30 Great Netflix Original Movies

Eddie Murphy on the big screen has rarely felt like the impulsive, crafty comedy king of old, but Dolemite, the story of comedian-turned-blaxploitation lord Rudy Ray Moore is not just a great film in itself, it was also a true return to form for its star. Written by biopic specialists Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, and directed by Craig Brewer, it's funny and heartfelt, rude and righteous all at the same time. If only the Oscars had seen fit to recognise that.

French director Mati Diop's genre-defying first feature is about the migrant crisis and the shaping influence of first love. What begins as a slice of social realism morphs into a crime mystery and ends up as a story of supernatural justice. In this haunting social lament, Diop pulls off shifts from social realism to genre mysticism with sheer poise.

If you've discovered Bong Joon Ho through Parasite, it's worth digging through his back catalogue. Netflix realised his talent a few years ago, and this environmental tale about a clash between a huge corporation and some anarchists over a weird (and weirdly cute creature is a little zany and very entertaining, featuring the likes of Bong veteran Tilda Swinton and Jake Gyllenhaal increasingly embracing his wacky side.

Pariah director Dee Reese followed that film with this angry, passionate and dramatic period tale. Two families – one black, the Jacksons, and the other white, the McAllans – are forced to share the same patch of land, keeping a frail race-based peace with each other. However, as they both struggle with hardship and dire poverty, the long-awaited return of two war veterans, Ronsel, the Jacksons' eldest son, and Jamie, Henry McAllan's younger brother, will unexpectedly nurture a budding friendship that transcends prejudice and race.

The Coens originally planned this as a series, but it was then merged together into anthology of Western tales that, this being Joel and Ethan, are loaded with subversion, parody and offbeat humour. But there's also heart and humanity lurking here too, and a cast composed of stalwart Coen corps actors and some new faces, including Zoe Kazan and James Franco.

Much as with Bong Joon Ho, Netflix has been quick to crack open its wallet to offer opportunities to great filmmakers, backing their work with cinema runs and awards season campaigns Alfonso Cuarón's semi-autobiographical story of 1970s life in Mexico city saw him trading the magic and space milieu of the films he made before this for stark realism and a keen eye for little details. The result won three Oscars from a nomination crop of 10.

Remember what we were saying about Netflix and respected filmmakers. The streaming services' deep pockets were the only place Martin Scorsese could find the funds to make his technically ambitious latest trip into the world of mobsters and the people whose lives they affect. Gathering an astounding cast (De Niro, Pacino, Pesci, Keitel and others you can't just refer to by their surnames), he brought us a decades-long story that is rooted in truth but features a narrator who tells it the way he remembers.

Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce control the screen here, their joint performances winding around each other, their contrasting styles complimentary. Born as a play by writer Anthony McCarten, Fernando Meirelles' film imagines the discussions that went out between outgoing Pope Benedict and unlikely, initially unsure incoming Pope Francis.

Romance-obsessed 16 year-old Lara Jean Song Covey (Lana Condor) has no love life of her own, instead writing letters to her crushes that she keeps hidden in a box. When her meddling younger sister Kitty (Anna Cathcart) mails them all out, she sets up a fake-dating scheme with letter recipient Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo) to smooth everything out. It's a charming, colourful and heartfelt high school rom-com for Gen Z. Even if it's not quite true love, it's a real giddy crush. And it recently generated a sequel, too.

Alex Garland's latest film had a cinematic release in the States before Paramount sold it off to Netflix almost everywhere else. But unlike The Cloverfield Paradox, this is a remarkable film, smart and thoughtful yet never feeling cold. Adapted from Jeff VanderMeer's book, it follows a team of women investigating a mysterious zone where the laws of nature have been warped and twisted. The performances are uniformly great and it's one that prefers to leave you to make up your own mind.

Mike Flanagan has become something of an expert in adapting Stephen King's stories to the screen, and this is a prime example of his work. Carla Gugino is Jessie Burlingame, whose romantic weekend with husband Gerald (Bruce Greenwood) turns drastically sour as the fun games become increasingly dark when they discover someone (or something) might be lurking in the shadows. It's subtly scary, and full of atmosphere.

Noah Baumbach joined the Netflix Director's Club (there's a special badge, probably) with this estranged family tale. When a New York sculptor (Dustin Hoffman) is offered an art retrospective at his alma mater, his daughter (Elizabeth Marvel) and two sons, high-flier Matthew (Ben Stiller) and struggling Danny (Adam Sandler), gather to lend support. Quickly, though, half-buried jealousies bubble to the surface. Meyerowitz sees Sandler and Stiller at their best. If it feels like familiar turf for the writer-director, the emotions here are rawer than ever. And it led to...

Yes, Baumbach again, for a drama that chronicles the crumbling of the relationship between theatre director Charlie (Adam Driver) and his actress wife Nicole (Scarlett Johansson) even as they try to keep the family together for their son. It tiptoes through modern moral mores and sees great work from the leads alongside an Oscar-winning Laura Dern.

A years-long feud melts in a meeting of minds and a Christmas tradition is born in an enchanting animated story. JK Simmons, Jason Schwartzman and more lend their voices to Sergio Pablos' film, which is destined to be an annual festive favourite for families, but let's be honest... if you need a little extra joy in a tough time, there are no rules.

Vince Gilligan answers some long burning questions about what happened to Aaron Paul's Jesse Pinkman after the events of Breaking Bad. Shot with the same care and attention to detail, it flashes back to his horrendous time at the hands of Jesse Plemons' Todd and lets Paul play every emotion in Jesse's continuing story.

Feeling hemmed in by his family's plans for him to take over running their BBQ joint, Elijah (a fantastic Mamoudou Athie) looks to forge his own path by becoming a sommelier, a world that is tough to get into for anyone, let alone a black man with zero experience. It's such an entertaining, warm film, also anchored by Courtney B. Vance and Niecy Nash as two of the best screen parents in a long time.

We admit it, we're slightly bending the rules here, as Sack Lunch Bunch is more a collection of sketches and existentially zany songs, but it's so much fun that we couldn't leave it off the list. Mulaney anchors the madness, but scenes are stolen by Jake Gyllenhaal as Mr. Music.

Every day, a platform covered in a sumptuous feast is presented to a prison tower with innumerable floors. The inmates of each floor must eat what they like, then leave the rest for the floors below. Greed and selfishness are rife, but one new inmate hopes that he can change that, one way or another. A none-more-topical tale of inequality, cruelty and yet inextinguishable hope, The Platform is packed with ideas and moments to be endlessly debated, with all the makings of a cult classic.

The Netflix-streaming feature-length directorial debut of Stefon Bristol, produced by his mentor Spike Lee, See You Yesterday is a bold, stylish and energetic sci-fi drama that does huge amounts on a limited budget within a sub-90-minute runtime. CJ (Eden Duncan-Smith) and Sebastian (Danté Crichlow) are prodigious teens from Brooklyn who invent a method of time-travel – and when CJ's older brother Calvin is shot dead by a racist cop, she uses their invention to try and save him. With charming leads and a vibrant sense of identity, See You Yesterday is lively, confident, and totally entertaining. But it's also a film with powerful dramatic purpose, and an uncompromising ending that offers no easy answers.

Longtime friends Sasha (Ali Wong) and Marcus (Randall Park) were seen as a potential couple by everyone – except them. But aside from one quick hook-up, they've stayed that way, and then lost touch. When they reconnect, they consider possibly giving it another try, but then fate, and especially Keanu Reeves, intervenes.

Thor goes all John Wick, with a movie directed by stunt veteran Sam Hargrave? Produced by the Russo brothers? Yeah, you knew there would be some fun here. Extraction won't worry the greats on the story front, but the action is certainly worth watching. Plus Chris Hemsworth brings true charm to his role as a battle-weary mercenary who begrudgingly accepts a job to track down the kidnapped scion of a drug cartel boss. Hargrave, who steps behind the camera for the first time as the main director after years of action experience and second unit work on Marvel movies, Atomic Blonde and more, pushes the needle for the punches, the kicks and the gunfire, while keeping the pace taught.

Susanne Bier's nervy sci-fi thriller has Arrival's Eric Heisserer adapting Josh Malerman's novel, in which the world goes to hell because of an ominous presence that spurs anyone who sees it to either go insanely suicidal or start to attack others. Sandra Bullock is Malorie, who has to survive this vastly changed planet, shepherding her kids to safety on a journey where none of them can use their eyes. The idea of a strange presence that causes people to act irrationally might hit a little closer to home these days, but Bird Box had power before the pandemic.

Charlize Theron is Andy, AKA Andromache of Scythia, an immortal warrior who has lived and battled through hundreds of years. Along with a group of similarly long-lived fighters, she works as a soldier of fortune, helping people along the way while dealing with guilt over one of their own who suffered a terrible living fate and trying to avoid being seen in a world where that is increasingly difficult. Gina Prince-Bythewood brings real style and emotion to the adaptation of Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernández's graphic novel (Rucka wrote the script for the movie) and Theron anchors a great cast.

In the weeks after the killing of George Floyd, which sparked major Black Lives Matter protests across the world, Spike Lee released another incredibly timely work speaking to the intersection of American racism and imperialism in the Vietnam War. Part war film, part adventure thriller, Lee's film sees four African-American soldiers – played by Clarke Peters, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Norm Lewis, and standout Delroy Lindo – reunite in present-day Vietnam. Their mission: to uncover the body of their fallen leader Stormin' Norman (Chadwick Boseman), and the cache of gold they abandoned in the jungle long ago. The result is, well, a Spike Lee joint – switching tones and registers with skill and ease, as sweet reunions give way to tense confrontations, and old wounds are reopened. Entering the fifth decade of his career, Lee has lost none of his power, nor his playfulness.Read the Empire review.Watch now on Netflix

Alice Wu's charmer re-invents the teen love triangle for the modern era. Bookish, sharp Ellie Chu (Leah Lewis) is roped into helping jock Paul Munsky (Daniel Diemer) woo the seemingly unattainable Aster Flores (Alexxis Lemire). When Ellie also falls for the compelling Aster, the stage is set for a new take on Cyrano de Bergerac (or Roxanne, if you prefer). It's the sort of film that might not get the chance to be made in the studio system and we're glad it exists. There are laughs a-plenty, but The Half Of It doesn't forget to make the emotions feel real and raw.

Remi Weekes' startling, terrifying debut fuses a ghost story with a moving and impactful story about grief and guilt and about being an immigrant in a country that is indifferent at best; hostile at worst. His protagonists are a world away from your usual horror-movie heroes. Bol (Sope Dirisu) and Rial (Wunmi Mosaku) are a couple whose marriage already appears to be falling apart under assault from all fronts: the strain of coping with the darkness that drove them to cram onto a tiny boat leaving Sudan, and adapting to new surroundings so bland and vague they're not even sure where exactly they are. And that's before a spectral force, assailing them with images of ghosts of the past, invades the walls of their rundown new home. It'll unsettle you in ways beyond your average horror thriller.

We're so used to seeing Sherlock Holmes at the centre of his detective stories, but here, with an adaptation of Nancy Springer's books, it's heretofore unknown younger sister Enola. Brought to witty life by Stranger Things' Millie Bobby Brown, she's a snarky, compelling lead character and will hopefully enjoy her own series of films.

Channelling classic Disney 'toons in both its subject of a young woman on a quest (in this case a trip to the lunar surface to locate a goddess) and Chinese culture, Over The Moon packs in solid songs and enchanting animation for a great family movie.

Three teenagers from The Bronx fight back when their neighbourhood falls prey to gentrification — but not by who you think. There's a John Carpenter feel to the movie, which ups the laughs even as the scares work too. Streaming now

Aaron Sorkin's based-on-truth legal drama originally had a home at Paramount, but was sold to Netflix. Certainly not because of quality concerns – this is a thundering look at the politics and activism at the time, with fantastic work from the likes of Sacha Baron Cohen, Frank Langella, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Jeremy Strong.