2025: A bunch of disappointments and a few surprises

There were quite a few films I had high expectations for in 2025, either because they were sequels (something increasingly common due to the current state of Hollywood) or because they were new projects from directors I'm interested in, and unfortunately, a large majority were a disappointment. With a few exceptions that, while not incredible, achieved a decent level in my opinion.

You might be wondering what movies I'm talking about, so let's get to it:

The Disappointments

• Fear Street: Prom Queen

After the trilogy, which Netflix gave us in 2021, came this prequel about two girls competing to be prom queen while a killer is on the loose at school. And while the previous films weren't the best that horror had delivered this decade, they were pretty good, so there was hope of having a good time watching this one.

The film succeeds in several aspects such as the set design, the music and the beauty of the protagonists (who are of legal age), at times it even reminded me of "The Guest" by Adam Wingard, but the problem comes with its death scenes. A slasher film needs good deaths (or a script that compensates for the lack thereof), and with a few exceptions, this film has very bad deaths that fail to scare or morbidly entertain, making the entire lengthy central act rather boring.

• The Old Guard 2

Five years had to pass before this second part saw the light of day, and considering how good the first one was and how promising the post-credits scene of that one had been, I was very eager to see this. Unfortunately, as you may know if you saw it, this sequel is terrible, which is very strange considering it was made by the same people. It feels completely like a setup for a third installment that may never happen, which in turn forced this part to include a lot of filler to reach a standard length. There's literally a whole opening fight that seems to be there only because there won't be any action afterward for a good while.

• Jurassic World: Rebirth

To begin, let me clarify that for me, the Jurassic trilogy with Chris Pratt is good. It presented great ideas like trained dinosaurs, the inclusion of new landscapes (like a snowy one), dinosaurs in cities doing things like attacking a plane, etc. It was different from the adventure spirit of the saga, leaning more towards action, yes, but I think it was a welcome new direction. And as is often the case when listening to fan requests, we have a new installment that is worse than the previous ones.

It's also worth noting that Gareth Edwards rarely pleases everyone, his version of Godzilla disappointed those who wanted more kaiju and fewer humans, and Rogue One was more serious than a fan of the Star Wars space opera style might expect. And although I loved those movies, it seems that now I have to be on the side of those who didn't like them.

But it's not all terrible, it's the mildest disappointment on this list, as the scenes involving the family managed to create good tension and recapture the terror associated with these creatures.Perhaps if they had pushed the PG-13 rating to its limit it would have been better, or if they had kept the dinosaur theme in new settings and not dealt with an island again.

• Mission: Imposible - The Final Reckoning

I'm aware it's an unpopular opinion, but I really don't like McQuarrie's approach to the franchise. Fallout is very good, obviously (because the plot doesn't seem to be based on stunts), but this latest installment is the weakest of the four he made.  I clearly enjoyed the action scenes, I'm only human, but at the same time they felt repetitive, something I also experienced with Dead Reckoning. I think that not changing directors, as the franchise initially used to do, did it no favors, no matter how good the sixth installment was.

I also think the plot has some inconsistencies, the story created such a powerful villain that it then didn't quite know how to defeat him. And with a three-hour runtime, you can't say there wasn't enough time to tell the whole story properly.

• The Electric State

I think it's time to accept that the Russo brothers are only good at adapting comics. This Netflix movie isn't so terrible, it's a decent adventure, the problem is that just looking at the illustrations in the book you already feel that there was more potential. That creepy and melancholic tone of Stålenhag's art is rarely represented in the film, which, added to the fact that there are certain moments that don't make much sense in the plot, lowers my overall rating of the whole thing considerably.

I hope the brothers stop disappointing me this 2026 with their new Avengers installment, and that they don't fall into fan service as it seems at first glance.

The Surprises

We're done with the disappointments, now for the surprises. Just a quick clarification: these are the films I ended up liking more than I expected, and while they're among my favorites of the year, they're not all of them.

• Final Destination Bloodlines

I personally enjoy this saga a lot, but it's undeniable that the fourth and fifth installments weren't up to the level of the first ones, so while I was happy that a new one came out, I had my doubts about its possible quality.  Luckily, the film has everything one would expect from a Final Destination sequel: expanding the lore and good deaths. The franchise has fully embraced dark comedy, something that may not appeal to those who prefer horror and solemnity, but it really works very well.

If I had to criticize anything, it would be that, being the longest in the saga and with the same number of deaths, there don't seem to be as many of the latter. Also, its climax is one of the weakest in the series.

• Tron: Ares

A sequel I've been waiting 15 years for, and probably the one I most wanted to see happen. It's finally here, but with a new cast, a new director, a new band, etc. There was a lot of uncertainty on my part about what to expect, and while it certainly turned out to be worse than its predecessors, that definitely doesn't make it bad.

Instead of taking the easy route of making a sequel to Legacy or trying to please with a plot that takes place on The Grid and has disc and motorcycle duels, he preferred to tell a story that actually adds something new, a decision that I'm not sure makes me happy but that I respect. The frenetic action, the neon, the Oscar-worthy music, and the dazzling CGI are all there, and I think that will satisfy most of the people who were expecting this movie, I went to see it in a movie theater and had an amazing time.

Did you have a similar experience with any of these? Or was there another movie you were really looking forward to that disappointed you? I invite you to tell me in the comments.