Sparky Reviews My Top Five Films of 2025
- Sparky
- 4 days ago
- 10 min read
2025 Was a Difficult Year for the Film Industry
Throughout the years, the film industry has gone through different changes. Some years a lot of good films have come out. While some years are a slump for the film industry. Regardless, the film industry goes through different waves of goods and bad. Within the year 2025, the film industry has taken a little bit of a hit. From the fight against the use of AI to the balance of movie theaters and streaming to writer’s strikes to pushed back projects, 2025 was a difficult year for the film industry.
Many companies had to use reuse existing properties to engage audiences. To a point it is not necessarily a bad thing if done correctly. However, this does result in many existing media to film whether it be books, video games, and/or television shows. With that, there were quite a few films that came out in 2025 that were surprisingly very well done.
Now, I have not seen all of the films that came out in 2025. I tried to be better about the number of films that I saw in 2025. However, balancing both work and seeing films was a challenge to say the least. Particularly since I was aware at the fact that many projects had been pushed back due to the events that were previously mentioned. With that said, I did see quite a few films within 2025.
Which is why I’m here today. I wanted to take a look some of the films I saw in 2025 and make a ranking of what I considered my top five films of 2025. This is my opinion and some of your favorite films may not be on this list. That is completely fine. I just feel that these films are the best ones I saw in 2025. So, with everything said, let’s get started. In this episode of Sparky Reviews, we’re going to be looking back at some of the best films in my opinion of 2025.
Number Five – A Minecraft Movie
Now, I know some people are going to be like…really? Wasn’t this film a meme with the whole Chicken Jockey fiasco and the Lava chicken jingle? While this film wasn’t anything special, A Minecraft Movie was just a whole lot of fun. Jack Black was particularly amazing as his role as the iconic character, Steve. The other cast of characters were fun in their roles as well.
The animation was fun as well. I’m not going to lie, the animation does is a little jarring. However, the world of Minecraft deserves to have whimsical and fun world. Which is what the film exactly did. The villagers, enemies, and just the world is what I would have expected in a live action Minecraft movie.
I was not expecting Oscar winning cinematography or anything groundbreaking. Honestly, I’m okay with that. I don’t need every single film to be groundbreaking masterpieces. Sometimes, I just want fun films with fun vibes and not taking itself too seriously. Which is exactly what A Minecraft Movie does. This film feels like they gave Jack Black the reigns and let him have fun with his chaos. This is why A Minecraft Movie is Number Five in my top five films of 2025.
Number Four – Clown in a Cornfield
Moving onto number four, my number four slot goes Clown in a Cornfield. This film was completely out of left field. I didn’t even know that this was a film until a former coworker had mentioned it.
We were talking about horror films since we’re both fans of horror films and I had mentioned I was going to go see it since it looked like an indie horror film. She then said that it was an amazing film, so it encouraged me to go see it even more. Especially since indie horror films can be either amazing like The Terrifier series or absolute garbage like Drag Me to Hell.
Let me just say, Clown in a Cornfield is a phenomenal film. Based in a small town, the film follows a group of teenagers that start getting murdered by the figure of the town which is a clown. I know, very original premise of a horror movie. Oh dear, a clown is going around and killing a bunch of people. Sounds a lot like IT, The Terrifier, or any other clown type killer/slasher film.
Yes, this trope has been done many times before. As such, without going into major spoilers, I feel that this film has an incredibly original premise. The story in addition to the characters are the true meat and bones of the film. Which in a horror film, the story can be pushed to the side since the trope follows killer kills people, and the protagonist(s) must decide how to vanquish the evil.
In the same breath, characters in horror films tend to be one dimensional. Not to say that this is inherently a bad thing since most of the time, writers extend character development through actions not dialogue. In some films like the Halloween series, characters like Laurie Strode develop her character more precisely. Honestly, it’s all just depending on how the writers create their characters. With that said, Clown in a Cornfield develops both characters and story incredibly well. While it does follow a trope, this film doesn’t follow the trope to a tee. In fact, Clown in a Cornfield uses the trope as a tightrope and switches the narrative to keep audiences engaged. This is why and so much more that Clown in a Cornfield is my number four on my top five films of 2025.
Number Three – Avatar: Fire and Ash
Coming in at number three on this list is Avatar: Fire and Ash. What can I say about this film that hasn’t already been talked about? By the always brilliant mind of James Cameron, Avatar: Fire and Ash is the next installment of the ever-growing world that is Avatar. Following the events of Avatar: Way of Water, Avatar: Fire and Ash follow the Sully family and their ever-growing war with humans to protect Pandora. However, this time is different because Quaritch makes a deal with the new clan Mangkwan. With Netayam dead, the Sully family must work through their grief and other challenges that come with losing a member of their family.
Avatar: Fire and Ash is a much darker film than the last two films. Which can be both seen as a bummer but also great character development. Cameron’s whole motif of storytelling has always been about intense strong character development and high stakes. No one in this franchise is safe as what audiences learned in the previous film Way of Water with the death of Netayam.
Which going into Avatar: Fire and Ash really put into perspective that none of the characters are truly safe. With that said, Avatar: Fire and Ash raise the stakes even more with the Mangkwan clan making a deal with the RDA avatars. Plus, some other factors change the stakes in the franchise. This film is nothing but high stakes and good story telling. This is why Avatar: Fire and Ash is my number three on my top five films of 2025.
Number Two – Wicked: For Good
After the blockbuster of the big hit of last year, Wicked: For Good continues the story into the world of The Wizard of Oz. Previously, I did a review about Wicked. Unlike the previous film, Wicked: For Good is much darker than the first film. Following a year after the first film, all of the characters have gone into their roles.
Elphaba is now seen as public enemy number one after Madame Morrible and The Wizard twisted the narrative of the last scene in the last movie. There are things that I love about this film. Wicked: For Good tries so hard to keep the friendship between Glinda and Elphaba. It’s harder for them to maintain their friendship when one is public enemy number one and the other is the public figure of Oz.
The other thing that I love about the film is the music. While yes, this film doesn’t have the same whimsical musical numbers. Wicked: For Good has beautiful ballad pieces that each one of them talks more about the story.
I know that the second part of this franchise follows the musical counterpart. As a result, it has a lot more to establish and gets pushed under the shadow of Act One. So, I know that some people will not like the second act or Wicked: For Good.
However, I absolutely love the transition that the creative team made from making Wicked: For Good into a film. To this day, Wicked: For Good is my number two on my top five films of 2025.
Honorable Mention – Elio
There are two films that I wanted to discuss before getting to the number one spot. These are the honorable mentions of the film that didn’t quite make the cut as well as the dishonorable mention. The dishonorable mention is for the film that I thought was one of the worst I saw last year. Firstly, let’s look at the honorable mention. This honorable mention goes to Elio.
Elio was Pixar newest original IP that was made. Recently, Pixar has been making a lot of sequels and prequels films. Which is fine if done correctly. However, if done incorrectly, this can cause disengagement. Since audiences only see that there’s no original content. With Elio, this film is incredibly fun and whimsical but at the same time is too safe. Elio follows a kid named Elio who gets abducted by aliens as he’s selected as the leader of earth.
The animation is incredibly smooth and the character development with the aliens was incredibly fantastic. The animators made sure to show the various life forms in the film. Which brings a lot more lore and individualism to the film. With that said, the human characters are not as great. For the past few years, Pixar has made these cookie cutout character designs.
Which is not necessarily a bad thing since a lot of animation companies do that. A perfect example of this is Studio Ghibli. Studio Ghibli has incredibly similar character design. However, their character style and character design makes each project unique. So while Howl’s Moving Castle and Castle in the Sky might have similar character style. The character designs are different to create individuality and a sense of art style. The problem arises when the characters from various films look the same. Which is unfortunately what Pixar has done over the last few years.
They’ve made cookie cutter character designs that make all of the characters the same. So, that’s why Elio, while it was a good film, didn’t quite make the cut for my top five films of 2025.
Dishonorable Mention – Lilo & Stitch
Now that we’ve discussed my honorable mention, it’s now time to talk about my dishonorable mention. My dishonorable mention of 2025 is Lilo & Stitch. It’s fascinating that both of my honorable and dishonorable mentions were both from Disney. Yes, I am aware that Elio is made by Pixar. However, with the current state of Pixar, they are owned by Disney. So, for the sake of simplicity, I’m saying they’re both by Disney.
Now, this film was a complete mess. Yes, I know that the live action Disney films try to expand on the existing universes in order to create originality. However, the changes made to the Lilo & Stitch film were completely unnecessary. New Characters were added and some characters were completely changed.
The decisions that were made were completely unnecessary and completely changed the overall feel of the film. Almost to the point where the animated film and the live action are two completely different medias. Sure, the CGI for Stitch was fine. Yes, the interaction between Lilo and Stitch aka the two most important characters in the film were okay. However, the other characters in the film are vital to the story. The creative decision to make Jumba the villain and completely getting rid of Gantu aka the main antagonist in the franchise.
Jumba is an antihero. Sure, he’s an antagonist in the animated film. The same goes for Pleakley. Both Jumba and Pleakley are antagonists in the animated films. Now, I know that the live actions try not to be a one for one recreation of their animation counterpart. However, the story is completely a mess and ruins the point of Ohana if some of the main characters get replaced or even added with completely new characters. This is why without a doubt, Lilo & Stitch is my dishonorable mention in my top five films of 2025.
Number One – K-Pop Demon Hunters
I know, I know. WOW HOW ORIGINAL!! The number one film that has been taking the audiences by storm. The film that has been winning awards after awards for best animated film, best original song in Golden, and so much more. Hell, this year at the Academy Awards, K-Pop Demon Hunters is nominated for two Oscars.
And you know what, K-Pop Demon Hunters one hundred percent deserves all of the praise it’s receiving. K-Pop Demon Hunters animation is gorgeous mixing stop motion and fluidity. The character development is absolutely beautiful. Mixing Sony Animations style of animation with traditional Korean mythology with Derpy the cat and the demons used in the film. The music, oh my god THE MUSIC, is the best thing about this film.
K-Pop Demon Hunters obviously brings the genre to K-Pop to audiences. Over the last years this music genre has been slowly creeping into western audiences. With K-Pop bands like Super Junior, Shinee, Psy (Yes gangdam style is a K-pop song), Stray Kids, and most recently Twice and BTS have been making their waves into western audiences.
From songs from Soda Pop to How It’s Done, the songs in K-Pop Demon Hunters are rich and engaging. From ballads to more traditional K-Pop songs, this soundtrack truly has a such a wide and incredible song list. Just everything about this film is what audiences have been wanting. A fun, original film that brings people together. This film is truly one of the best films I’ve seen this past year. This is without a doubt the reasons why K-Pop Demon Hunters is my number one film of my top five films of 2025.
What is Your Favorite Films of 2025?
Now, that I’ve talked about my top five films of 2025, what is your favorite or least favorite films of 2025. Let’s talk about it. I want to hear from you all about what films you’ve seen over the past year.
Like I had previously mentioned, I didn’t see a lot of films last year. So, my list might not be the best list of all time. However, one of the things that I want to try to make it in my efforts this year of 2026 is to watch more films. Films are my whole life and I feel that exploring more genres and other films would be fun to watch. Thank you for reading this review. If you liked it, feel free to share and post your thoughts in the comments.
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