7 Must-Watch Netflix Movies of 2025 So Far, Ranked: ‘Havoc,’ ‘Back in Action’ and More

Thus far in 2025, Netflix‘s original movies haven’t quite hit the same heights that the streamer has previously reached.

That may be because the Oscar-bait films are being held back until the latter part of the year. If that’s the case, the list of Netflix’s best original movies will look very different at the end of 2025.

In the meantime, Watch With Us has selected the seven best Netflix movies of 2025 so far.

Admittedly, this list is action-heavy, but it’s the genre that Netflix does best. There are also some comedy and romance options, as well as two standout animated selections.

7. ‘Back in Action’ (2025)

After extended absences for different reasons, Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz got their respective comebacks in Back in Action. The duo play Matt and Emily, a pair of CIA agents who faked their own deaths after someone tipped off their enemies during their final mission.

In the present, Emily and Matt are married and the parents of Alice (McKenna Roberts) and Leo (Rylan Jackson). The kids don’t know anything about who their parents used to be, but they get a crash course when Emily and Matt’s cover identities are blown and the entire family is targeted by an old adversary.

Back in Action is streaming on Netflix.

6. ‘La Dolce Villa’ (2025)

Scott Foley fully embraces his rom-com phase in La Dolce Villa, but the only reason Eric (Foley) has come to Italy is because his daughter, Olivia (Maia Reficco), is seriously considering a permanent move there after investing her inheritance in an abandoned property.

Eric is so concerned with keeping Olivia from making a mistake that he almost doesn’t realize that Italy has a great deal of appeal for him as well. And once Eric meets the town’s mayor, Francesca (Violante Placido), the romantic sparks inevitably fly between them. It’s a charming love story, even though it’s pretty predictable.

La Dolce Villa is streaming on Netflix.

5. ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ (2025)

KPop Demon Hunters is perhaps Netflix’s most surprising smash hit of the year. Despite the title, this isn’t a production from South Korea, although it does lampoon the way that KPop groups and Korean television shows have become a global phenomenon.  The story revolves around a popular KPop act, Huntr/x, whose members double as demon hunters when they aren’t on stage.

However, the lead singer, Rumi (Arden Cho), is secretly part demon herself, and she’s scared to reveal the truth to her bandmates. Meanwhile, the demons figure out that they can front their own KPop group, The Saja Boys, and steal the devotion of Huntr/x’s fans as well as their souls. This is one of the most visually imaginative animated movies in recent memory, and it probably could have played very well in theaters.

KPop Demon Hunters is streaming on Netflix.

4. ‘Exterritorial’ (2025)

Keep an eye out for Jeanne Goursaud after her performance in the German action thriller Extraterritorial. Goursaud showed off some real action chops while playing former soldier Sara Wulf, the widowed mother of a young boy named Josh (Rickson Guy da Silva). During a routine visit to the American Consulate in Germany, Josh goes missing. More alarmingly, the security footage has been altered to make it appear that Josh never accompanied Sara to the consulate.

Since the German police are helpless to find her son, Sara takes matters into her own hands and goes deeper into the consulate to look for Josh. Dougray Scott has a dark turn as Erik Kynch, one of the consulate’s primary security officials. It’s his job to make sure that Sara’s search comes to a permanent end.

Extraterritorial is streaming on Netflix.

3. ‘Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl’ (2025)

In the age of CGI animation, it’s refreshing that a very old-school title like Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl still stands out as one of the best of the year. This full-length animated film revisits the eccentric inventor named Wallace (Ben Whitehead) and his loyal dog, Gromit.

For their latest misadventure, Wallace has invented a robotic gnome, Norbot (Reece Shearsmith), to take over the household chores. Gromit’s fears about Norbit are proven to be correct when their old adversary, Feathers McGraw, reprograms Norbot and the other gnomes in a scheme for revenge and world domination. It’s as silly as it sounds, and we love it.

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl is streaming on Netflix.

2. ‘Bullet Train Explosion’ (2025)

If you’ve never seen the 1975 Japanese action thriller The Bullet Train, don’t worry. Bullet Train Explosion is more of a thematic sequel, although it does reference its now 50-year-old predecessor. Think of it as Speed on a train, as a mad bomber forces the Hayabusa 60 to maintain an unsafe speed or else everyone on board will be killed. The bomber also demands a large ransom for their lives from everyone in Japan.

While Detective Yoshiharu Kawagoe (Kenji Iwaya) attempts to find the bomber outside of the train, head manager Kazuya Takaichi (Kazuya Takaichi) tries to save everyone on Hayabusa 60 after the passengers discover what’s happening. This is an unusually smart thriller that lets its heroic characters make good choices instead of leading them down the wrong path for the sake of contrivance.

Bullet Train Explosion is streaming on Netflix.

1. ‘Havoc’ (2025)

The Raid director Gareth Evans delivered another great action thriller in Havoc. Tom Hardy stars as Patrick Walker, a homicide detective who is estranged from his fellow cops and on the payroll for a local businessman, Lawrence Beaumont (Forest Whitaker). There’s a gang war brewing among the Chinese Triad, and Beaumont’s son, Charlie (Justin Cornwell), is unintentionally at the center of it.

Charlie and his girlfriend, Mia (Quelin Sepulveda), were framed for murdering a Triad leader, and now there’s a price on their heads. Beaumont wants Walker to find and protect Charlie at all costs, but he doesn’t realize that he’s become a target as well.

Havoc is streaming on Netflix.

Led by Senior Editor and experienced critic Jason Struss, Watch With Us’ team of writers and editors sees almost every movie and TV show from the distant past to the present to determine what’s worth your time and money. Our countless hours of multimedia consumption — combined with years of experience in the entertainment industry — help us determine the best movies and TV shows you should be streaming right now. 
 
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.