Chad Kennerk Looks Back at the Year of 2022
Last year ended on an optimistic note for cinemas, with that friendly neighbourhood Spidey swinging the box office into 2022 on a high. A rare entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Sony’s thrilling Spider-Man: No Way Home spun webs around the mightily mundane sequels Disney subsequently delivered throughout the year. With no plans to hang up their capes (Marvel’s Avengers: Secret Wars was announced with a summer 2026 release date), let’s hope ‘Phase 5’ of the MCU has better adventures in store for the predominant defenders.
Though Disney ultimately took the 2022 global financial crown with an assist from aqua man James Cameron, it proved a peak year for Paramount. The need for speed delivered the year’s best cinematic experience, with Top Gun: Maverick proving well worth the long wait. Tom Cruise soared and scored the perfect start to the summer movie season. The sequel hit Mach 10, successfully capturing the occasional moviegoer, which in many cases marked a first trip back to the multiplex since the pandemic began.
Airbourne on the adrenaline rush of Joseph Kosinski’s Maverick, audiences returned to the cinema for a rather lacklustre summer. Jordan Peele’s Nope is the notable exception, while Jurassic World: Dominion adequately satiated those with a palate for the prehistoric. Spring titles The Batman and Uncharted also ranked among the better blockbusters of the year. The Lost City demonstrated that romcoms still have an important place in the theatrical landscape, with novel adaptations Mr. Malcolm’s List, Where the Crawdads Sing, and pure cinematic crème anglaise — the delightful Mrs Harris Goes to Paris — further diversifying the action dominated slate. On the documentary front, Deep in the Heart and Wildcat highlighted the plights of man and nature, encouraging us all to respect our planet and find ways to live harmoniously with our world.
Many great and intelligent films are still fighting for their footing and indeed their audience, often buried at the cinema before being quickly and quietly ushered out the door. That’s assuming they see the inside of a cinema at all. The so-called streaming wars rage on, with all the major players battling for subscribers and generating more content than perhaps ever before. That being said, positive commitments to the theatrical experience continued to emerge in 2022, such as Amazon announcing a one billion dollar commitment to theatrical film releases each year moving forward.
Among the best performances of the year, Austin Butler impressed as the King in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, Michelle Yeoh inhabited the roles of multiple lifetimes in Daniels’ Everything, Everywhere All At Once, Viola Davis imbued Gina Prince-Bythewood’s The Woman King with all of the strength and heart of a warrior, Emma Thompson revealed the beauty of self love in Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, and Ke Huy Quan proved he has plenty to offer in one of cinema’s great comebacks.
Though each year the goal is to make a definitive personal list, there are inevitably films that fall through the cracks. This year is no exception, with heavy hitters such as Triangle of Sadness, Living, and Official Competition all perched patiently atop the watchlist. Then there are the many award darlings which didn’t see a UK release in 2022 and must await a spot on 2023’s list, namely Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans, Todd Field’s TÁR, Sam Mendes’ Empire of Light, Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale, Sarah Polley’s Women Talking, and the endearing Marcel the Shell With Shoes On.
Perhaps too heavy for my spirits this year, All Quiet on the Western Front, The Banshees of Inisherin, and The Menu are also worthy mentions, having all featured stunning images, nuanced ensemble performances, and succeeded as thought-provoking cinema.
Chad Kennerk’s Favourites:
