Max always delivers with its monthly schedules, and although being in the UK means I can’t take advantage of one of the best streaming services, I still enjoy the simple pleasure in seeing what new movies are coming each month in the US. But there’s also a treasure trove of films if you look through its back catalog, which I’ve exactly done to find these five movies with over 91% on Rotten Tomatoes from the critics.
Action, thriller and adventure movies dominate my Max recommendations this week, spanning from monster movies to crime stories. But to give you a little bit of range, I’ve also squeezed in a comedy at the end so that you can take a rest from the blockbuster action.
This list of movie recommendations is only a small flavor of what’s available on Max, so don’t forget to check which other movies and shows are part of everything new on Max in April 2025 to add even more variety to your watchlist.
Crouching Dragon, Hidden Tiger (2000)
RT Score: 98%
Age rating: PG-13
Length: 120 minutes
Director: Ang Lee
Exploring themes of gender roles and featuring striking martial art fight scenes, Ang Lee’s Chinese action-adventure feature became a favorite at the Oscars and received a whopping 10 nominations including Best Picture and Best Director. It took home four awards, including Best Foreign Language Film.
In 19th-century Imperial China, two lovers and warriors Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun-fat) and Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh) who must embark on a mission to retrieve Bai’s sword, the Green Destiny, when it’s stolen from the hands of Lien by thief Jen Yu (Zhang Ziyi). Their story and journey takes a dramatic turn when they reach the House of Yu.
Speed (1994)
RT Score: 95%
Age rating: R
Length: 115 minutes
Director: Jan de Bont
Jan de Bont’s directorial debut not only snatched an almost-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score but he enlisted the acting talents of two of the most popular faces of the 1990’s; Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock, with Jeff Daniels and Dennis Hopper in supporting roles.
In this action thriller, LA police officer Jack (Reeves) is faced with a terror threat like never before when he pushes the buttons of bomb squad member and extortionist Howard Payne (Hopper). When Hopper arms a bus with a bomb that will explode if the vehicle drops below 50 mph the lives of the passengers are placed into Jack’s hands, but fellow passenger Annie (Bullock) unexpectedly intervenes, becoming integral to preventing the explosion.
The Host (2006)
RT Score: 93%
Age rating: R
Length: 119 minutes
Director: Bong Joon-ho
If you enjoyed the Best Picture winner Parasite (2019), which happened to be added to Netflix in February 2025, then take this as your sign to revisit one of Bong Joon-ho’s earlier features. It’s a bonus if you’re a sucker for a post-apocalyptic monster movie.
After chemicals are dumped into the Han river in South Korea, a monster rises from the water years later and launches a mass attack on the people of Seoul. Song Kang-ho, who also stars in Parasite, plays a vendor whose daughter gets kidnapped by the creature, leaving it up to him and the rest of his family to save her and spare her life.
The Guilty (2018)
RT Score: 98%
Age rating: R
Length: 85 minutes
Director: Gustav Möller
Gustav Möller’s directorial debut is a mere 85 minutes long, but that didn’t stop Rotten Tomatoes critics from loving it. Not to be confused with the 2021 Netflix remake starring Jake Gyllenhaal (whose score doesn’t match), in an emergency call centre a former police officer on alarm dispatch duty Asger Holm (Jakob Cedergren) receives a call from a kidnapped woman. When the call is quickly disconnected he launches a search for the missing woman and her deadly abductor.
Support the Girls (2018)
RT Score: 91%
Age rating: R
Length: 93 minutes
Director: Andrew Bujalski
Among all the action, thriller, and adventure movies on Max this month, Support the Girls is a light-hearted comedy for when you need to change it up. With Regina Hall as the lead, the movie follows Lisa (Hall), who’s the manager of a sports bar called Double Whammies.
Situated on the side of a reclusive highway, the bar is a hot spot for men who attend purely for the waitresses that work there. Taking her job seriously as manager, while Lisa is compassionate she’s also very protective her staff, which she does everything in her willpower to uphold when she’s faced with a particularly challenging shift.
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rowan.davies@futurenet.com (Rowan Davies)
