Best Movies Of 2022, And The Biggest Flops
It's showtime, baby.
Year-end movie lists can be exhausting, so here's the definitive best and worst of 2022, à la OutKick.
Does it matter that you probably only watched 10 percent of these movies?
Of course not, but now you must assume all of my opinions are fact because I have seen them.
In what was probably the first true year of cinema — i.e., box office blockbusters, solid comic book flicks and a surprisingly good horror movie or two — since COVID tragically ravaged theaters in 2020, 2022 offered a solid slate of releases, with some even being worth a rewatch on the big screen.
Whether it was watching Tom Cruise's crazy old a** flying actual fighter planes and putting it to IMAX screens to add an adrenaline shot to patriotism or watching an uncanny version of Elvis gyrate for 2 hours and 39 minutes, it was simply a good year for movies.
But let's get to the year's greatest flops so we can end on a good note with the 10 best movies of 2022.
Here are the movies that either flopped at the box office or in our hearts.
Flops
Jurassic World: Dominion
Only sh***y people hate Chris Pratt.
But he was left doe-eyed in the critical crossfire with this ultra-dull Jurassic World sequel, the planned final movie featuring the original and new Jurassic casts.
For the franchise to end on a plot with zero intrigue and cartoonishly underwritten characters, nothing about this movie felt like Jurassic Park after sitting in the theater for 2.5 hours.
Sorry, Chris. At least you've still got The Terminal List.
(The movie did make $1 billion at the box office, so who really gives a rip what the critics said at that point ... )
Disney / Pixar / Strange World / Lightyear
Pixar's descent into divisive animation will one day be remembered as one of the more tragic downfalls in movie history.
Bombing at the box office with Strange World and Lightyear, the Pixar touch that catered to both adults and children seems to be gone as they continue to shoehorn in themes that weren't necessary in their older catalogue of films.
You truly hate to see it.
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore
Don't feel bad if you weren't aware that a Harry Potter movie came out this year and you had absolutely zero clue that it did.
The franchise continues to hemorrhage relevancy with every half-assed sequel that's released.
Morbius
A movie that created more memes than box office numbers, Morbius was a failed attempt by Sony to salvage all of the secondhand clout they received from the Tom Holland Spider-Man.
They failed to capitalize on that success by releasing this bore of a movie, which featured laughably bad slow-motion action, zero blood for a vampire movie and generic dialogue that might've been composed by A.I.
Best Movies of 2022
8. The Menu
The selling point for this one was a dark-comedy thriller directed by the guy who helmed 13 episodes of everyone's favorite show, Succession.
A group of diverse personalities arrive at an island to partake in a rare food event that quickly falls apart once the agenda behind the invites start to reveal.
The movie is a tasty mixture of outrageous mystery and comedy — paired well with shots of wonderfully plated meals that'll have you digging deeper into your bucket of popcorn.
WATCH: In theaters
7. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Hear me out, it's the first Marvel comic book movie to feel like an actual horror flick.
The monotonous formula for Marvel movies became excruciatingly apparent after Endgame. For heaven's sake, they managed to make a Spider-Man movie featuring three Spider-Men boring in 2021.
So Marvel broke the mold (at least for one movie) by letting the director of the Evil Dead movies and the original Spider-Man trilogy, Sam Raimi, go balls-to-the-wall zany with this Dr. Strange movie.
Several scenes in this movie play out like an acid trip and watching them on the big screen was worth the price of admission.
The best you can say is that it's a fun movie, which is a rarity with these Marvel projects of recent. Or the latest Batman.
WATCH: Disney+
6. Elvis
Out of all the 2.5+ hour movies that came out this year, Elvis was the one that actively tried to keep your eyes glued to the scene without a moment to breathe.
Viewers are treated to a Best Of of Elvis tracks and truly scarring fat suits in a kinetic biopic of The King.
Austin Butler does an impeccable Elvis impression and Tom Hanks is thrown in there with a strange accent and rubbery double-chin. Just fun!
It's the type of movie that would've inspired Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, had it not been for Walk the Line.
WATCH: HBO Max
5. The Banshees of Inisherin
A slow burn of a movie that makes you chuckle with clever dialogue and darkly comic moments, Banshees was a surprising critical hit that few people caught in the theaters.
Two best friends in a small rural community off the coast of Ireland shake up the island when one of them decides he no longer wants to befriend the other.
It's a simple concept executed with exceptional wit.
If you liked Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, you'd be glad to know that the same director / writer assembled this movie.
And if you haven't seen Three Billboards or Banshees ... wake up, man. I wouldn't be recommending it if it weren't good for ye'.
WATCH: HBO Max
4. Prey
An old-school Predator movie with a new skin.
Anyone who saw the terrible 2018 The Predator will appreciate how back to basics Prey gets.
Violent; crafty with its survival scenes between the protagonist and Predator; scary at times; and shot impressively over the Northern Great Plains, Prey is easily the best Predator movie to come out of the franchise since Danny Glover fought a Yautja in Los Angeles — i.e., Predator 2 rules.
The movie had some all-time kills to add to the Predator franchise, too.
Watching a man turn into mince meat after falling victim to the Predator's contracting metal net was something special.
WATCH: Hulu
3. All Quiet On The Western Front
War sucks.
Here's what OutKick's David Hoosktead had to say about this redubbed war flick:
Without spoiling anything, the amount of death and carnage showcased is downright appalling, and the fact it’s so realistic really brings it home.
There’s nothing cool, glorious or fun about All Quiet on the Western Front. The viewer watches young men get slaughtered pretty much from the moment they arrive on the frontlines.
Just as the soldiers learn the horror of the situation, the viewer also quickly realizes there’s not going to be any happy endings.
Having said all that, it’s one of the best movies I’ve seen over the past several years. The WWI film grabs you and doesn’t let go.
It’s incredibly dark, depressing and sad. Yet, you can’t help but completely dive into the WWI experience.
WATCH: Netflix
2. Top Gun: Maverick
The crazy Tom Cruise stunts era has yet to fail us.
Dipping back into the Top Gun world 36 years after the original's release and attempting to bridge the old generation with the new felt like a longshot, even for TC to pull off.
Instead, the movie delivered by giving audiences a well-rounded, young cast of ambitious pilots that fell in line behind the beloved vet of the skies, Maverick, in a movie that could stand on its own but was only enriched by the 1986 film.
The movie didn't just dazzle with its expertly crafted fighter jet sequences, it hit home whenever Cruise had to showcase Maverick's metamorphosis through time as a young pilot to a sage mentor's role for the new crew.
It was equal parts emotional and exhilarating. And it paid the right amount of homage to the original without trying too hard.
WATCH: Paramount+
1. The Northman
What a freakin' vision.
A hulking man, born and bred to be a warrior, goes on an unstoppable revenge quest to kill one man. It's like the show Vikings with the plot from Taken.
When I sat down to watch The Northman on a slow Saturday afternoon in April, I happened to be seated behind the handicapped row where an old man in a wheelchair wheezed in enjoyment throughout most of the action sequences in this movie.
From watching the titular character snatch a flying spear out of mid-air; following the climactic battle take place steps away from an exploding volcano; to watching a valkyrie gallop on its pegasus through the skies and into Valhalla, this movie was a freaking spectacle.
And the best movie of 2022.
WATCH: Amazon Prime Video
Honorable Mentions
Nope — It's creative, gotta give it that.
Father Stu — Solid faith-based movie with Marky Mark Wahlberg.
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent — The craziest movie to ever feature Nicolas Cage, which is saying something.
Decision to Leave — Genuinely mysterious, funny international flick.
The Batman — Better with time?
Avatar: The Way of Water — A technical marvel with a bad story.