The 50 Best Movies of 2021

by Jason Dietz, Metacritic Features Editor – January 5, 2022

Here is Metacritic's final list of the 50 best-reviewed movies of 2021, ranked by Metascore. This list only includes films receiving at least 7 reviews from professional critics.

All films released between January 1, 2021 and December 31, 2021 in at least one U.S. theater or directly to streaming or VOD/digital services were eligible for inclusion. Short films and reissues are excluded, and so are any eight-hour Beatles movies that were screened as a TV miniseries. Titles are ranked by Metascore (a weighted average of scores from top professional critics) prior to rounding based on scores as of January 3, 2022.

Additional content by Keith Kimbell.

14 of 25 photo by Kino Lorber

90 Wojnarowicz: F**k You F*ggot F**ker

(#10) Chris McKim's documentary is a profile of the late New York City artist and activist David Wojnarowicz, who directed his art (in multiple media including film, painting, and writing) toward increasing awareness of the AIDS epidemic during the 1980s until he himself died from the disease in 1992. Pair it with our #20 film, Can You Bring It, for a rather unexpected but welcome 2021 double feature.

“Blending Wojnarowicz’s own audio journals with input from a handful of his contemporaries, Chris McKim’s startling and meticulously edited new movie captures the spirit of the artist as he was, bracing and in-your-face.” —Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire

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