The 18 best movies on Netflix

It's hard to believe that Netflix only launched in 2007, but apparently, that’s all the time it takes to change the face of movie/TV consumption. When it introduced its revolutionary mail-in rental service, Netflix was competing with businesses like movie theaters, Blockbuster, and even Tower Video. Some of those stalwarts have faltered, but Netflix has only continued to expand its library and influence.

Beyond a treasure trove of original series and features, the service has curated a laundry list of excellent films both new and old. Here are the 18 best movies on Netflix right now.

01of 18

13 Going on 30 (2004)

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Gary Winick’s time-shift comedy — in which 13-year-old Jenna Rink (Christa B. Allen) lapses into her 30-year-old self (Jennifer Garner) and learns to appreciate her fleeting youth — is almost preposterously effective. There’s little reason for a movie that features a dance break to "Thriller" to be so emotionally fulfilling, but we find our hearts swelling up just writing about it. As EW's critic raved, "13 Going on 30 is the rare commercial comedy that leaves you entranced by what can happen only in the movies." —Declan Gallagher

Where to watch 13 Going on 30: Netflix

EW grade: N/A (read the review)

Director: Gary Winick

Cast: Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo, Judy Greer, Andy Serkis, Kathy Baker

Related content: Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo get all mushy over their 13 Going on 30 reunion in The Adam Project

02of 18

Bullet Train (2022)

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David Leitch's action comedy stars Brad Pitt as a pseudonymous assassin aboard a train filled with other quick-witted killers (among them Brian Tyree Henry, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Zazie Beetz). It's violent, flashy, and inconsequential in the best way possible, making for prime escapist entertainment. "Bullet Train doesn't have a destination, really, or a moral imperative other than mayhem," EW's critic noted. "But it's got a ticket to ride." —D.G.

Where to watch Bullet Train: Netflix

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Director: David Leitch

Cast: Brad Pitt, Bryan Tyree Henry, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Joey King, Zazie Beetz

Related content: How the Bullet Train team made 'action inside a tube' exciting for 2 hours

03of 18

Carol (2015)

Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett in 'Carol'. 

WILSON WEBB/WEINSTEIN COMPANY/COURTESY EVERETT COLLECTION

This period drama from auteur Todd Haynes is one of the most sumptuous films of the modern era. Therese (Rooney Mara) is a department store clerk who has a chance encounter with a glamorous older woman, Carol (Cate Blanchett) in 1950s New York. A secret affair blossoms from there, as Carol and Therese forge an intense emotional and romantic connection that complicates their lives. With deeply felt, Oscar-nominated performances from Blanchett and Mara and stunning technical craft — from the music score to the period-specific production design and costumes — Carol is a transporting experience from start to finish. —Kevin Jacobsen

Where to watch Carol: Netflix

EW grade: A– (read the review)

Director: Todd Haynes

Cast: Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Sarah Paulson, Jake Lacy, Kyle Chandler

Related content: Carol stars Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, director Todd Haynes on the film's forbidden love story

04of 18

Emily the Criminal (2022)

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Aubrey Plaza gives one of her finest turns to date in this grounded thriller. She plays the titular down-on-her-luck felon who resorts to theft to make her way out from under a mountain of debt. "She may be a wanton criminal, but she's also a woman very much for these times," EW's critic wrote. "Not the anti-heroine we knew we needed, maybe, but one that we deserve." It's a visceral, often unbearably anxious film that showcases Plaza's steeliest, most nuanced performance in a career full of them. —D.G.

Where to watch Emily the Criminal: Netflix

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Director: John Patton Ford

Cast: Aubrey Plaza, Gina Gershon, Megalyn Echikunwoke, Theo Rossi, Bernardo Badillo

Related content: Aubrey Plaza on why her thriller Emily the Criminal felt like pulling off a scam

05of 18

It Follows (2014)

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David Robert Mitchell's chilling, low-fi horror opus has inspired a variety of successors, including 2022's Smile and 2023's exceptional Talk to Me. None of those films have replicated dread and unease in quite the same way as Mitchell's original, though. Maika Monroe stars as Jay, a teen who, after engaging in a one-night stand, is given an STD ("sexually transmitted demon") that she can only pass on by sleeping with someone else. If that's not bad enough, the curse also takes the form of shuffling, stalking entities that may or may not be real. —D.G.

Where to watch It Follows: Netflix

EW grade: A– (read the review)

Director: David Robert Mitchell

Cast: Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Jake Weary, Lili Sepe, Olivia Luccardi

Related reading: It Follows is getting a sequel titled They Follow, with director and star returning

06of 18

Jurassic Park (1993)

Sam Neill, Joseph Mazzello, and Ariana Richards in 'Jurassic Park'. 

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Few movies have ever rivaled the level of wonder and magic evoked when Laura Dern's Ellie Sattler witnesses a dinosaur as John Williams' majestic score swells in Jurassic Park. Steven Spielberg's iconic blockbuster about a trio of scientists who investigate an island in which a business magnate has created a theme park of cloned dinosaurs will simply never be topped — no matter how many sequels Hollywood tries to spawn. After all, as Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) quips in the film, "Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should." The 1993 original is thrilling, fear-inducing, and altogether entertaining thanks in part to the then-innovative visual effects which still hold up today. "In Jurassic Park," EW's critic observed, "the dinosaurs — some benign, some terrifying, all wondrous — tap into the giddiest science-class daydreams you had as a kid." —K.J.

Where to watch Jurassic Park: Netflix

EW grade: N/A (read the review)

Director: Steven Spielberg

Cast: Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Bob Peck, Martin Ferrero, B.D. Wong, Samuel L. Jackson, Wayne Knight

Related content: Jeff Goldblum on how his Jurassic Park character was ahead of his time

07of 18

The Killer (2023)

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David Fincher's latest thriller is a white-knuckle, pared-down genre exercise that calls back to '70s exploitation films but also owes quite a bit to Anton Corbijn's The American (2010). Michael Fassbender stars as the nameless assassin who, after a hit goes wrong and his family is targeted, chases after a shadow enforcer (Tilda Swinton) for revenge. EW's critic observed, "With a reptilian coldness, Fassbender infuses the 'Killer' with an eerie stillness that underscores the character's lack of empathy and warmth." —D.G.

Where to watch The Killer: Netflix

EW grade: C+ (read the review)

Director: David Fincher

Cast: Michael Fassbender, Tilda Swinton, Arliss Howard, Charles Parnell, Sala Baker

Related reading: The Killer and Seven director David Fincher and screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker dissect their lethal partnership

08of 18

Lady Bird (2017)

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Before she became the highest-grossing female director of all time with 2023's Barbie, Greta Gerwig made her solo directorial debut with this sweet and effective dramedy about a rebellious high school student (Saoirse Ronan) growing up in Sacramento and dreaming of life as a writer in New York City. As EW's critic raved of Gerwig, "It feels like the fullest realization yet of her already-patented brand of gangly bittersweet whimsy." —D.G.

Where to watch Lady Bird: Netflix through March 2

EW grade: A– (read the review)

Director: Greta Gerwig

Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Tracy Letts, Beanie Feldstein, Timothée Chalamet

Related reading: How Greta Gerwig crafted Lady Bird, one of the best coming-of-age films in years

09of 18

No Hard Feelings (2023)

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This raunchy comedy represented both a strong comeback for Jennifer Lawrence after a few low-key years and a return to form for the genre, which has seen lean times as of late. It stars Lawrence as a down-on-her-luck thirtysomething who, in order to repair her car, must deflower a nerdy young man (Andrew Barth Feldman) before he goes off to college. No Hard Feelings isn't a perfect movie, but it is often laugh-out-loud funny and subversive in all the right ways without ever insisting upon itself. EW's critic called the film "a welcome addition to a dwindling genre — and a reminder that Lawrence is one [of] Hollywood's best (and funniest) leads." —D.G.

Where to watch No Hard Feelings: Netflix

EW grade: B (read the review)

Director: Gene Stupnitsky

Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Andrew Barth Feldman, Matthew Broderick, Laura Benanti, Natalie Morales

Related reading: How a Craigslist ad inspired Jennifer Lawrence's No Hard Feelings: 'I died laughing'

10of 18

Nyad (2023)

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Annette Bening gives an astonishing, Oscar-nominated performance as real-life marathon swimmer Diana Nyad, who at 64 trained to become the first person to swim to Cuba. Equally riveting as Nyad's trainer is Jodie Foster (also Oscar-nominated), reminding viewers that in terms of steely confidence, someone rarely does it better than her. "The two women also share an effortless chemistry that breathes vitality into their onscreen bond and wholeheartedly sells their decades-long connection," EW's critic wrote. —D.G.

Where to watch Nyad: Netflix

EW grade: B– (read the review)

Directors: Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

Cast: Annette Bening, Jodie Foster, Rhys Ifans, Luke Cosgrove, Karly Rothenberg

Related reading: How Nyad star Annette Bening and the filmmakers weathered a storm for inspiring long-distance swim

11of 18

RRR (2022)

N.T. Rama Rao Jr. and Ram Charan in 'RRR'. 

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This Indian action epic rightfully broke out as an international success in 2022. Set during the British Raj in the 1920s, the film centers on Komaram Bheem (N.T. Rama Rao Jr.) and his plan to reunite a kidnapped girl with her mother; meanwhile, a determined officer, Alluri Sitarama Raju (Ram Charan), is hot on his trail. Their lives intersect when they rescue a boy in a train accident and they form a bond, ironically unaware of each other's identities. Packed with rousing sequences (particularly the performance of the Oscar-winning song "Naatu Naatu"), RRR is an entertaining thrill ride that puts Hollywood blockbusters to shame. —K.J.

Where to watch RRR: Netflix

Director: S.S. Rajamouli

Cast: N.T. Rama Rao Jr., Ram Charan, Ajay Devgn, Alia Bhatt, Shriya Saran, Samuthirakani, Ray Stevenson, Alison Doody, Olivia Morris

Related content: Russo brothers and RRR director S.S. Rajamouli on the 'universal language' of blowing stuff up

12of 18

Sixteen Candles (1984)

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John Hughes' classic teen comedy has its fair share of questionable inclusions (as many films from this era do), but it remains one of the most unexpectedly funny and touching additions to the genre. Molly Ringwald stars as a perpetually neglected teen whose entire family somehow manages to forget her sweet 16. Anthony Michael Hall made a name for himself as "the Geek," a goofy, kind-natured (and only slightly predatory) sidekick/love interest. —D.G.

Where to watch Sixteen Candles: Netflix (through Feb. 29)

Director: John Hughes

Cast: Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Jami Gertz, Michael Schoeffling, Haviland Morris

Related content: Molly Ringwald on her literary heroes and the book that changed her life

13of 18

Snowpiercer (2014)

John Hurt, Chris Evans, and Jamie Bell in 'Snowpiercer'. WEINSTEIN COMPANY/COURTESY EVERETT COLLECTION

Adapted from the French graphic novel Le Transperceneige by Jacques Lob, Snowpiercer tells the high-stakes story of passengers aboard a self-sustaining train circling the planet in the wake of a climate disaster that ushered in a new Ice Age. The passengers are segregated according to class, a stricture that leads to a revolt from the lower class as they attempt to make their way to the front of the train to confront those in charge. Featuring the kinds of memorable visuals, thrilling plot twists, and cultural commentary we've come to expect from director Bong Joon Ho, Snowpiercer is one of the most audacious sci-fi action films of the modern age. As EW's critic wrote, "It leaves you with the all too rare sensation that you've just witnessed something you've never seen before…and need to see again and again." —K.J.

Where to watch Snowpiercer: Netflix (through Feb. 28)

EW grade: A (read the review)

Director: Bong Joon Ho

Cast: Chris Evans, Song Kang-ho, Tilda Swinton, Jamie Bell, Octavia Spencer, Ewen Bremner, Go Ah-sung, John Hurt, Ed Harris

Related content: Everything you need to know about Snowpiercer

14of 18

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)

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This sugar-rush sequel took all of the best things about Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and magnified them. It continues the tale of Miles Morales as he struggles with his newfound powers to find his place in a multi-verse of Spider-Men. If only all family-oriented animated films were this invigorating, or indeed, risk-taking. As EW's critic wrote, "Across the Spider-Verse mines greater emotional depth by exploring the familial relationships of Gwen and Miles from the perspectives of both parents and children." —D.G.

Where to watch Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse: Netflix

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Directors: Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson

Cast: Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Jake Johnson, Oscar Isaac

Related reading: How Hobie Brown/Spider-Punk became the coolest character in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

15of 18

The Strangers (2008)

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Bryan Bertino's masterful, pared-down shocker follows Jimmy (Scott Speedman) and Kristen (Liv Tyler) as they attempt to ward off a trio of masked intruders at their isolated vacation home. The film has the patina of a mid-'70s grindhouse classic with all of the nihilism that implies. It's an absolute horror classic that efficiently creeps you out by doing so little. —D.G.

Where to watch The Strangers: Netflix (through Feb. 29)

Director: Bryan Bertino

Cast: Liv Tyler, Scott Speedman, Glenn Howerton

Related reading: The home-invading killers are back in first look at multi-movie horror saga The Strangers Trilogy

16of 18

Triple Frontier (2019)

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J.C. Chandor's masculine action riff, about a group of special ops planning a heist in South America, is a stark contrast to his earlier, more patient efforts in 2011's Margin Call, 2013's All Is Lost, or 2014's A Most Violent Year (his masterpiece). While not as thematically strong as those films, Triple Frontier offers a dose of adrenaline that, much like The Strangers, harkens back to a forgotten era of mid-'70s B pictures. "There may be no honor among thieves," EW's critic wrote, "but Triple Frontier certainly makes watching them pretty entertaining." —D.G.

Where to watch Triple Frontier: Netflix

EW grade: B (read the review)

Director: J.C. Chandor

Cast: Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac, Charlie Hunnam, Pedro Pascal, Garrett Hedlund

Related reading: The 15 best Pedro Pascal movies and TV shows, ranked

17of 18

The Wailing (2016)

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This brilliant South Korean thriller from director Na Hong-jin turns frenzied after a new villager arrives in a tight-knit community, bringing a wave of serial murders along with him. To elaborate any further would give away some of the film's best-kept twists, of which there are many. Suffice it to say, The Wailing is one of the most over-the-top, gratuitous, and devilishly fun horror pictures of the last decade. As EW's critic praised, "The Wailing never bores as Na slathers his tale with generous supplies of atmosphere and awfulness." —D.G.

Where to watch The Wailing: Netflix

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Director: Na Hong-jin

Cast: Hwang Jung-Min, Kwak Do-won, Kim Hwan-hee, Kim Do-yoon

Related reading: The 20 best exorcism-themed movies

18of 18

The Wrong Missy (2020)

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On paper, The Wrong Missy is nothing new: David Spade goes on a bad date with Lauren Lapkus, whose name is Missy, and then means to invite a cute girl (Molly Sims), hilariously also named Missy, with him on a company retreat to Hawaii. (No points for guessing which Missy ends up on the trip.) The film coasts by on a general likability, but if not for Lapkus' performance, the story would be lost at sea. She glues the entire enterprise together with a mixture of well-played raunch and genuine pathos, selling the moment and keeping the plot bouncing along to the next joke. —D.G.

Where to watch The Wrong Missy: Netflix

Director: Tyler Spindel

Cast: Lauren Lapkus, David Spade, Molly Sims, Jackie Sandler, Rob Schneider