Over the past year or so, Netflix and Apple TV+ have been duking it out to have the most prestigious film offerings (congrats, CODA!), but some of the 10 best films are on Amazon Prime Video. The streamer was one of the first to go around picking up film festival darlings and other lovable favorites, and they’re all still there in the library, so if they flew under your radar the first time, now is the perfect time to catch up.
Our picks for the 10 best films on Amazon Prime are below. All the films in our guide are included in
your Prime subscription—no renting here. Once you’ve watched your fill, check out our lists for the best
shows on Netflix and best movies on Disney+ if you’re looking for something else to watch. We also
have a guide to the best shows on Amazon if that’s what you’re in the mood for.
Here are the 10 best films on Amazon Prime video:
1. Red, White, and Royal Blue
Look, on a very narrow metric—”gloriously cheesy trash“—this is unquestionably a “best film.” The
relationship between First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz (Taylor Zakhar Perez) and Prince Henry (Nicholas
Galitzine), the “spare” to the British throne, is followed in this international rom-com adaptation of Casey
McQuinston’s best-selling novel as they progress from rivals to grudging respect and, in the end, to
ground-breaking romance. The plot is frequently ridiculous, with an inciting incident involving the two
falling into a wedding cake, a tryst worthy of the tabloids in a hotel room, and political intrigue involving
Alex’s mother, President Ellen Claremont (Uma Thurman, vamping scenes with a bizarre “Texan” accent)
, but it’s all just so wholesome and positive that it’s impossible to resist. Pizza in movies is like Red, White
and Royal Blue: not great for you, but nevertheless tasty.
2. Shin Masked Rider
This brand-new reimagining of one of Japan’s most adored characters is deserving of your attention if
you’re tired of generic Hollywood superhero flicks. This remake of the 1971 television series Kamen Rider
is directed by Hideaki Anno (Evangelion, Shin Godzilla, Shin Ultraman—”shin” means “new” or “true” in
Japanese). It follows motorbike rider Takeshi Hongo (Sosuke Ikematsu), much like that programme. Hongo
is forced to become a strong cyborg after being kidnapped by the terrorist group S.H.O.C.K.E.R. He
escapes before being reprogrammed as an agent of the organisation and instead uses his newfound
abilities to defeat its soldiers. But unlike the original, Anno’s method capitalises on the bodily horror of the
central idea while also pressuring his characters—and audience—to maintain their inherent humanity in
the midst of a hostile environment.
3. Brittany Runs a Marathon: best films on Amazon Prime VIdeo
When Brittany’s doctor advises her to reduce weight, she uses it as motivation to take charge of her life.
She begins by donning some running shoes and pushing herself to complete a single block before
immediately opting to run the New York City Marathon. The film’s first-time director, Paul Downs Colaizzo,
based the narrative on the experiences of a buddy, emphasising both the advantages and drawbacks of
running. This movie demonstrates that you can always rise over adversity.
4. Air
Even though Nike’s Air Jordan shoes are still widely regarded as the court shoe today and Michael Jordan
is a veritable sports deity, that wasn’t the case in 1984. Jordan was a rookie at the time, and Nike’s
basketball shoe division was poised to shut down. Enter Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon), a talent scout for
the shoe manufacturer who has identified a budding star in North Carolina who has the potential to
change everything. He only has to persuade everyone else that Jordan is worth the company’s risk. We all
know how that turned out, so thank goodness Air is not just a two-hour shoe commercial. Damon, Jason
Bateman, Chris Tucker, and director Ben Affleck all provide good performances, but Viola Davis
completely outshines them all in a captivating and compelling performance.
5. Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
14 years after his last feature-length misadventure, Sacha Baron Cohen’s “Kazakh” TV reporter returns to
the US, despite the fact that he speaks Hebrew. This time, Baron Cohen has brought his teenage daughter
(who speaks Bulgarian) along with him. He plans to present her “as a gift” to a couple of influential
American officials, first Mike Pence and then Rudy Giuliani. The mockumentary, in typical Boratic style,
follows the crazy couple on a cavalcade around Trump’s America while documenting the unguarded
performances of a variety of unsuspecting characters, including QAnon adherents, Republican activists,
prim debutantes, and even Giuliani himself. Even the coronavirus outbreak, which hit the United States as
the movie was being made, is misrepresented as a humorous story piece. Baron Cohen delivers, bringing
the usual mix of linguistic absurdities and shock humour.
6. Shotgun Wedding: best films on Amazon Prime
Shotgun Wedding, a rowdy variation on the classic rom-com, hooks viewers with a corny setup—a
wedding on a tropical island, complete with antics from quarrelling in-laws—before practically erupting
into an action adventure when the wedding party is held captive by hostile pirates. If we’re being honest,
it occasionally comes out as hammy and self-aware, yet it still leads to It’s simple to get sucked along for
the ride as bride and groom Darcy and Tom, whose happy day turns into an often comically brutal fight
for survival, since Jennifer Lopez and Josh Duhamel are plainly having so much fun playing them. This is a
great supporting cast movie featuring Jennifer Coolidge as the mother of the groom, who steals every
scene with her beautifully wild presence.
7. Nanny
Senegalese lady Aisha (Anna Diop) works as a nanny for a wealthy couple in New York City in the hopes of
making enough money to send her kid and cousin to the United States to join her. Her future, however, is
dependent upon her employers, who frequently withhold her salary while appearing satisfied to let Aisha
care for their daughter, Rose. Aisha starts experiencing bizarre nightmares about drowning as the strain of
the power disparity grows on her, which is made worse by her anxieties of leaving her own kid behind. In
contrast to the trauma of the immigrant experience in contemporary America, Nikyatu Jusu’s feature film
debut, Nanny, replaces the clichés of opportunity and optimism with a tangible melancholy for the
culture and community that have been lost.
8. Coming 2 America
It can be hazardous to rely on nostalgia to support new episodes of long-running programmes, but Eddie
Murphy’s decision to reprise his role as Prince—now King—Akeem of Zamunda more than three decades
after the release of Coming to America in 1988 demonstrates how to do it properly. Before filmmaker
Craig Brewer (Hustle and Flow) flips the script and puts the American characters to the test with a journey
to Zamunda, Akeem and the viewer get to meet with old individuals from the previous movie after being
drawn back to the US in quest of a kid he never knew he had. Coming 2 America overcomes the odds to
be a comedy sequel that lives up to the renown of its predecessor by having a sharper, smarter, and more
internationally aware script than the original.
9. Thirteen Lives: best films on Amazon Prime
Viggo Mortensen, Colin Farrell, and Joel Edgerton star in director Ron Howard’s most recent film, which
dramatises the 2018 Tham Luang cave rescue, during which a Thai junior football team and their assistant
coach were stranded in the cave system due to flooding. The difficulties of travelling miles of
underground caves become increasingly deadly as a worldwide attempt to save the kids grows, and
Howard expertly portrays every dangerously cramped moment of it. Thirteen Lives, a suspenseful film
with some cleverly filmed underwater scenes, is a tribute to one of the most challenging rescues ever
carried out.
10. One Night in Miami
One Night in Miami, which is based on the same-named play, follows Muhammad Ali, Sam Cooke, Jim
Brown, and Malcolm X at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, a turning point in both their personal
and professional lives. After Ali, who was still Cassius Clay, defeated Sonny Liston in the heavyweight
division in 1964, the four men met in a hotel room to discuss their respective positions in the movement
and society as a whole, all the while being aware of the pressure history is placing on them. The tight
quarters of the majority of the movie reflect its theatrical beginnings, but Regina King’s feature-length
directorial debut successfully captures the cast’s larger-than-life characters.
There are the 10 best films on Amazon Prime video.
