Ranking Every 2022 Movie That I've Seen from Least to Best

Hey look! I watched movies. A lot of different movies. There are still a few months left in 2022, but even without the supposed 'prestige' fall pictures it has been a great year for movies.

I have reviewed most of these on The Movie Breakdown, but for those that want to read my movie reviews, it has been less of a winning year with only a few full written reviews like Mary Me and Sonic the Hedgehog 2. I hope to revisit several of these movies with proper full reviews, and you can expect more written reviews in the remaining months and beyond.

For now, here is the official ranking of the least to the best of all the 2022 movies that I've seen. This is fact. This is the truth. This is absolutely where these movies land with no dispute.

Except for the fact that the opinions on any art including movies is subjective and that I change on a daily basis where these movies land on my list. This is a quick reference guide for those looking to see what is worth watching -- according to me.

79. Marmaduke  ½*: I love animated and family movies, and I often try to choose at least one podcast movie that I can watch with my kids. This also means I have seen the very best, and this feature barely qualifies as being up to the standard 1999 Flash Player animation and a script concocted by 6-year-old getting inspiration from a toilet stall.

78. Texas Chainsaw Massacre *: A slap in the face to fans of the original.

77. The Man from Toronto *

76. Morbius *: Sony, stop trying to make fetch happen.

75. Firestarter *

74. Moonfall *

73. Choose or Die *½

72. The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild *½

71. Home Team *½

70. The Royal Treatment *½

69. The Tender Bar *½: A great movie to convince me to never write again.

68. Day Shift

67. Jurassic World: Dominion *½: All this movie needed was 90 minutes of dinosaurs, but instead its way over two hours and more focused on giant crickets. 

66. All the Old Knives **

65. Senior Year **: A comedy with a message that never figured out what was supposed to be funny and what message it wanted to convey.

64. Spiderhead **

63. Death on the Nile **

62. Munich: The Edge of War **

61. Mother/Android **

60. Ambulance **: Michael Bay continues to show he knows how to blow stuff up and use a drone to make several shots. He also proves all his usual excesses, poor characters, and forced storytelling are alive and well.

59, Brazen **

58. My Son **

57. Four to Dinner **½

56. Master **½

55. The Bubble **½

54. The Wasteland **½

53. Windfall **½

52. Better Nate Than Ever **½

51. Moonshot **½

50. Bullet Train **½

49. No Exit **½: The first half is an amazing closed room thriller with whodunit vibes, but the second half hits a drastic tonal shift and loses a lot of the magic. It is still an engaging thriller with strong performances. I plan to revisit it to see if I can bump it to a recommendation.

48. Vince Carter: Legacy ***

47. Operation Mincemeat ***

46. Hotel Transylvania: Transformania ***

45. Metal Lords ***

44. The House ***

43. Sneakerella ***

42. Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness ***

41. Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood ***

40. Rise ***

39. Fire Island ***

38. Where the Crawdads Sing ***

37. Thor: Love & Thunder ***

36. Persuasion ***

35. Deep Water ***

34. The Bad Guys ***

33. The Gray Man ***

32. Uncharted ***: I seem to be in the minority in finding this a fun adventure worthy of fitting in the National Treasure category. I also never played the games, so was not judging it against the source material and I saw it with a 10-year-old boy hopping up and down in the his seat with excitement the whole time.

31. The Valet ***

30. Crush ***

29. The Princess ***

28. Minions: The Rise of Gru ***: If you find the little yellow guys hilarious and enjoy a polished feature-length Saturday morning cartoon with a plethora of site gags then you will get as much joy as I did. Once again, I also saw this with Danika and Everett who were completely immersed.

27. Dog ***: One of the most delightful surprises of the year as the generic troubled guy learns to be a better person by going on a road trip with a troubled dog is elevated by the great performance by Channing Tatum, the colourful collection of characters, and a great sense of humour to balance with the drama.

26. The Black Phone ***

25. Marry Me ***

24. X ***

23. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ***

22. The Sea Beast ***

21. Scream ***

20. Chip 'N' Dale: Rescue Rangers ***½

19. I Want You Back ***½

18. Hustle ***½: A movie that reminded me to never pre-judge, as this is a thoughtful, funny, and sincere dramedy with some of the best performances of the year, and it was brought to us by Adam Sandler and Happy Madison. 

15. The Adam Project ***½: Another one where I was in the minority with my high-praise, but this is  a fun. kind-hearted, and sweeping special effects adventure. I also confess to being a mark for time travel and Ryan Reynolds.

14. BigBug  ***½:

13. The Batman ***½

12. Fresh ***½

11. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ***½

10. Jujutsu Kaisen 0 ***½: One of the best parts of writing about movies is being able to find those things to champion and to open the mind of others to watch something they'd normally ignore. Thanks to Everett, I am now far more open-minded to anime, and this for adults feature shows the great visuals, animation, and storytelling that thrives in this medium.

9. The Lost City ***½

8. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent ***½: Long time listeners and readers will know I love Nicolas Cage, and I love that this quirky and meta-action comedy got a wide release this year. The movie proves why Cage is a captivating actor, but Pedro Pascal brings such joy and energy to make this one of the great buddy movies. I plan to rewatch it, and it may creep up the list with more viewings.

7. Top Gun: Maverick ***½: The picture soars you back to the 1980s with classic old-school blockbuster-style storytelling that appeals to all types of movie fans and demographics. I will continue annoying some move fans by pointing out that I liked this way better than the original. If one is begging for a big screen event movie not based off comic books then this will deliver. I also completely confess that on a rewatch this also may find its way higher on the list.

6. Lightyear ****: This was a billion times better than the box office would lead one to believe. It may contradict much of the established Toy Story canon surrounding the Buzz Lightyear character, but it works as a great space adventures with fun characters, cool villains, and fun twists. This would have been a favourite if I saw it as a kid, and I love being transported back to my childhood. I will be rewatching this with Everett, because this may end up being an all-time favourite for him.

5. The Northman

4. Nope ****: Jordan Peele is rocking it with a third straight horror classic. Daniel Kaluuya is great playing against type as a quiet, no-nonsense workaholic type, while Keke Palmer is incredible as his charismatic sister. There are many fun supporting characters to keep up the energy. There are some great tense and unsettling moments, and the big evil is pretty fascinating and mysterious. Peele tries to explore an army of themes and has so much to say about race, Hollywood system, social media, exploitation, and obsession with fame. Maybe the movie gets a bit jumbled with all it is trying to explore, but the ambition makes this a movie that really stands out as a must-see.

3. Turning Red ****: Even though I was never a Chinese teenage girl who turned into a red panda, I somehow was able to connect with the character the same way I connect with a bare-footed cop battling European terrorists, a Vietnam vet battling a whole army on his own, a space boy with wizard powers with a half robot dad, and a billionaire who made a flying robot suit. Despite it having specific things that a certain culture can appreciate, the message about trying to please our parents while needing to become our own person is universal. Plus, the animation is absolutely spectacular, and it is crammed with great humour, heartfelt drama, and fun characters. Pixar rules once again.

2. Everything Everywhere All At Once ****: This dropped from the top spot, but to be honest, it is essentially a tie for number one at the moment, so it may be a back and forth, depending how this movie lands with me on rewatch. This is an incredible picture that boldly goes in bizarre directions tackling the multiverse, but using all the insanity to really tell a heartfelt tale about regret, ambition, and parenting. It has been an incredible year for movies, and this would be a number one movie almost every single year, since I started being a critic in 2012.

1. Prey ****: I was not sure if I'd ever like a Predator movie again, but I was definitely shocked with falling in love with the latest in the series. Right now, it is the second best movie of the franchise, but after I rewatch both, I might be willing to say this is the best. A magnificent horror-action picture with the cool twist that it is set in the 1700s with a Comanche female trying to prove she can be an expert hunter, and she ends up needing to prove it against one of the best hunters in the universe. Predator fans will love it, but it is amazing for new fans too. This is a great picture that provides a complex character arc, breath-taking cinematography, and a story that tackles big themes about obligation, gender, duty, and respect. An action classic, that I will be watching again this year. 

What have been your favourite movies of 2022?