The best movies on Binge at launch

Binge has movies by the truckload, but we’ve picked out the very best you can stream.

Foxtel’s latest streaming service Binge is off to a cracking start with over 800 movies to stream at launch (check out review). With so much to choose from, we’ve been trawling through the library to find the very best available.

Note: Binge is home to some fantastic film series. We’ve let you know which movie collections Binge has in their entirety in the list below (rather than pick out a single movie)

Fast & Furious Series

From The Fast and the Furious to Hobbs and Shaw, the whole fast familia is streaming on Binge. Before Binge, there was no one streaming solution for the entire Fast series, but now the whole series is parked in one place, you can buckle up for a binge right in time for Fast and Furious 9‘s 2020 release.

The Mummy

Before the beefed-up action stars of the 2000s, there was a different kind of leading man, the floppy-haired wiseguy. And none played a better floppy-haired wiseguy than Brendan Fraser.

Fraser’s most iconic role in the late 90s was Rick O’Connell, a roguish adventurer with a knack for vexing the reanimated high priest Imhotep in 1999’s The Mummy.

The Mummy follows Rick, and the scholarly Carnahan siblings, in a quest to escape the clutches of decaying Egyptian warriors and scores of flesh-eating scarab beetles. It offers plenty of chuckles and some genuinely thrilling chase sequences that hold up to this day.

Mission Impossible Series

Unlike the Fast and the Furious series, which increased in popularity with every subsequent release, Mission Impossible went MIA for a few years after the poorly received second instalment. But Tom Cruise never stopped pushing his body to the absolute limit, and by the fourth film, Ghost Protocol, the series had emerged from the shadows stronger than ever.

The successful Ghost Protocol was followed by two even better spy-thriller escapades: Rogue Nation (2016) and Fallout (2018). Now, the entire series is available to marathon on Binge.

Back to the Future Part I and II

When Michael J. Fox first danced with the idea of hooking up with his Mum in 1985, audiences weren’t phased even the slightest bit. Back to the Future became one of the biggest cultural phenomenons of the 80s, and by extension, so did Fox.

Rewatching Back to the Future is a solid reminder of what made Robert Zemeckis’s sci-fi adventure such a riot in the first place. The stakes are high, the comedy is broad, and the special effects/soundtrack have aged wonderfully. Both the original and its sequel are available to stream on Binge.

Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy

Sam Raimi didn’t coin the phrase “with great power comes great responsibility,” but Uncle Ben’s nugget of wisdom became part of the global psyche when it was uttered on the big screen in 2002’s live-action Spider-Man.

These days, the Raimi trilogy has become more of a meme than a marvel. Still, there’s no denying there’s something uniquely magical about Tobey Maguire’s turn as the webhead Peter Parker that the following Spider-Men couldn’t quite stick.

Jurassic Park Series

If John Williamson’s Jurassic Park theme doesn’t make you want to head back to 1993 and visit Isla Nubar for the first time all over again, then keep scrolling.

The prickly, but loveable Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill), the level-headed and whip-smart Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), and the shirtless Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) were perfectly cast in their roles as scientists and surrogate parents.

While the original is still the greatest, the Goldblum-led Lost World can get it too. And there’s a bit of fun to be had with the rebooted World series even if the principal cast lacks the same charm.

The Shawshank Redemption

How could we make a list of the best movies on Binge without naming one of the greatest of all time: The Shawshank Redemption. Frank Darabont’s Stephen King adaptation is still one of the best films of all time with reason. No matter how many times you rewatch this heartbreaking and heartwarming gem, you’ll find something new to appreciate.

Andy Dufresne’s epic tale of redemption, the question of his innocence, and, most importantly, his remarkable friendship with Morgan Freeman’s narrator Red, never tire.

Gladiator

Are you not entertained? Then we’ve got the movie for you. Ridley Scott’s 2000 epic Gladiator took Russel Crowe’s rising star and strapped a rocket to it while introducing many audiences to the inimitable Joaquin Phoenix.

Maximus Decimus and his storied tale of revenge treat viewers to a grand banquet of action, and a goblet of betrayal and intrigue to wash it all down with.

Crowe’s killing machine Maximus and the Phoenix’s villainous Commodus are the highlights here, but it also stars the late Oliver Reed and Richard Harris in supporting roles.

There Will Be Blood

The Shawshank Redemption might remain undefeated in the all-time Hall of Fame, but There Will Be Blood is undoubtedly a more modern contender. Under Paul Thomas Anderson’s masterful direction, Daniel Day-Lewis delivers the most engrossing performance of his career as the oil magnate Daniel Plainview.

Set over multiple decades, There Will Be Blood chronicles Plainview’s rags-to-riches story, as his empire builds, and his mind succumbs to alcohol-fuelled rage and paranoia.

Never has one man’s slow descent into madness been so captivating.

The Prestige

One year after steering the Batmobile towards success in Batman Begins, Chrissy Nolan took a short detour to do what he does best: an original psychological thriller with 2006’s The Prestige.

The Prestige follows Robert Angier and Alfred Borden, two rival magicians at war over one magic trick: the Teleporting Man. As the bitter rivalry ramps up, both men take extreme measures to best the other in an increasingly dangerous game of cat and mouse. There’s enough twists to give you motion sickness, but it’s a ride that’s well worth revisiting multiple times after the credits roll.

Boogie Nights

Paul Thomas Anderson’s second film on this list was the first time many of us witnessed the raw talent of the young director. Boogie Nights (1997) had Mark Wahlberg lead an all-star cast as Dirk Diggler, a nightclub dishwasher packing more than the dirty plates.

Diggler’s hidden… talent turns him into an overnight pornographic superstar. Boogie Nights details his rise to fame throughout the 70s, and his subsequent downfall in the 80s.

Boogie Nights is a must-watch if you like sprawling star-studded dramas.

Slumdog Millionaire

The movie that put Dev Patel (Lion) is another rags-to-riches joint, this told through the unique framing device of a game show. When Jamil Malik (Patel) gets a shot at India’s Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, the questions and answers transport us to a different moment in Malik’s life, from his innocent younger years, to more troubled times with gang members, to meeting his first love, all the way up to the moment he became a contestant.

Slumdog Millionaire is a romance story at heart, but the journey there is filled with loads of action and drama.

Seven

Three years after his admirable, but divisive, attempt to expand the mythology of the Alien universe in Aliens 3, David Fincher burst onto the scene with his first original thriller Seven.

The hunt for the zealot serial killer John Doe allowed Fincher to carve out his trademark style before the, now legendary, director would go on to bring some the greatest modern thrillers to life. Zodiac, Fight Club, Gone Girl, and Mindhunter all have Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman’s glib buddy cop drama to thank.

Twenty-five years later, Seven hasn’t aged a day, and while it won’t inspire a gluttonous day on the couch, it does inspire a rewatch of Fincher’s back catalogue.

The Thing

Clichés be damned, they really don’t make them like The Thing anymore. From John Carpenter and Ennio Morricone’s simple but stirring synth soundtrack, and Rob Bottin’s tangible practical effects, to Carpenter’s expertly paced directing and rewarding jump scares, The Thing is a masterclass in horror that doesn’t spoon-feed the audience.

If you’ve been living on a remote Antarctic research station for the last forty years, The Thing follows Kurt Russell’s pragmatic helicopter pilot R.J. MacReady in a paranoid fight for survival. When a body-snatching alien assimilates the crew of a snowed-in research lab one by one, MacReady trusts no one, shooting first and asking questions later.

Despite its age, The Thing remains one of the best horror movies of all time. Even if grotesque body horror isn’t your idea of a good time, Kurt Russel’s iconic beard will be.

Evil Dead 1 & 2

You might know the deadite-hunting Ash Williams from the popular 2015 series Ash vs. Evil Dead (available on Stan), but if we head back in time (not as far back 1300 AD) to 1981, you’ll meet a much younger Ash Williams with one more arm, and one less chainsaw, in the original The Evil Dead.

Sam Raimi’s first Evil Dead film is a far cry from the cult icon Ash Williams we know today. For a movie that involved demonically possessed trees, The Evil Dead is a comparatively straightforward cabin-in-the-woods horror flick about a group of teens fighting a supernatural force. It’s not until Evil Dead II where Raimi ramps up the weirdness and begins the journey to the grizzled, boomstick-slinging Ash Williams we know today.

Moon

For his directorial debut, Duncan Jones (Source Code) gave us an isolated sci-fi film and ninety-five minutes of uninterrupted Sam Rockwell. That fact alone should earn Jones a spot in the Hall of Fame.

Moon is like if Castaway was set in space. Rockwell’s Sam Bell is an engineer reaching the end of his tenure on a highly-automated mining facility on the far side of the Moon. Three years of isolation and no human contact (except for a chatty AI), Bell’s imminent return to Earth is put at risk when he falls ill, and his mind begins to cave to the acute loneliness.

Like Castaway, Moon’s one-man show lives and dies on its lead’s raw charisma, which Rockwell has in spades.

Ex Machina

Before Alex Garland’s recent television debut with Devs (also on Binge), there was Ex Machina.

The first film both written and directed by Garland, Ex Machina follows a young programmer (Domnhall Gleeson) on a one-week visit to the luxurious and remote property of his company’s enigmatic CEO (Oscar Isaac). Before long, Caleb is introduced to the CEO’s secret project, an AI humanoid robot known as Ava (Alicia Vikander). Caleb’s job, and the reason for his invite, is to determine whether Ava is capable of genuine human consciousness. If Caleb forgets that Ava isn’t human, the test would be considered a success.

After three Star Wars movies, it’s hard to imagine the lovable Oscar Isaac as a terrifying and imposing megalomaniac, but this is the role that put him on the map.

Garland has explored the ramifications of Playing God a few times, but this is the writer/director at his sharpest. Without spoiling anything, we highly recommend giving Ex Machina a watch before diving into Devs.

Mandy

Con Air, Vampire’s Kiss, Face/Off, Ghost Rider, all top-shelf examples of what can happen if you let Nic Cage off the leash. We laughed, we cried, we thought we’d seen the best and worst of Cage Rage. But looking back, those roles were simply the pupal stage of Cage’s dramatic metamorphosis, all leading up to the moment a fully-matured Cage broke free of his cocoon in 2018’s Mandy.

Mandy starts innocent enough. Cage’s Red Miller and his girlfriend Mandy Bloom live a simple, romantic life deep in the mountains away from society. But when a cult known as The Children of the New Dawn rolls through town, they’re anarchy paves the way for one of the most insane revenge stories ever put to screen.

The description alone could trick you into thinking this is a bad movie; it’s not, it’s bloody fantastic. Director Panos Cosmatos’ absurd vision comes to life in a technicolour acid trip with such painfully beautiful cinematography, you’ll sometimes feel like you’re watching two different movies.

The Purge Series

What’s there to say about The Purge series that you don’t already know? One night every year, the citizens of a seemingly Utopian society are given a literal Get Out of Jail Free card, allowing them to purge their bottled angst with murder and mayhem. The Purge kind of became the Saw of the last decade. A never-ending series of movies where you know exactly what you’re getting each time.

It’s like the Hungry Jacks Stunner Meal Deal, cheap, great for a hangover, and nothing if not consistent.