Not every movie on Amazon Prime Video is worth your time, but plenty of them are. Unless you’re an expert, you might not be sure which movies fall into which bucket.
Prime Video is filled with movies, and their recommendation algorithms don’t always factor in how good a movie is. Thankfully, that’s where we come in. We’ve pulled together a few underrated titles on Amazon that you may not have heard of and are all well worth watching.
We also have guides to the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Max, and the best movies on Disney+.
The Tender Bar (2021)
A coming-of-age story anchored by a deeply magnetic supporting performance from Ben Affleck, The Tender Bar follows a JR (Tye Sheridan), a young man who comes under his bartender uncle’s influence and comes to understand the way he sees the world. As he ages, JR tries to make a career for himself as a writer.
The movie’s real center point is the uncle’s bar, a place filled with colorful characters and the kind of life he aspires to lead. George Clooney’s career as a director has had its “high highs” and some “low lows,” but The Tender Bar is up there with his best movies.
You can watch The Tender Bar on Amazon Prime Video.
One Child Nation (2019)
A brilliant documentary that excavates one of the core traumas many current Chinese citizens still live with, One Child Nation tells the story of the policy that forced Chinese citizens to have one child and to take severe action if they had more than one. The movie’s brilliance comes in part from the way it chronicles the unthinking nature of many Chinese citizens.
If the government tells them they should only have one child, they don’t question it, even if it comes with great personal devastation. One Child Nation is searing, honest, and more emotional than you might expect.
You can watch One Child Nation on Amazon Prime Video.
Chi-Raq (2015)
Leave it to Spike Lee to make a thorny, complicated movie that still resonates a decade after its release. Chi-Raq tells the story of a group of women who organize in the aftermath of violence in the city of Chicago. As they battle the violence on the Southside, they begin to redefine race and gender inside the city with lasting consequences.
Featuring a broad ensemble cast that includes Teyonnah Parris, John Cusack, Nick Cannon, and Samuel L. Jackson, Chi-Raq is sometimes considered to be one of Lee’s less successful efforts. When you watch it, you’ll find that the movie is just as revelatory as much of the director’s very best work.
You can watch Chi-Raq on Amazon Prime Video.