Whenever I’m looking for something new to watch on Prime Video, the streaming service’s list of the top 10 most-watched movies is the first place I check. However just because a movie ranks high on this ever-rotating list does not guarantee its quality.
I check the Prime Video top 10 almost every day, and I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve seen a movie with a low Rotten Tomatoes score claim a high rank. Case in point, the current No.1 movie on the service is “Jackpot!” which has managed a pitiful 30% score.
To help you avoid the stinkers, and instead stream the gems, I’m picking out the best movies in the Prime Video top 10 down below. Be sure to note, that this list is based on the Amazon Prime Video top 10 as of 9 a.m. ET on Friday, August 23.
Best movies in the Prime Video top 10
'Passengers' (2016)
“Passengers” is one of those movies where the critics and viewers don’t see eye-to-eye. While it holds a very poor 30% score on Rotten Tomatoes from professional reviewers, its audience score is much more healthy 63%, and I definitely fall into the latter camp. “Passengers” is a bit of a comfort movie for me, and watching it has become something of an annual holiday tradition in my family — it’s not a holiday movie per se, but it was released in December 2016, and it has oddly cozy vibes for a sci-fi romance set on a spaceship.
The movie is set on an interstellar sleeper ship transporting 5,000 colonists to humanity’s new home. However, one of these passengers, Jim (Chris Pratt), awakens from hypersleep early following an asteroid collision. The ship is still light years from its final destination, and Jim faces the nightmare prospect of living out the rest of his life alone. Unable to cope with total isolation, Jim decides to awaken another passenger, Aurora (Jennifer Lawrence). The two quickly bond, and strike up a romance, but the truth about Jim’s decision threatens to be revealed, and if that isn’t enough drama, the entire ship is soon at risk of destruction due to a system’s malfunction.
Watch "Passengers" on Prime Video now
'Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning' (2023)
I’m starting to sound like a broken record when it comes to “Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning”. The blockbuster action thrill ride was added to Prime Video back in July, and it’s been a permanent fixture of the service’s top 10 list ever. I’ve recommended it multiple times at this point, but I’m happy to do so again because this is one of the finest action movies ever made. Tom Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie are in top form, and the over-the-top action set pieces are some of the best in the franchise, which is a very high bar.
While “Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning” was released in theaters with a “Part One” moniker, that has subsequently been removed. This is likely because of the baggage that comes with labeling a movie merely a first part but also signifies that “Dead Reckoning” takes a satisfying story of its own, while also leaving room for the in-production sequel due in theaters next year. In this latest chapter in the “Mission: Impossible” series, Ethan Hunt (Cruise) faces off against a rogue A.I. known as The Entity alongside an old adversary.
Watch "Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning" on Prime Video now
'21 Jump Street' (2012)
When Sony announced a big-screen reboot of '80s cop show "21 Jump Street" (which just so happened to star a young Johnny Depp), it seemed like a desperate attempt to cash in on a franchise that had long since fallen into irrelevance. So it came as quite a shock when the movie version of "21 Jump Street" turned out to be one of the funniest comedies of the last 15 years. It's not just funny either, it's also surprisingly clever with a load whole of meta references to the fact it's a reboot of a TV show that frankly nobody really cared about anymore in the 2010s.
Starring Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum (who have fantastic chemistry), it sees a pair of police officers go undercover as high schoolers to root out the supplier of a new synthetic drug. However, once they arrive in class, they learn that the rules of high school have changed since their days as students, and their mission gets sidetracked by all sorts of shenanigans. The also fantastic sequel, "22 Jump Street", is also in the Prime Video top 10 right now, and the two movies make for a great double feature.
Watch "21 Jump Street" on Prime Video now
Prime Video top 10 movies right now
- "Jackpot!" (2024)
- "Passengers" (2016)
- "Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning" (2023)
- "The Beekeeper" (2024)
- "Night Swim" (2024"
- "21 Jump Street" (2012)
- "22 Jump Street" (2014)
- "Insterstellar" (2014)
- "Minions: The Rise of Gru" (2022)
- "Drive-Away Dolls" (2024)
