We may all be in disbelief that it’s March already, but the good news is that a new month means the best streaming services are giving their libraries a refresh and adding plenty of new titles, streaming giant Netflix included.
Subscribers to the service have plenty to look forward to this month, including the definitive edition of a legendary sci-fi, a Spike Lee classic, and a modern thriller that launched the career of one of Hollywood’s biggest directors.
So whatever you’re in the mood for, we’ve got you covered with our selection of movies with great Rotten Tomatoes scores, and for a full rundown on everything landing on the streamer, check on what’s new on Netflix in March 2025.
Blade Runner: The Final Cut
RT score: 95%
Runtime: 117 minutes
Main cast: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Edward James Olmos, M. Emmet Walsh, Daryl Hannah
Director: Ridley Scott
Director Ridley Scott is notorious for tinkering with his films post-release, with the likes of Alien, Kingdom of Heaven, and Gladiator all receiving Director’s Cuts and the recent historical epic Napoleon being extended to almost three and a half hours when it landed on Apple TV Plus last year.
Blade Runner: The Final Cut is the fifth version of the film to have been released since its 1982 debut, although not every cut has had the blessing of Scott. With roughly the same runtime as the original, rather than simply adding deleted scenes, as with some of the films mentioned above, The Final Cut is a totally new edit, one the director views as the definitive version. We won’t spoil the differences here, but this is the version to see if you’ve only ever seen the theatrical cut of the future-noir or are new to this Harrison Ford sci-fi entirely.
Do the Right Thing
RT score: 92%
Runtime: 120 minutes
Main cast: Spike Lee, Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Richard Edson, Giancarlo Esposito, Bill Nunn, John Turturro and Samuel L. Jackson
Director: Spike Lee
Spike Lee was already making waves by 1989, but Do the Right Thing catapulted the filmmaker to legendary status when it arrived in all its sweaty, energetic glory. Set on a swelteringly hot summer’s day in Brooklyn, the film explores the simmering racial tensions between the African-American residents and the Italian-American owners of a local pizzeria. Lee masterfully builds tension as tempers begin to fray, climaxing in an explosion of violence and tragedy.
Critics praised the film on release as a microcosm of racial tensions in the US at the time, and in a post-BLM world, it’s hard not to both admire how prophesying Lee’s vision was while feeling somewhat despondent at how relevant it still feels over thirty-five years later. That’s not to say there’s not some fun to be had in the film, particularly in an early performance from Breaking Bad’s Giancarlo Esposito. If you’ve yet to see this Spike Lee classic or are due a revisit, get streaming.
Sicario
RT score: 92%
Runtime: 121 minutes
Main cast: Emily Blunt, Benicio del Toro, Josh Brolin
Director: Denis Villeneuve
A film with links to the Ridley Scott classic above, coming as it does from Blade Runner 2049 director Denis Villeneuve, Sicario is also the screenwriting debut of Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan. A film about tough guys in the Southern States, there’s definitely Sheridan DNA on display, but the action thriller also features a fantastic turn from Emily Blunt and has the sort of visual scope and epic action we’d expect from a director who’d go on to make the Dune movies.
Following an FBI agent tasked with bringing down the brutal leader of a powerful Mexican drug cartel, the film is certainly more grounded than Villeneuve’s later works – no sandworms or alien alphabets here – but is arguably less ponderous, playing out as a taut, tense thriller, with twists that’ll leave you collecting your jaw from the floor. Whether it’s Villeneuve, Sheridan, or the stellar cast that piques your interest, you’re in for a wild ride.
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