2022 in movies: the best, the worst, the surprises and the controversies

2022 was a wild year for movies! The year started with surprises like the Scream reboot/remake/new chapter and the return of the Jackass crew in Jackass Forever. As the year comes to an end, we’re not slowing down with the release of the most expensive movie ever, Avatar: The Way of Water.

We had ups like The Batman, Nope, and The Fabelmans, and downs like the third Fantastic Beasts film, Morbius, and the finale to the Jurassic World franchise. We saw comebacks like Lindsay Lohan in Falling For Christmas, and major movie controversies like the now infamous Don’t Worry Darling on-set drama.

Here at Etalk we’re recapping the year in our cozy holiday special, Etalk’s Winter Movie Warm-Up. Join Tyrone, Lainey, and Chloe as they cozy up and recap 2022 in film! The special airs on Thursday, December 22 at 7pm ET and again on December 30 at 7pm ET.

Here’s a taste of what you can expect:

HIGHLIGHTS

As we round the corner into awards season, we’re reminded of the incredible, critically acclaimed movies we received this year. Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees of Innisherin looks to be a front-runner in many of the acting categories with Colin Farrell gunning for a long overdue Academy Award nomination (and ideally, win!).

Everything Everywhere All at Once remains one of the year's most talked-about films as we approach 2023, even though it's been ten months since it hit theatres. Michelle Yeoh has consistently been a shoe-in for Best Actress nominations in various critics groups, with Ke Huy Quan, Stepahnie Hsu, and Jamie Lee Curtis also receiving big awards talk across the board.

Avatar: The Way of Water is a lock across the technical awards categories with James Cameron’s film stunning viewers and critics alike with its ground-breaking VFX. 2022 also saw the birth of Austin Butler’s Elvis, a character that it seems he has yet to let go of. We’ll see if he can walk his Blue Suede Shoes all the way to the Oscar stage.

Other films we loved that we expect to see well represented this award season? Babylon, Women Talking, and Tár.

Blockbusters continue to drive crowds to theatres but it’s always a plus when a blockbuster is universally loved. That was the case with this year’s Top Gun: Maverick. Fans and critics alike agreed that Tom Cruise’s long-awaited sequel surpassed expectations with its death-defying real-life stunts and knockout cast.

Big expectations were set with the first installment, but Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery was able to rise above them, with many saying that this sequel is better than the first.

Other 2022 highlights include Jordan Peele’s newest horror hit Nope and one of the most well-reviewed MCU movies in years, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

SURPRISES

There’s nothing better than an underdog movie making its way to the forefront. Whether it be a movie that no one has heard of growing with positive word of mouth or a movie no one expected to be good becoming the internet’s new favoruite.

One of the year’s earliest surprises came with Ambulance, a frenetic Michael Bay movie starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Yahyah Abdul Mateen II, which became one of the most exciting original blockbusters of the year.

2022 was also the year of sleeper horror hits. Barbarian came out of nowhere to become one of the year’s most talked-about ‘WTF’ rollercoasters. Smile was another horror hit that broke the box office this year. Originally intended for streaming on Paramount+, the studio took a chance and released the film in theatres after test screenings were well received. The risk paid off with Smile raking in over $100 million at the box office and getting rave reviews with critics dubbing it one of the scariest movies of the year.

Given the poor track track record of Predator sequels, hype surrounding Prey was low, especially after the film’s theatrical release was canceled and it was moved to Hulu. Luckily, Prey -- which dropped the Predator in 1719 and had it face off against a fierce Comanche warrior played by Amber Midthunder -- became one of the year's most original franchise films.

When Weird: The Al Yankovic Story appeared on the list of films premiering at TIFF ’22 everyone was confused. How could a Weird Al parody docu-drama be worthy of a slot at one of the world’s most prestigious film festivals? Turns out Weird was an expertly written and directed movie that provided a pitch-perfect parody of the docu-drama genre to the most minute detail.

LOWLIGHTS

Where there are highs, there must be lows. Making a movie is a wildly difficult thing to do and some films just don't rises to the lofty expectations set by fans and critics. Nowhere was this more prevalent this year than the expectations in the release of Thor: Love And Thunder. After the 180 turn the franchise took with Taika Waititi’s Thor: Ragnarok, superhero fans were excited to see how the director would continue to move this franchise forward. Turns out Waititi was unable to harness the magic again as he stalled with a movie that retread the same ground it laid in the last film and ended up too short to cover its many plot points.

There was little reason The Bubble shouldn't have worked. A hilarious cast (Pedro Pascal, Leslie Mann, Keegan-Michael Key) and directed by Judd Apatow (This Is 40, Trainwreck), it seemed like an easy homerun. Unfortunately, this COVID-era lockdown comedy didn’t land and provided few laughs in its overlong runtime.

We even saw lowlights in the "awardsy" movies by tried and true directors. Men, this year’s mind-bending Alex Garland film, went too far in its ‘wtf’ final act for its own good, and even though it boasted a next-level A-list cast, Amsterdam failed to connect with audiences and bombed at the box office.

2022 was meant to be Harry Styles’ breakout year as an actor with My Policeman and Don’t Worry Darling. Sadly, in both cases, the films weren’t able to match the hype generated by fans of the star. Don’t Worry Darling became overshadowed by its own controversy (we’ll get there…) and My Policeman entered the scene in a whisper. Do you know anyone that’s actually watched My Policeman? Ask around.

CONTROVERSIES

Though this heading says ‘Controversies,’ there was one in particular that shook the industry the hardest this year: the Don’t Worry Darling controversy. It began with on-set rumours of a feud between director Olivia Wilde and Florence Pugh and escalated when Wilde and Pugh’s co-star Harry Styles got swept up in a love affair that covered every tabloid.

From there, the controversy became an uncontrollable conveyor belt rapidly sending out new rumours and stories in the weeks leading up to release. The Florence/Olivia feud only grew stronger with Pugh neglecting to do any press for the film. Wilde’s ex Jason Sudeikis was pulled into Wilde’s growing controversy with rumours of breakdowns and leaked texts from their family nanny. And who could forget "spitgate," the moment that was played back more than any sports replay this year? Frame by frame, fans and haters alike pulled apart the video of Harry Styles sitting down next to Chris Pine at the Venice Film Festival attempting to answer the burning question: did Harry spit on Chris?!

Other movie controversies that controlled the news cycle this year: the DCU shakeup with James Gunn taking control of their future films, Ezra Miller’s worldwide antics with the fate of The Flash hanging in the balance, and of course the Will Smith slap at film’s biggest night (yes, that was this year!).

COMEBACKS

2022 was also the year of heartwarming comebacks. Some of our faves stepped back into the spotlight and we couldn’t be happier. Canadian sweetheart Brendan Fraser became one of the internet’s favourite comeback stories this year with his return to film in The Whale. With huge awards buzz surrounding the film, we can’t help getting swept away in Fraser’s public excitement and emotional interviews.

LiLo is back! Lindsay Lohan made her movie comeback this year in Netflix’s Falling For Christmas. The lighthearted holiday film was the perfect comeback move for Lohan who reveled in the positivity surrounding herself and the film. We’re so excited to see what project Lohan takes on next (and continue to keep our fingers crossed for a Freaky Friday sequel!)

And lastly, 2022 saw the comeback of another Canadian legend: James Cameron. After 13 years, he took us back to the planet of Pandora. Though many felt like it wouldn’t return, Avatar Fever came back! Though we’re still in the early days of the film’s run, the sequel is expected to pull in some major $$$.

Don’t forget to tune in to Etalk’s Winter Movie Warm-Up on Thursday, December 22 at 7pm ET and again on December 30 at 7pm ET.