![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/the-running-man.jpg\")
image courtesy of paramount pictures<\/p>\n2025 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\u2019t matter if it was a limited or wide release, but a premiere didn\u2019t count. For instance, Gore Verbinski\u2019s Good Luck, Have Fun, Don\u2019t Die premiered at Fantastic Fest, but won\u2019t reach the eyes of the masses until February 2026. Furthermore, we left off superhero movies, so no Superman or Thunderbolts* here.<\/p>\n
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\u2019t all that bad). Which is the top action film of 2025? Let\u2019s find out.<\/p>\n
10) The Running Man<\/p>\n
image courtesy of paramount pictures<\/p>\n
While not the best of the 2025 Stephen King movies<\/a>, Edgar Wright\u2019s The Running Man<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n Now, Wright\u2019s movie never dives into the societal commentary as much as it should, and that hurts it, but for the most part it\u2019s a breezy time at the movies. It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n 9) Avatar: Fire and Ash<\/p>\n Does Avatar: Fire and Ash<\/a> tread the same ground as the first two films<\/a>? It does, but it\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n But it\u2019s 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\u2019s nice to see her getting as meaty a role as Varang.<\/p>\n 8) A Working Man<\/p>\n A Working Man<\/a> is yet another winner under Jason Statham\u2019s leading man<\/a> action movie hero belt. Like with The Beekeeper, it serves as further proof that Jason is never better than when he\u2019s in the middle of a revenge-focused tale. In this case, a rather gritty one.<\/p>\n Statham heroes are always at their best when they\u2019re fighting for others. And, in this case, he\u2019s facing a mountain of adversaries to rescue his boss\u2019 daughter. It\u2019s a simple hook, and thanks to the smart decision to establish Arianna Rivas\u2019 Jenny Garcia as a friendly presence in the life of Statham\u2019s Levon Cade, it\u2019s a battle we believe he\u2019d fight.<\/p>\n Stream A Working Man on Prime Video.<\/p>\n 7) Mission: Impossible \u2013 The Final Reckoning<\/p>\n It\u2019s not without its flaws, but Mission: Impossible \u2013 The Final Reckoning<\/a> was a fine way to send Tom Cruise\u2019s 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\u2019s an emotional epic with a few extremely well shot set pieces. <\/p>\n There\u2019s an argument to be made the franchise peaked with Fallout (and that\u2019s a strong argument), but it was still important to craft a narrative that could serve as a goodbye to Cruise\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Stream Mission: Impossible \u2013 The Final Reckoning on Paramount+.<\/p>\n 6) Predator: Badlands<\/p>\n Dan Trachtenberg is three for three<\/a> when it comes to his revitalization of the Yautja franchise. Predator: Badlands<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s a movie that neither feels too brief nor does it overstay its welcome.<\/p>\n 5) Sisu: Road to Revenge<\/p>\n Arguably better than its predecessor<\/a>, Sisu: Road to Revenge<\/a> is an even brisker watch than its brief 89-minute runtime would indicate. It feels more like 45 minutes of non-stop action.<\/p>\n Jorma Tommila is once again fantastic as \u201cthe man who refuses to die,\u201d Aatami Korpi. Even when he isn\u2019t speaking, we register every emotion he\u2019s feeling. Not to mention, he\u2019s given an even better lead adversary to take on in Stephen Lang\u2019s Igor Draganov. He and Korpi have an intense history and, as far as villain send-offs go, Draganov\u2019s is great.<\/p>\n 4) Ballerina<\/p>\n It may have faltered at the box office, but Ballerina<\/a> is a great addition to the John Wick canon. It\u2019s a true shame that, for whatever reason, the built in audience of the Wick franchise didn\u2019t turn out in full force.<\/p>\n Ana de Armas\u2019 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\u2019s 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\u2019s Charon and the best massive action sequence of the year (aka the latter half of the movie).<\/p>\n Stream Ballerina on Starz.<\/p>\n 3) Novocaine<\/p>\n Jack Quaid had a fantastic 2025 overall, from Companion to his cameo in Heads of State, but Novocaine<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n Even with a sizable 110-minute runtime, Novocaine flies by at a lightning pace, and even upon rewatches it doesn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n Stream Novocaine on Prime Video.<\/p>\n 2) Sinners<\/p>\n The best horror movie of 2025<\/a> is also one of the best action films. And, like the next entry on our list, there\u2019s a good chance Ryan Coogler\u2019s Sinners<\/a> does quite well come awards season.<\/p>\n It\u2019s 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\u2019s another ambitious work from Coogler that really sticks the landing throughout. There\u2019s a very good chance this one is considered a classic in 20 years.<\/p>\n Stream Sinners on HBO Max.<\/p>\n 1) One Battle After Another<\/p>\n![\"Avatar](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Avatar-Fire-and-Ash-Oona-Chaplin-Varang.jpg\"){kind=avatar}
Image Courtesy of 20th Century Studios<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/a-working-man.jpg\")
image courtesy of amazon mgm studios<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/final-reckoning.jpg\")
image courtesy of paramount pictures<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/predator-badlands-scene.jpg\")
image courtesy of 20th century studios<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/sisu-road-to-revenge-guns.jpg\")
image courtesy of sony pictures releasing<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ballerina.jpg\")
image courtesy of lionsgate<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/novocaine.jpg\")
image courtesy of paramount pictures<\/p>\n![\"Michael](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Michael-B-Jordan-in-the-poster-of-Sinners.jpg\")
Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures<\/p>\n![\"Leonardo](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Leonardo-DiCaprio-in-One-Battle-After-Another.jpg\")
Image Courtesy of Warner Bros<\/p>\n