In 2022, Amazon Prime Video added a significant number of great movies to its ever-expanding catalog of Amazon Originals. Amazon Prime Video may not quite be able to match the streaming juggernaut of Netflix in terms of subscribers, it still has plenty of great movies to offer its audience. From superhero action movies like Samaritan to ensemble comedies like The People We Hate At The Wedding, Amazon Prime Video offers Amazon Original movies of all different genres.
As such, this list includes all genres of Amazon Original movies that came to Prime Video in 2022, including the best of their documentaries as well as their greatest fictional offerings. It includes some of the most popular Amazon Original movies available on Prime Video, as well as some of the more obscure movies offered on the streaming service. With that being said, here are the 10 best Amazon Prime Original movies of 2022:
10 Master
Master is an ambitious horror drama about institutional racism on campuses, anchored by a great performance from Regina Hall, as Gail Bishop the first black "master" of a house in a fictional Ivy League college. Both Bishop and freshman student Jasmine (Zoe Renee) are haunted by a ghost on campus. Unfortunately, the film struggles with its overt horror sequences; they simply aren't that scary. However, the scenes where Bishop and Jasmine are on the receiving end of a flurry of microaggressions are well-directed and appropriately hard to watch. Master's ending also never quite gels together all the themes it wants to explore, but it is worth watching for Hall's performance.
9 My Policeman
My Policeman is a disappointingly bland, yet beautifully shot, period romantic drama. Set in Brighton, a picturesque town on the south coast of England, during the 1950s and 1990s, My Policeman tells the story of a complicated love triangle between a policeman (Harry Styles), his wife (The Crown's Emma Corrin), and his lover (David Dawson), during a time when homosexuality was illegal. Corrin and Dawson are both brilliant, and while Styles is better here than in the disastrous Don't Worry Darling, he still delivers a noticeably awkward performance. Still, My Policeman is absolutely gorgeous, thanks to cinematographer Ben Davis, who also filmed Martin McDonagh's The Banshees of Inisherin this year.
8 Something From Tiffany's
Something From Tiffany's plays like a Hallmark Christmas movie with more charm, better acting, and a bigger budget. Produced by rom-com superstar Reese Witherspoon, much of Something From Tiffany's rests on the shoulders of star/executive producer Zoey Deutch (Not Cool), who effortlessly delivers a delightful lead performance, evocative of other genre legends. The plot, concerning temporary amnesia, an engagement ring, and a mix-up of presents, is appropriately silly and fun. No one could accuse Something From Tiffany's of being original, but it succeeds on the great chemistry between the leads.
7 Don't Make Me Go
Movies with twist endings live and die upon their execution. Unfortunately, Don't Make Me Go's cruel twist ending does little but sour the excellent preceding hour and a half. John Cho channels his performance in the similarly twisty Searching here as a terminally ill father determined to reunite his daughter (Mia Isaac) with her estranged mother. Isaac and Cho are fantastic here, with seemingly endless charisma as they work their way through a series of familiar road trip movie tropes. While Don't Make Me Go's twist does subvert its more cliché areas, it, unfortunately, feels emotionally cheap. Luckily, the central performances are so good that the ending almost doesn't matter.
6 Thirteen Lives
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Thirteen Lives, Ron Howard's dramatization of the Tham Luang cave rescue, is technically impressive but nowhere near as involving as his previous attempts in dramatizing real-life incidents, like Apollo 13. The surprisingly accurate Thirteen Lives also suffer from being beaten to the punch; this story has already been put to film by the Free Solo directorial team in their excellent film The Rescue. The production design and underwater cinematography are fantastic in Thirteen Lives, and the cast is impressive, though the film did receive criticism for failing to focus on the trapped Thai football team in favor of the white divers who rescued them.
5 Good Night Oppy
Co-produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, Good Night Oppy effectively captures the childlike wonder of his more family-friendly movies, such as E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. Director Ryan White's documentary tells the unlikely story of two Mars rovers, named Spirit and Opportunity, whose 90-day mission evolved into 15 years. Good Night Oppy depicts the rovers through CG animation, explicitly bringing WALL-E to mind, given the images of cute robots in an inhospitable wasteland. Angela Bassett (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) makes for an excellent narrator and the NASA scientist talking heads are insightful and enthusiastic.
4 Catherine Called Birdy
Game of Thrones' Bella Ramsey leads the charmingly irreverent comedy Catherine Called Birdy, directed by Girls' Lena Dunham. Ramsey plays Birdy, a 14-year-old girl, determined to thwart her father's (Andrew Scott) attempts to marry her off in an attempt to regain his family's fortune. In a series of hilarious shenanigans, Birdy sees off any potential suitors, until one arrives and is charmed by her antics. The cast is uproarious, especially Fleabag's Andrew Scott, and the tone of Catherine Called Birdy is kept playful. It's one of the most fun comedies of the year.
3 I Want You Back
It's Always Sunny's Charlie Day and Everything Everywhere All At Once's Jenny Slate lead the charmingly mischievous romantic comedy I Want You Back. Slate and Day star as a duo of recently dumped strangers who team up to ruin their exes' new relationships. Their determination leads to a series of hilarious mishaps, including Slate having to perform in a middle school musical production of Little Shop of Horrors and Day being forced to jump into a hot tub from a balcony. Slate and Day simply have brilliant chemistry with each other and are well-supported by a fantastic ensemble, including Jane the Virgin's Gina Rodriguez and Top Gun: Maverick's Manny Jacinto.
2 Emergency
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Emergency starts out as a politically-minded yet hilarious comedy before evolving into one of the year's most stressful thrillers. The film tells the story of three college students, two Black and one Latino, as they discover the unconscious body of a white teenage girl in their dorm. Having no idea how she got there, and in an effort to avoid becoming victims of police brutality due to misunderstanding, they decide not to call the cops. Emergency features a brilliant cast, led by duo RJ Cyler and Donald Elise Watkins, and a hilarious script. Emergency brilliantly manages to walk the line of being both comedic and thrilling.
1 Lucy and Desi
Amy Poehler's incredible documentary about the lives of the legendary Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz truly captures their talent, unlike Aaron Sorkin's inaccurate drama Being the Ricardos. Poehler expertly mixes archival recordings, some of which had never seen the light of day before, with an assortment of remarkable talking heads, such as Ball and Arnaz's children, Bette Midler, and Carol Burnett. The most fascinating observation that Amy Poehler makes in Lucy and Desi, 2022's best Amazon Prime Original movie, is that Lucille Ball constantly doubts her own talent. However, her ongoing legacy, present in female comedians like Poehler and Burnett, makes it clear that Ball's doubts were completely unfounded.