Despite all the chaos that happened in my life this past year (I'll spare you the details), I was still able to go see some movies. While I won't do the big rundown like I did last year, I figured I could at least pull together a Top 5. These movies aren't ranked or in any special order, but as far as I'm concerned, this was the best that this year had to offer.
John Wick: Chapter 2
The first John Wick was a master class in not only action choreography, but also in effortless world-building and character presentation that isn’t bogged down by exposition dumps or flashbacks. The premise was simple, but that only allowed for its strengths to shine through. If there was a problem, the third act seemed pretty weak compared to the rest of the movie.
Chapter 2 is really more of the same, but with a tighter story structure that works all the way through. The high-quality action is back, as well as the effortless world-building. It’s fun to see how the world grows in this one.
However, there are a few issues. Some of the fight scenes go on for too long, and I think a lot of the “Wow” factor is diminished, probably because we learned how awesome John Wick was in the first one, so it doesn’t feel quite as impressive.
Still, if you want solid, down-to-earth but well-staged action, John Wick is the modern exemplar.
The Great Wall
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Director Zhang Yimou knows how to craft a movie, not just film one. While Chinese melodrama may not be everyone’s cup of tea, you can’t deny that he has style. The Great Wall isn’t as visually ambitious as his previous works like Hero or Curse of the Golden Flower, but it makes up for it with a lot of straight-forward blockbuster style fun.
It’s an odd mix of having both Chinese and Western actors, and it’s pretty obvious that much wasn’t done with how the English lines were delivered, as they’re all pretty stiff. The story can also get a bit tedious as each scene is followed up with “and then this happens, and then this happens, and then this happens.”
That being said, it still remains a solid action movie with some very over-the-top aesthetics. The special effects and monster designs really steal the show and make the movie worth watching. A decent roller-coaster ride, essentially.
Oh, and it has Andy Lau. He doesn’t get to do much, but he’s still pretty awesome!
Ghost in the Shell
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I’m a pretty big fan of the Ghost in the Shell franchise, so when I heard that this movie was getting made, I was pretty excited. It remains one of the more interesting cyberpunk worlds that allows for both great action and some serious science-fiction philosophizing.
As for this movie, I actually have a hard time really coming to any conclusion about it. The main problem is that this movie goes to such great lengths to recreate scenes or reuse ideas from the older anime movies that it threw me out of the experience, and it happened several times. I remember walking out of the theater wondering if I spent most of my time watching this movie or being reminded of the other ones. As a consequence, it ends up feeling restricted and not giving the original stuff room to breathe.
However, for someone who doesn’t know about those things, I imagine you’ll probably have a good time. The atmosphere and cinematography were beautiful, the actions scenes were well done, the special effects very cool and slick, and the soundtrack was modernized Vangelis/Blade Runner perfection. The pacing may be a little fast, as the story has a lot to go through, but it doesn't make any missteps, as far as I'm concerned.
If you want a peek into a celebrated cyberpunk world, this movie is a great place to start.
Blade Runner 2049
This was definitely a year of pretty good cyberpunk movies that apparently no one saw (which is a shame, in my opinion). While Ghost in the Shell endeavored to be faithful to the source material (with mixed results), Blade Runner 2049 focused on using the first film as a jumping off point into a new story, and mostly succeeds.
First of all the visuals are amazing. Using the first film as inspiration, this film has a slightly different feel, with some things shinier and some things dustier, depending on the scene, but it all works. Every scene is well-staged and shot with care. And the soundtrack always fit the mood, even finding ways to sneak in bits of the classic Vangelis score.
That being said, this isn't a standard action blockbuster, but a well-paced detective thriller, so be sure to settle in for a movie that takes its time. The actors all perform pretty well, with special notice to an excellent dramatic performance by Dave Bautista (no really!). Jared Leto insists on being the weird guy again, though, so your mileage with him may vary.
Still, it's obvious that director Denis Villeneuve succeeds in telling his own story and taking the classic cyberpunk themes to new places. There are a few clunky parts, especially towards the end when it seems like the story is threatening to go in a more epic direction (but thankfully does not). Perhaps not quite a masterpiece, but well directed, well shot, and well made.
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword
For the life of me, I have no idea why people were down on this movie. As far as I’m concerned, this is my favorite for the whole year. It was continually surprising and fresh while using the mythos to tell a great, epic fantasy story.
However, regarding the mythos: those who like their Arthurian Legends to be authentic may as well drop those expectations from the beginning. This movie takes serious liberties with the old stories to the point that it’s almost unrecognizable. Let it be clear: This is a Guy Ritchie movie first, and a fantasy retelling of King Arthur second.
That being said, if you like Guy Ritchie, everything is here. The witty banter, the comic-book style cinematic overlapping, the grounded and visually iconic sense of action, all of it. The major difference is that he now gets to use cool fantasy special effects, which he uses with subtlety, until the third act when things finally get nuts. Seriously, the final battle looks like they brought a Frank Frazetta painting to life! AND IT’S AMAZING!
I honestly don’t know what people were expecting when they learned that Guy Ritchie was making a fantasy movie. I think this movie was great; the kind of movie that, when you finish it, makes you want to pick up a sword and charge into the enemy, screaming your head off! I'll say it again: BEST OF THE YEAR!
Now I imagine that some of you are wondering about certain other films that came out. I admit I wasn't able to see all the ones I wanted to (such as Power Rangers, Your Name, Free Fire, the newest Transformers, Dunkirk, Valerian, The Dark Tower, Murder on the Orient Express, and Darkest Hour), but others really didn't warrant much of a statement really. If you want to talk about something you think I've missed, just let me know.
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