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With December here, 2022 is about to end its run. This year has been great for cinema lovers, with amazing offerings from all genres and on multiple platforms. Be it spine-chilling horror, entertaining comedy, mesmerizing romance, or blockbuster action movie, 2022 has given us some very popular and noteworthy movies.
Some of the biggest titles this year include MCU offerings, a 36-year-awaited sequel, the end of a classic long-running horror franchise, Netflix's most expensive production till date, and more. With the year coming to an end, it is high time to review the best movies that have been released in each genre in 2022. In this article, we revisit the best of the action movies that premiered this year across OTT platforms, theaters, and network channels.
Top Gun: Maverick, The Woman King, and 3 more of the best action films that released in 2022
1) Top Gun: Maverick
Top Gun: Maverick is no doubt the biggest film of 2022, both in terms of box office earnings and prominence. Maverick came in 36 years after the release of the original Top Gun (1986), which was also a blockbuster hit of its time. Directed by Joseph Kosinski, the film reprises Tom Cruise in the role of Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, Val Kilmer as Tom "Iceman" Kazinsky, and Jennifer Connelly as Penny, with stars like Miles Teller and Glen Powell joining the cast.
Top Gun: Maverick is set over 30 years after the events of the first movie and follows Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, who is working on a hypersonic aircraft project. But when the aircraft is destroyed, he is grounded and tasked with training a group of elite young bloods for a mission behind enemy lines. Although there is tension between them at first, they accept Maverick as their mentor after losing to him in a dogfight and work towards their mission.
Top Gun: Maverick essentially plays on the nostalgia of the 1986 hit and does it well, complete with a sense of camaraderie, competition, and thrilling airborne fights. The film received critical acclaim for its execution and performances and went on to earn a mind-blowing $1.48 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film of 2022.
2) Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
MCU's final offering for 2022, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, marked the end of Phase Four and paved the way towards Phase Five under The Multiverse Saga. The film comes as a sequel to the 2018 hit Black Panther. It had garnered quite the anticipation with the death of actor Chadwick Boseman, who previously played the titular character of Black Panther.
Wakanda Forever passes on the mantle to two superheroes of the next generation. Shuri becomes the next Black Panther, while the place of Iron Man is passed on to Iron Heart. The film also introduces the underwater nation of Talokan and its ruler, Namor. Similar to other Marvel films, this one is also full of amazing action-packed sequences and enthralling visual effects, and features at the top of the list of must-watch titles this season.
3) Everything Everywhere All at Once
Everything Everywhere All at Once is arguably the most unique among 2022's action films. The absurdist drama covers a wide range of genres, including dark humor, action, adventure, sci-fi, and fantasy, bringing to the audience a thoroughly entertaining 2 hour watch. Directed by Daniels and co-produced by the Russo brothers, the film stars Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ke Huy Quan, Stephanie Hsu, and James Hong.
Everything Everywhere All at Once follows laundromat owner Evelyn Quan Wang, who visits the IRS for an audit. But everything goes off track when her husband Waymond's body is taken over by a multiversal Waymond, who explains to her that the multiverse is real and Evelyn has to protect the multiversal reality from complete destruction.
4) The Woman King
The Woman King is an American historical epic from the house of Sony Pictures. Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, the film stars Viola Davis in the lead role, along with prominent actors like Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim, Thuso Mbedu, and others. The film is based on the elite all-female warrior unit of Agojie of the kingdom of Dahomey, West Africa.
Set in 1823 in the kingdom of Dahomey, The Woman King follows General Nanisca, the veteran warrior leader of the Agojie. To prepare for an all-out war with the Oyo Empire, she is tasked with training the next generation of Agojie warriors. Although the Agojie face a foreign enemy, they do not go down without a fight and ultimately emerge victorious in their battle.
The film has received critical acclaim for the performances delivered by the cast, especially Davis, and also for the direction and execution of the action sequences. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival before getting a nationwide theatrical release on September 16, 2022.
5) The Gray Man
The Gray Man is one of the most noteworthy movies of 2022 for multiple reasons. Other than having a star-studded cast, it also gained attention for being the most expensive production from Netflix to date, with an overall budget of $200 million. The film stars Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans in the lead roles alongside popular actors like Ana de Armas, Regé-Jean Page, Indian superstar Dhanush, Jessica Henwick, Alfre Woodard, Billy Bob Thornton, and Julia Butters in supporting roles.
The film follows Sierra Six, the CIA's most skilled asset, a legendary mercenary who has evaded any and all enemies till date. After uncovering some damning evidence against the top brass of the CIA, Six suddenly becomes the hottest target in the world, with mercenaries from all across the world vying to kill him. He faces off with the psychopathic ex-CIA operative, Llyod Hansen, to save the kidnapped niece of Fitzroy, his trusted ex-CIA handler, all the while trying not to give up the evidence.
With direction from the Russo brothers, The Gray Man is packed with thrilling action sequences done to perfection. If you are a fan of the genre, this film is a must-watch, with so many famous stars as an added bonus.
