Although moviegoers’ interest in superhero movies has decreased and these works do not sell billions of dollars like in the past, 2025 was a brilliant year for this genre. DC’s new cinematic universe finally celebrated its opening with “Superman” and Marvel released three big movies, none of which were disasters. In this article, we rank the superhero movies of 2025.
Despite the negative views of superhero films, these films are not going through a disastrous time. Yes, maybe fans are a little jaded and aren’t willing to step into theaters for just any movie, but a good superhero movie often gets what it deserves. This year, we had 5 superhero movies (The Venomous Avenger was also released this year, but it’s a 2023 release), not all of them great, but worth watching if you’re a fan of the genre.
5- The Old Guard 2
- Director: Victoria Mahoney
- Actors: Charlize Theron, Kiki Lynn, Marwan Kenzari, Mathias Khonaerts, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Uma Thurman, Henry Golding
- Rating of IMDb users to the movie: 5.1 out of 10
- Rotten Tomatoes rating for the movie: 27 out of 100
It must be admitted that the quality of Netflix originals has largely declined in recent years. Of course, they surprise us every now and then, but we can’t ignore the fact that this streaming giant has produced soulless and boring original works, and unfortunately, the superhero movie “Guardians of the Galaxy 2” is one of them.
2020 and at the peak of the pandemic era when the first part arrived. The movie had an interesting idea: a small group of immortal warriors who fight for humanity and keep their eternal secret hidden. It wasn’t a masterpiece or even remarkable, it was a fun action-fantasy that allowed Charlize Theron to shine. It wasn’t the kind of film that needed a sequel, in fact it was largely forgotten, and we still don’t know exactly why it was made.
“Guardians of the Galaxy 2” is a total market mess. The script is clearly hastily written, has many holes and you can hardly relate to the characters. The film becomes more and more confusing, and finally brings us to a strange ending that is both weak and ineffective. It’s been a few years since “two-part movies” have been talked about, and this movie, for example, is supposed to end its story with the second part, but I doubt that anyone is waiting for the third part.
One of the film’s few good moments is the opening action sequence in which Andy’s (Theron) band of warriors take down an arms dealer. This sequence had good energy, but unfortunately, the rhythm of the film falls after that. Yes, we have a few more action sequences in the film but when the dramatic sequences are awful, action alone is not enough. In addition, the action sequences of the first part were much better.
The supporting cast isn’t bad, but as usual, Charlize Theron has the upper hand. He’s the most developed character in the film, and meeting him is a relative thrill, even though the script goes out of its way to ruin even this character. Guardians of the Galaxy 2 is undoubtedly one of the weakest superhero movies of 2025, and it can hardly even be described as a superhero movie. Theron once again carries the film but even she can’t save it. If there is going to be a third part, we hope that Netflix will be a little obsessed and make a better work.
4- Captain America: Brave New World
- Director: Julius them
- Actors: Anthony Mackie, Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Zosha Rockmore, Giancarlo Esposito, Liv Tyler, Tim Blake Nelson, Harrison Ford
- Rating of IMDb users to the movie: 5.6 out of 10
- Rotten Tomatoes rating for the movie: 46 out of 100
“Captain America: Brave New World” arrived at a time when the Marvel Cinematic Universe was going through its worst days. After a six-part plot in the unnecessary and not so good series “Falcon and the Winter Soldier”, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) finally took up the famous shield in a movie version, but unfortunately this movie has nothing to say and fueled the bad days of Marvel.
The movie largely ignores the events of the series, aside from the presence of Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez) and Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lambley), if you haven’t seen that TV series, you’re not missing out. Instead, the 35th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has an unexplained fascination with the franchise’s second film, The Incredible Hulk (2008). With the death of William Hurt, now the role of Thaddeus Ross is entrusted to Harrison Ford and he will link the adventures to “The Incredible Hulk”.
The general idea of the film is completely based on formulas and stereotypes. Captain America and his team are sent to stop the illegal sale of adamantium (the metal inside Wolverine’s body); The metal that came out of the celestial body that appeared in the middle of the Indian Ocean in the movie “The Immortals”.
After a brief skirmish with the leader of the Serpent Society, Sidewinder (Giancarlo Esposito), Sam and Joaquin are invited to the White House by Thaddeus Ross, now President. At Sam’s insistence, Isaiah also steps into the ceremony to make up for his thirty-year detention by the United States government. The thing is, Isaiah – and a few others – have been brainwashed into killing Ross. Sam spends most of the film trying to prove Isaiah’s innocence, even though the US government is probably aware of mind-controlling villains. However, they don’t seem to care what motivates an old man to suddenly want to kill the president.
Anthony Mackie has tried his best but it is not enough. Sam’s relationship with Joaquin and Isaiah is a bit contrived and echoes Wilson’s brotherly banter with Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan, who makes a brief appearance in the film), Mackie also fails to fill the Steve Rods void. It is strange that the film has five screenwriters, but none of them seem to have any knowledge of Captain America. They’ve even tried to steal and reuse the story ideas of The Winter Soldier, but they don’t do it right either.
“Brave New World” is not as disjointed as “Thor: Love and Thunder” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantum Mania”, or “Marvels”. But it is not an attractive movie either. Julius Ona has created some fairly good action sequences, but Sam delivers his best fight in the first 15 minutes. The rest of the narrative is full of setting the stage for something that never comes.
Despite a budget of nearly 200 million dollars, the film is extremely desolate and small; It is more similar to TV shows. There is no story, the special effects are ordinary, and the confrontation between the US and Japanese navies is a joke. The Marvel Cinematic Universe once connected dozens of different story lines, but now we should care that Ross doesn’t have a very good relationship with his daughter Betty (Liv Tyler).
“Brave New World” also has a collection of deplorable villains. From Sidewinder, who we understand has no role in the events, to Samuel Stearns (Tim Blake Nelson) suddenly returning from The Incredible Hulk. Giancarlo Esposito and Tim Blake Nelson are good actors, but they are not given a chance here. The movie wants to get to the Red Hulk as quickly as possible, and when it does, you will definitely be disappointed.
Captain America: Brave New World isn’t the worst Marvel movie in years, it’s mediocre at best. The film is full of contradictions and irrelevant elements; Probably because they shot the movie several times to try to make it interesting. The movie’s reliance on “The Incredible Hulk” is also really questionable. This movie has no idea what it wants to be and ends up coming and going. Even the fans of Duatse series have already forgotten this movie.
3- Thunderbolts
- Director: Jake Schreier
- Actors: Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, Louis Pohlman, Geraldine Visonafen, Chris Bauer, David Harbor
- Rating of IMDb users to the movie: 7.1 out of 10
- Rotten Tomatoes rating for the movie: 88 out of 100
Until just a few years ago, no series could come close to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but after “Endgame”, this world became more and more chaotic, its formulas became ineffective, and interesting characters left and were replaced by half-baked supporting characters. While the conditions did not seem to change, the “Thunderbolts” arrived; This movie has something that sets it apart from most recent Marvel projects; It really feels like it’s trying to be a “good movie”.
After a long time, we see some kind of purpose in “Thunderbolts”. Yes, of course, in some parts, the makers have had to connect the film to a larger cinematic universe, but this film makes you care about the characters and establish an emotional connection with them. . This is, of course, partly due to strong gameplay and a story that isn’t afraid to tackle heavy themes. Yes, these ideas are not original, but their mere existence gives the film a sense of comprehensibility and earthiness, so that sometimes you forget that this is a commercial blockbuster. This movie doesn’t prove that Marvel is back on top, but it gives us a little hope.
The Thunderbolts are a chaotic and unconventional group of unfortunates tricked into killing each other. But Yelena (Florence Pugh), John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Ghost (Hannah John Common) and Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko) find that they must stick together to survive, especially when they come up against the naive Bob (Louis Pullman), who has no idea what a powerful superhero he is. Add The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) and The Red Guard (David Harbour) to the mix, and you have a Suicide Squad you really don’t want to see die at the end.
Of course, it might be unfair to compare this movie to Suicide Squad, especially when you see the similarities that Thunderbolts does better than all of them. The characters’ relationships are much more believable, their goals are logical and believable, and they’re not hanging around Jared Leto. There is a real sense of camaraderie here.
And it is this friendship that gradually unites them against a physical and existential threat. Yelena is the leader of the group this time, and Florence Pio plays her role in the best way. It’s not easy to portray a character who experiences emptiness, but it’s much harder to make it seem real and a little heartbreaking. Pew has done exactly that and proves that he is currently one of the best actors in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
In a way, Yelena is a reflection of fans who are tired of the monotony of Marvel’s work. Just like Yelena, the franchise has kind of wandered from project to project with no real sense of the importance of the final destination. But even without this issue, Yelena manages to emphasize themes such as loneliness, personal value and depression. This type of character is not very innovative, but compared to what we are used to, it feels new.
All of the characters are connected to this idea in some way, but the most notable has to be newcomer Lois Pullman. Bob is a heavier representation of these themes, and Pullman manages to keep the character emotionally effective. He’s a former drug addict who, looking to prove his worth to the world, underwent an experimental operation that now turns him into a nearly invincible human tank. But his dark side, which stems from his self-loathing and depressed nature, causes him to use these powers for absurd purposes. His storyline is not that complicated, but the fact that the film manages to deal with such issues with maturity and grace definitely earns it points. In addition, the design of this character is simply attractive and manages to transform from a noble person to a terrifying creature when necessary.
The rest of the cast is also good, but one or two of them seem to play their roles out of duty, and that’s sad. Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes is somewhat of a true Heber of the group, but here he’s nowhere near as charming. Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ performance as Valentina Fontaine is not good either, you quickly realize that this is a paycheck casting and nothing more. He is not a disaster, but he does not have much commitment to his role.
This movie could have gone the other way of Marvel, but going back to a more desolate narrative was the right decision. We’ve seen Marvel’s biggest and loudest works, but here after so long, you feel like the movie has put the characters first. Despite this focus, the film still knows when to display violence and mayhem. The battles have a familiar feel, but they use creativity and look serious. Whether it’s the dynamic camera movement of the team’s first encounter with each other, or the “Dark Knight”-style overturning of trucks in the desert; These moments are very memorable.
However, “Thunderbolts” is not a film that can be claimed to have revolutionized Marvel. It is definitely taking good steps, but it also has its own problems. The film is edited in a way that does not allow any scene to breathe and some moments are forcibly included in the film. It’s not Jake Schreier’s fault, after all, when you’re making a movie for Marvel and Disney, you have to play by their rules. “Thunderbolts” is a satisfying movie, and we hope Marvel doesn’t leave these characters alone.
2- Superman
- Director: James Gunn
- Actors: David Cornsot, Rachel Broznahan, Nicholas Holt, Eddie Gathegi, Anthony Kerrigan, Nathan Fillion, Isabella Merced
- Rating of IMDb users to the movie: 7.1 out of 10
- Rotten Tomatoes rating for the movie: 83 out of 100
87 years ago, the first Superman comic book appeared. 47 years ago, Christopher Reeve and Richard Donner made audiences believe that a man could fly. 19 years ago, Bryan Singer tried to rebuild the franchise. 12 years ago, Zack Snyder tried to make it dark and gloomy. And 3 years ago, James Gunn was hired to get the DC Cinematic Universe back on track, and his first attempt to do so is Superman.
The film does not intend to tell the story of the origin of Superman, which is a good thing. Instead, Gunn starts the story in the middle of an episode, and it’s certainly the worst subplot he’s ever written. “Superman” has hundreds of interesting comics to narrate, but Gunn wants to narrate his own story; A story that unfortunately cannot be relied on even in the framework of a fictional world. A war between two imaginary countries – whose names we have not even heard of – why should it matter to us? In this world, is the whole world at peace when Superman’s concern is the war between these two countries? And Gunn insists and talks about this war until everything becomes a parody.
The originator of this war is Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), who wants to weaken Superman (Ovid Cornsot). He fights Clark Kent from the shadows, harasses him, and even launches a covert social media campaign to tarnish his reputation and turn public opinion against him. Despite Clark’s best efforts to stay out of conflict, he is easily deceived and sometimes lets his emotions get the better of him, even ruining his relationship with Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan). However, when faced with a moment when public sentiment toward him has changed, Superman must be careful about his next steps.
The problem with the character of “Superman” has always been that he is too powerful. This issue has made it difficult to bring him to the cinema screen; James Gunn and his team have found a good solution to this problem; They show how invincibility can be a weakness. Gunn’s “Superman” may be a superhuman, but sometimes he is kinder and more vulnerable than a normal person.
Another thing that Gunn relies on with Superman is making him what we expect him to be. No more dark and sad superheroes here, Clark is lovable and funny. In a day and age when all superheroes are painted like The Dark Knight and Iron Man, it’s okay to be a warm and sincere person instead of another cynical and sarcastic superhero.
One of the important themes of the film is the question of Superman’s motivation. Early in the film, as he recovers in his solitary fortress, his robots show him a recorded message from his Kryptonian parents as he recovers from the sunlight; A message that was damaged during his journey to Earth. When the full contents of that message are fully revealed to the world, Superman is shaken and the world’s trust in his intentions shaken. This small change in Superman’s parental intentions is a potential twist, but it works here.
It’s interesting that some fans take issue with James Gunn’s “Superman” focusing on him as an outsider, as if it’s something new. Don’t forget that the story of “Superman” was basically a story about immigration. A man who has moved to a new house and wants to build a good life for himself and those around him.
Whatever the message from his Kryptonian parents, Clark has experienced another life and the values he believes in were taught to him by his Earth parents. The film doesn’t say this outright, something that could easily be included in the dialogues; Instead, in a small, quiet moment on the farm, Gunn shows us how his family raised him to be down to earth and a good person.
The three main actors, Cornsot, Broznahan and Holt, are fantastic. Cornsot is to be commended more, he does a wonderful job of not imitating his predecessors, looking comfortable in the role and never feeling pressured to be compared to them. Rachel Brosnahan’s Louis is a smart journalist who asks tough questions and gets to the heart of things. Holt also offers a take on Lex Luthor that we haven’t seen before. For most of the movie, you might be asking yourself why he’s so insistent on taking Superman down, and at the end, you get the best answer to that question.
Other secondary characters are also good. Both Lois’ colleagues and the Justice League, including Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion), Hawkgirl (Isabelle Merced) and Mr. Traffic (Eddie Gattegi); This character not only has one of the best action sequences in the movie, but his role in the story is bold, and we even hope that a movie centered on him will be made in the future. We also have Krypto in the movie, a wonderful dog that you won’t easily forget. . His presence brings a special freshness to the film.
“Superman” is a standard classic superhero movie. It’s entertaining, has interesting moments and doesn’t bother anyone, it can even be argued that it is the most comic book movie adaptation of this superhero. One movie alone doesn’t make a new cinematic universe, but “Superman” took the first step and gives us hope that sooner or later we will see DC at its peak and on par with Marvel.
1- The Fantastic Four: First Steps
- Director: Matt Shakman
- Actors: Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Eben Moss-Bachrak, Joseph Quinn, Julia Garner, Sarah Niles, Mark Gatiss, Natasha Lyonne
- Rating of IMDb users to the movie: 7 out of 10
- Rotten Tomatoes rating for the movie: 86 out of 100
Not counting the remake, there have been four Fantastic Four movies to date, one of which, directed by Roger Corman, was never released. The first two films, released in the mid-2000s, were relatively successful at the box office but wasted the comics’ true potential. In these films, Ewan Gruffydd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans and Michael Cheklis played the main roles. Then we saw a completely unsuccessful reboot in 2015, which can be described as a disaster; It’s funny how 20th Century Fox rushed to make this movie in order to keep the Fantastic Four franchise, but eventually Disney bought the company to acquire the rights to the franchise as well as the X-Men. Since the purchase was made in 2019, Marvel fans have been impatiently waiting for X-Men and Fantastic Four to enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Disney, of course, wasted no time. They quickly started the development of the new version of “Fantastic Four” and this movie went to theaters some time ago and fortunately it did not disappoint anyone. In this version, Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn), and Ben Grimm (Eben Moss-Bachrak) are depicted as the saviors of Earth 828 from the very beginning. Having done many heroic deeds, they are now on the verge of facing their greatest challenge yet, as they must defend Earth against a space god named Galactus (Ralph Inson) and his mysterious messenger, the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner). And this story coincides with Sue Storm’s pregnancy.
Director Matt Shekman has used a special retro-futuristic look for the film. The sets are all physically created to give the film a more authentic feel. With the amazing look of the film, you will feel like you have been thrown into the distant past. The production design of “First Steps” is truly one of the best we have seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to date. The Baxter Building, where the team lives and works, also looks fantastic.
Due to the importance of Fantastic Four: First Steps, the search to find the ideal four actors became an exhausting process that lasted nearly three and a half years. At several points, big names such as Adam Driver and Du Patel were heard for the role of Reed Richards, and Mila Kunis and Margot Robbie for the role of Susan Storm. Fortunately, Marvel left no stone unturned in this regard. Pascal is everywhere now. This is his fourth film in 2025 and he wasn’t the first choice for the character, but once you start watching the film, you don’t see him anymore. You only see Reed Richards’ character. Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ibn Moss-Bachrak are also satisfying. You can’t imagine anyone else who could have played these roles better. These characters really remind you of a real family and have good chemistry.
As mentioned, we’ve had several cinematic versions of Marvel’s first family so far, but something was always missing; . Either the story, or the villains, or the actors, or the aesthetics that different directors like Tim Story were going for, always something went wrong. But this is not the case in “first steps”. Everything that Shakman and his team were looking for has worked exactly as planned in the framework of the film they made.
In superhero movies, one of the key aspects to success is the visuals. “First Steps” relies heavily on visual effects; From Reid’s elastic abilities, to Sue’s, to Johnny’s fiery abilities, and Ibn Mas-Bachrak’s stone body. And all of them are almost perfect. Although there are CGI in the film, they are never artificial. And of course, they are included in the story in an imperceptible way. Sometimes you may not even notice them, but they have an impact.
“The first steps”, thanks to the presence of Galactus, also enters the field of philosophy and ethics. When he claims Reed and Sue’s first child, the narrative goes beyond the level of a superhero battle and reaches the question of the intellectual and moral independence of mankind. The heroes’ refusal to accept this demand and their return to earth to rely on knowledge, diplomacy and human creativity is the central point of the film. This scientific-existential approach emphasizes that real growth is possible only by relying on human abilities.
If there is one small fault with this film, it is that the story, although very good, moves forward a little predictably. Since Marvel and Kevin Feige have said that all four characters will be in the next “Avengers,” some of the film’s dramatic moments lose their impact because we know that nothing will happen to these characters. Despite this, the film is exactly what the fans wanted. A high-quality, well-made and attractive film.
“Fantastic Four” is one of the most well-known Marvel comic book franchises, don’t forget that it formed the basis of their comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1961, this superhero team not only ushered in the Golden Age of Marvel, but also changed the face of comic book superheroes forever. Many of the characters you know, from Doctor Doom, Kang the Conqueror and Galactus to Silver Surfer, Ronan and Black Panther, all come from Fantastic Four comics. Therefore, it was very important that “First Steps” respect the legacy of this series and not repeat the previous mistakes, and that’s exactly what happened.
Source: superherohype
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