By William Ludwig
With 2025 coming to an end, I wanted to look back on the best and worst parts of the year—specifically regarding the newly released movies, TV shows, and video games that have taken audiences by storm. 2025 was, above all else, a year centered around build-ups and almost unreachable expectations. And while some projects fell short of these expectations, many surpassed them, providing audiences around the world with unforgettable experiences—each driven by emotion, action, and suspense.
In my previous article, I covered January through April—and in this part, I’ll be hitting on the biggest projects released during May through August of 2025.
May
Kicking off Part 2, May is where the year really found its footing, at least in my view. The first major release was Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts, later rebranded as The New Avengers. The film faced immense pressure after years of Marvel damaging its image through rushed storylines, uneven reception, a handful of strong projects, and some outright poor writing. With Captain America: Brave New World opening to mixed reviews, Thunderbolts needed to exceed high expectations. Many were also skeptical about whether it could effectively set up 2026’s Avengers: Doomsday without making it feel rushed or unearned. Ultimately, Thunderbolts broke away from the typical MCU formula, prioritizing dramatic character arcs, intense story beats, and themes of mental health over nonstop action. The film was also beautifully shot, aided by cast and crew connections to A24, known for its strong visual direction. Finally, it sets up Avengers: Doomsday in a compelling way by tying into Fantastic Four: First Steps, ending with a scene in which the heroes watch the Fantastic Four’s ship enter their atmosphere—sparking widespread online excitement over who is aboard and why they’ve entered this universe.
Another exciting theater experience of this month is Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning. This movie is action packed, thrilling, and ridiculously preposterous. Most Mission: Impossible movies have never excited me very much, leaving no real sense of urgency or stakes behind. With both Final Reckoning however, I felt the stakes of the entire movie, unsure of how they’d end it off and whether or not the main cast of characters would even survive the mission or stop the antagonists. However, this movie does fall short of its predecessor Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning, which took its action sequences and stunts to another level that sadly wasn’t achieved in its sequel.
Final Destination: Bloodlines was also released this month, providing yet another gory game of mouse trap that will certainly leave audiences skeptical of MRI’s and pennies for the rest of their lives. Apart from being a gory mess, Final Destination: Bloodlines bring a lot of new and interesting elements to the franchise that left previous entries feeling empty and lackluster. Probably one of the more interesting elements of the film is meeting a survivor of the curse as our main cast of characters look for a way out; however, I do find it strange that the writers decided to make her live in a jagged, messy, and dangerous house in the middle of a field of spikes and barbed wire—not the safest way to escape death, I’ll say.
On the disappointing side, Karate Kid: Legends and the Lilo and Stitch live-action remake were… definitely something. While Karate Kid: Legends wasn’t nearly as bad as Lilo and Stitch, it still fell short, offering lackluster story beats, passable action, and an overused plot that made for a mildly fun but ultimately forgettable watch. Lilo and Stitch, however, was a complete mess. Controversial character changes altered the core story, leaving audiences feeling Disney played it too safe for mass appeal. The new ending—where Lilo is taken into state custody and her sister gives her up to pursue her career—renders the entire film pointless.
But my favorite part of the month was the release of Doom: The Dark Ages, a videogame prequel to both Doom(2016) and Doom: Eternal. The power dynamic in the game is spectacular and the atmosphere has never been more brutal. This game throws you directly into the middle of a medieval era of the Doom universe, pinning you against gothic variants of familiar enemies as well as presenting some new challengers that definitely give players a run for their money. With expansive difficulty sliders and more weapons than ever before, this game is accessible for all players both familiar and new to the franchise. And with confirmed DLC’s on the way, Doom: The Dark Ages remains my favorite game in the franchise to date.
June
June was another great month for 2025 movies, bringing in projects like Kpop Demon Hunters, Squid Games Season 3, and F1 which took audiences by storm.
Getting the worst of the month out of the way, 28 Years Later was not what I expected—and not in a good way. The trailers promised an intense, brutal, and well-directed film, and while parts of it deliver, the second half completely falls apart as the tone, story, and stakes disappear. The film becomes wacky and convoluted, trying so hard to be gut-wrenching that it forgets basic logic and how to earn its emotional impact. The already divisive shaky, sped-up camerawork from the original returns in an even worse form, leaving 28 Years Later firmly at the bottom of my June 2025 list.
Kpop Demon Hunters, however, was a very pleasant surprise. When the movie first released I wasn’t very excited and didn’t have the desire to watch it, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a well written plot with beautiful colors and cinematography well coupled with catchy music. This movie was a massive hit with audiences around the world—especially with young kids—scoring multiple awards nominations and winning a Golden Globe for best animated movie.
Squid Games Season 3 was another highlight of the month, capping off one of the most popular shows of all time, while leaving just enough room for possible sequels, even though the creators claim there won’t be any(for now). While the ending was definitely controversial for some people, I found it to be a fantastic conclusion for the show’s characters while pushing thought-provoking themes that left many fans satisfied.
Ballerina is a great example of how to continue a series without destroying the original material. Ballerina is a spin off film set in the John Wick franchise following Ana de Armas’ character, Eve Macarro—a dancer turned assassin—as she seeks revenge on the killer cult that murdered her father, defying her superiors and crossing paths with John Wick, all while discovering her own dark past and sister. While John Wick is in the film, he is never done wrong and remains an imposing, unstoppable force throughout his time on screen, posing a threat to Macarro’s plan as well as her life.
Predator: Killer of Killers was no doubt my favorite project of the month, finally capitalizing on long awaited requests from fans of the franchise by splitting the film into three anthology stories taking place throughout different moments of human history: The Viking Age(841 AD), Feudal Japan(1609-1629 AD), and World War 2. This movie is exciting, action packed, emotional, and gorgeous, with beautiful art direction and dynamic animation. On top of being a great stand-alone film, Predator: Killer of Killers manages to connect itself to previous entries in the franchise, setting up plot points to be expanded upon in future projects.
July
July continued the momentum of the previous months, raising the bar for action and drama. One of the month’s first major releases was Jurassic World: Rebirth, a film I personally enjoyed. While its story felt half-baked and the cast often seemed there for the paycheck, the movie delivered some of the best dinosaur action in the entire franchise, building suspense that kept audiences on edge. Although it’s easily the best-shot and directed entry in the series, its mediocre story elements make Jurassic World: Rebirth a thrilling yet ultimately forgettable experience.
Unlike Jurassic World, James Gunn’s Superman will remain an unforgettable theater experience, nearly perfecting the super hero genre thematically. Superman kicked off James Gunn’s new DCU in the best way possible, alienating itself from entries in the previous DCEU that focused more on dark tones and edgy themes than real heroism. Superman sets the bar high for the future of the DCU, and proves James Gunn’s ability to work between many genres with different characters, storylines, and themes, making him a perfect candidate to lead this massive franchise.
Wrapping up the highlights of the month, Fantastic Four: First Steps successfully maintained the hype from Thunderbolts without falling into the MCU’s trap of repetitive plots and one-dimensional characters. The team finally feels like a real family, something past film adaptations failed to achieve. Like Thunderbolts, the movie is visually strong, showing clear care in its world design, atmosphere, and cinematography. It also sets up Avengers: Doomsday perfectly, expanding on questions raised in Thunderbolts’ post-credit scene and building even more excitement for a film still over seventeen months away.
August
While previous months elevated expectations with each release, August faltered slightly. Starting off, Weapons was probably one of my favorite releases of the month. However, the third act completely falls off once the main antagonist loses her power over the main cast. The horror of the film was built throughout its atmosphere, lighting, and music—or lack of music, for that matter. So many parts of this movie were terrifying because of the night time setting and mystery, but the ending throws these elements in the trash entirely, leading to a sequence that was more tonally confusing than satisfying as a conclusion. Conversely, The Naked Gun (2025) is one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen. A large majority of the jokes land and even when they don’t, the stupidity of the comments still make me burst out laughing, making for one of the most enjoyable movies of the year.
Peacemaker Season 2 further proved James Gunn’s strengths as a director, delivering action, comedy, and drama that pushed John Cena to his limits and showcased just how perfect he is for the role—and how deserving he is of bigger opportunities in both comedic and serious projects. The season somehow cranks the chaos of season one up to eleven, using wild story beats and twists that go beyond shock value to meaningfully develop the plot and character arcs. However, with a third season confirmed not to happen, audiences are left questioning where the story goes next, especially after a finale that clearly sets up future threads without relying on major DC cameos.
Overall
Overall, May through August perfectly captured what defined 2025: massive expectations, creative risks, and projects that either collapsed under pressure or rose far beyond it. Even with its missteps, the year proved that when filmmakers and developers prioritize strong characters, atmosphere, and meaningful stakes, the results can be truly unforgettable.