Welcome back to my daily countdown of the best films of the last decade. We’ve covered the inception of the 2010s and the franchise evolutions of 2011. Now, we arrive at 2012.
2012 was a year of endings and beginnings. It saw the conclusion of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, the formation of the Avengers, and the start of the Hunger Games phenomenon. It was a massive year for blockbusters that didn't sacrifice brains for brawn, offering spectacle with serious emotional weight.
Here are the 14 films from 2012 that made my top 150 list.
Argo
Rank: #3 Director: Ben Affleck
Ben Affleck completed his transformation from "tabloid fodder actor" to "serious auteur director" with this Best Picture winner. Argo tells the stranger-than-fiction true story of a CIA agent who poses as a sci-fi movie producer to rescue American hostages from Iran.
The film strikes an incredible balance between nail-biting suspense and Hollywood satire. One minute you are laughing at Alan Arkin and John Goodman skewering the film industry, and the next you are holding your breath as the characters try to navigate a crowded bazaar in Tehran. The airport climax is a masterclass in tension, edited to perfection. It captures a specific moment in history with grit, humor, and heart.
Did You Know? The fake movie Argo was actually based on a real unproduced script called Lord of Light, based on the Roger Zelazny novel. The production team used the actual concept art from that failed project to sell the lie to the Iranian government.
Skyfall
Rank: #13 Director: Sam Mendes
For the 50th anniversary of James Bond, director Sam Mendes delivered arguably the best-looking film in the entire franchise. Skyfall digs into Bond’s past, stripping him of his gadgets and forcing him to rely on his instincts. Daniel Craig gives a weary, physical performance, playing a Bond who is aging and questioning his relevance in a world of cyber-terrorism.
Javier Bardem makes for an unforgettable villain as Silva, a reflection of what Bond could have become. But the real star is Roger Deakins’ cinematography. From the neon-lit skyscrapers of Shanghai to the burning moors of Scotland, every frame is a painting. It elevated the spy genre into high art.
Did You Know? The scene where Silva slides down the escalator in the London Underground was actually filmed by Javier Bardem himself sliding down a rail, not a stunt double. He practiced it for hours to get the movement perfectly smooth and creepy.
The Avengers
Rank: #22 Director: Joss Whedon
It is hard to overstate just how risky this movie was. Bringing four different movie franchises together into one team-up film had never really been done before. If it failed, the MCU would have died right there. Instead, Joss Whedon delivered a pop-culture juggernaut.
The Avengers works because it understands that the conflict between the heroes is just as interesting as the fight against the villain. Watching Stark and Rogers bicker, or Thor and Hulk trade blows, is pure comic book joy. The Battle of New York set the standard for third-act spectacles, finally giving us the shot of the whole team standing back-to-back that fans had waited decades to see.
Did You Know? The famous post-credits scene of the team eating shawarma was filmed after the movie had already premiered in Los Angeles. Chris Evans had to cover his face with his hand because he had grown a beard for Snowpiercer and was wearing a prosthetic jaw to hide it.
Prometheus
Rank: #33 Director: Ridley Scott
Ridley Scott returning to the Alien universe was a massive event. While Prometheus proved divisive for its cryptic plot and characters making questionable decisions, it remains a stunning piece of hard sci-fi. It asks big, uncomfortable questions about creation, faith, and where humanity comes from.
Visually, it is flawless. The landscapes are haunting, and the body horror is visceral (the med-pod scene is legendary for a reason). Michael Fassbender steals the show as the android David, playing him with a terrifying, childlike curiosity that makes him more dangerous than any alien monster. It’s a movie that lingers in your mind long after the credits roll.
Did You Know? Ridley Scott decided to shoot the film in 3D using real 3D cameras (rather than converting it later) because he wanted to capture the depth of the caves and the holograms practically. He cited Avatar as the film that convinced him the technology was ready.
The Impossible
Rank: #40 Director: J.A. Bayona
Based on the true story of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, The Impossible is a visceral, terrifying survival drama. The tsunami sequence itself is one of the most realistic depictions of a natural disaster ever put on film; the sound design alone is enough to induce panic.
Naomi Watts earned an Oscar nomination for her harrowing physical performance, but it was a young Tom Holland (in his film debut) who showed the world he was a star in the making. The bond between mother and son anchors the chaos. It’s an emotional endurance test, but one that celebrates human resilience and kindness in the face of total devastation.
Did You Know? The filmmakers used real water for the tsunami sequence rather than relying entirely on CGI. Naomi Watts was dragged underwater by currents in a massive tank, which she later described as genuinely terrifying and physically exhausting.
Wreck-It Ralph
Rank: #42 Director: Rich Moore
Disney Animation entered a new golden age in the 2010s, and Wreck-It Ralph was a huge part of that. It is essentially Toy Story for video games. The world-building is incredibly clever, imagining an arcade where bad guys go to support groups and characters travel via power chords.
But beneath the Easter eggs and gamer references is a touching story about identity. Ralph’s desire to be seen as more than just a "bad guy" is universally relatable. The relationship between him and Vanellope von Schweetz is sweet without being saccharine. It proved Disney could tell modern, slightly edgy stories without losing their classic heart.
Did You Know? The "Bad-Anon" support group scene features actual voice actors and likenesses for famous video game villains like Bowser, Zangief, and Dr. Robotnik, which required Disney to negotiate rights with Nintendo, Sega, and Capcom just for that one scene.
The Dark Knight Rises
Rank: #51 Director: Christopher Nolan
Following up The Dark Knight was an impossible task, but Christopher Nolan swung for the fences with this operatic conclusion. Rises is massive in scale, literally holding the entire city of Gotham hostage. Tom Hardy’s Bane is a physical powerhouse, a villain who breaks Batman not psychologically, but physically.
While it has its plot holes, the emotional beats land hard. Seeing a broken Bruce Wayne have to climb out of the darkness (literally) to save his city one last time is inspiring. The ending brings the trilogy full circle, offering a rare sense of closure for a superhero franchise.
Did You Know? Tom Hardy had to wear three-inch lifts in his boots to appear taller than Christian Bale and Morgan Freeman, as Bane was written to be physically imposing and towering over Batman.
Zero Dark Thirty
Rank: #57 Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Kathryn Bigelow’s dramatization of the decade-long hunt for Osama bin Laden is a procedural thriller that feels like a punch to the gut. It strips away the jingoism often found in war movies and focuses on the grind: the paperwork, the dead ends, and the moral compromises.
Jessica Chastain is icy and brilliant as Maya, the CIA analyst who consumes her life in pursuit of a ghost. The final raid on the compound is filmed in near real-time, mostly in darkness, creating an unbearable sense of tension. We know the outcome, yet our hearts still race. It is a cold, hard look at the cost of revenge.
Did You Know? The film was originally going to be about the failed hunt for Bin Laden in Tora Bora, but the script was completely rewritten in real-time after the actual raid happened in 2011.
21 Jump Street
Rank: #62 Director: Phil Lord & Christopher Miller
Remaking a gloomy 80s teen cop drama into a meta-comedy sounded like a terrible idea. Instead, it was a stroke of genius. Lord and Miller turned the premise on its head, openly mocking the lack of originality in Hollywood while delivering a genuinely hilarious movie.
Channing Tatum proved he was a comedic genius, playing the dumb jock with perfect timing, while Jonah Hill played the insecure smart kid. The role reversal—where the cool kid becomes the loser in the modern, sensitive high school environment—was a brilliant satirical touch. It’s fast, crude, and surprisingly sweet.
Did You Know? Johnny Depp agreed to make his cameo appearance on one condition: that his character, Tom Hanson, dies. He wanted closure for the character that launched his career.
Ted
Rank: #75 Director: Seth MacFarlane
In his directorial debut, Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane took a high-concept premise—a childhood teddy bear comes to life—and played it completely straight, just with more bong rips. The genius of Ted isn't just that the bear is crude; it's that nobody in the movie thinks it's weird anymore. Ted is just a washed-up celebrity.
Mark Wahlberg commits 100% to acting alongside a CGI bear, and their chemistry feels like genuine best friends. It’s raunchy and offensive, but underneath the dirty jokes, it’s a surprisingly honest look at arrested development and the difficulty of growing up when your childhood won't let you go.
Did You Know? Mark Wahlberg has stated that Ted was the most physically demanding role of his career because he spent the entire production acting opposite empty space or a stick with eyeballs, having to memorize the timing of the bear's movements perfectly.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Rank: #100 Director: Peter Jackson
Returning to Middle-earth was a dream come true for fans. While the Hobbit trilogy often gets criticized for being bloated, the first entry captures the sense of adventure that made The Lord of the Rings so special. Martin Freeman was born to play Bilbo Baggins; his fussy, reluctant heroism is the perfect anchor for the story.
The "Riddles in the Dark" scene with Andy Serkis returning as Gollum is a masterclass in acting and tension, proving that the magic was still there. It’s a lighter, more whimsical journey than LOTR, filled with songs and Dwarven humor, but it retains Jackson’s epic visual flair.
Did You Know? All of the Dwarves had to undergo "dwarf boot camp," where they learned how to walk, fight, and move like dwarves to ensure they looked like a cohesive unit rather than just short humans.
Looper
Rank: #112 Director: Rian Johnson
Before he made The Last Jedi or Knives Out, Rian Johnson directed this inventive sci-fi noir. The premise is brilliant: hitmen (Loopers) kill targets sent back from the future, until the day they have to kill their future selves to close the loop.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt wears prosthetics to look like a young Bruce Willis, and the effect is uncanny. But the movie isn't just about time travel mechanics; it’s about breaking cycles of violence. It’s smart, gritty, and features a telekinetic subplot that adds a terrifying layer to the narrative. It cemented Johnson as one of the most interesting writers working in sci-fi.
Did You Know? To get Bruce Willis’s mannerisms right, Joseph Gordon-Levitt spent hours studying Willis’s old movies and even recorded Willis reading his lines so he could mimic the cadence and intonation perfectly.
The Hunger Games
Rank: #113 Director: Gary Ross
This was the movie that launched the YA dystopian craze of the 2010s. While many imitators followed, the original stands out for its grounded, gritty approach. Director Gary Ross used handheld cameras and natural lighting to make the Capitol feel decadent and District 12 feel impoverished.
Jennifer Lawrence became an instant superstar as Katniss Everdeen. She brought a physicality and emotional weight to the role that elevated the material above typical teen fare. The concept of kids killing kids for entertainment is horrifying, and the film doesn't shy away from the trauma of that violence.
Did You Know? Jennifer Lawrence accidentally kicked co-star Josh Hutcherson in the head during a playful fight on set, giving him a mild concussion.
Think Like A Man
Rank: #149 Director: Tim Story
Based on Steve Harvey’s advice book, Think Like A Man is a surprisingly effective ensemble rom-com. It balances multiple storylines featuring different relationship archetypes (The Player, The Mama's Boy, The Dreamer) with genuine humor and heart.
The cast is stacked—Kevin Hart, Taraji P. Henson, Gabrielle Union, Michael Ealy—and their chemistry carries the film. Kevin Hart, in particular, is a standout as the narrator/comic relief, bringing his manic energy to the proceedings. It’s a fun, breezy look at the battle of the sexes that serves as a time capsule for modern dating dynamics.
Did You Know? The film was a massive financial success, dethroning The Hunger Games from the #1 spot at the box office after Hunger Games had held it for four consecutive weeks.