saw a number of memorable action films hit the big or small screen. And the ten that follow are the best of the bunch. Either they were genuinely great or just that very entertaining brand of good. For the sake of keeping things succinct, we relegated things to theatrical movies here. Apologies to G20, Havoc, Predator: Killer of Killers, Eenie Meanie, Heads of State, and Play Dirty. It didn’t matter if it was a limited or wide release, but a premiere didn’t count. For instance, Gore Verbinski’s Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die premiered at Fantastic Fest, but won’t reach the eyes of the masses until February 2026. Furthermore, we left off superhero movies, so no Superman or Thunderbolts* here.
Just missing the cut were Bad Man, The Accountant 2, Nobody 2, Primitive War, Jurassic World Rebirth, Jurassic World Rebirth, and M3GAN 2.0 (which really isn’t all that bad). Which is the top action film of 2025? Let’s find out.
10) The Running Man
image courtesy of paramount pictures
While not the best of the 2025 Stephen King movies, Edgar Wright’s The Running Man is admirable for sticking to the text, at least up until the final minutes. It also confirms that Glen Powell has what it takes to be an action star with a surplus of charm.
Now, Wright’s movie never dives into the societal commentary as much as it should, and that hurts it, but for the most part it’s a breezy time at the movies. It’s unfortunate it will go down as a bomb, but one gets the sense Powell will rebound (even still, $110 million was a big gamble here, and a questionable one at that). In the end, this is a fun Saturday afternoon movie for action fans.
9) Avatar: Fire and Ash
Image Courtesy of 20th Century Studios
Does Avatar: Fire and Ash tread the same ground as the first two films? It does, but it’s still a worthy further exploration into the world of Pandora. And, as one might expect, Fire and Ash is gorgeous. There really need be no further example as to why the theatrical industry needs to stick around.
But it’s more than just all gloss, as Fire and Ash at least tries to flesh out this world even more than The Way of Water, which repeated beats of the original film far too often. Not to mention, Oona Chaplin has been delivering fantastic performances for years, and it’s nice to see her getting as meaty a role as Varang.
8) A Working Man
image courtesy of amazon mgm studios
A Working Man is yet another winner under Jason Statham’s leading man action movie hero belt. Like with The Beekeeper, it serves as further proof that Jason is never better than when he’s in the middle of a revenge-focused tale. In this case, a rather gritty one.
Statham heroes are always at their best when they’re fighting for others. And, in this case, he’s facing a mountain of adversaries to rescue his boss’ daughter. It’s a simple hook, and thanks to the smart decision to establish Arianna Rivas’ Jenny Garcia as a friendly presence in the life of Statham’s Levon Cade, it’s a battle we believe he’d fight.
Stream A Working Man on Prime Video.
7) Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
image courtesy of paramount pictures
It’s not without its flaws, but Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning was a fine way to send Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt off into the sunset. The death of the villain, who was essentially supposed to be the big bad of the franchise, is kind of an eye-roller, but for the most part it’s an emotional epic with a few extremely well shot set pieces.
There’s an argument to be made the franchise peaked with Fallout (and that’s a strong argument), but it was still important to craft a narrative that could serve as a goodbye to Cruise’s Hunt, a character he has played for nearly 30 years. In terms of tying a bow on an eight-film narrative, The Final Reckoning does as well as could be expected of it.
Stream Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning on Paramount+.
6) Predator: Badlands
image courtesy of 20th century studios
Dan Trachtenberg is three for three when it comes to his revitalization of the Yautja franchise. Predator: Badlands is yet another shake-up in what is expected of this franchise and yet again it proves that a shake-up was exactly what was required for it to feel fresh.
Making the Yautja the protagonist was a gamble, but Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi imbues Dek with all the personality of a human character. And thanks to consistent set pieces that intertwine themselves into the overarching plot it’s a movie that neither feels too brief nor does it overstay its welcome.
5) Sisu: Road to Revenge
image courtesy of sony pictures releasing
Arguably better than its predecessor, Sisu: Road to Revenge is an even brisker watch than its brief 89-minute runtime would indicate. It feels more like 45 minutes of non-stop action.
Jorma Tommila is once again fantastic as “the man who refuses to die,” Aatami Korpi. Even when he isn’t speaking, we register every emotion he’s feeling. Not to mention, he’s given an even better lead adversary to take on in Stephen Lang’s Igor Draganov. He and Korpi have an intense history and, as far as villain send-offs go, Draganov’s is great.
4) Ballerina
image courtesy of lionsgate
It may have faltered at the box office, but Ballerina is a great addition to the John Wick canon. It’s a true shame that, for whatever reason, the built in audience of the Wick franchise didn’t turn out in full force.
Ana de Armas’ Eve Macarro was a great character to take over the mantle (though it remains to be seen if we truly have witnessed the demise of Mr. Wick), and it would have been great to see where this film’s cliffhanger ending led. But now that seems unlikely to happen at best, so we can just appreciate Ballerina for what it is, which is a chance to say goodbye to Lance Reddick’s Charon and the best massive action sequence of the year (aka the latter half of the movie).
Stream Ballerina on Starz.
3) Novocaine
image courtesy of paramount pictures
Jack Quaid had a fantastic 2025 overall, from Companion to his cameo in Heads of State, but Novocaine was where he proved he could headline a major motion picture. Furthermore, he delivered a performance that was perfectly modulated so that, even when the movie was getting ultra-violent or delving into the theme of betrayal, it never felt particularly heavy.
Even with a sizable 110-minute runtime, Novocaine flies by at a lightning pace, and even upon rewatches it doesn’t grow stale. But the main reason it works is the chemistry between Quaid and the terrific Amber Midthunder. We want them to make it, which only accentuates the impact of the true motivations one half of that dynamic has and the complexity of said motivations.
Stream Novocaine on Prime Video.
2) Sinners
Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
The best horror movie of 2025 is also one of the best action films. And, like the next entry on our list, there’s a good chance Ryan Coogler’s Sinners does quite well come awards season.
It’s amazing how Sinners manages to function as an actioner, a horror film, a period piece, and a drama (with sprinklings of the romance and musical genres) all at the same time. Yet it never feels like the movie is stretching itself thin. It’s another ambitious work from Coogler that really sticks the landing throughout. There’s a very good chance this one is considered a classic in 20 years.
Stream Sinners on HBO Max.
1) One Battle After Another
Image Courtesy of Warner Bros
One Battle After Another may have struggled a bit at the box office, but that’s understandable considering it was a 2 hour and 42-minute action-drama with heavy themes and a budget upwards of $175 million. It was likely always going to struggle. But it’s going to clean up at the Academy Awards, so it will keep attracting viewers on streaming.
Is One Battle After Another a straightforward action film? Action is present, sure, but it’s really an analysis of where the U.S. is at the moment. It succeeds on that front and never makes its runtime feel as long as it sounds. Furthermore, Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw is Sean Penn’s best role for years. But he’s not the only one who excels, as Teyana Taylor, Leonardo DiCaprio, Benicio del Toro, and, especially, Chase Infiniti all turn in performances that represent some of 2025’s best acting.
Stream One Battle After Another on HBO Max.