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37 Best Movies Based on a True Story to Watch in 2022

Amy Renner Amy Renner

Jan. 17, 2023

List of the top movies based on a true stories and/or inspired by real life events... more »

List of the top movies based on a true stories and/or inspired by real life events released in 2018.

2022

Mar. 27, 2022 5 min read

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The Woman King is the remarkable story of the Agojie, the all-female unit of warriors who protected the African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s with skills and a fierceness unlike anything the world has ever seen. Inspired by true events, The Woman King follows the emotionally epic journey of General Nanisca (Oscar®-winner Viola Davis) as she trains the next generation of recruits and readies them for battle against an enemy determined to destroy their way of life. Some things are worth fighting for…

PG-13 Drama Historical

  • 4.3

81%

19%
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Bezos chronicles the true-life story of Jeff Bezos-a humble yet awkward entrepreneur on his mission to create Amazon, the world's largest e-commerce company, and turn himself into the richest man in the world.

R Drama Adaptation 1 hr, 30 mins

  • 3.4

48%

52%
  • 4.5

90%

10%

State trooper Dan (Grant Gustin) dreams of joining the K-9 Search & Rescue team, but no one will give him the chance. Shelter dog Ruby dreams of having a home, but is running out of hope. When fate brings Dan and Ruby together, it's their unshakable bond that helps them face their toughest challenge yet.

Drama Family 1 hr, 30 mins

  • 4.8

88%

12%
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In the true story of Thirteen Lives, twelve boys and the coach of a Thai soccer team explore the Tham Luang cave when an unexpected rainstorm traps them in a chamber inside the mountain. Entombed behind a maze of flooded cave tunnels, they face impossible odds. A team of world-class divers navigate through miles of dangerous cave networks to discover that finding the boys is only the beginning.

PG-13 Adventure True Story

  • 4.5

76%

24%

Set in wild 1989 Panama, James Becker, a rugged, decorated ex-marine, is sent undercover by his former commander Stark to execute a high-value deal with untrustworthy adversaries. While navigating through the chaos of the local civil war, Becker must fight assassins, court femmes fatales and negotiate with the enemy in order to complete his mission. With Stark always by his side, Becker perseveres against all odds in hopes of making it home alive.

Action True Story

  • 2.1

80%

20%
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To show support for his neighborhood friends serving in Vietnam, Chickie Donohue (Zac Efron) decides to do something totally outrageous: travel to the frontline by himself to bring the soldiers a little piece of home — their favorite can of American beer. However, what started as a well-meaning journey quickly turns into the adventure of a lifetime as Chickie confronts the reality of this controversial war and his reunions with his childhood buddies thrust him into the complexities and responsibilities of adulthood.

Drama War

71%

29%

When Marine Veteran Brian Brown-Easley is denied support from Veterans Affairs, financially desperate and running out of options, he takes a bank and several of its employees hostage, setting the stage for a tense confrontation with the police. Based on the true story.

PG-13 Drama True Story 1 hr, 43 mins

  • 4.5

76%

24%

A jaded reporter is demoted to a rural news station, but her cynicism is slowly transformed when she befriends a recovering addict as she works a news story about a church struggling to purchase a motel for homeless families.

NR Drama True Story

  • 4.5

91%

9%

Set in 1961 when Kempton Bunton, a 60-year old taxi driver, stole Goya’s portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London. It was the first (and remains the only) theft in the Gallery’s history. Kempton sent ransom notes saying that he would return the painting on condition that the government agreed to provide television for free to the elderly. What happened next became the stuff of legend. Only 50 years later did the full story emerge – a startling revelation of how a good man set out to change the world and in so doing saved his son and his marriage.

R Drama Comedy 1 hr, 35 mins

  • 4.4

88%

12%

Based on a true story, Father Stu is an unflinchingly honest, funny and ultimately uplifting drama about a lost soul who finds his purpose in a most unexpected place. When an injury ends his amateur boxing career, Stuart Long moves to L.A. dreaming of stardom. While scraping by as a supermarket clerk, he meets Carmen, a Catholic Sunday school teacher who seems immune to his bad-boy charm. Determined to win her over, the longtime agnostic starts going to church to impress her. But surviving a terrible motorcycle accident leaves him wondering if he can use his second chance to help others find their way, leading to the surprising realization that he is meant to be a Catholic priest. Stu pursues his vocation with courage and compassion, inspiring not only those closest to him but countless others along the way.

PG-13 Drama True Story

  • 4.5

84%

16%

Nate Gibson’s life is turned upside down after he suffers a near-fatal illness and is left a quadriplegic. Moving forward seems impossible until he meets his unlikely service animal, Gigi – a curious and intelligent capuchin monkey – who helps Nate find what he needs most: hope. Inspired by true events.

PG-13 Drama True Story 1 hr, 54 mins

  • 4.2

95%

5%

Tells the inspiring true story behind the beloved Christmas carol and its author, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Known as America’s Poet, Henry leads an idyllic life – until the day his world is shattered by tragedy. With a nation divided by Civil War and his family torn apart, Henry puts down his pen, silenced by grief. But it’s the sound of Christmas morning that reignites the poet’s lost voice as he discovers the resounding hope of rekindled faith. 

PG Drama Holiday 1 hr, 50 mins

  • 4.1

90%

10%

Inspired by a remarkable true story, when her husband has a mental breakdown and goes missing, a determined woman and her young son set out to find him on the streets, sparking a movement of compassion towards those in need and inspiring a city.

Drama True Story

  • 4.4

71%

29%

Based on the bestselling novel by Joyce Carol Oates, Blonde boldly reimagines the life of one of Hollywood's most enduring icons, Marilyn Monroe. From her volatile childhood as Norma Jeane, through her rise to stardom and romantic entanglements, Blonde blurs the lines of fact and fiction to explore the widening split between her public and private selves. Written and directed by Andrew Dominik, the film boasts a cast led by Ana de Armas and featuring Bobby Cannavale, Adrien Brody, Julianne Nicholson, Xavier Samuel and Evan Williams.

NC-17 Drama Biography

  • 4.2

82%

18%

Devotion, an aerial war epic based on the bestselling book of the same name, tells the harrowing true story of two elite US Navy fighter pilots during the Korean War. Their heroic sacrifices would ultimately make them the Navy's most celebrated wingmen.

PG-13 Drama Action

87%

13%

Featuring Oscar® winners Mira Sorvino and the screenwriter of Crash, this thrilling, high-speed biopic tells the story of genius auto inventor Ferruccio Lamborghini (Frank Grillo, The Grey). All his life Ferruccio has dreamed of beating his longtime rival Enzo Ferrari (Gabriel Byrne)—and the upcoming Geneva grand prix could be his chance to blow past Ferrari for good. But can Ferruccio get his untested vehicle prepped for victory with the competition just months away? The race is on!

R Drama Biography 1 hr, 37 mins

99%

1%

The story of Tim Ballard, a former US government agent, who quits his job in order to devote his life to rescuing children from global sex traffickers.

Drama True Story

  • 4.9

99%

1%

The Swimmers tells the true story of swimming sisters Yusra and Sarah Mardini’s miraculous journey as refugees from war-torn Syria, all the way to the 2016 Rio Olympics.

PG-13 Drama Biography

  • 5

77%

23%

In 1909, Denmark’s Arctic Expedition led by Captain Ejnar Mikkelsen (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) was attempting to disprove the United States’ claim to Northeast Greenland. This claim was based on the assumption that Greenland was broken up into two different pieces of land. Leaving his crew behind with the ship, Mikkelsen embarks on a journey across the ice with his inexperienced crew member, Iver Iversen (Joe Cole). The two men succeed in finding the proof that Greenland is one island, but returning to the ship takes longer and is much harder than expected. Battling extreme hunger, fatigue and a polar bear attack, they finally arrive to find their ship crushed in the ice and the camp abandoned. Hoping to be rescued, they now must fight to stay alive. As the days grow longer, their mental hold on reality starts to fade, breeding mistrust and paranoia, a dangerous cocktail in their fight for survival.

Drama Adventure

  • 3.8

77%

23%

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