The 50 Best Movies of 2022

by Jason Dietz, Metacritic Features Editor – January 4, 2023

Here is Metacritic's final list of the 50 best-reviewed movies of 2022, ranked by Metascore. This list only includes films receiving at least 7 reviews from professional critics.

All films released between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022 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. Titles are ranked by Metascore (a weighted average of scores from top professional critics) prior to rounding based on scores as of January 1, 2023.

Additional content by Keith Kimbell.

6 of 25 photo by Submarine Deluxe/HBO

86 All That Breathes

(#18) One of 15 films shortlisted for this year's documentary feature film Oscar—and considered one of the likely nominees, though we won't know for a few more weeks—Shaunak Sen's documentary has already collected numerous accolades including the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize at 2022's Sundance Film Festival and the top documentary award at last year's Cannes. It's a portrait of brothers Saud and Nadeem, who dedicate their lives in New Delhi to caring for injured black kites, a bird of prey essential to the surrounding ecosystem. Capturing the passion of the brothers along with ecological and religious tumult, All That Breathes is expected to air on HBO sometime in 2023.

(The film is not yet available to stream or rent.)

“Neither a nature documentary nor a political lecture, All That Breathes is a subtle, haunting reflection on the meaning of humanity — on the breathtaking kindness and heartbreaking cruelty that define our wounded, intrepid, predatory species.” —A.O. Scott, The New York Times

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