If you’ve seen everything new on Netflix in July 2025 and don’t have a clue where to start, I can’t say I blame you. This month is packed with original content alone, from Charlize Theron’s return in The Old Guard 2 to Adam Sandler taking another swing at things in Happy Gilmore 2.
July isn’t just full of belated sequels, though. As we’ve come to expect from one of the best streaming services on the market, this month also includes plenty of classic movies too. Sing your heart out to Mamma Mia! or try not to break everything in your house while rewatching The Karate Kid franchise… there’s something for everyone.
If you only want to watch the undeniable bangers, then you might notice that many of the new movies haven’t been a hit with critics. Here are seven of the best-rated Netflix movies worth watching in July that scored well over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes from the critics.
Captain Phillips (2013)
RT Score: 93%
Age rating: PG-13
Runtime: 133 minutes
Director: Paul Greengrass
Arriving on: July 1
Based on the true story of the 2009 Maersk Alabama hijacking, Captain Phillips sees Tom Hanks play an American merchant mariner Richard Phillips who is held hostage by Somali pirates. Hanks is no stranger to playing a heroic male lead staring down the face of adversity, but this is another level of human endurance in the worst of times.
With impeccable storytelling and an ensemble cast who can meet Hanks at the top of his game, we might as well have boarded the boat ourselves with the amount of nail-biting tension.
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)
RT Score: 94%
Age rating: PG-13
Runtime: 133 minutes
Director: Brad Bird
Arriving on: July 1
What’s the most memorable moment from the entire Mission: Impossible franchise? The movie where Tom Cruise scales the Burj Khalifa in one of the most beautifully filmed stunts ever committed to film, of course. There’s clearly been a high turnover of IMF agents since Mission: ImpossibleI 3, because Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol brings us new faces in the form of Jeremy Renner’s Brandt and Paula Patton’s Jane Carter. For those of us rewatching, it’s a sorry reminder Renner should have stayed in Ethan Hunt’s orbit for much longer than he did.
Sure, the CGI hasn’t aged amazingly (the Kremlin has certainly seen better days), but Ghost Protocol elevated the stakes and potential of what the Mission: Impossible franchise could – and did – become.
Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015)
RT Score: 94%
Age rating: PG-13
Runtime: 131 minutes
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Arriving on: July 1
Subjectively, Rogue Nation is my absolute favourite of the Mission: Impossible franchise, and it’s clear to see why I’ve got impeccable taste. For starters, it’s the beginning of Christopher McQuarrie’s directorial reign, who arguably took the franchise to dizzying heights of suspense and danger. Secondly, it’s got the introduction of Rebecca Ferguson’s Ilsa Faust, who is the best match for Ethan Hunt thus far, romantically and intellectually.
We’ve got shootouts at the opera, multiple global escapades, the IMF team solely relying on their skill after being shut down by the CIA and not a single second that isn’t utilised like it should be. Couple all that with an impeccable antagonist in The Syndicate’s leader Solomon Lane, and you’ve got a delicious showdown.
Tangerine (2015)
RT Score: 96%
Age rating: R
Runtime: 87 minutes
Director: Sean Baker
Arriving on: July 1
You’ll have possibly heard of Sean Baker through his Academy Awards hit Anora, but Tangerine was his first-ever feature film made on a ridiculously small budget. Shot entirely on an iPhone 5s, Tangerine is an unflinching look at the complexities of sex work on the streets of downtown Los Angeles.
If you think there’s a healthy dose of realism in this movie, there’s a good reason why. While lead Kitana Kiki Rodriguez had no prior experience of acting, co-star Mya Taylor was approached by Baker after five years of sex work and four arrests for prostitution. Both of their performances prompted the first Academy Award campaigns for openly transgender actresses supported by a film producer.
A Star Is Born (2018)
RT Score: 90%
Age rating: R
Runtime: 136 minutes
Director: Bradley Cooper
Arriving on: July 8
Do you remember where you were when Bradley Cooper peed himself on stage? Contrary to what the memes would have you believe, that wasn’t real – but it was a heart-breaking turning point in Cooper’s take on A Star Is Born. Swapping out Barbara Streisand for Lady Gaga, the singer-turned-actor gave a career best performance, and a song we still routinely sing in the shower with ‘Shallow’.
Even seven years on, it’s still impressive that this was a respective debut for both: Gaga as a leading actress, Cooper as a director. Their natural chemistry is undeniable, clearly working in lockstep to create an end product that’s tender, vulnerable and devastating.
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
![Mad Max: Fury Road - Official Main Trailer [HD] - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/hEJnMQG9ev8/maxresdefault.jpg)
RT Score: 97%
Age rating: R
Runtime: 120 minutes
Director: George Millar
Arriving on: July 9
Whisper it, reader, but I’m prepared to go out on a limb and say that Mad Max: Fury Road is one of the best movies of the 21st century so far. A whirlwind on the senses from its opening moments, George Millar offers up a career best 30 years after the original trilogy. Basically, the apocalypse has become everything you wanted to see Tina Turner surrounded by in the Thunderdome.
Tales of lead stars Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron behind-the-scenes (the pair allegedly had a feud on-set during filming due to clashing personalities and acting approaches) make for uncomfortable reading, but boy did the pair give their all to create something truly unbelievable. The stakes never let up, the visuals and colour-grading are equally mind-blowing, and frankly, dystopian horrors have never looked sexier.
Jaws (1975)
RT Score: 97%
Age rating: PG
Runtime: 124 minutes
Director: Steven Spielberg
Arriving on: July 15
It’s been 50 years since the best Steven Spielberg movie of all Steven Spielberg movies (sorry, Jurassic Park) was released, and the fear of swimming in open waters has never let up. No shark movie since has ever come close to replicating Jaws’ magic, combining a tight and shrewdly crafted script with well-balanced tension and a shark that rightly made audiences run for dear life during its 1975 release.
The flawed but kind-hearted Chief Brody (Roy Scheider) gives us a smorgasbord of iconic moments to choose from, with good-looking teens swimming naked in the night-time sea becoming an archetype for knowing which poor soul is going to be binned off first in a new horror movie. Frankly, I’ve never felt more blessed to have the chance to be so exquisitely traumatized for life.
You might also like
- Netflix’s #2 movie is a ‘Trainwreck’ subscribers can’t stop watching – and I’ve picked 3 more shocking documentaries with over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes to catch next
- I watched Squid Game season 3 on Netflix, and it's a nail-biting, poignant last hurrah for the streaming giant's most popular TV Original
- I watch TV for a living and these are my top 3 Netflix shows that you should watch now
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.