Five star - Latest Top Rated Film Reviews from the Guardian

The Stranger review – Joel Edgerton is at his brooding best in this sophisticated crime drama
Thomas M Wright’s unconventional, captivating film sees Edgerton as an undercover cop trying to identify a child murderer, opposite the brilliant Sean Harris - Luke Buckmaster
The Harder They Come review – Jimmy Cliff falls hard in visceral revenge western
Fifty years on, this crime drama of a headstrong singer shooting for his chance of success is as raw and energetic as its reggae soundtrack - Peter Bradshaw
Hit the Road review – all of Iranian life on four wheels
Panah Panahi juggles joy, heartbreak and surreal humour in a road movie his imprisoned father would be proud of - Mark Kermode, Observer film critic
Paris, Texas review – Harry Dean Stanton unforgettable in haunting classic
Wim Wenders’ iconic vision of American alienation, starring Stanton as a weatherbeaten drifter, has held its mystery for 40 years - Peter Bradshaw
Hit the Road review – irrepressible defiance in beautifully composed debut feature
Directed by Panah Panahi, the son of jailed Iranian film-maker Jafar Panahi, this tense family drama is drenched in a subtle but urgent political meaning - Peter Bradshaw
The Big City review – Satyajit Ray’s miraculous look at a new world of possibility
The struggles and triumphs of a 1950s Kolkata family whose highest earner is a woman is told with marvellous lucidity in an optimistic masterpiece - Peter Bradshaw
Prey review – stylish Predator prequel rooted in Native American history
The horror sci-fi series is cleverly revived by 10 Cloverfield Lane director Dan Trachtenberg, with Amber Midthunder commanding as a tracker with a secret weapon… - Wendy Ide
Nightclubbing: The Birth of Punk Rock in NYC review – where the party started
The scuzziness, excitement and history-making music of 70s club Max’s Kansas City thunders through Danny Garcia’s nostalgic documentary - Peter Bradshaw
Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash review – masterful send up of 80s action flicks
Combining adrenaline-pumping violence and a torrid love affair this is a homage to, and a subversion of, classic Indonesian cinema - Phuong Le
What Josiah Saw review – a sharp, sleazy slice of southern gothic
Director Vincent Grashaw stitches together fragmented stories of grubby low-lives and festering family secrets to create an unsettling tapestry of sordid horror - Phil Hoad
Fire of Love review – a true tale of volcanic passions
This explosive documentary about a couple united in their love for studying volcanoes is part science, part poetry - Wendy Ide
Thirteen Lives review – thrilling dramatisation of the Thailand cave rescue
Ron Howard’s recreation of the 2018 rescue of a Thai junior football team is an impressively claustrophobic piece of cinema - Wendy Ide
Honor Society review – a sharp, surprisingly dark high school comedy
The Paramount Plus film about a high school girl singularly obsessed with getting into Harvard is an enjoyably fanged journey through senior year - Adrian Horton
DC League of Super-Pets review – all-star cast carries cute superhero romp
The Rock, Kevin Hart, Kate McKinnon and Natasha Lyonne shine in this endearing and amusing spoof from the writers of the Lego Batman Movie - Adrian Horton
Fire of Love review – romantic portrait of passionate, doomed volcanologists
Documentary embraces the mythology around Maurice and Katia Krafft, the husband-and-wife scientists who died in the 1991 Mount Unzen disaster - Peter Bradshaw
The Emigrants review – gritty old-worlders make rewarding trek to American frontier
Powerfully told story of 19th-century Swedish migrants takes its time, but delivers a fresh, honest take on their arduous path - Leslie Felperin
All Light, Everywhere review – why what you see isn’t what you get
This challenging, restless documentary on perception bias and surveillance doesn’t always gel but does demand your attention - Wendy Ide
Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time review – a satisfyingly intimate profile
Friendship lies at the heart of Robert B Weide’s documentary about the author of Slaughterhouse-Five, filmed over the last 20 years of the writer’s life - Wendy Ide
She Will review – edgy psychological horror meets feminist revenge fable
Charlotte Colbert’s atmospheric debut is anchored by Alice Krige as a fading screen icon whose trip to a Scottish retreat unearths sinister secrets - Mark Kermode, Observer film critic
Robust review – Gérard Depardieu at his larger-than-life best
The French star plays an actor who forms a complex friendship with a young security guard in this refreshingly understated comedy drama - Wendy Ide
Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time review – novelist gets a heartfelt portrait
Devotion to its subject kept director Robert B Weide from finishing his documentary about the great author, and his love shines through - Peter Bradshaw
Conscientious Protectors: A Story of Rebellion Against Extinction review – XR and the art of protest
Leigh Bloomfield’s doc on Extinction Rebellion’s 2019 blockade of central London is full of useful details about effective activism - Phil Hoad
Explorer review – compelling portrait of adventurer Ranulph Fiennes
Matthew Dyas’s documentary offers a fascinating glimpse into the relationship between the world’s greatest explorer and his first wife - Wendy Ide
A Chiara review – an Italian girl’s war against mob rule
A teenager demands to know the truth about the media’s portrayal of her father in this authentic, slow-burning drama - Wendy Ide
McEnroe review – a deep dive into the psychology of a sporting phenomenon
Barney Douglas’s documentary on the tennis champion stands alongside Asif Kapadia’s films on Senna and Diego Maradona - Wendy Ide
Mrs Harris Goes to Paris review – Lesley Manville charms in light soufflé
The Oscar nominee is on reliably excellent form in a sweet-natured Cinderella tale about a cleaner on a mission to buy a Dior dress - Benjamin Lee
A Chiara review – a teenage girl takes on the Italian mob in tense coming-of-ager
Film-maker Jonas Carpignano continues his ’Ndrangheta mafia series with a drama where crime tests the bonds of a close-knit Calabrian family - Peter Bradshaw
Futura review – fascinating snapshot of Italy’s young adults
In this charming documentary, Italian teenagers from across the country share their hopes and fears as they contemplate the future - Wendy Ide
Brian and Charles review – a very British robot story
David Earl and Chris Hayward’s moving buddy comedy about a man who builds a companion in his shed has charm to spare - Mark Kermode Observer film critic
Dr Who and the Daleks/ Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 AD review – retro Time Lord thrills
Filmed in glorious Technicolor, these imaginative 1960s instalments focused on the much-loved baddies, with Peter Cushing’s Doctor in Edwardian-inventor mode - Peter Bradshaw
Ithaka review – emotional look at absent Julian Assange’s legal troubles
Affecting documentary focuses on the family of the WikiLeaks founder, with whom it is perhaps easier to sympathise - Peter Bradshaw
Brian and Charles review – robot comedy is bromance of the year
David Earl and Chris Haywood’s story of an inventor’s relationship with his creation blends Caractacus Potts with Victor Frankenstein to heartwarming effect - Peter Bradshaw
Fadia’s Tree review – moving documentary of Palestinian displacement
Film-maker Sarah Beddington accompanies a Palestinian refugee in Lebanonon on a pilgrimage to the home village she has never seen - Wendy Ide
Luck review – disgraced former Pixar’s chief’s enjoyable if clunky comeback
The debut from John Lasseter’s Skydance studio is over-wordy but still full of fun - Wendy Ide
Kylie Brakeman review – Hollywood’s hypocrisies lampooned
The US comic plays a fast-talking agent, a straight-talking sex therapist and a six-year-old divorcee in this confident, high-energy hour - Rachael Healy
King Knight review – California witches go to high school reunion in charming comedy
Richard Bates Jr’s indie comedy about Californian wiccans maintains a constant low-level absurdity even if it’s inconsequential and underdeveloped - Peter Bradshaw
Prey review – Predator prequel gives a nifty spin to a bloated franchise
The world wasn’t calling out for yet another Predator movie but 10 Cloverfield Lane’s Dan Trachtenberg finds mileage in a light-footed prequel led by Native Americans - Benjamin Lee
Fadia’s Tree review – Palestinian refugee’s plaintive yearning for a homeland
Portrait of a refugee dreaming of home in a sensitive, sombre documentary that also has thoughts about friendship, politics and birds - Peter Bradshaw
Wedding Season review – pleasant if cliched Netflix romcom
A couple fake-dates for Indian wedding season in a serviceable mashup of tropes that’s enjoyable enough to watch - Adrian Horton
Bodies Bodies Bodies review – Gen Z comedy horror plays a fun game
A group of friends die one-by-one as a party game goes horribly wrong in this well-acted and often very funny slasher with a neat, if frustrating, twist - Benjamin Lee
Maisie review – affectionate portrait of Britain’s oldest drag act
Documentary is a loving tribute to David Raven, a cabaret legend, as he continues to perform in his 80s - Cath Clarke
The Last Son review – outlaw has to kill or be killed by his own kids in gothic western
Sam Worthington plays a bad dude in this beautifully scored, authentically unhygienic drama - Leslie Felperin
Suzanne Daveau review – intimate, sparkling portrait of an astonishing career
The vibrant 97-year-old geographer sparkles as she discusses love, life and her groundbreaking research - Phuong Le
Joyride review – Olivia Colman grabs the wheel in odd-couple Irish road movie
A woman abandons her baby for a holiday, only to fall in with a 12-year-old thief, in this clumsy comedy with a late redemption - Wendy Ide
Shadow Game review – teen migrants turn illegal border crossing into video game
Contrasting their own self-empowered social-media footage with their vulnerability and the enormity of their struggle gives this documentary a heartbreaking high-concept jolt - Phil Hoad
Not Okay review – a just okay satire for the influencer age
The dark comedy about a white woman who fakes trauma for clout is like many films about social media – at times unnerving but just a little off - Adrian Horton
Snakehead review – ruthless immigrant-smuggling thriller that hits the standard beats
Shuya Chang is magnetic as the illegal immigrant searching for her daughter, who is taken under the wing of a charismatic older gangster - Leslie Felperin
Lion Spy review – undercover exposé of trophy hunters paying to kill big cats in Africa
Rogue Rubin goes undercover to reveal the disturbing, hero-complex mindset of the men who shoot lions for sport - Cath Clarke
Thirteen Lives review – Ron Howard’s Thai cave-rescue saga told with non-Hollywood heroics
Howard gives this stunning true story the Apollo 13 treatment but swerves Elon Musk’s grotesque ‘pedo’ comment - Peter Bradshaw
Give Them Wings review – paean to Darlington FC and the power of compassion
This disarmingly sincere autobiopic tackles a northern lad’s struggles with disability with an unselfpitying eye, evoking the goodwill of vintage of British studio-era films - Phil Hoad
Notre-Dame on Fire review – a pulpy take on a real-life catastrophe
The 2019 fire that tore through Paris’s great cathedral gets the disaster movie treatment - Wendy Ide
Where the Crawdads Sing review – soggy adaptation of the coming-of-age bestseller
Daisy Edgar-Jones stars as Kya, struggling to escape toxic men in the North Carolina marshes, in this handsome but hokey drama - Wendy Ide
Glitter and Dust review – kids go bull-riding in terrifying rodeo documentary
Documentary focuses on the frighteningly young girls making their daddies proud in bull riding competitions - Cath Clarke
Anything’s Possible review – Billy Porter’s sweet but uneven trans teen rom-com
The Pose actor’s patchy directorial debut follows a black trans teenager in Pittsburgh as she strives to thrive, rather than just survive, senior year - Adrian Horton
Notre Dame on Fire review – high adventure ripped straight from the headlines
Veteran director Jean-Jacques Annaud rips a swashbuckling escapade from news footage of the catastrophic fire at the Paris cathedral - Peter Bradshaw
This Is Gwar review – bodily fluids spray freely in oral history of monsters of metal
In-depth rock doc about the unmistakable legends of heavy metal and their outrageous antics will be best appreciated by their fans - Leslie Felperin
She Will review – atmospheric tale of post-menopausal revenge fantasies
Alice Krige shines in this dark thriller, a tangy blend of folk horror and post-MeToo reckoning with a salty spike of satire - Leslie Felperin
That Was a Serious Party review – lords and ladies of misrule in posh festival film
Documentary about Secret Garden Party only begins to get the spirit of the shindig when it degenerates into a collaged melee - Phil Hoad
Robust review – Depardieu in cantankerous comfort zone in odd-couple comedy
Gérard Depardieu plays a veteran movie star with a stalker, while Déborah Lukumuena steals the show as his minder - Peter Bradshaw
Death of a Ladies’ Man review – Gabriel Byrne charms in Philip Roth style dramedy
The Irish actor is compelling as a womanising professor who begins to realise his best days are over, with added Leonard Cohen - Cath Clarke
All Light, Everywhere review – probing study of the weaponisation of surveillance tech
A stylised exploration of how cameras have served the police state, from inventions in the early years of cinema to modern gadgets - Phuong Le
Chilli Laugh Story review – fun Chinese comedy offering hot sauce hijinks
A Hong Kong family’s lockdown project to market a much-loved home recipe is an engaging effort that might just appeal to international tastes - Leslie Felperin
The Railway Children Return review – amiable but predictable sequel
Jenny Agutter is back, but this plodding reprise, set at the end of the second world war, never gets up a full head of steam - Wendy Ide
The Good Boss review – Javier Bardem bosses it in unsubtle Spanish satire
The star delivers a masterclass in reptilian charm as the unscrupulous head of a provincial firm in Fernando León de Aranoa’s tragicomedy - Mark Kermode, Observer film critic
The Gray Man review – fun but frenetic secret agent caper from the Russo brothers
Ryan Gosling plays a covert operative on the run from his former employers in this excessive assault weapon of a movie - Wendy Ide
Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain review – genius painted in broad strokes
The hungry wanderer’s wit and intellect make for compelling viewing in an otherwise conveyor-belt documentary - Cath Clarke
The Railway Children Return review – family classic sequel stays on track
Plot riffs on the original story include a black US serviceman on the lam in this earnest but likable homage to the beloved 1970 kids’ adventure - Peter Bradshaw
McEnroe review – tennis’s original bad boy takes stock
The formerly foul-mouthed champion recounts his glory days and use of ‘performance-detracting drugs’ in this watchable if uncritical documentary - Peter Bradshaw
Explorer review – Ranulph Fiennes on frostbite, family and James Bond
Documentary about the great explorer is a white-knuckle ride that brings him to the brink of introspection - Cath Clarke
Good Madam review – eerie post-apartheid chiller
A young woman and her daughter are forced to hide in the creepy house where her mother is the devoted maid to an infirm old white woman - Peter Bradshaw
The Good Boss review – Javier Bardem excels in soapy workplace satire
The Spanish star epitomises managerial banality as the lecherous, casually racist factory boss Blanco whose meddling in employees’ affairs finally sees him come unstuck - Peter Bradshaw
Laurent Garnier: Off the Record review – upbeat spin on pioneering DJ’s career
Docu-tribute to club hero offers uncritical praise but also tells an intriguing history of electronic dance music since the 80s - Leslie Felperin
Donna review – a tender love letter to a San Fran trans activist
Jay Bedwani’s warm, moving documentary shines brightest when it lets its hero be the star of the show - Phuong Le
Executive Order review – hostile environment hits Brazil in chillingly believable dystopia
Lázaro Ramos’s debut, in which a hardline government issues orders to deport Brazil’s Black population to Africa, moves from satire to survivalism - Cath Clarke
We Are Russia review – portrait of the brave young activists aiming to oust Putin
Alexandra Dalsbaek’s immersive documentary focuses on two engaging twentysomething protesters making a stand against authoritarianism - Phil Hoad
Ithaka review – intriguing portrait of the campaign to free Julian Assange
The WikiLeaks founder’s father John Shipton and fiancee Stella Moris and take centre stage in Ben Lawrence’s documentary - Wendy Ide
Bullet Train review – Brad Pitt goes second class in brainless action movie
A high-speed Japanese train full of assassins hits the buffers big time in this doomed star vehicle - Wendy Ide
Luck review – pound-shop Pixar is a short straw for young audiences
This robotically made animated tale leads a young woman to a secret world that will surprise no one - Peter Bradshaw
Bullet Train review – Brad Pitt choo-chooses badly with runaway vehicle
All off-board for this sub-Guy Ritchie clanger in which Pitt plays a gonzo hitman outwitting quirky killers in the service of Sandra Bullock - Peter Bradshaw
Hot Seat review – call centre guy is pinned down in office chair in schlocky thriller
Office equipment turns deadly after a bomb-maker targets a reformed hacker at work. Can Mel Gibson and a D-list cast save him from server-room peril? - Leslie Felperin
Earth: Muted review – bees go missing in China despatch from the eco-apocalypse file
This documentary about bees going extinct in the Hanyuan valley doesn’t seem interested in the wider context but instead offers a soothing watch of farmers at work - Phil Hoad
The Deer King review – a beautiful muddle from Studio Ghibli regular
Animator turned director Masashi Ando creates a strikingly handsome work let down by sketchy storytelling - Wendy Ide
Vengeance review – BJ Novak’s ambitious but overstuffed satire
The Office alum’s directorial debut has some flashes of wit and an impressive desire to upend expectations but also suffers from a smug tone and a listless lead performance - Benjamin Lee
Joyride review – Olivia Colman tries hard to keep odd-couple kidnap movie on the road
No matter how hard the able cast work, this putative heartwarmer can never escape the far-fetched contrivance of its central conceit - Peter Bradshaw
The Reef: Stalked review – water-phobic kayaker battles shark chomping
Despite some good suspense, this all feels too familiar as a shark with a hefty appetite seems irrationally keen to feast on the protagonist - Leslie Felperin
The Deer King review – Studio Ghibli graduates take on dystopian deer tamer saga
Two grandees of Japanese animation adapt a Nahoko Uehashi fantasy novel that covers too much ground to take flight - Phuong Le
Nope review – Jordan Peele’s followup to Get Out and Us is a bit meh
The director’s latest collaboration with Daniel Kaluuya is an intriguingly strange tale with plenty of bold and riveting images, but the story is clotted with too much material - Peter Bradshaw
Prizefighter review – Russell Crowe and Ray Winstone in the ring for period punch-up
Despite some serious star power on the bill, this lightweight sporting drama never gets off the ropes - Peter Bradshaw
Fruits Basket: Prelude review – heartrending anime series gets the ending no one deserves
A laboured recap and unsettling romance frustrates a potentially engrossing plot in a coda that might be offputting to newcomers and the fanbase alike - Phuong Le
Don’t Make Me Go review – mediocre family weepie with a cheap twist
Amazon’s road trip tale wastes John Cho and newcomer Mia Isaac on an extended sitcom episode that leaves a sour taste in the mouth - Benjamin Lee
Jeff Beck and Johnny Depp: 18 review – a dull display of colossal self-pity
The perfunctory covers on this collaborative album serve to show just how bad Depp’s own songwriting is, as he rants about how awful it is to be him - Michael Hann
The Gray Man review – Ryan Gosling goes rogue in gonzo action thriller
There’s plenty of drama but no heart in this Netflix tale of CIA assassins, which jumps frantically between exotic locations - Peter Bradshaw
Where the Crawdads Sing review – hit novel crashes on the big screen
The Reese Witherspoon-produced adaptation of the best-seller remains faithful to the fantasies of the book, for better and mostly for worse - Adrian Horton
Ode to the Spring review – manipulative Chinese Covid-onset drama
These sentimental, pandemic-based stories, all set in Wuhan, might struggle to find an audience - Wendy Ide
Thor: Love and Thunder review – sentimental multimillion-dollar romp
Chris Hemsworth’s Thor suffers an existential crisis in director Taika Waititi’s self-satisfied follow-up to Thor-Ragnarok - Wendy Ide
Persuasion review – Dakota Johnson looks the part as Jane Austen gets Fleabagged
Classic story of a young woman talked out of marrying her true love is turned into a smirking, heavy-handed romcom - Peter Bradshaw
Easter Sunday review – comic Jo Koy’s family comedy is an unfunny mess
The standup might be selling out gigs across the US but his labored attempt at movie stardom is a regrettable disaster - Charles Bramesco
DC League of Super-Pets review – a dog’s dinner
Dwayne Johnson voices Superman’s best friend in a mirthless mess of an animated superhero spin-off - Wendy Ide
Where the Crawdads Sing review – Daisy Edgar-Jones wasted in terrible southern Gothic schmaltz
Normal People star deserved a better Hollywood debut than this solemnly ridiculous film and its outrageously evasive cheat ending - Peter Bradshaw
Persuasion review – a travesty of Jane Austen
Theatre director Carrie Cracknell’s ham-fisted adaptation misses the naunces of the author’s writing and opts instead for romcom sassiness - Wendy Ide