It’s too soon to say how action movie fans will remember 2025, but so far, the year has done right by them.
Although successful flicks like Superman and Sinners both have some great action moments, neither is a traditional action movie.
When selecting the five best action movies of 2025 so far, the Watch With Us team stuck with the films that are actually a part of the genre.
By the time December arrives, this list may look very different. But we suspect our pick for No. 1 may remain the same.
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5. ‘A Working Man’ (2025)
A Working Man isn’t the greatest Jason Statham action flick, but it does feature the actor doing what he does best: Kicking ass. Statham’s title character is Levon Cade, a construction worker who is trying to move past his time as a commando for the Royal Marines. All Levon really wants is to regain custody of his daughter, Merry (Isla Gie).
Levon is close to his boss, Joe Garcia (Michael Peña), and sympathetic when Russian gangsters kidnap Joe’s daughter, Jenny (Arianna Rivas). To bring Jenny back home to her parents, Levon has to reclaim his killer instinct and rain Hell down on a group of human traffickers. But that kind of violence will blow back on Levon and everyone he loves.
A Working Man is streaming on MGM+.
4. ‘Novocaine’ (2025)
The Boys‘ Jack Quaid gets his action hero moment in Novocaine as Nathan Caine, a seemingly ordinary man whose unique trait is that he’s unable to feel physical pain. Nathan’s had a sheltered life, but he’s finally found someone to love in Sherry Margrave (Amber Midthunder), one of his co-workers at a local bank.
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When Sherry is kidnapped by bank robbers, Nathan takes it upon himself to rescue her. Nathan’s immunity to pain allows him to get pretty far, but even his body can only take so much punishment before the consequences of his actions catch up with him.
Novocaine is streaming on Paramount+.
3. ‘The Accountant 2’ (2025)
Nearly a decade after The Accountant hit theaters, Ben Affleck reprised his role as Christian Wolff in The Accountant 2. In the intervening years between movies, Christian has rebuilt his life, even if finding love remains elusive. But when Christian is linked to a murder investigation, he answers a request from Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) to look into the case and the enigmatic assassin known as Anaïs (Daniella Pineda).
What Christian finds is a conspiracy that’s too big for him to handle alone. That means Christian has to team up with his estranged brother, Braxton (Jon Bernthal), for help. Even after being reunited, the brothers may be completely outgunned by the forces aligned against them.
The Accountant 2 is streaming on Prime Video.
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2. ‘Ballerina’ (2025)
It seemed a little desperate for Lionsgate to call this movie From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, especially since that name change didn’t help it succeed at the box office. Despite the disappointing response at theaters, Ana de Armas is still one of our favorite female action stars and Ballerina‘s reception may improve over time.
Armas plays Eve Macarro, an orphaned woman who was raised as an assassin by the Ruska Roma. When Eve recognizes a chance to get revenge on the cult that murdered her father, she turns her back on her adoptive “family” and risks everything for payback. Keanu Reeves‘ John Wick does appear in this flick, as do Ian McShane as Winston Scott and the late Lance Reddick as Charon. But if you’re going into this expecting it to be John Wick 4.5, then you’re going to be disappointed. It’s a very good action film in its own right, but Ballerina is no John Wick.
Ballerina is available to rent or buy on Prime Video.
1. ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ (2025)
If a film costs $300 million or more to make, it had better be one of the best action movies of the year. Fortunately, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning lives up to its lofty expectations in terms of on-screen entertainment. But with only $584.9 million worldwide, profit may be elusive for this film.
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Regardless, Tom Cruise gets his long-awaited swansong as Ethan Hunt, a character he’s played in eight different Mission: Impossible movies since 1996. For his final mission, Ethan has to prevent the AI known as the Entity from destroying all of humanity to save itself. As you can see in the trailer above, Cruise placed himself in several dangerous stunts in the name of more exciting action that feels real. The results speak for themselves.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is available to buy on Prime Video.
To be considered “the best,” these films and series can be visually engaging, intellectually stimulating or simply just fun to watch, but the one trait they must have is that they are all, in some way, entertaining. We then check which platform they are streaming on and how you can access them as a subscriber. No algorithm nonsense or paid endorsements here — our recommendations are based purely on our love and interest for the films and shows we love.
