If there’s one thing that cinema proves time and time again, it’s that audiences love to root for a hero. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes I prefer a stimulating drama that makes me think about world events, or having my wits scared senseless by one of the many great horror movies we’ve had this year, but classic Hollywood-style heroes versus villains storylines never get old.
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Don’t take my word for it, all it takes is a look back to see which films brought cinema goers out in droves: protagonist-driven action and adventure films. While your mind might immediately drift towards superhero movies when you hear ‘action and adventure’, this wasn’t solely the case in 2025 as we were spoiled with different types of films that fall under the same bracket, but still had the core premise of a hero (of heroes) who we could all get behind.
With that in mind, what better time to look back and celebrate the onscreen heroes who really stood out in 2025?
Thunderbolts* (the antiheroes)
There’s a reason why I’m kicking off this list with Thunderbolts*, and the fact that I’m typing this whilst wearing a Thunderbolts* T-shirt should tell you exactly just how much I loved this mind-bending entry into the MCU.
Instead of giving us the usual superhero team-ups that have made the Avengers series so beloved, Thunderbolts* went for something completely different by pairing up several villains that earned our ire over the years and instead giving them an opportunity to overcome their personas. Admittedly, trying to get audiences to have an emotional connection with the bad guys is a tricky thing to pull off, but it’s a testament to Thunderbolts* that by the end of the film, I knew I had seen one of Marvel’s all-time greatest films. For the effortlessly charming Bob alone, this movie is worth another rewatch before the end of the year.
Superman (the beacon)
While Thunderbolts* played with our expectations of what a hero can be, Superman went back to basics by focusing on a tried and true hero, except this time having to deal with the realities of what that means in a modern world. After all, we know that Superman is largely unstoppable when it comes to brute strength, but that’s exactly why Nicolas Hoult’s Lex Luthor and his plan to make ordinary folks believe that Superman is anything but a hero is so genius.
Seeing how Superman operates in a world full of disinformation is a great reflection on our modern times, and an ingenious way of shaking up the usual DC formula we’ve seen with previous big-screen versions of the Man of Steel. If the rest of James Gunn’s up-and-coming DCU is half as good as Superman then we’re all in for a treat.
Ballerina (the assassin)
John Wick has become one of the biggest action heroes of the last decade but as we all know, the world inhabited by Keanu Reeves’ unstoppable assassin is a big one, and he is far from the only killer on the block. Getting the chance to experience the world of assassins through a fresh pair of eyes is a great way of breathing new life into this franchise, and that’s exactly what we got with Ballerina.
Now fronted by Eve Macarro (Ana de Armas), Ballerina gave us an all-new badass heroine to cheer on, and the way in which the action unfolded had myself (and the rest of the audience) on the edge. The film doesn’t shy away from the fact that Eve is smaller than a lot of the adversaries she goes up against, but it leans into that by showing how aware she is of her surroundings and how to use them to her advantage. It’s a wild ride from start to finish and I hope that we get more Ana de Armas-led action films because of it.
Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning (the weathered soldier)
To be honest, this entire list could have just been about how Tom Cruise is a real-life hero. As a true proponent of cinema, Cruise has been trying to up the ante with every film he stars in, and when it came to delivering the final entry in the long-running Mission Impossible franchise, the man pulled out all the stops. The fact that the poster shows Cruise holding on to a propeller plane in mid-flight, thousands of feet above ground, lets you know right away that Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning is an adrenaline-pumping masterpiece from start to finish.
Prior to the film’s release, we had already seen Ethan Hunt endure everything from climbing the Burj Khalifa to driving a motorbike off a cliff, but all of those experiences proved that no one could handle the impossible quite like him. Although we see a changed Ethan in The Final Reckoning, one who has suffered so much loss over an entire franchise of blockbuster action, he is still the stoic who’s ready to take up the call, should he choose to accept it (which he always does).
How to Train Your Dragon (the rule breaker)
It might seem like an odd qualification for a hero to break rank and go against what’s expected of them, but in the case of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III (to use his full name), it fits the bill rather nicely. After all, in a world where everyone’s convinced that dragons are designed to bring nothing but death and destruction, an attempt to bridge the gap between humans and these winged creatures takes some guts.
Given just how beloved the original How to Train Your Dragon is, it was always going to be tricky transitioning the story into live action, but this newer take still holds true to what made the blossoming friendship between Hiccup and Toothless the dragon so endearing in the first place. Plus, seeing Gerard Butler step into the same role of Hiccup’s father (whom he previously voiced) is just too good to miss.
There are plenty of other heroes coming to Cineworld screens in 2026, so take a look at our upcoming schedule to see what’s on the horizon.
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