So, the Oscars have been and gone, and all you’ve got to look forward to on the best streaming services this week is the “fault-riddled” new Netflix movie, The Electric State. What a (bad) time to be a film fan. Audible sigh.
But wait! It’s not all doom and gloom. The best free streaming services are regularly topped up with classic movies from years gone by, so while you won’t find any of the 2025 Best Picture nominees streaming on the likes of Tubi, Pluto TV, or Plex, you will find plenty of films that are still worth your time.
Below, I’ve highlighted five of the best free movies to stream on Tubi, Pluto TV, Plex, and more this week – from Oscar-winning crime thrillers to beloved sci-fi adventures
Mississippi Burning (Pluto TV, Kanopy, Hoopla)
Release date: December 1988
Rotten Tomatoes score: 79%
Length: 128 minutes
Director: Alan Parker
Main cast: Gene Hackman, Willem Dafoe, Frances McDormand, Michael Rooker
You never need a good reason to watch a Gene Hackman movie, but the legendary actor’s passing last month means now is as good a time as any to rewatch classics like Mississippi Burning, which is now streaming for free on Pluto TV, Kanopy, and Hoopla.
Loosely based on a real-life 1964 murder investigation, Alan Parker’s Oscar-winning thriller stars Hackman and Willem Dafoe as two FBI agents who arrive in Mississippi to investigate the mysterious disappearance of three civil rights workers. Despite its controversial fictionalization of events, Mississippi Burning remains a great showcase for the acting talent of its two leads, though Frances McDormand arguably turns in the film’s best performance.
The Fifth Element (Pluto TV)
Release date: May 1997
Rotten Tomatoes score: 71%
Length: 126 minutes
Director: Luc Besson
Main cast: Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, Gary Oldman, Ian Holm
I have a distinct memory of my Dad showing me The Fifth Element – one of his all-time favorite movies – on VHS about 20 years ago, so it’s no surprise that Luc Besson’s sci-fi romp is now one of my all-time favorite movies, too.
Now streaming for free on Pluto TV, The Fifth Element centers on a 23rd-century cab driver (Bruce Willis) who becomes embroiled in a mission to save the world when an alien humanoid named Leeloo (Milla Jovovich) falls into his vehicle. In equal parts spectacular and ridiculous – the film was nominated for BAFTAs and Golden Raspberry Awards – this unhinged space-set adventure definitely won’t leave you bored.
Snowpiercer (Tubi, Pluto TV, Plex)
Release date: June 2014
Rotten Tomatoes score: 94%
Length: 126 minutes
Director: Bong Joon-ho
Main cast: Chris Evans, Song Kang-ho, Tilda Swinton, Jamie Bell
Parasite director Bong Joon-ho is currently busy promoting his latest film Mickey 17, but his dystopian 2014 thriller Snowpiercer is currently streaming for free on Tubi, Pluto TV, and Plex (yes, all three!).
Based on the 1982 French graphic novel Le Transperceneige and having since been adapted into a three-season Netflix series, Snowpiercer follows passengers of a gigantic, divided-by-class, non-stopping train as they attempt to gain control of its trajectory – and, by extension, their destiny. The film’s political allegory isn’t subtle, but Snowpiercer is certainly the most entertaining takedown of capitalism (or communism? You decide) I’ve ever seen.
Limitless (Plex, Pluto TV)
Release date: March 2011
Rotten Tomatoes score: 68%
Length: 105 minutes
Director: Neil Burger
Main cast: Bradley Cooper, Abbie Cornish, Robert De Niro, Andrew Howard
I hate to admit it, but Limitless is probably the film I’ve seen the most in my life. There’s nothing exceptional about it, but I’ve always found it to be an inherently watchable movie and one that’s hard to switch off whenever I stumble across it on terrestrial TV.
Now streaming for free on Plex and Pluto TV, Limitless stars Bradley Cooper as a down-on-his-luck writer who discovers a brain-enhancing drug that turns his life around. It’s Lucy meets Bruce Almighty meets Jumper, which is a combination that shouldn’t work, but does. Don’t go in expecting The Godfather, and you’ll be pleasantly surprised by this one.
Blackfish (Plex)
Release date: July 2013
Rotten Tomatoes score: 98%
Length: 83 minutes
Director: Gabriela Cowperthwaite
For a long time, Blackfish ranked on our list of the best Netflix documentaries, and now this BAFTA-winning (and controversy-inciting) movie is streaming for free on Plex.
Blackfish tells the story of Tilikum, the largest orca in captivity at SeaWorld who – after being paraded around various US parks – ultimately caused the deaths of three people, including a renowned killer whale trainer. Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s account of those deaths sheds a damning light on the consequences of keeping intelligent animals in captivity, and Blackfish continues to be cited as a factor behind SeaWorld’s plummeting popularity.
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axel.metz@futurenet.com (Axel Metz)
