Well, we’re now halfway through 2018 and on this blog, you know exactly what that means. That’s right, folks, it’s time for Rhode Island Movie Corner’s annual Midyear Recap, where I go through all the major films that I’ve seen this year from worst to best. This is basically the only time of the year where I’m able to go through every film that I’ve seen in theaters (though this year will have one notable exception by having a film that premiered on a streaming service). By year’s end, I only end up covering my Top 10 Least Favorite Films of the Year and my Top 12 Favorite Films of the Year, meaning that I don’t do a second recap post for all the films that I saw from July through December. Still, this has been a tradition of mine on this site ever since I first started it back in May 2012, so there was no way that it would be forgotten about this year. Now for those who are new to this site, this post is basically just my current ‘rankings list’ of every newly released film that I’ve seen in 2018. We go from the current #1 Worst of the year for me all the way up to my current Top 5. In other words, for those who follow me on the film fan website Letterboxd, this is basically the complete version of the always-updating list that I do every year to keep track of everything I’ve seen, something that I admittedly never did prior to joining that website. With that in mind, obviously, these rankings are not set in stone and will see quite a few noticeable changes by the time that I get to my End of the Year lists. But I’m getting off track now, so without further ado, here’s my current list of everything that I’ve seen in 2018 as far as new film releases are concerned, from some truly legendary superhero epics to long-awaited continuations of some of the most beloved films of all-time.
Just a quick warning, though, there will be a few major spoilers for a few of these films, so if you haven’t yet seen any of these, just be wary going forward…
WORST FILM OF THE YEAR (SO FAR)
RED SPARROW
Despite being the latest collaboration between Jennifer Lawrence and director Francis Lawrence (no relation), who previously worked on the last three installments of the Hunger Games franchise, Red Sparrow is an unfortunately underwhelming spy thriller that ends up being undermined by a lackluster narrative. The film’s plot starts off decently enough, but then it ends up falling flat with a predictable ending where the main protagonist makes one big power move that best ensures her survival. In other words, if you saw last year’s similarly-structured thriller Atomic Blonde, you can guess where this one ends up, and it also doesn’t help that the film tends to drag a lot at times. Granted, it is one of those ‘slow burn’ thrillers, but there are quite a few moments that could’ve been cut out of this near two-and-a-half-hour film that wouldn’t have affected the plot in any way. It’s a shame, really, because from a technical perspective, the film isn’t poorly made or anything. Francis Lawrence brought on several of the same crew members who worked with him on the Hunger Games films to work on this film, resulting in some nice wintry cinematography and some solidly-filmed action sequences. And to her credit, Jennifer Lawrence does do an excellent job in the lead role as does Joel Edgerton in the role of her character’s main love interest. But really, it’s not saying that much if the most positive thing that I can say about this film… is that at least it’s not as bad as Mother. I mean, if anything, I can at least guarantee you folks that, unlike Mother, this will not be my #1 worst of the year by the time we get to December. Believe me when I say that Red Sparrow is not ‘that’ bad.
OTHER NOTABLE ‘STOINKERS’
THE CLOVERFIELD PARADOX
Anticipation was high for this film when it was announced that it was to be the third installment of producer J.J. Abrams’ Cloverfield anthology series. Sadly, this doesn’t quite reach the same great heights of 2008’s found-footage monster flick Cloverfield or 2016’s Hitchcockian thriller 10 Cloverfield Lane. Despite the potential of a plot that was going to answer some of the biggest mysteries about the former, this film ultimately feels like a knock-off of other films, namely Alien given its premise about a group of astronauts who are hunted down by a mysterious force. Because of this, these characters are quite flat (save for Gugu Mbatha Raw as the main protagonist, Ava), thus wasting a solid ensemble cast that includes the likes of Daniel Brühl, Elizabeth Debicki, and David Oyelowo. And while I didn’t mind the ways in which the film explored some of the first film’s mysteries, specifically the reveal of what crashed into the ocean in the final scene, these answers feel just as undercooked as the plot itself. In short, perhaps the fact that this film was ultimately relegated to being released on Netflix, debuting the very night its first trailer aired during the Super Bowl no less, was a telltale sign that this wasn’t going to end well. From what I’ve read, it seems as if Paramount simply lost faith in the project, especially due to it sporting a higher budget compared to the previous films. And J.J. Abrams couldn’t do anything about it because of his commitment to Star Wars: Episode IX. With that said, though, like Red Sparrow I don’t think this film is as bad as some say it is. It’s well-shot, at least, for a film that was once slated to be released in IMAX and features a nice score from 10 Cloverfield Lane composer Bear McCreary. Thus, while it’s easily the weakest of the Cloverfield series, hopefully, this doesn’t end up killing this highly promising anthology series three films in.
TOMB RAIDER
Now many of you will recall that I gave this film a 3/5 rating in my original review of it a few months back. Sadly, like Unfriended back in 2015, this is one of those cases where my thoughts on the film haven’t exactly improved since I saw it. While not outright terrible, this new adaptation of the classic Tomb Raider video game franchise just ends up being a mediocre action-adventure film. For one thing, it starts out on a very slow note, and while things do improve once Lara gets on the island of Yamatai, it still isn’t enough to keep the film from being a ‘by-the-numbers’ action flick. Despite some nice action set-pieces that mirror the biggest moments from the 2013 series reboot upon which it’s primarily based, this is ultimately nothing more than a basic origin story where Lara uncovers some secrets about her long-lost father. And it’s a shame because Alicia Vikander proves that she is clearly up to the task of portraying the iconic video game heroine Lara Croft. Not counting a few instances where she falls victim to some questionable decision-making, Vikander manages to nicely convey the traits of the reboot era Lara, who isn’t heavily defined by her sexual appeal like in her earlier incarnations. This, of course, includes the times where she was played by Angelina Jolie in the franchise’s previous film adaptations from the early 2000’s. Ultimately, though, while I do have more experience with the recent Tomb Raider games, Jolie’s films, for as silly as they are, are still the superior take on their source material, even if it’s not really saying that much given that it’s still a part of the video game film adaptation genre. But as for this film, I’ll give it credit in that it at least tried a lot more compared to most other video game film adaptations.
WORTHWHILE RECOMMENDATIONS
RAMPAGE
Despite not being as familiar with the Rampage video game franchise as Tomb Raider, I was surprised to find that I enjoyed its film adaptation a lot more than Tomb Raider. Now granted, these two films do have quite a few things in common, namely a similar plot structure in which all their big action sequences are reserved for their third acts. Plus, if there’s one advantage that Tomb Raider has over this film, it’s better faithfulness to its source material. While Rampage does at least maintain its series’ premise of giant monsters causing all sorts of destruction, it does make a few narrative changes here and there, namely by not having the monsters be humans who were transformed after being subjected to experimentation. Instead, the three monsters from the original Rampage arcade game are just animals subjected to a pathogen, with the gorilla George being the misunderstood friend of the film’s main human protagonist Okoye. Despite this, though, something about this film just made it work a lot better than Tomb Raider. While it’s an undeniably mindless action flick, it never really goes too far with trying to maintain a serious tone throughout despite the plot being based more around Okoye and George. Because of this, the film benefits from having consistent pacing, and the finale, where the monsters rampage through Chicago, is an enjoyably over-the-top array of action sequences. And then, of course, there is Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. While this is far from being his best film, he still gives it his all and once again proves why he’s one of the most charismatic actors in the business. Thus, while neither this film or Tomb Raider ended up breaking the dreaded curse of poorly-received films based on popular video games, it is at least better than most of the other films in its genre.
UNCLE DREW
As I noted in my admittedly short review of this film a few days back, Uncle Drew is not the kind of film that you go into expecting award-caliber writing. After all, this is a film that was based on a series of Pepsi commercials about an elderly man named Drew who taught ‘youngbloods’ how to ‘get buckets’. But even with that said, this film is a genuinely enjoyable little sports comedy. Oh sure, like several other films in its genre, this film’s plot is incredibly predictable, especially with certain plot-lines regarding conflicts that the main characters must overcome. There’s the old rivalry between two former friends that was caused by a love triangle, an embarrassing moment from the main protagonist’s past that he gets to do over, etc. But once the titular Uncle Drew rounds up his former teammates, the film doesn’t miss a lot of beats when it comes to its humor. A lot of this is thanks to its collection of NBA stars, with Kyrie Irving doing quite a nice job in his feature film debut as the title character. He also works well alongside Get Out breakout star Lil Rel Howery in his first major leading role as main protagonist Dax. Ultimately, though, the biggest compliment that I can give this film is that I appreciate its unabashedly nostalgic attitude; in other words, this is very much a film that celebrates the game of basketball through the eyes of a bunch of characters who truly respect it.
EARLY MAN
The wonderful folks at Aardman Animations (specifically Wallace and Gromit creator Nick Park) returned to the big screen this year with their latest Claymation-animated flick, Early Man. True to studio form, this film gives us a delightfully wacky premise in which cavemen invent the game of soccer and must beat a Bronze Age era soccer team to save their home. Now, like Uncle Drew, this is a sports film, meaning that you’ll know exactly what’s going to happen in it going in. However, even if it’s not the most sharply-written film to come from the minds at Aardman, that doesn’t mean that the studio’s trademark charm was lost in the process. There are still plenty of great moments of British humor throughout the film and it does benefit from a likable collection of characters. It’s all led by the excellent lead trio of Eddie Redmayne as the lovable main protagonist Dug, Maisie Williams as Dug’s badass ally Goona, and Tom Hiddleston as the delightfully over-the-top main antagonist, Lord Nooth. And just like many Aardman classics, this film’s stop-motion animation is quite excellent. After a few years in which the studio’s feature films were computer animated, Aardman has since returned to the animation style that made them famous in the first place, which is quite the welcome turn of events. Thus, while Early Man isn’t exactly the best feature film that either Aardman or Nick Park has done, it’s still a delightful little animated flick that sadly didn’t do so well at the box-office when it was released this past February. This is partially evident from the fact that I was literally the only soul in the theater when I went to go see it even though it was just two weeks into its run.
PACIFIC RIM UPRISING
Due to his commitment to last year’s Best Picture winner The Shape of Water, the legendary Guillermo Del Toro couldn’t return to direct the follow-up to his 2013 cult classic, Pacific Rim. Instead, Steven S. DeKnight (creator of the Starz series Spartacus and showrunner for the first season of Marvel’s Daredevil) was behind the camera for this installment; all in all, he did a nice job of taking over for Del Toro. Sure, this film doesn’t necessarily have the same visual finesse of its predecessor, but it still features the same great epic action sequences involving fights between giant mechs and giant monsters while also sporting a brighter color palette to help it stand on its own when compared to the first film. As for the writing, though, it’s just like the first film in that there’s not much there in terms of plot and character development. Plus, fans of the original might not like some of the ways in which this film handles some of its returning characters (e.g. supporting ally Newt becoming a pawn of the Kaiju, protagonist Mako Mori’s unceremonious death, etc.). But this is thankfully redeemed, for the most part, by this film’s new main protagonist Jake Pentecost, son of Idris Elba’s Stacker ‘CANCELLING THE APOCALYPSE!’ Pentecost from the previous film. Simply put, John Boyega is superb in the role, and if the fact that he was one of this film’s producers wasn’t enough proof of it, he’s clearly committed to this franchise. Because of this, I do hope that we at least get one more sequel despite this film faring about as well as the original at the box-office; not to mention some of the extremely negative responses that it got from critics/audiences. And speaking of not-so-positive reactions to the latest installment of a popular Universal film franchise…
JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM
The cycle of Jurassic Park sequels not being as well-received compared to the original continued this year with Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, which currently sports the second worst RT score of any film in the franchise at 51%. But as I noted in my review of it a few weeks back, I’ve never really held those lofty expectations against these sequels as I didn’t necessarily grow up with the original, which I do still regard as one of the all-time greats. Thus, I’d say that, at the very least, it’s not like Fallen Kingdom doesn’t try as a follow-up to 2015’s global phenomenon Jurassic World. For one thing, it’s quite arguably the best-looking and best-shot entry in the entire series, with some truly gorgeous cinematography that wonderfully captures the chaos of Isla Nublar’s volcanic destruction. As for the writing, while it is your typical ‘dinosaur carnage’ plot that the series has become known for at this point, director J.A. Bayona does a nice job of utilizing his horror genre roots to produce some impressively frenetic action sequences. This is then paired nicely with a solid ensemble cast headlined by Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard, who are both great once again in the roles of returning protagonists Owen and Claire. But perhaps the most notable aspect of this film is the way that it ends, with the surviving dinosaurs who were saved from Isla Nublar’s destruction being unleashed out into the world. This will surely pave the way for an exciting sequel that’s set to come out in 2021 under the direction of Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow. Until then, though, we have J.A. Bayona’s entertaining contribution to the legendary film franchise that is Jurassic Park.
MAZE RUNNER: THE DEATH CURE
As I’ve noted before in previous posts, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed 2014’s The Maze Runner. Despite having never read the book that it was based on, it was a solidly-made thriller with an engaging mystery plot and a nice ensemble cast of general unknowns. Because of this, I was incredibly hyped for its first follow-up, 2015’s Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials. But as I’ve also noted before, while I didn’t feel that the film was ‘bad’, it was quite the underwhelming affair due to a general lack of both plot and emotional attachment to any of the characters aside from main protagonist Thomas. In other words, it was basically what many people feared the film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers would end up as; a middle chapter that lacked focus. And as for the series finale, The Death Cure, while some may find it to be a bit bloated due in part to it being the longest installment of the series at nearly two and a half hours long, it at least manages to boast stronger moments of character development compared to its immediate predecessor. This is especially the case for Teresa (who was straight up given the short end of the stick in The Scorch Trials despite it being the entry where she turns on the group) and Newt, who gets the biggest emotional moments in the entire film with his tragic death scene and the goodbye letter that he writes to Thomas, who reads it at the very end. But perhaps the best aspect of this film is that unlike other franchises that were based on young-adult novels, this is truly the final installment of the series and not just the first half of a two-part finale. Sure, it doesn’t necessarily answer all the series’ biggest questions, but it does end on a generally definitive note. Thus, like the best parts of The Scorch Trials, Maze Runner: The Death Cure ultimately serves as proof as to how far this series has come since the first film and director Wes Ball’s own evolution as an up-and-coming action director.
A WRINKLE IN TIME
Well, the overall response to director Ava DuVernay’s adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s classic novel A Wrinkle in Time hasn’t exactly been that positive. While critics weren’t necessarily that ‘harsh’ towards it, it faced a lot more scrutiny from audiences as evident from the fact that it bombed quite hard at the box-office. It’s a shame, though, because I’ll openly admit that I quite enjoyed the film. I’ve never read the original novel before, but I think that DuVernay and screenwriter Jennifer Lee did a nice job of attempting to adapt this supposedly ‘unfilmable’ novel. Really, the only major issue that I have with the film is that it kind of rushes through its narrative despite all the things that it needs to set up for its universe. Despite this, though, the two still manage to capture just enough of the emotional poignancy of this story about a young girl who embarks on a perilous journey to rescue her long-lost father. The film also benefits from being one of the most visually-stunning blockbusters of the year thanks to both its grand CGI visuals and stunning cinematography. And its all backed by a terrific ensemble cast headlined by the trio of Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, and the one and only Oprah Winfrey as the three celestial beings who help the main protagonist Meg Murry (played excellently by newcomer Storm Reid) on her quest. In short, like another recent live-action Disney blockbuster that sadly flopped at the box-office (2015’s Tomorrowland), hopefully, A Wrinkle in Time will end up gaining more of an audience in the future.
OCEAN’S 8
Arguably the most surprisingly effective franchise revival so far this year came with Ocean’s 8, a spin-off of director Steven Soderbergh’s trilogy of heist films that began with the 2001 remake of Ocean’s 11. And while I’m sure that this film faced some backlash from the same crowds who got upset over the female-led reboot of Ghostbusters back in 2016, it ultimately ended up being the best film yet from this series. Simply put, this film abandons quite a lot of the smug atmosphere that was one of the most common criticisms about the original trilogy. Sure, it’s still just as much of a ‘glitz and glamour’ heist film as the previous films, but this one flows a lot smoother by comparison. It also helps that the film sports an outstanding collection of female leads; Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Mindy Kaling, Helena Bonham Carter, and that’s just to name a few. And to be perfectly blunt, the chemistry between these ladies is far superior to what we got from the protagonists of Soderbergh’s trilogy. Now don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy Ocean’s 11 and Ocean’s 13 (like many others, I can do without Ocean’s 12), but overall, there’s a greater sense of confidence to this film’s proceedings because of how well these actresses work together. All in all, veteran writer/director Gary Ross does a nice job of following in Soderbergh’s footsteps. Because of this, I’d love to see another film centered on Debbie Ocean and her crew. With that said, though, if it ever happens, let’s just hope that this band of thieves has a much better second outing than Danny Ocean’s band of thieves.
DEADPOOL 2
As I’ve noted before, while I did enjoy the first Deadpool, I didn’t quite see it as the ‘game-changer for the superhero film genre’ that everyone regarded it as. Sure, it was an entertaining, funny superhero flick with a terrific lead performance from Ryan Reynolds, but it ended up abiding by a lot of the same genre tropes that it was intentionally mocking. Thankfully, that’s not as big of an issue with Deadpool 2. Director David Leitch takes a lot more chances with the superhero genre satire and it leads to a lot of great payoffs, especially in the film’s hilarious mid-credits sequence. The only risk that didn’t quite work out is the big twist at the beginning where Wade Wilson’s girlfriend Vanessa is killed. Sadly, this means that her character is once again given the narrative shaft despite Morena Baccarin’s terrific chemistry with Reynolds. And yet, it also somehow works in a way as it’s one of the primary things that drives Deadpool’s actions throughout the rest of the film. In other words, while this twist does produce some rather jarring tonal shifts, it still manages to give this film a stronger emotional core compared to its predecessor. And of course, like the previous film, the humor is strong throughout thanks in large part to Ryan Reynolds’ continuously excellent turn as the ‘Merc with a Mouth’. He’s also joined in this film by some great newcomers, including Josh Brolin (in his second major superhero film role of the year; and yes, that other role will be coming up soon…) as the time-traveling soldier Cable and Zazie Beetz as the lucky mercenary Domino. Because of this, I’m happy to say that I did enjoy Deadpool 2 a lot more than the first film. Granted, I still don’t necessarily consider it to be one of the best superhero films ever, but it’s certainly one of the most entertaining.
A QUIET PLACE
A Quiet Place has been quite the success story for director/star/co-writer John Krasinski, and rightfully so as the film is up there with It and Get Out as one of the best horror films in recent memory. As I noted in my review for the film, it and those two films ultimately serve as a prime example of what I personally feel to be the most important aspect to a successful horror film, endearing protagonists. Sure, films like this can have as much fun as they want with their horror moments, kills, scares, etc., but I find that it ultimately doesn’t matter if I don’t give a crap about the main characters. And in the case of A Quiet Place’s main protagonists, the Abbott family, you do care about them. A lot of this is thanks to the film giving them some excellent bits of character development, from the family’s deaf daughter Regan struggling to overcome the guilt that she has over a previous family tragedy to the son Marcus having to grow up faster than he’s supposed to so that he’s prepared to deal with the alien menace that’s threatening them. And these aliens are quite the imposing threat because while they are blind, they can sense their prey through hearing, thus setting up the main premise of the film in which the Abbotts must go about their daily lives in almost-complete silence to avoid being hunted by them. Thanks to Krasinski’s excellent direction, the film handles this concept brilliantly, allowing for some highly effective tension-filled moments throughout. But like I said before, it all comes back to the Abbott family, portrayed excellently by Krasinski, his real-life wife Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds, and Noah Jupe. Because of this, A Quiet Place is truly a modern horror masterpiece.
TOP 5 OF THE YEAR (SO FAR)
5. SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY
The Star Wars fandom kind of sucks right now… I’m sorry for being so blunt right out the gate, but it’s become clear that because last year’s The Last Jedi was so damn polarizing, it has created a rift that has unfortunately brought out the worst in some people. Just look at all the abuse that The Last Jedi star Kelly Marie Tran has gotten to the point where it may have even forced her off social media. And sadly, this has affected the franchise’s latest installment, Solo: A Star Wars Story, namely by it underperforming at the box-office due to a very stupid boycott. Though, of course, a large part of this is also due to the film having one of the most infamous film productions of recent memory, with original directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller getting kicked off the project halfway through production due to creative conflicts with Lucasfilm. Thankfully, the legendary Ron Howard manages to keep the film from becoming the disaster that all its critics thought it was going to be. We may never know what Lord and Miller’s version of the film was going to be like, but Howard does a damn fine job at seemingly mirroring what the two were going for; in other words, a sci-fi western with snappy dialogue. And against all the odds of having to live up to the legacy of Harrison Ford, Alden Ehrenreich proves to be a suitable successor in the role of the legendary Han Solo. He’s also joined by an excellent supporting cast that includes Donald Glover as young Lando Calrissian, Emilia Clarke as Han’s love interest Qi’ra, and Woody Harrelson as his mentor Tobias Beckett. In short, Solo: A Star Wars Story is far from being the best installment of the Star Wars franchise, but that’s not even remotely a bad thing given the quality of the installments that have been released under the Disney banner. And contrary to what sites like Geeks + Gamers and World Class BullS****ers may claim, this franchise is doing just fine and couldn’t be in better hands. Deal with it, haters…
4. BLACK PANTHER
Marvel Studios has struck gold time and time again with their high-quality superhero flicks, and this trend continued this year with Black Panther, the highly-anticipated solo film for the titular king of Wakanda. And as soon as it hit theaters, it became one of the most critically-acclaimed films of both the MCU and 2018 in general and one of the biggest box-office hits in recent memory. And why not? In a franchise that has always been known for having some great emotional moments involving its main characters, Black Panther is easily one of the most emotionally-driven installments of the MCU. From the titular hero struggling to learn how to be the ruler of his home to the main antagonist Erik Killmonger’s tragic backstory, this film will hit you right in the feels. At the same time, though, it also gives you everything that you love about the MCU while also being one of the best overall representations of that at the same time. Killmonger is one of the MCU’s greatest antagonists to date, with Michael B. Jordan practically stealing the whole damn film thanks to his magnetic screen presence. But, of course, Chadwick Boseman is also spectacular once again as T’Challa AKA Black Panther along with other notable supporting players like Danai Gurira as the badass Dora Milaje warrior Okoye and Letitia Wright as T’Challa’s genius sister Shuri. Simply put, writer/director Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station, Creed) knocks it out of the park on this one, giving us a landmark entry in the superhero genre and yet another critical/commercial success for Marvel Studios. But as we’ll soon see, this wasn’t going to be the only landmark film that Marvel Studios produced this year.
3. READY PLAYER ONE
Since seeing this twice in theaters, I have read the original novel that it’s based on by Ernest Cline (or, to be more specific, I’ve been listening to it on Audible). Because of this, I feel that the film manages to be a superior take on this story. Now, for the record, I don’t ‘hate’ the book like I know A LOT of people do; it’s just that the film manages to avoid some of the more ‘annoying’ elements of the book, specifically its use of ‘gamer slang’ that often gave it a rather immature tone. To put it simply, the one and only Steven Spielberg managed to streamline the narrative to make it more ‘Spielberg-esque’. In doing so, it also fixes another issue with the novel by making the main characters, ESPECIALLY main protagonist Wade Watts, a lot more likable. Because of this, I found myself truly sucked into the film’s virtual world, the OASIS, and the main plot of an average kid embarking on a grand adventure to ensure a bright future. Now with that said, I do understand why this story still doesn’t gel well with some people. While Spielberg does manage to make it more appealing to audiences, Ready Player One is still primarily defined by its numerous pop cultural references that practically litter the screen 95% of the time. At the same time, though, I wouldn’t call this film as being nothing more than a series of cameos and in-jokes. Call it cliched, but I felt that this film carried that Spielberg magic throughout that has helped to make him the icon of film that he is today. And while this film thankfully managed to not underperform financially like some of his recent outings (e.g. The BFG), it’s still a shame that internet fandom seems to be taking his reputation for granted nowadays. I mean, yes, I get that Ready Player One is quite the polarizing bit of media, but the fact that people weren’t at least giving it the benefit of the doubt due to Steven Spielberg directing it is surprising.
2. INCREDIBLES 2 (Quite fitting having this at the #2 spot, isn’t it?)
To call Incredibles 2 one of the most anticipated films of all-time would be a massive understatement. Ever since the first Incredibles ended on a big cliffhanger that made it one of the few Pixar sequels that fans genuinely demanded a sequel to, expectations were high for the long-awaited follow-up to one of Pixar’s most beloved films. Thankfully, it seemed like these expectations were met for the most part with this highly satisfying follow-up. Despite all the major changes that the superhero genre has gone through since the release of the first film, writer/director Brad Bird does not lose sight of the one thing that made The Incredibles the classic that it is today, its family dynamic. Amidst all the fun action set-pieces, this is still a story about a family of superheroes struggling to adapt to life in the real world, perhaps best illustrated by one of its biggest plot threads in which Mr. Incredible must go out of his comfort zone and be a stay-at-home dad while Elastigirl is out doing all the superhero work. This helps to keep the film from being a ‘carbon copy’ of its predecessor without losing any of its charm and atmosphere. And, of course, like any Pixar film, Incredibles 2 boasts excellent animation, which does an even greater job compared to the first film in terms of capturing the comic-book style that had influenced Bird in the first place, with some sequences even giving off a cool 2-D vibe. Because of all this, Incredibles 2 was certainly worth the wait for fans of the original. But for those who weren’t around when the first film hit theaters back in 2004, this serves as a nice way of experiencing everything that made the original one of the best animated films of all time.
1. AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR
Avengers: Infinity War is the incredibly satisfying culmination of one of the most rewarding cinematic experiences in recent memory. For the past decade, we have witnessed the awesomeness that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which has given us a complete collection of entertaining superhero flicks that have been a perfect combination of awesome action sequences, quotable humor, and a deep emotional drive that's bolstered by their layered protagonists. And it all comes together nicely in the third Avengers flick which, like all previous MCU films, gives us everything great about the franchise in one epic package. There’s the great humor mixed in with all the wonderful character interactions, from Iron Man and Doctor Strange to Thor and the Guardians of the Galaxy, and the phenomenal action sequences. But then the Russo brothers take it one step further by ramping up the emotional depth of this franchise to unprecedented levels. First, there’s the film’s amazing main antagonist, Thanos. Even against all the expectations that had been surrounding him since he first appeared in the mid-credits scene of the first Avengers, the Mad Titan manages to live up to all that hype as one of Marvel Studios’ greatest villains, with Josh Brolin making him the most emotionally-driven villain that the series has seen yet. But perhaps the biggest high that this film achieves is the fact that it ends with Thanos… winning. Yes, the Mad Titan succeeds at his plan of wiping out half the universe, resulting in several of our main heroes evaporating into dust; Black Panther, Doctor Strange, most of the Guardians, and even Spider-Man. Yeah, I know that parts of this ending will probably be reversed in next year’s Avengers 4, but in the moment, this sequence is handled perfectly by the Russos. Thus, while I usually hate to make over-exaggerated claims about films, I can safely say without a shadow of a doubt that Avengers: Infinity War is a truly legendary affair that perfectly represents everything that’s great about the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
And that concludes my 2018 Midyear Recap. We certainly have a lot of exciting films coming out these next 6 months. There’s the last major MCU film of 2018, eagerly-awaited follow-ups to franchises like Mission: Impossible and Fantastic Beasts, promising new outings from the likes of Damien Chazelle and Robert Zemeckis, and of course, that’s just to name a few. Until then, thanks for following along and be sure to sound off in the comments below with your own personal Top 5 Favorite Films of the Year as of July 4th, 2018.
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