The 9 Must-See Movies of 2025 (So Far)

As 2025 unfolds, the film industry continues to captivate audiences with an array of groundbreaking and unforgettable movies. From thrilling sequels to original masterpieces, here’s a look at ten must-see movies that have made a significant impact this year.

1. The Alto Knights

Set in post-war New York’s criminal underworld, this sweeping mafia epic brings the golden age of organized crime to life with haunting realism. Barry Levinson directs with a patient, old-school confidence that makes every cigar-lit negotiation feel mythic. Robert De Niro delivers two of his most impressive performances yet, portraying rival mob bosses Vito Genovese and Frank Costello with eerie precision. The film examines loyalty and power as traditions crumble and ruthless ambition takes over. Each frame glows with the richness of mid-century detail—from smoky jazz clubs to blood-soaked boardrooms. Levinson’s storytelling is both nostalgic and mournful, like a eulogy for an era that can’t stop repeating itself. In the end, it’s less about crime than the cost of clinging to legacy.

2. Sinners

Beneath the neon glow of a morally bankrupt city, this neo-noir thriller follows a group of lost souls bound by guilt and obsession. Emerald Fennell directs with her signature mix of wit, venom, and visual boldness, creating a world where confession becomes currency. The narrative drips with irony, exposing how easily virtue collapses under the weight of temptation. Florence Pugh and Barry Keoghan bring a volatile chemistry that keeps every scene charged with danger and allure. Each decision the characters make pulls them deeper into a spiral they can’t escape. Fennell’s command of tone—darkly comic yet emotionally devastating—cements her as one of the boldest voices in modern cinema. By its end, redemption feels like a mirage shimmering just out of reach.

3. Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius)

From its opening notes, this psychedelic portrait of Sly Stone explodes with rhythm, color, and raw emotion. Donald Glover transforms the traditional biopic into a surreal, funk-infused odyssey through genius and madness. The story moves like music itself—improvised, electric, and unpredictable. LaKeith Stanfield captures the soul of an artist consumed by his own brilliance, playing Sly as both visionary and victim. Every performance scene radiates a wild, hypnotic energy that blurs the line between concert and confession. Glover’s approach refuses to sanitize or simplify, instead embracing chaos as a form of truth. The result is an audacious, soulful meditation on creativity’s cost and the loneliness of brilliance.

4. Sorry, Baby

Early-2000s New York comes alive in this bittersweet exploration of young love and artistic ambition. Greta Gerwig crafts a film full of small heartbreaks and gentle humor, proving that intimacy can be as cinematic as spectacle. Saoirse Ronan and Jeremy Allen White give painfully honest performances, their chemistry shifting from electric to exhausted with heartbreaking authenticity. The camera lingers on quiet spaces—kitchens, subways, blank canvases—where emotions hum just below the surface. Dialogue feels lived-in and raw, like a conversation overheard through thin apartment walls. Every argument and silence builds toward the inevitable ache of growing apart. By the final scene, it’s less about heartbreak than the quiet grace of letting go.

5. 28 Years Later

The world of the infected has never felt more terrifying—or more human. Danny Boyle returns to his post-apocalyptic vision with blistering energy, reuniting with writer Alex Garland for a story steeped in both horror and hope. Jodie Comer leads with fierce vulnerability, grounding the chaos in a deeply personal journey of survival. The film expands the mythology while staying true to its roots in isolation and fear. Boyle’s kinetic camerawork and raw, urban imagery make every chase and silence pulse with dread. Yet beneath the blood and rubble, there’s a striking sense of resilience—the stubborn refusal to die quietly. What emerges is not just a sequel, but a requiem for civilization itself.

6. Black Bag

In a world built on secrets, this icy espionage thriller strips away the glamour of spycraft to reveal its corrosive core. David Fincher directs with surgical precision, turning each movement, glance, and silence into a piece of psychological warfare. Jessica Chastain commands the screen as an operative haunted by duty and betrayal, her performance as cold as the metal briefcases she carries. The film’s minimalist design and muted palette heighten the sense of dread, every shot engineered like a chess move. Fincher’s control of tension is absolute, and his world feels eerily plausible in our age of hidden wars. Twists arrive not as shocks but as inevitabilities, each more unsettling than the last. By the end, the question isn’t who wins—but who still remembers what truth feels like.

7. Bring Her Back

A father’s love collides with cosmic horror in this gripping sci-fi thriller from Sam Hargrave. Idris Elba delivers a powerhouse performance as a man who will tear reality apart to find his missing daughter. The story begins grounded in grief but soon spirals into mind-bending territory, fusing emotional depth with explosive action. Hargrave’s direction balances intensity with intimacy, ensuring every fight scene carries a heartbeat beneath the chaos. Visually, the film is stunning—a collision of shadow, smoke, and dreamlike distortion. What might have been a simple rescue story transforms into a meditation on loss and the limits of human faith. By its haunting finale, Bring Her Back leaves viewers questioning what they’d risk for a second chance.

8. Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning

The long-running spy saga reaches its explosive conclusion with a film that feels both monumental and surprisingly intimate. Tom Cruise once again defies physics and age, delivering a performance that’s as much about endurance as it is about emotion. Christopher McQuarrie directs with masterful control, staging set pieces that push cinematic spectacle to its limit. Yet beneath the stunts and chaos lies a story of loyalty, sacrifice, and the cost of obsession. The action sequences—shot across multiple continents—are choreographed like symphonies of precision and panic. Every fall, every leap, feels like a farewell to an era of practical filmmaking. By its end, The Final Reckoning doesn’t just close a franchise—it crowns a legend.

9. My Dead Friend Zoe

Blending grief, humor, and supernatural tenderness, this indie standout explores the strange spaces where love lingers after loss. The story follows a veteran haunted—literally and emotionally—by the memory of her fallen friend. Natalie Morales’s direction is gentle but fearless, finding beauty in vulnerability and absurdity alike. The film’s tone shifts effortlessly between deadpan comedy and quiet sorrow, creating a world where ghosts feel as real as guilt. Zoe Kravitz and Ed Harris deliver understated, deeply affecting performances that ground the surreal premise in raw humanity. The writing never resorts to sentimentality, instead finding truth in awkward conversations and unspoken forgiveness. It’s the rare story about death that leaves you feeling more alive.