It’s been a terrific year for movies. Whether they’ve been released in theaters, on one of the best streaming services, or both, 2022 has been packed with brilliant blockbusters, intriguing indies, and streaming sensations.
With 2023 looming into view, it’s time to look back at the biggest, best, and criminally underrated movies of the past 12 months. Below, we’ve compiled a list of 2022’s best 40 movies, including offerings from Netflix, Marvel, Paramount Pictures, and Warner Bros.
We’ve organized our best movies of 2022 list based on the streamer they debuted on or, in the case of theatrical exclusives, the studio that distributed them. You’ll also find a miscellaneous round-up of films that didn’t fit into other categories, such as offerings from Sony and A24.
Here, then, are the 40 best movies of 2022, as chosen by TechRadar’s entertainment experts.
Best Netflix movies of 2022
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Knives Out wowed fans and critics alike in 2019, so sequels were inevitable. The first of those – Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery – is another elaborate and highly entertaining whodunnit from Rian Johnson. Buoyed by its excellent ensemble cast and the confidence carried over from its predecessor’s success, Glass Onion is even showier, funnier, and narratively intelligent than Knives Out. In short: it’s one of the best Netflix movies for a long time.
The Gray Man
The Russo brothers delivered one of Netflix’s biggest movies of 2022 with The Gray Man. Okay, it’s not perfect – in our review of The Gray Man, we said it favors style over substance. However, there’s still lots to like about this espionage thriller. Its action set-pieces are spectacular, it’s suitably suspenseful, and its cast, particularly Chris Evans in a rare villainous role, is superb. With film and TV sequels greenlit, this could be Netflix's big-budget franchise to rival James Bond.
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
With Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, Netflix breathed new life into Carlo Collodi's beloved 1883 fairytale about a wooden puppet who longs to become a real boy. Del Toro’s darker adaptation is set in 1930s Italy during Mussolini’s fascist regime, is shot entirely using stop-motion, and features a star-studded voice cast, including Ewan McGregor, Tilda Swinton, Christoph Waltz, and Cate Blanchett. Full of heart and humor, and never less than utterly original, Del Toro’s Pinocchio is necessary viewing.
RRR
This Indian Telugu-language action epic is arguably the biggest surprise hit of the year. Set in the 1920s, it centers around the fictional friendship between two Indian revolutionaries as they battle the British Raj. With a three-hour runtime, it’s an Avengers: Endgame-style marathon of a movie. But, with some absolutely phenomenal action set-pieces (involving plenty of tigers) and a completely unexpected dance number, RRR is a stellar watch. Must be seen to be believed.
The Sea Beast
Netflix has stepped up its animation game in recent times, with shows and films like Arcane and The Mitchells Vs. the Machines being met with universal acclaim and numerous awards. The Sea Beast is another that can be added to Netflix’s burgeoning animation back catalog. It’s a bright, breezy, daring, and visually arresting film tailor-made for an evening spent on the proverbial high seas with the family. Yo ho ho and all that.
Sr.
One of two documentary films to make this list, Sr. is a wonderfully assembled piece of art that doubles as a fascinating insight into Robert Downey Sr.’s life and a poignant ode from his A-list actor son. Okay, it espouses the virtues of storytelling in cinematic form, but viewers will find its intimate, amusing, and passionately raw spotlight on familial relationships extremely relatable. A moving, intergenerational film that takes pride of place on our best Netflix documentaries list.
Troll
Troll doesn’t rewrite the monster/kaiju rulebook and its plot is extremely derivative. Nonetheless, it’s a thoroughly entertaining Norwegian language film, with lots of destruction-based action, wonderful cinematography, and a pulsating score. It’s also rich from a mythology perspective so there’s potentially more monster folklore to explore in this universe. Given Troll is Netflix’s biggest foreign language movie hit, expect sequels to be greenlit.
Best Disney, Marvel, and Pixar movies of 2022
Avatar: The Way of Water
Say what you want about James Cameron’s Avatar, the 2009 sci-fi cinematic juggernaut was a moment in pop culture history. It’s fitting, then, that its long-awaited sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, is equally boundary-pushing in its use of new filmmaking technologies. Set 15 years after its predecessor, The Way of Water finds the Sully clan forced to flee the lush forests of Pandora and seek refuge in its aquatic regions – and the underwater results are nothing short of spectacular. If you can stomach the film’s three-hour runtime, Avatar: The Way of Water is a truly transcendent cinematic experience.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has been a mixed bag, and that’s certainly reflected in Marvel’s three films this year. Thor: Love and Thunder, for instance, was a mess (even though we enjoyed it at the time) but the same can’t be said for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. In the wake of Chadwick Boseman’s shock death in August 2020, this was always going to be an emotionally taxing watch. However, Black Panther 2 proved to be more than just a cathartic cinematic experience – it’s exciting, culturally significant, amusing, and thematically dense. Without sounding hyperbolic, it’s one of the best Marvel movies ever.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
If Wakanda Forever was Marvel’s best film of 2022 (and Thor 4 its worst), Doctor Strange 2 sits somewhere in the middle. It pushed the boundaries of Marvel’s usual PG-13/12A age rating, with director Sam Raimi leaving his indelible horror-infused mark on proceedings. Meanwhile, Doctor Strange 2's various cameos had fans cheering with delight. Strange’s latest solo adventure was undercooked in many aspects (Wanda’s character arc is baffling and America Chavez is nothing more than a plot device) but it’s mostly a spellbinding watch.
Turning Red
Of Pixar’s two films for the year, many wouldn’t have said Turning Red would beat Lightyear for a place on our list. They’re both charming, packed with humor and heart, and look visually stunning. However, Turning Red just feels more original as a concept, narratively and thematically challenging, and (most importantly) grounded in real life. It’s impossible not to like it – oh, and its soundtrack will be stuck in your head for weeks after you stream it on Disney Plus. One of the best Disney Plus movies to watch right now.
Best Hulu movies of 2022
Fresh
A black comedy horror that topically explores the perils of modern dating, Fresh puts a, well, fresh and enthralling spin on its subject matter. Thanks to exceptional performances from Daisy Edgar-Jones and Sebastian Stan, Fresh doesn’t feel like a hammed-up version of similar films that have come before, either. Given the story it tells, though, maybe don’t watch this one when you’re tucking into those meat-based holiday season leftovers.
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
If Fresh put a novel spin on the comedy-horror genre, this uninhibited and sizzling flick did likewise for the sex comedy subgenre. Emma Thompson and Daryl McCormack are on fire as an insecure widow (who’s never experienced an orgasm) and the sex worker Thompson’s Nancy hires to correct that. In its oversimplified form, its plot doesn’t sound too original. But Good Luck to You, Leo Grande’s side-splittingly funny and unexpectedly tender story beats are what make it so refreshing.
Prey
The Predator franchise received a long overdue shot in the arm with Prey, a quasi-prequel flick that’s as tense, action-packed, and gory as its predecessors. In our Prey review, we said there’s no question that it’s the best Predator movie since the original. It treads that tricky fine line between honoring what’s come before and taking the series in new directions. Easily one of the best Hulu movies of all time.
Best Prime Video movies of 2022
Argentina, 1985
Great Prime Video movies have been few and far between this year, but Argentina, 1985 proves there’s still life in Amazon Studios’ movie division. This unsurprisingly Argentine language historical flick explores the events surrounding the 1985 Trial of the Juntas, which saw a group of courageous lawyers battle against the odds to bring members of Argentina’s last (and most bloody) dictatorship to justice. A barnstorming courtroom drama not to be missed.
Emergency
Emergency went under the radar back in May and that’s a big shame. It’s a clever thriller packed with biting social commentary on frat parties, racial double standards, and the unexpectedly serious after-effects of making incorrect, spur-of-the-moment choices. It’s wickedly funny, too, even if Emergency’s humor is born out of the shocking and awkward scenarios its lead characters are involved in. Come for the comedy, stay for the fundamentally important societal messages.
Good Night Oppy
The sci-fi genre has given us numerous iconic and lovable robots and AI companions throughout the decades. But, when it comes to feeling true emotion, you can’t beat the real thing – especially when they’re anthropomorphically positioned in the way Mars rover Opportunity is in Good Night Oppy. You’ll marvel at how NASA created it, be amazed at the sights Oppy takes in once it lands on the red planet, and definitely be wiping away tears during this documentary’s emotional climax. A wonderfully warm story set in the cold expanse of space.
Best HBO Max movies of 2022
Bones and All
We didn’t have a cannibal-centric romance movie on our best films of 2022 bingo card, but Bones and All delivered on that front anyway. Taylor Russell and Timothée Chalamet sparkle as a pair of young cannibals who fall for each other as they flee together on a cross-country road trip. It’s an at-times deeply gruesome watch, but it’s also profound and unexpectedly tender. Bones and All might not make it onto our best HBO Max movies list, but it’s beautifully tragic in its own right.
The Batman
DC’s film franchise has had a torrid 2022. Movies have been delayed, The Flash star Ezra Miller has courted a great deal of controversy, and the series is undergoing a complete reset under new co-studio heads James Gunn and Peter Safran. There was one, Bat Signal-sized shining light in the sky, though: The Batman. Matt Reeves’ neo-noir detective take on the Caped Crusader is a masterpiece. Aside from a couple of niggly CGI/green screen elements, every part of this