The 7 Best New Movies on Amazon Prime Video Right Now

Amazon’s Prime Video has brought a handful of bona fide genre classics to its platform this month. Six of the biggest fantasy blockbusters ever made have been added to the service in May, as well as a pair of deeply underrated, oft-forgotten sci-fi dramas and two rousing, underdog sports movies. One of the best romantic comedies of all time is even available to stream on the service now, just in case you ever find yourself in the mood for a bit of lighthearted romance.

Here are the seven best movies now streaming on Prime Video in May.

“Cinderella Man” (2005)

One of Hollywood’s most underrated sports dramas, “Cinderella Man” is director Ron Howard and star Russell Crowe’s reunion following their Oscar-winning collaboration on 2001’s “A Beautiful Mind.” “Cinderella Man” received a more muted response than that film, but time has been kind enough to it that one could reasonably make the case now that it is the stronger of the two. Set in the early 20th century, the film tells the true story of heavyweight boxing champion James J. Braddock (Crowe) and the unlikely success he achieved during the Great Depression after suffering a broken hand injury that forced him to briefly retire.

“Cinderella Man” tells its story with Howard’s trademark heart and directorial warmth, and it is worth seeking out just for Paul Giamatti’s scene-stealing supporting turn as the kind-hearted manager of Crowe’s Braddock.

“The Fire Inside” (2024)

Released to disappointingly little recognition at the end of 2024, “The Fire Inside” tells the inspiring true story of how female boxer Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (Ryan Destiny) overcame her difficult, traumatic Flint, Michigan origins to not only become a respected champion but also compete in the 2012 Summer Olympics. Penned by “Moonlight” filmmaker Barry Jenkins, the film marks the feature directorial debut of “Black Panther” cinematographer Rachel Morrison, who directs it with both confidence and style.

Like “Cinderella Man,” “The Fire Inside” was received well but not very passionately, and it deserves better than that. It is an affecting, crowd-pleasing underdog drama, and it features a pair of commanding performances at the center of it from Ryan Destiny as Shields and Brian Tyree Henry as the boxing coach who takes her under his wing.

“Gattaca” (1997)

One of the smartest and yet most oft-forgotten American sci-fi films of the past 30 years, “Gattaca” is the feature directorial debut of “The Truman Show” writer Andrew Niccol. Set in the near future, the film follows Vincent Freeman (Ethan Hawke), a young man growing up in a world where eugenics has become commonplace, thanks to an advanced technology that allows parents to conceive their children through genetic selection.

Vincent is considered an “in-valid” because he was conceived naturally, and he faces intense genetic discrimination in his pursuit to achieve his lifelong dream of going to space. He nonetheless strives to prove the scientists and high-society men and women who doubt his ability to succeed beyond his perceived limits wrong. Finding the right balance between literal and allegorical storytelling, “Gattaca” is a haunting, distinct sci-fi drama about the difficulty of achieving great things in a world that does not want you to believe you can.

“Her” (2013)

Writer-director Spike Jonze’s 2013 drama, “Her,” has proven to be prescient in ways both encouraging and unnerving. Set in a near-future Los Angeles, the film follows Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix), a heartbroken man struggling with his impending divorce who finds solace and connection in his relationship with Samantha (Scarlett Johansson), a sentient operating system. Clearly inspired by Jonze’s divorce from fellow filmmaker Sofia Coppola, “Her” is a cinematic vision of the future unlike any other, one that benefits greatly from Jonze’s then-inspired decision to visually blend the cities of Los Angeles and Shanghai together.

As disconcerting as its protagonist’s relationship may seem now in the face of recent and ongoing real-world AI developments, where “Her” lands is somewhere far more nuanced and hopeful than its plot suggests on paper. In the end, Phoenix’s Theodore learns two things: That AI may, at its best, help us grow and move forward in important ways, and that there is still nothing more important or fulfilling than the connections we form with our fellow humans.

“Legally Blonde” (2001)

A film so endlessly quotable and beloved that Amazon is making a prequel TV series inspired by it, well over 20 years after it was released, “Legally Blonde” is the film that Reese Witherspoon will likely forever be best known for. That is for good reason, as Witherspoon gives a star-cementing turn for the ages as Elle Woods, a sorority girl who makes a go at getting a Harvard Law degree, first in order to win her ex-boyfriend back and then eventually for herself.

A film that is so in love with its protagonist, it makes it impossible not to also fall for her, “Legally Blonde” is one of the rare early 2000s comedies that has managed to win over multiple generations’ worth of viewers. It is the kind of lightning-in-a-bottle success that is practically impossible to match or replicate (see: 2003’s inferior “Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde”).

“The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” (2001)

Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” and “Hobbit” trilogies have both come to Prime Video in May. The “Lord of the Rings” trilogy is generally — and rightly — agreed to be superior, but which of its three films is the best is entirely up to you. There are strong cases to be made for both 2002’s “The Two Towers” and 2003’s Best Picture-winning “The Return of the King,” but few films offer the same visual splendor and sense of discovery that 2001’s “The Fellowship of the Ring” does.

The first installment in Jackson’s three-part “Lord of the Rings” adaptation is a near-perfect fantasy film that patiently, expertly eases viewers into the world of Middle-earth and the quest of Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood), its mild-mannered Hobbit protagonist who ends up saddled with a daunting level of responsibility. It is an epic of unquantifiable magic and timeless cinematic power.

“You’ve Got Mail” (1998)

“You’ve Got Mail,” Nora Ephron‘s irresistible reimagining of Ernst Lubitsch’s “The Shop Around the Corner,” is a romantic comedy made by one of the genre’s most reliable and influential voices. Set in Manhattan, the film follows a bookshop owner (Meg Ryan) who unwittingly falls in love over email with the owner (Tom Hanks) of the major bookstore chain that is threatening to put her out of business.

“You’ve Got Mail” mines the chemistry and combined star power of Ryan and Hanks to brilliant effect, telling its story of mismatched lovers with infectious humor, delicate sensitivity and unabashed romance. The film sees Ephron operating at her most effortless and confident — both as an observer of human behavior and a reluctant romantic. Is it better than Ephron’s other Ryan-and-Hanks jam, “Sleepless in Seattle”? It’s too close to say. Just take your pick.

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