Paramount is serious about boosting the content on Paramount Plus. Just ask Dana White about his eyewatering $7.7 billion deal that will see the UFC shift from a pay-per-view to a pay-for-Paramount-Plus model (at least in the USA). But the Paramount Plus sports offering isn't the only thing that packs a punch. With or without a Paramount Plus deal, a subscription comes with hundreds of movies, plus movie-length documentaries and specials. Here's our list of some of the best movies you can stream on Paramount Plus.
Gladiator
Nathan's notes: One of the best epics ever made, deserving of its legacy.
Nathan's rating:
In a time when the Hollywood epic was in decline, Ridley Scott dared to start shooting with a messy and incomplete script. The result is Gladiator, one of the most compelling epics ever made. And how could it not be, with the foundation of a general who becomes a slave, the slave who becomes a gladiator, and the gladiator who defies an emperor.
While his accent slips, there's no denying the screen presence of Russell Crowe in his Oscar-winning main role, playing off a chilling performance from Joaquin Phoenix as the villain. Chuck all that in the blender with incredible action, Scott's cinematic eye, and arguably Hans Zimmer's best soundtrack (with haunting help from Aussie singer Lisa Gerrard), and you get a movie that demands to be seen more than once. And if you want to see it mostly rehashed, Paramount Plus has Gladiator II, too.
Director: Ridley Scott | Cast: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen |
Language: English | Rating: M
Genre: Ancient epic
Available on: Paramount Plus
Mean Girls
Nathan's notes: As laugh-out-loud funny and exceptionally quotable today as it was in the early 2000s.
Nathan's rating:
Word is, the rule with movie posters is you have your target audience front and centre. So when you see the poster for Mean Girls, you may believe those four teenage girls make this a movie that's only going to be beloved by teenage girls. But you'd be wrong, and you'd also be missing out on one of the greatest teen comedies ever made, whose humour is as on point today as it was in 2004. That's not surprising given the exceptionally funny Tina Fey wrote the script.
The plot follows 16-year-old Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan) who is thrown into the cliquey realities of American high school after an entire life of home-schooling. Good luck picking a favourite character, because the ensemble cast of comedians is so talented that you'll be too busy laughing to worry about such things. And if that's not enough Mean Girls for you, Paramount Plus also has the identically titled quasi-remake.
Director: Mark Waters | Cast: Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Tina Fey |
Language: English | Rating: M
Genre: Teen comedy
Available on: Paramount Plus
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Atomic Blonde
Nathan's notes: More than just "Joan Wick", this sexy spy thriller hits in all the right ways.
Nathan's rating:
The latest Old Guard movie aside, Charlize Theron has a knack for kicking butt and taking names in action flicks. Want proof? Here's the rundown. There's the first Old Guard movie. Then there's the god-tier Mad Max: Fury Road. And there's also Atomic Blonde, which is a bit more off the radar but still absolutely worth a watch (or rewatch).
Directed by one of the guys who killed John Wick's dog (oh, and Deadpool 2), the brilliantly shot action sequences are the main attraction of Atomic Blonde. But beneath the John Wick-inspired violence is a Cold War thriller that plays out like a stylised James Bond story. Fingers crossed those Atomic Blonde 2 rumours are true because the first flick should leave you wanting more.
Director: David Leitch | Cast: Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, John Goodman |
Language: English | Rating: MA15+
Genre: Action thriller
Available on: Paramount Plus
The Bourne Identity
Nathan's notes: Jason Bourne might have amnesia, but audiences are in for an unforgettable thriller.
Nathan's rating:
Full disclosure: you can find every Jason Bourne movie on Paramount Plus, yes, including the Jeremy Renner one and the less-than-impactful last appearance from Matt Damon. The core Bourne trilogy is undeniably great, though. But, for me, The Bourne Identity – the one that started it all – is the best of the lot. Nauseating shaky cam aside, this Tony Gilroy (of recent Andor fame) adaptation of the Robert Ludlum novel makes for a very compelling thriller.
Jason Bourne (Damon) is fished out of the Mediterranean Sea with gunshot wounds and worse memory loss than way too many booze shots. While his identity is foggy, his skills as an assassin are sharper than ever. Strap in for the fastest two hours of your life, with a star-studded cast of old guard legends and (then) up-and-comers.
Director: Doug Liman | Cast: Matt Damon, Franka Potent, Chris Cooper |
Language: English | Rating: M
Genre: Psychological thriller
Available on: b
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Nathan's notes: Indy's best adventure offers the kind of thrills, laughs, and drama that belong in a museum.
Nathan's rating:
Look, purists are going to say that Raiders of the Lost Ark is the best Indy flick. But Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade makes a strong case for not only being the best Indy movie, but for being the best third movie in a series. Ever. After the no-Nazis misstep of Temple of Doom, Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) has his work cut out against him in his third silver screen adventure, racing against the Third Reich.
The prize? The Holy Grail. The complications: an army of Nazi goons, a shaky alliance love interest, and some of the worst conditions to have father-son bonding after many years of estrangement. That father-son story with Ford and Sean Connery carries a movie that has some of the best action set pieces ever put to film, including a horse-vs-tank showdown.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Cast: Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, John Rhys-Davies |
Language: English | Rating: PG
Genre: Action adventure
Available on: Paramount Plus
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
Nathan's notes: A shotgun approach to comedy that'll try anything to make you laugh (and it succeeds most of the time).
Nathan's rating:
Before The Naked Gun sequel with Liam Neeson hits Paramount Plus, there's the original Leslie Nielsen trilogy to visit or revisit. While modern comedies mix heart and humour, The Naked Gun is from a time when they tried anything and everything to make you laugh. From ridiculous romance scenes and plenty of slapstick comedy, to Frank Drebin's (Nielsen) consistently terrible driving, you'll be hard-pressed to not at least giggle every minute.
One of the best gags is where Drebin interrogates a harbour master, which plays out in such a ridiculous way that the straight acting from the two actors makes it all the more hilarious. That overly serious approach to Drebin's ineptitude is a constant source of laughs.
Director: David Zucker | Cast: Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, O.J. Simpson |
Language: English | Rating: M
Genre: Screwball comedy
Available on: Paramount Plus
Memento
Nathan's notes: Christopher Nolan's first big statement film is worth another watch, no matter how many times you've seen it before.
Nathan's rating:
Christopher Nolan has such an impressive body of work that people will argue over which movie is his best. Inception. Interstellar. The Dark Knight. They're all great frontrunners. But the first movie that put Nolan on Hollywood's radar is the one that most rewards rewatching. On the surface, Memento is a simple enough story about a man who's obsessed with finding his wife's killer. What complicates it is his anterograde amnesia, where Leonard (Guy Pearce) is unable to form new memories.
Collecting clues, then, becomes a game of photographs, handwritten notes, and tattoos to keep him focused. To put the audience inside Leonard's perspective, Nolan shows most of the story in reverse order, so you'll be just as confused about what came before as Leonard. Watch it once for the thrill. Then watch it many more times to try and find the truth in it all.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Cast: Guy
Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano |
Language: English | Rating: MA15+
Genre: Psychological thriller
Available on: Paramount Plus
Children of Men
Nathan's notes: This underappreciated darling is ready to break your heart all over again.
Nathan's rating:
Clive Owen had something of a dream run in the 2000s. Sin City. Closer. Inside Man. And even the ridiculously over-the-top Shoot 'Em Up. But as entertaining as those movies are, none of them compares to the haunting realities of the underappreciated Children of Men.
Set in a world where infertility is rampant and the death of the human race is decades away, Theo Faron (Owen) is cynically counting down the days until the end of humanity. But then along comes his estranged wife Julian (Julianne Moore) with a mission to help a young pregnant woman who may just be humanity's last hope. Children of Men offers heart, humour, and hope in a hopeless world, with an incredible cast and impeccable direction.
Director: Alfonso Cuarón | Cast: Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Chiwetel Ejiofor |
Language: English | Rating: MA15+
Genre: Sci-fi drama
Available on: Paramount Plus
Role Models
Nathan's notes: A farcical comedy premise that never strays too far into the ludicrous thanks to its big-hearted cast.
Nathan's rating:
When you think of the best comedies from the 2000s, there's stiff competition from Superbad, Anchorman, and Wedding Crashers. But one that's a little left of mainstream is on Paramount Plus. Role Models has a pitch that's made for comedy. Danny (Paul Rudd) and Wheeler (Seann William Scott) are energy drink reps who inspire and heckle high-schoolers in equal measures, disagreeing on their friendship status.
After disillusioned Danny causes public damage to school property, the at-ends duo is forced to enrol in a program that has them hanging out with isolated teens. Role Models has a bit of everything: romance, plenty of laughs, larger-than-life characters, and a hilarious ending LARP battle. Watch it once and you'll be quoting it for life.
Director: David Wain | Cast: Paul Rudd, Seann William Scott, Elizabeth Banks |
Language: English | Rating: MA15+
Genre: Buddy comedy
Available on: Paramount Plus
Smokin' Aces
Nathan's notes: An American riff on the fast-paced Guy Ritchie crime caper is very entertaining.
Nathan's rating:
Hollywood likes to mimic the success of popular UK things. For James Bond, the answer was Jason Bourne. And for Guy Ritchie's iconic gangster movies (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and Snatch), the answer is Smokin' Aces. Sure, it's got a healthy dose of American mustard on it. but it's otherwise an incredibly entertaining crime caper that effortlessly bounces between the perspectives of grounded and larger-than-life characters.
The plot kicks off a few minutes into the film when a massive bounty is put out on Buddy Israel (Jeremy Piven), which has FBI agents, bondmen, and a terrifying array of assassins converging on the hapless has-been. There's plenty of wild action, some big laughs, and a surprising amount of pathos, with an impressive cast of characters who all put in memorable performances.
Director: Joe Carnahan | Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Jeremy Piven, Ray Liotta |
Language: English | Rating: R18+
Genre: Action thriller
Available on: Paramount Plus
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More streaming deals
Looking for something to stream tonight but don't want to pay full price? We've rounded up the best deals from Australia's major streaming services.
- Apple TV Plus deals: Get 30% off a year
- Binge deals: From $4 per month
- Kayo deals: $1 for one month or seven days free
- Netflix deals: Bonus Netflix with Optus NBN
- Foxtel packages and deals: Save up to $55 per month
Nathan Lawrence
Freelance Contributor
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