The Best Movies Streaming on Paramount Plus

Since its debut in 2021, Paramount+ has quickly risen to become one of the greatest subscription-based streaming platforms you can currently find online. Combining a range of properties from CBS, Paramount, Nickelodeon, and Comedy Central, it boasts a rich library of beloved movies, TV series, and documentaries.

Like all the most noteworthy streaming platforms, Paramount+ also has a ton of exclusive content at its disposal, such as Star Trek: Picard, 1883, and The Good Fight.

Along with those exclusive titles, the platform also has a dense catalog of movies streaming on the service, from newer films like The Fighter and The Ring to classics like Grease and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

Here are some of the best movies you can find playing on Paramount+ right now.

Updated: October 27.

Action: Mission: Impossible

With how many recent additions have been made to the franchise, it seems strange to go back and watch the series in its infancy with the first Mission: Impossible. However, it’s still worth seeing for several reasons, the most important being to see the series in its earliest stages, giving you more appreciation for just how far Mission: Impossible has come over the years.

After being framed for the deaths of his entire team, the relatively inexperienced spy, Ethan Hunter (Tom Cruise), sets out to find the mole in the Impossible Missions Force.

To be fair, the first Mission: Impossible doesn’t measure up nearly as well to the later entries in the series. Yet it’s still an enjoyable enough spy film in its own right, containing plenty of callbacks to the original TV show and introducing the world to that modern-day American James Bond, Ethan Hunter.

Biopic: Lincoln

On the surface, it wouldn’t seem like a movie centered around Abraham Lincoln would be all that interesting for most audience members. With Steven Spielberg behind the camera and Daniel Day-Lewis in front of it, though, Lincoln more than manages to hold audiences’ attention.

As the Civil War approaches its end, President Abraham Lincoln (Day-Lewis) leads an effort to abolish slavery, attempting to get the historic 13th Amendment passed by the politically divided House of Representatives.

Exploring the final few months of Lincoln’s presidency, Lincoln serves as the ultimate illustration of the president’s time in office, and how fully he managed to shape the course of American history with what little time he had left.

Mystery: To Catch a Thief

A classic from Hitchcock’s ‘50s period, To Catch a Thief is a brilliant example of the wondrous collaborative efforts of Hitch and one of his favorite leading men, Cary Grant.

John Robie (Grant) is a retired professional thief who has since settled down to a quiet life on the French Riviera. When a copycat burglar bearing all of Robie’s signatures begins robbing households throughout the coastline, Robie sets out to prove his innocence in the eyes of the police.

Containing every signature aspect you’d expect to find in a Hitchcock film, To Catch a Thief has it all. There’s the innocent man framed for a crime he never committed, his quest to prove it in the eyes of the disbelieving police, and even the appearance of another go-to Hitchcok regular: the one of a kind Grace Kelly.

Drama: The Fighter

For my money, the most interesting sports films are those that focus on a professional athlete’s personal life rather than their meteoric rise to success. As great as Rocky is in this regard, I’d rather take a movie like Raging Bull or The Fighter, if only for the sole distinction those movies make following the boxers’ tumultuous lives outside of the ring.

Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg) is a young, up-and-coming boxer trained by his older brother, Dicky (Christian Bale), a once-successful boxer who has since become a drug addict. With Dicky planning on launching a comeback, Micky works hard to distance him from his self-abusing brother, forging a reputation on his own based on his in-ring abilities.

Based on the true story of Micky Ward and his rocky relationship with his brother, The Fighter isn’t a movie tailor made specifically for sports fans. Instead, it’s a leveling drama that every viewer — regardless of whether you like boxing or not — can enjoy on a more fundamental level.

Musical: Grease

One of the most iconic musicals ever made, Grease is John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John’s lasting contribution to the musical genre.

In the late 1950s, Danny Zuko (John Travolta) and Australian transfer student Sandy Olsson (Olivia Newton-John) fall in love with each other the summer before high school starts. Forced to assume the role as a tough-talking greaser, Danny is torn between reciprocating his feelings towards Sandy and keeping his bad-boy image in the eyes of his peers.

A knowing parody of ‘50s youth culture and musicals in general, Grease is a lewd, crude, and frequently rude sendup of bebop music and old-school rock and roll. It’s this anti-musical feel that has continued to define Grease’s legacy, making it every bit as funny to watch as it was back in 1978.

Comedy: Mean Girls

Written by the always hilarious Tina Fey, Mean Girls is a wonderfully modern interpretation of the teen movie. Featuring a younger cast of actors at the height of their talent, it’s quotable, somewhat relatable, and funny throughout (all things you’d expect from a good teen film).

Enrolling in public school for the first time, sixteen-year-old Cady (Lindsay Lohan) navigates the murky and often hostile world of high school politics. Encountering the school’s ultra-popular all-girls clique called “the Plastics,” Cady plots ways to lower the group’s reputation to everyone else’s standards.

A takedown of teen cliques prevalent throughout high school, Mean Girls has all the bite and poignancy of a classic John Hughes movie from the 1980s. Perhaps the best teen film of the 2000s, its influence on practically every teen comedy (up to the most recent Do Revenge) is abundantly clear.

Family: Addams Family Values

The first attempt at an Addams Family movie was okay, but it was far from great. By comparison, its 1993 sequel, Addams Family Values, perfectly lived up to the expectations set by longtime fans of the macabre comic strip family.

Debbie Jellinsky (Joan Cusack) is a serial killer who marries wealthy men for their hefty inheritance. Courting Fester (Christopher Lloyd), Debbie’s attempts to secure her fortune are complicated by a suspicious Wednesday (Christina Ricci) and Pugsley (Jimmy Workman).

The thing that made Addams Family Values such a success was its more self-aware approach to the horror comedy genre. Playing most of its narrative events for laughs, it mixes humor with grim subject matter, allowing for a more engaging film that remained true to the original nature of the comics and TV series.

Sci-Fi: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

It’s no accident that Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is considered one of the finest science fiction movies there is. A major improvement upon the original, averagely-received Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Wrath of Khan completely revitalized the Star Trek franchise, helping ensure its survival into future generations.

After 15 years spent in exile, the genetically-modified dictator Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalbán) returns to seek revenge against Captain James Kirk (William Shatner) and his crew aboard the USS Enterprise.

With better acting, better writing, and better visuals than Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Wrath of Khan was the ideal stepping stone for the Star Trek series. Paying mind to the earlier Original Series, it also had a unique style and look that helped translate Star Trek onto film, ushering in every Star Trek-related movie that followed.

Horror: The Ring

Even those who have never seen The Ring are aware of the general premise surrounding it. Like all the most universally well-known horror movies, it’s able to bring images directly to mind upon hearing the title alone (such as that creepy well or even creepier young girl who serves as the main antagonist of the film).

Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts) is a Seattle-based reporter who begins investigating a mysterious series of recent deaths. Rachel’s story soon sees her trying to dissect a local urban myth involving a rumored videotape and a ghostly girl (Daveigh Chase) who supposedly kills anyone who watches it.

It’s up for debate whether The Ring is as scary as the 1998 Japanese horror film it’s based upon. In most American audience members’ eyes, though, it remains a palpably terrifying psychological horror movie, headlined by great performances from Watts and Chase.

Underrated: Scream 4

Cynics will tell you that Scream 4 is the weakest entry in the Scream franchise. But I believe that remains a matter of opinion. A far cry away from the repeated criticisms heaped on this movie, I’d wager Scream 4 to be perhaps the most underrated entry in the series to date.

On the fifteenth anniversary of the Woodsboro massacre, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) returns to her hometown, reuniting with her now-married fellow survivors, Dewey (David Arquette) and Gale (Courtney Cox). Her homecoming is soon interrupted by the return of Ghostface, who begins preying on a new generation of Woodsboro teenagers.

Scream 4 isn’t as well-loved as Scream 2 or the more recent Scream, but it’s still a largely decent entry in the hit slasher series. Like all of the Scream movies, it doubles down on the metafictional presentation of the slasher film, offering twists and turns galore, containing one of the best killer reveals in all of Scream.

This post was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.