The Best Movie of 2022

With the year 2022 coming to a close, it's time once again to celebrate the best of the best of the past 12 months -- the films that have wowed us, floored us, and of course, moved us.

From the mind-bending antics of The Daniels' Everything Everywhere All at Once to the upping of the superhero cinema ante that Matt Reeves achieved with The Batman, 2022 gave us a bunch of great movies to choose from when it came time to pick our nominees. That includes the incredible action spectacle of Indian filmmaker S. S. Rajamouli's RRR, the unique vision of Jordan Peele's sci-fi/horror outing Nope, and even the return of Maverick himself in Tom Cruise's surprise mega-hit Top Gun sequel.

But only one film could take home the top prize. Our winner for the Best Movie of 2022 is...

Everything Everywhere All at Once

At a time where the movie landscape is dominated by adaptations and franchises, the wildly original Everything Everywhere All at Once has managed to come screaming through the noise for a reason: it’s a bonafide masterpiece. It’s not just the Daniels’ confident direction, the inventive sci-fi ideas, the exhilarating action scenes, or the cast so incredible that they consist of more than one of the year’s best performances – although, it’s got all of that too. But what really makes it the kind of once-in-a-generation triumph that it is is its stunning emotional core, a surprising brand of hopeful nihilism that makes it, amidst everything else, endlessly inspiring.

The premise is simple enough… until it’s, well, very much not. But it all starts with Michelle Yeoh’s unhappy and overwhelmed Evelyn, whose laundromat is being audited by the IRS, just as she’s also about to be hit by divorce papers. It’s not until Evelyn gets recruited to connect with various versions of herself to stop a powerful being from destroying the multiverse that Everything Everywhere All at Once becomes the ambitious explosion of genres that it is.

As an action movie, it takes inspiration from countless martial arts classics, creating some of the most memorable fight scenes in years. The fight choreography that actors like Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Stephanie Hsu, and Jamie Lee Curtis pull off is impressive in itself – the fact that they’re sometimes swinging around fanny packs or dildo nunchunks is icing on the cake. It’s in these moments where the directing duo of the Daniels can’t help themselves from weaving in some of their finest toilet humor; it’s true that, through it all, Everything Everywhere is consistently hilarious.

And then there’s the multiverse of it all, which certainly isn’t a new concept to us here in 2022. But Everything Everywhere All at Once uses its big sci-fi ideas to tell a poignant, intimate story about a woman who is, by the very nature of the plot, the most unfulfilled version of herself. While its often frantic camera movements and shifts in the multiverse capture Evelyn’s undiagnosed ADHD, her journey through her own perceived missteps is a crushingly brutal depiction of depression. At first glance, the movie’s messaging that nothing really matters looks like a cynical one until it reveals its true theme: that if nothing matters, the only thing that really does is the way you treat those around you. It never buckles under the weight of despair; instead, it creates one of the most cleverly hopeful movies you’ll ever see.

All these big ideas are anchored by its actors, some of whom deliver career highlights in their already thoroughly impressive careers. There was no better choice for a lead than Yeoh, who both carries the weight of Evelyn’s frustration and regret while masterfully pulling off the countless other Evelyns she encounters, as either silly or profound as they may be. But she’s not alone; Ke Huy Quan is the movie’s consistent heart as Evelyn’s timid husband Waymond, as well as his smooth multiversal counterpart. And you can’t forget Stephanie Hsu, who manages to be a breakout star amidst the veterans.

In short, it has everything, everywhere, all at once, and it’s IGN’s pick for the best movie of 2022.

These are our nominees for the Best Movie of 2022...

The Best Movie of 2022

Everything Everywhere All at Once

Everything Everywhere All At Once is the kind of weird and wonderful movie that only comes around once in a generation. Wildly original and imaginative, The Daniels' masterpiece uses high-octane action, a fresh take on the multiverse, and a stellar cast to turn a story about depression and uncertainty over one's life choices into something hopeful, empathetic, and constantly entertaining. It's both a comedy and a relatable tragedy, all wrapped up in a stunningly creative sci-fi bow whose fight sequences can be put up against The Matrix's with ease; it has everything, everywhere, all at once.

Nope

Nope is a movie about movies. It’s also a movie about cashing in on sensationalism. And, it’s also, incredibly, kind of about the gig economy. Oh and a flying saucer. More than anything though Nope is a film that manages all of those things seamlessly. That all of these seemingly disparate ideas are pulling in the same direction is a testament to Jordan Peele and his complete mastery of the craft. Nope weaves legit summer blockbuster energy into a satirical tale of trauma, erasure and selling pop culture where power outages and inflatable-wavy-arm-used-car-lot-guys signal the approach of danger. The film is an old school Spielberg adventure injected Peele’s introspective brand of social thriller and it’s easily one of the best films of the year.

RRR

RRR is a rrrevelation. The story, the cinematography, the effects, the performances… There isn’t a single aspect of this film that isn’t firing on all cylinders. Writer and director S.S. Rajamouli brought something truly unique to the silver screen by playing with a fictional version of India’s history to develop an emotional, impactful, and uplifting story that will leave fans quite literally on the edge of their seat. You’ve heard “this film has it all” a million times by now, surely, but never has it been more true than in the case of Rajamouli’s incredible spectacle of brotherhood and revolution. For more on the film, check out why (and how) you should watch RRR.

The Batman

A gritty, grounded Batman movie may not be a novel idea these many years after Christopher Nolan’s groundbreaking Dark Knight Trilogy, but director Matt Reeves nevertheless found a unique, insightful, and engaging way to explore Bruce Wayne/Batman in this neo-noir detective thriller. Told from Batman’s point-of-view, Reeves’ film is a far more cerebral and personal Batfilm than most, one anchored by Robert Pattinson’s measured performance as a relentless, often vicious Dark Knight who learns to evolve beyond his own single-minded need for vengeance and become a symbol of hope and justice for Gotham. Pattinson is surrounded by a stellar ensemble who give their all, from Zoë Kravitz’s sultry Selina Kyle to Colin Farrell’s scene-stealing Penguin to Jeffrey Wright’s overwhelmed, deadpan Jim Gordon to Paul Dano’s chilling, Zodiac-inspired Riddler. The Batman put fresh and fully realized spins on these oft-portrayed DC icons and the terminally corrupt city they call home, managing to succeed as both a brooding, psychological character study and as an intense crime thriller.

Top Gun: Maverick

After waiting for two years to release Top Gun: Maverick, Tom Cruise and co. finally unveiled one of the most iconic action flicks in recent memory. Is it the greatest sequel of all time? It’s definitely a contender. And in 2022, where most of the other huge blockbusters were superhero sequels, dinosaur sequels, and other CGI-fueled make-believe, the Top Gun sequel is the real maverick among the crowd because it focuses on the absurd lengths the filmmakers went to get real-life video of its actors pulling seven gs in F/A-18 Hornets that were insanely close to a mountain. Amazing action aside, Maverick’s other huge benefit is that it doesn’t require hours of viewing homework to catch up on the story. Even if the last time you saw the original Top Gun was in the ‘80s, odds are you’ll still remember everything you’ll need to know for this one. And if you’ve never seen it, the movie makes sure to fill you in on everything you might have missed if you haven’t. Leave it to Tom Cruise to make an entire movie that is essentially “What if we made a movie that is only about the Rebel pilots preparing for the Trench Run on the Death Star?” We’ll be honest, no one’s watching this one for the plot, but beautifully photographed breakneck action and some surprisingly engaging performances make this one a real crowd-pleaser.