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The honorable mentions are now out (you can check out the list of the action films that didn’t quite make it here) and I’m sure there will be much deliberation as to what films I included but this next list should definitely stir some things up. It’s Round 2 of the Best of 2025 and we are now going to run the gauntlet of the films that ranked from 20 to 11. I didn’t mention this in Round 1, but this ranking doesn’t include any comic book films as it is straight up action cinema so keep in mind that there are the Superhero flicks this year that I will be counting down in a separate ranking.
For now, let’s go to war and break down the action films that made the back 20! It’s 20 to 11 on the Best Action-Flix films of 2025!
20) FIGHT OR FLIGHT
I never got around to doing a full review when this one dropped but I should have. it’s time to give Fight or Flight a little love here on the site as it succeeded in raising the blood pressure during its running time. I was eager to sample the hyper-kinetic lunacy of the new actioner Fight or Flight starring Josh Hartnett and when I finally got around to viewing it, I really wished that I had taken care of business earlier. Hartnett stars in the John Wick/The Raid infused bombastic action-comedy from first time director James Madigan, and he made the argument that he should definitely do more of these films in the future as his inaugural effort is close quarters mayhem ramped up to comic book lunacy levels.
This film has definitely climbed the levels of my must-see flicks for 2025 and here we are with it cracking the top 20. Hot off his starring role in M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap, Josh Hartnett was ready to channel a little John Wick and The Raid while in a Die Hard scenario on a crowded plane loaded with fierce and lethal killers. Hartnett stars as a mercenary who gets in over his head when he takes a job to take down a target only to switch it up and protect his mark when he is surrounded by lethal assassins everywhere. Cue the ballistic, brazen action design!
Hartnett stars alongside an outstanding cast that includes The Mandalorian’s Katee Sackhoff as well as action star and martial arts phenom Marko Zaror (John Wick Chapter 4, The Killer’s Game, Diablo). Other noteworthy casting additions include Charithra Chandran (Bridgerton), Julian Kostov (Shadow and Bone), and Juju Chan (Lights Out). Monkey Man’s top tier fight performer and choreographer Brahim Chad handled the blistering and eclectic bloody violent action design, and he demonstrated why he’s one of the best in the business. He has definitely put his stamp of creative action chaos on this one. The chainsaw sequence alone was a chef’s kiss, and Hartnett rekindles his action star status and goes all in while taking a beating as well. All in all, this one has the vibe and dark humor tone of David Leitch’s Bullet Train which starred Brad Pitt and a host of well knowns including Andrew Koji and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and this will make the perfect second act of a double header with that film. Kudos to all involved
19) PREDATOR: KILLER OF KILLERS
Unfortunately, Dan Trachtenberg’s second stab at the Predator franchise in Predator: Badlands didn’t make the cut, but his first effort of 2025 was the definitive Predator film we should have gotten after the second film. Predator: Killer of Killers is an animated bloodbath of epic proportions, and it was simply all kinds of bad ass from start to finish. Hardcore fans, such as I, got a blood-soaked love letter to the IP and the carnage displayed was elite and insane. Doing an animated anthology movie was an ambitious idea in its own right and it set the Predator universe on fire.
Predator: Killer of Killers highlights the Predators along with the unfortunate human warriors who must defend themselves against them throughout the centuries. Nonstop ultra-violence, gore and unabashed mayhem are in order here and this animated offering just might be the best Predator movie since the first two, even Prey.
The animation is beautiful in its own right and radiates a dynamic and visceral violent tone that will remind die hards like myself of the old school Mortal Kombat video games that flooded the arcades back in the 80’s and 90’s. There are three separate stories that assault the viewer, and each story serves up a different warzone where survival is a fleeting thought. Seeing the Yautja engage with the Samurai was worth the price of admission alone.
This is just another iteration of the iconic monster and fans should revel in the fact that we are getting more of these films after the last few flopped hard. Like Killer of Killers, Badlands looks to give fans something different while at the same time paying respect and homage to the franchise and these beloved warriors.
This is just another iteration of the iconic monster and fans should revel in the fact that we are getting more of these films after the last few flopped hard. Killer of Killers looks to give fans something different while at the same time paying respect and homage to the franchise and these beloved warriors and it hits hard, brutal and fast from start to finish.
18) HAVOC
Upon release, Havoc from action maestro Gareth Evan of The Raid films divided fans and I was on the bandwagon for this one as soon as I heard about. Tom Hardy is the very definition of beast mode in, and this Netflix original is a blood drenched ode to the hyper-fierce bullet ballets of the past.
I asked the question of if the long wait for Havoc was worth it and the answer is of course. Is it perfect? Again, no movie is perfect and that is all in the eye of the beholder. Viewers of cinema can say a movie is picture perfect but at the end of the day, it’s an opinion but here even with the nitpicks of characterization flaws and clumsy dialogue, Evans really owns the film and makes it his own while paying the ultimate respect to some of his favorite action filmmakers and movies. He really knows what to do with the genre and this is the closest thing we will get to the heyday of Hiong Kong cinema when safety wasn’t an issue and the action and subsequent shot was all that was important. This is stripped down, bare bones, catastrophic, mind-numbing gore, violence and action design in its most primitive form. This is the preverbal kitchen sink and then some and it works on all cylinders and should please even the most hardcore action fan.
Tom Hardy proves that he owns his roles here once again and even though he’s seriously flawed, you want him to succeed and here there are no good guys to celebrate here but just varying degrees of bad and worse. It’s an ugly and unapologetic world that Evans has created and he makes no qualms for what it is. This is a night of pure chaos seen through the eyes of Hardy’s Walker and it is poignant that it all transpires on what should be the most peaceful of nights in the year. The rest of the cast do justice with the material they are given and even though some are given less to do when they should have been given way more, it’s still great to see them do their thing when they are on screen.
Havoc is as advertised. It’s an homage to Hong Kong heroic bloodshed. A cue taken from the bloody bullet ballets of the 80’s. A savage depiction of the worse of men and humanity. A clear cut decent into hell that ends with no redeeming value in sight. If you love action films and most importantly, horror level violent action films that are unforgiving and unflinching then you should love this too. Afterall, when you ramp this one up on your Netflix queue, you know exactly what you are getting and Gareth Evans, Tom Hardy and cast and crew throw all of their blood, sweat and tears at you to entertain. You’re either going to love this film or hate it and I for one am for the first one. Now can we have The Raid 3 please and thank you.
17) GHOST KILLER
Asian Action cinema was well represented this year, and this offering was at the top of the mountain. Ghost Killer is a pure vengeance from beyond the grave from BAD CITY Director Kensuke Sonomura and it is a relentless, ferocious blood-soaked Actioner!
Ghost Killer is a hitman tale with a supernatural twist, and it hails from one of Japan’s most prolific filmmakers in Kensuke Sonomura who is responsible for two of the most recent, off the chain actioners in Bad City and Hydra. The film tells the story of a hitman who gets a second chance at revenge when he possesses the body of an innocent girl who agrees to complete his blood drenched quest to put those responsible for his demise six feet under. What transpires is hyper-kinetic, pulse pounding action and bullet riddled theatrics for any serious hardcore genre fan to enjoy. Blending genres with relentless and ferocious action design and no holds barred brutality, Ghost Killer redefines the hitman subgenre as it carved a gauntlet through streaming when it hit this past July. Unapologetic action design and violence highlight what is already something new in the genre.
16) NOBODY 2
This past July, it was time to vacay and go weapons hot with director Timo Tjahjanto’s hyper-kinetic follow up Nobody 2 starring Bob Odenkirk. Just like the first film, this sequel left me with a smile on my face as it was every bit absurd, ferocious and hysterical but ramped up to the next level. To put Odenkirk’s Hutch Mansell on vacation with his family only to have to exterminate bad guys with mass amounts of extreme prejudice was nothing short of genius. I am a fan of the first film, albeit a mild fan but this sequel, with Timo Tjahjanto helming checked all the boxes for me with grandiose action design and balls to the wall violence and hijinks.
The sequel topped the original and quite possibly made me love the first flick even more when I go back for repeat viewings. It’s National Lampoon’s Vacation if Clark Griswold was a secret ultra-killer with family issues and his vacation was interrupted by bullets and grenades, broken bones, blood, carnage and family love!
I have admitted in the past that while I did enjoy the first Nobody, it did leave me a little wanting but Timo swooped in to save the day and the follow up outdid the original in every way imaginable. I mean when you have a still hot Sharon Stone hamming it up as the main antagonist, what could go wrong? Daniel Bernhardt, who is Odenkirk’s very own personal action trainer and had a cameo in the first film, has a larger role as her main henchman, and he gets cut loose to take on RZA in the rousing finale featuring swords and slicing. Bloody beautiful.
15) A WORKING MAN
Yeah, yeah. Jason Statham’s second collaboration A Working Man with director David Ayer didn’t reach the brutal, bloody heights of The Beekeeper, but it still had The Stath doing The Stath things and even though you have to suspend disbelief, it’s mother fucking Jason Statham!
Statham is always in beast mode and here he gets to do everything his legion of fans come to expect from ye action icon. The Stath personifies one man army aesthetics once again as he carves his way through the usual gauntlet of wanna be tough guys who don’t know what’s coming. At this point, any fans of Jason Statham and his film arsenal do not need any reason to sit down in a theater when one of his joints hits. He’s the master of his domain and even though the villains pale in comparison to the ones in The Beekeeper, who cares as they are just aimless fodder to be dispatched of.
A Working Man is deliciously ultraviolent and absurd in the best ways possible. Statham goes full-on ravager once again with bone snapping action design, enough bravado to fill two action movies and mass amounts of blood and the climax is action cinema nirvana. If you were one of the ones that didn’t like this one…well…I can’t help you. We all worship at the church of Statham and you know you’ll be watching this one again so just surrender and give in.
14) DEATHSTALKER
In the 90’s, Daniel Bernhardt ruled the video store shelves dishing out one action drenched title after another. From successfully taking over the Bloodsport franchise from Van Damme, to starring in what is arguably the best DTV actioner of that decade in True Vengeance, Bernhardt had the look, the physique and most importantly the lethal skills. Bernhardt has continued to work steadily in films throughout the decades and has even been featured prominently in high profile action films like John Wick, Extraction 2 and Ballerina but he has been delegated to henchman status for all of these.
The henchman status changed with a resounding clap of thunder in 2025 as Bernhardt finally took the reins of the fantasy/action reboot Deathstalker and this was a role he was born to play. A loner, anti-hero and no-nonsense killing machine in all his glory. Deathstalker is the perfect homage to Roger Corman’s classic films and the sword and sorcery genre in genre, and it is loaded with retro oozing action, visuals and a bad ass hero this world needs.
Like I said, I am a huge fan of the Roger Corman produced series of DTV films that planted tongue firmly in cheek and with this new vision, Kostanski brought a darker and more bloody vide to the proceedings with Bernhardt’s titular character facing off against a horde of monsters, demons and the worse of man. Kostanski also pays homage to the earlier films by utilizing practical creature suits, prosthetic FX make-up and stop-motion animation hailing from the filmmaker’s Action Pants FX shop. It’s blood-soaked old school in the best way possible. Deathstalker reminds fans why we love these types of films so much and hopefully Bernhardt gets to play the roaming warrior for many years to come.
13) ISOLATED
Get ready to root for the bad guy as Isolated is the sleeper action sensation of the year. It is a bombastic and dizzying crime thriller with feverish, non-stop action design from the master of martial arts action cinema Koichi Sakamoto!
Isolated is a rare gem that demands to be seen by the most serious hardcore action fan. We root for the bad guys and are entertained by a non-stop barrage of bloodletting fight choreography that is unrivaled. The movie moves at a rapid-fire pace, and it never lets up until the end. Yoshiki Yamaguchi is the ultimate bad ass, and he owns the screen when he is on it from a physical and emotional standpoint. Koichi Sakamoto’s action design is a feverish and eclectic merging of empty-handed combat, bladed weaponry warfare and the kitchen sink thrown in for good measure. Basically, it’s strap in and hold on tight because this one’s a fast-moving bogey that never lets up.
This is stripped down, lean and mean martial arts bad assery at its finest and it exceeds well above its means. The movie throws it back to the heyday of Asian action cinema and never asks for forgiveness.
12) SNIPER: THE LAST STAND
You got me again! In the past, the Sniper franchise has famously gone undetected with new installments with radio silence with regard to a new entry coming out. Once again, there is no Intel whatsoever and then BOOM! A new Sniper movie hits once again featuring the return of Chad Michael Collins as Brandon Beckett, resident Black Ops bad ass and elite sniper. 2025 started off strong with the latest tactical onslaught of bullets, bravado and close quarter carnage with the latest edition from the long running franchise.
Collins is back along with fellow bad ass ally Ryan Robbins as Zero and they’re taking a last stand as the latest dropped in the first of the year like a salvo of mortars detonating the battlefield. This January saw the return of the blockbuster action franchise that started all the way back in the 90’s with OG snipers Tom Berenger and Billy Zane.
The Sniper franchise continues to reinvent itself and ever since Collins took over with Sniper: Reloaded, this has been the go-to action series to feed the adrenaline needs of its intended target audience (which I’m a part of). The set pieces and action design in this latest entry are killer with a healthy dose of both firepower and brutal fisticuffs. Feel free to make as many more of these as you’d like.
Cut off, outmanned and outgunned, this soldier is going to complete his mission dead or alive and the 30 minute plus climax is everything we could want from an action film with savage shootouts, gnarly beatdowns and axes! Yes axes! This is hands down the best installment in the franchise since Berenger and here’s to the next entry which is coming soon!
11) AFFINITY
Marko Zaror’s English Language Headlining Debut in 2025 Titled Affinity was a Full Throttle Love Story with a Whole Lotta Ass Kicking Bravado!
Action is king and flawless action design is a god and here Zaror, along with director Brandon Slagle and company fill the tight and lean running time with as much blunt force trauma and extreme trickery that they can. Zaror is savage poetry in motion and every time he unleashes his skills; it is nothing short of a brutal aesthetic that is unmatched. There’s plenty of Gun Fu ferocity, bladed weaponry CQB altercations and general bad assery to be had at every turn. Zaror is the star, but he allows co-stars Louis Mandylor and Brooke Ence ample opportunity to exterminate with extreme prejudice and Mandylor gets to execute one of his best fight scenes to date encompassing some tier one knife fighting skills. For the finale though, it’s pure, prime Zaror who reminds us why he is front and center just in case any of us forgot. How dare we.
To sum everything up into a nice little package, Marko Zaror’s English language debut as a leading man is a full throttle love story with severe martial arts punishment and carnage! Combining bladed weaponry, a little Gun Fu and a whole lotta ass kicking bravado, Zaror delivers in blood-soaked spades as director Brandon Slagle reaffirms that he is the go-to elite indie action filmmaker.
A pulverizing synth score and beautiful cinematography heighten this insane action extravaganza and thus proves without a shadow of a doubt that Zaror is the quintessential action icon! Oh, and action star and filmmaker Louis Mandylor slices his way through a savagely choreographed fight sequence showcasing some sick skills as a bonus.
Add this one to your must-see action film arsenal!!!
There it is! The best action films of 2025 from 20 to 11! You know what’s coming next! Look out for the Top 10 most bad ass flicks of the year including the one film that will win the coveted best action film of the year when the final body hits the ground and the dust settles! Lock ‘N Load, because it’s gonna be brutal!
