The Best (And Worst) Netflix Original Movies
Just a few years after Netflix’s world-changing decision to make its vast library of movies and TV shows available through a streaming service in 2007, the company made an aggressive push to create original content that would get the world talking. And while shows like House Of Cards, Orange Is The New Black, and Stranger Things certainly accomplished this, that wasn’t the limit of Netflix’s ambitions.
By 2015, the company would start producing original movies. And while this endeavor got off to a rockier start than Netflix’s television ventures, enough time has passed to determine what worked and what didn’t from its ever-growing library. And that’s why both extremes are going under the microscope today.
BEST: Roma (2018)
Roma is a prestige slice-of-life drama that can be a bit of a slow burn but is an ultimately affirming and beautifully-filmed story that gives two dedicated domestic workers in Mexico City their due.
As Nell Minow of the Alliance of Women Film Journalists put it, “Roma will be studied for years as a landmark in cinematic storytelling, made even more meaningful because it pays tribute to a character who is usually in the background.”
WORST: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny (2016)
Until Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny was announced, nobody expected there would ever be a sequel to the widely acclaimed 2000 original from Ang Lee. And after they saw it, most viewers wished there wasn’t.
As Justin Chang of Variety wrote, “This martial arts mediocrity has airborne warriors aplenty but remains a dispiritingly leaden affair with its mechanical storytelling, purely functional action sequences, and clunky English-language performances.”
BEST: The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs (2018)
Although Tim Blake Nelson makes a charming first impression as the titular character in The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs, his story is only the first part of this creative anthology movie that tells a series of tragic (if sometimes humorous) stories set in the Old West.
As Jason Bailey wrote for Flavorwire, “The anthology format gives the Coens room to tinker with new tones and forms while delivering their unique blend of comedy and dread.”
BEST: Okja (2017)
As he often does, ambitious Korean filmmaker Bong Joon Ho made Okja heartwarming, upsetting, smartly satirical, and compelling all at once. And while he walked a fine tightrope in making this story of a young girl stopping at nothing to save her giant animal friend, the results affected people deeply enough to change their lives.
As Anupama Chopra wrote for Film Companion, “Okja is a satire on corporate greed and how awful we are. I know people who stopped eating meat after they saw Okja.”
WORST: The Ridiculous 6 (2015)
Unfortunately for Netflix, one of the first movies the company ever produced ended up as one of its most infamously bad releases, The Ridiculous 6. At best, critics and audiences alike considered it just another movie playing by the same worn-out Happy Madison formula. At worst, it’s the often-maligned production company’s nadir.
As Mike McCahill wrote in a review for The Guardian, “Peer through this dopey haze long enough, and you can’t fail to notice the cavalier racial attitudes, the endlessly pliable women; you’d have every right to be outraged, were it not now par for the Sandler course.”
BEST: Marriage Story (2019)
A grippingly dramatic tale of divorce, Marriage Story pairs an unflinching and personal script with some of Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver’s best performances. Although the film is certainly emotionally draining, its storytelling could not have been executed better.
As Jordan Hoffman of TV Guide put it, “The movie is 136 minutes, but the recovery period is, well, at least the rest of the night.”
WORST: A Fall From Grace (2020)
Tyler Perry doesn’t exactly have a sterling reputation as a filmmaker, and A Fall From Grace does little to right that trend. His bad habit of creating illogical situations for the sake of drama is on full display here, but the overwrought manifestation of that drama almost serves as a saving grace due to its unintentional comedy.
Noëlle D. Lilley felt similarly in her review for the Chicago Reader, writing, “The film quickly spirals into unstructured, nearly laughable chaos.”
BEST: The Irishman (2019)
Admittedly, The Irishman‘s intimidating three-and-a-half-hour length and its questionable attempts to de-age Robert De Niro can make for a tough sell to audiences. But its script makes the most of its runtime with snappy dialogue, a compelling story, and the right amount of detail to keep Scorcese fans more than happy.
And the performances bring it all together, including a surprisingly understated turn from Joe Pesci and a perfectly-cast Al Pacino as the larger-than-life Jimmy Hoffa.
WORST: The True Memoirs Of An International Assassin (2016)
The True Memoirs Of An International Assassin sees Kevin James as an author whose work of fiction turns out truer to life than he thought. But while that could make for a madcap comedy, viewers largely saw the results as mediocre despite the attempts at over-the-top violence.
In the words of Rogerebert.com’s Brian Tallarico, “It’s not action-packed enough, not funny enough, and the characters aren’t memorable enough.”
BEST: Glass Onion (2022)
Daniel Craig broke from his often dead-serious acting style to play the brilliant but homespun detective Benoit Blanc in Knives Out, and he makes his welcome return in another thrilling mystery.
And while Glass Onion challenges its audience to figure out which among another unsympathetic gaggle of rich people crossed the line into murder, the results are bigger and more over-the-top than the first time audiences saw Blanc work his magic.
WORST: The Cloverfield Paradox (2018)
After an intriguing monster movie and a tight, brilliantly-acted psychological thriller, the Cloverfield franchise flew too close to the Sun with its third installment, The Cloverfield Paradox. And while the premise of a space crew seeing Earth disappear is interesting, the results turn out too convoluted and sterile to derive much enjoyment from.
As Emily Gaudette wrote in a Newsweek review, “One of the big problems with Paradox is that 85 percent of the film is explanation, leaving very little time for character development.”
BEST: Da 5 Bloods (2020)
Uncompromising Spike Lee joint Da 5 Bloods sees a group of Vietnam veterans return to the Asian nation to find the remains of their squad leader and seek the gold he helped them conceal. And while the results are somewhat meandering and certainly polarizing to audiences, critics were almost universally impressed.
As Jocelyn Noveck wrote for The Associated Press, “By the end, you’ll be spent, dazed, perhaps even confused – but stunned, too, at the audacity of it all and the feeling that it is, so unequivocally, the right movie at the right time.”
WORST: The Kissing Booth (2018)
Netflix is no stranger to producing teen romantic comedies, but The Kissing Booth isn’t generally regarded as one of their better efforts in this genre.
Despite apparently attracting enough interest to produce two sequels, the movie had a chilly reception from audiences and critics alike. As the movie progressed, they found both its core romantic relationship and its core friendship hard to root for.
BEST: To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018)
Although To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before doesn’t break from the conventions of romantic comedies after a teen girl’s secret love letters are accidentally mailed out, it’s well-executed enough for viewers not to mind. Between the natural dialogue, relatable characters, and believable chemistry between the actors, this light film shows there’s nothing wrong with keeping it simple.
Or as Constance Grady put it in a Vox review, “It’s a stylish pastel-tinted confection of a movie, one that knows every single one of the romantic tropes it’s working with backwards and forwards, and loves them with all its pure and wholesome heart.”
BEST: I’m Thinking Of Ending Things (2020)
As is often the case for writer/director Charlie Kaufman’s work, I’m Thinking Of Ending Things, leaves the viewer with a lot to wrap their heads around. But while it’s a challenging and sometimes confusing watch, it’s grounded enough by Jessie Buckley’s compelling performance in the lead role to push through.
Or as Zoe Rose Bryant wrote for Loud And Clear Reviews, “I’m Thinking of Ending Things is sometimes too esoteric for its own good, but it remains entirely engrossing the whole way through,
particularly thanks to Jessie Buckley’s brilliant lead performance.”
BEST: Bird Box (2018)
Admittedly, Bird Box doesn’t have the makings of an award-winner and doesn’t quite reach the ambitious heights of the similar sensory thriller A Quiet Place. But sometimes, a shaky execution of an intriguing premise can be rescued by its actors.
And while some would disagree, Bird Box is one of those examples. It remains engaging enough and gives Sandra Bullock enough room for her performance to shine that it’s still a decent watch.
WORST: Game Over, Man (2018)
The simplest way to describe this movie is as a Die Hard clone starring the guys from Workaholics. But while audiences may have expected their brand of comedy to shine through, their chemistry is stifled by the uninspired action framework.
In the words of The Guardian‘s Charles Bramesco, “With its inexplicable combination of phallic revulsion, fascination, and revulsion at its own fascination, this wretched film hates itself more
than we ever could.”
BEST: Mank (2020)
Mank explores the life of troubled screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz in the period just before he finished the script for Citizen Kane. But while it’s unimpeachable on a technical level and features a sharp script, audiences would do well not to take its events literally.
Because as Tara Brady put it in The Irish Times, “Not unlike watching Oliver Stone’s JFK. It’s spectacular! It’s a tour du force! It’s counterfactual nonsense!”
WORST: How It Ends (2018)
How It Ends sees a man trying to survive the trappings of a newly post-apocalyptic society to return home to his pregnant wife. But even viewers who care enough about him to trudge through this by-the-numbers affair will be disappointed to learn that the movie stops abruptly with no end.
As Paul Tassi put it in a Forbes review, “This is a mediocre post-apocalyptic movie that turns into a downright horrible one by refusing to provide any semblance of meaningful answers
about its central mystery.”
BEST: Army Of The Dead (2021)
After how intensely zombie stories became over-saturated during the 2010s, just throwing people in a zombie apocalypse doesn’t really cut it anymore. And that’s why Army Of The Dead mixes up with this high-octane, high-stakes heist movie that just happens to take place during a zombie apocalypse.
Although it’s a little overlong, it also sets its tone very quickly. So viewers can typically tell whether they’ll like it or not within the first 20 minutes.
WORST: Tall Girl 2 (2022)
Although some critics warmed up to this coming-of-age teen movie a little more than the first movie, others regarded Tall Girl 2 as another fumble that seems to hope viewers relate to the titular character more than it gives them much reason to. And audiences overwhelmingly agreed.
Amy Nicholson pulled no punches in her review for The New York Times, saying, “Tall Girl 2 wants audiences to project their own insecurities onto Jodi’s lanky frame. But it fobs off self-absorption as introspection. The plot
is scattershot; the drama ant-size.”
BEST: The Harder They Fall (2021)
Although there isn’t a world of difference between The Harder They Fall and other modern Westerns, the film’s distinctive style (particularly in its soundtrack) makes it an enjoyable watch anyway.
Or, as Bilge Ebiri from New York Magazine and Vulture put it, “The Harder They Fall is a mess, but it’s a fun mess.”
BEST: Passing (2021)
Rebecca Hall’s directorial debut, Passing, is an ambitious film set in 1920s New York that explores the complexities of racial identity through the lens of two reuniting friends, one of whom is able to pass as a white woman.
As M.N. Miller wrote for Ready Steady Cut, “There’s no easy answer, and that’s where Passing excels— the gray areas.”
BEST: Dolemite Is My Name (2019)
The vastly underrated biopic Dolemite Is My Name sees Eddie Murphy take on the role of Rudy Ray Moore, a comedian whose single-minded vision led to the creation of one of the most inept yet legendary movies in film history.
And while the subject matter lends itself to as much humor as one might expect, what comes through even stronger is the amount of heart Moore showed in putting the movie together from practically nothing. Even though Dolemite Is My Name is about the making of Dolemite, of all things, it’s legitimately inspiring.
