Lethal Weapon - Film Series Retrospective

Today on Rhode Island Movie Corner, we’re celebrating one of the most famous action film franchises of all-time. This is a franchise whose first installment recently celebrated its 30^th anniversary last year and is commonly regarded as being the definitive buddy cop franchise. Yes, folks, today we’re talking about the Lethal Weapon films, which follow the exploits of Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Roger Murtagh (Danny Glover), a truly mismatched pair of police detectives in the LAPD’s Homicide Division. All four installments of the original film series were directed by Richard Donner (AKA the man who practically launched the live-action superhero film genre with 1978’s Superman: The Movie), with the first two also being written by Shane Black. All four films did solidly at the box-office amidst varying levels of critical reception, with the first film becoming a landmark entry in both the action film genre and the buddy cop genre, the latter of which always features two radically different protagonists being forced to work together. And while the film series technically ended with the release of the fourth film in 1998, it’s been reported that Donner, Gibson, and Glover are up for a potential fifth film. Aside from this, the franchise has seen new life recently via a TV series ‘reboot’ on Fox, starring Damon Wayans as Murtagh and Clayne Crawford as Riggs (though Crawford was fired after Season 2 following reports of hostile on-set behavior and will be replaced by a new character in Season 3). But today we’ll be focusing solely on the Lethal Weapon films, because contrary to what the series’ most famous line may suggest, I am not ‘getting too old for this s***’. Thus, without further ado, ‘eenie, meenie, miney, HEY MOE!’ (*BANG*)

LETHAL WEAPON (1987)

We start things off, of course, with the original Lethal Weapon from 1987, the first set of misadventures involving a suicidal daredevil detective and an aging veteran of the police force as they investigate into the homicide of the daughter of one of the latter’s war buddies from Vietnam. As noted in the intro, this film basically became the gold standard for buddy cop comedies while also being the film that launched Shane Black’s career as it was his screenwriting debut. The camaraderie between Mel Gibson and Danny Glover is superb, and it paves the way for plenty of great comedic moments (e.g. the police shooting range scene). However, unlike some of the films that came after it, the first Lethal Weapon maintains a generally serious manner throughout, which was the primary intent of Black’s initial script before he rewrote it to tone down some of its darkest elements. Whether it’s the exploration of how Riggs is always putting himself in harm’s way following the death of his wife or the serious threats made to Murtagh’s family by the film’s main antagonists (highlighted by Gary Busey as the sadistic henchman Mr. Joshua), Lethal Weapon doesn’t mess around. Because of this, those bits of humor that I mentioned earlier help to liven the mood at just the right times without ever overshadowing the drama of the plot. Add in some solid action sequences (though the final fight between Riggs and Joshua is a bit choppy on the editing) and a tight script from Black that ties it all together nicely and you have an undeniable classic in the action film genre. Sure, its plot may seem a bit basic by today’s standards, but really, who knows what the cinematic landscape would’ve been like without this film to define a whole generation of filmmakers?  

Rating: 4.5/5

LETHAL WEAPON 2 (1989)

The success of the first film led to a sequel two years later, in which Riggs and Murtagh take on a South African drug cartel led by a consul-general who always gets away via diplomatic immunity, a plot that ‘may’ have been influenced by some of the backlash that Donner had gotten for the anti-apartheid imagery seen in the first film. And while Shane Black was still involved as a writer, he only has a story credit on this one due to screenwriter Jeffrey Boam rewriting the original script that he had written with Warren Murphy. Despite this, though, Lethal Weapon 2 is a well-handled follow-up to the original film. The chemistry between Gibson and Glover is great once again and this is paired nicely with arguably the series’ best villain, Joss Ackland’s Arjen Rudd, a delightfully despicable antagonist who constantly waves his diplomatic immunity around to avoid arrest. There’s also his main henchman, Pieter Vorstedt (Derrick O’Connor), who helps bring some additional emotional heft to the story when it’s revealed that he was the one who killed Riggs’ wife, leading to a far better final fight between the two compared to Riggs and Joshua’s fight from the previous film. Tonally speaking, this film is on par with the first film in terms of being a serious drama mixed with comedy. At the same time, though, it should be noted that Black’s original ending was to have Riggs die in the final battle. He survived instead, thus paving the way for films 3 and 4 which was either a good thing or a bad thing depending on one’s views of those sequels (i.e. simply put, Black was not a fan of the next two films, especially due to how they changed the character of Riggs). Still, because this film boasts the same great action sequences and excellent writing that made the first film the classic that it is, Lethal Weapon 2 is just as good as its predecessor if not possibly better.

Rating: 4.5/5

LETHAL WEAPON 3 (1992)

Lethal Weapon 3 was the first entry in the series not to be written by Shane Black, and that is apparent as soon as it begins. While there are some effectively serious moments, like the guilt that Murtagh has over shooting a gang member who was a friend of his son’s (which paves the way for the best emotional moment in the franchise when Riggs helps his long-time partner overcome it), this film is much more comedic in tone. In fact, to be perfectly blunt, it gets very damn goofy sometimes, like when Murtagh ends up having to tag along with a flirtatious armored truck driver during a car chase. With that said, though, I personally found this to be the funniest film of the series as it sports the most consistent humor out of any entry in the franchise, right from the opening scene where Riggs and Murtagh get into an argument when they try, and fail, to defuse a bomb (a moment that gets repeated in the film’s post-credits scene). And overall, this does make up for some of the film’s shortcomings, namely the series’ weakest villain, Jack Travis (Stuart Wilson). Despite the character being a former police officer, along with the added plotline of ‘cop-killing’ armor-piercing rounds popping up on the streets, this is all ultimately waylaid by the character’s limited screen-time, reportedly a decision made by Donner to allow for more attention to be spent on Riggs and Murtagh (not necessarily a bad move, but still…). Thankfully, this is counter-balanced by Rene Russo, a delightful new addition to the franchise as the tough-as-nails Internal Affairs officer Lorna Cole who becomes Riggs’ new love interest while still being just as badass as the series’ iconic lead duo. Because of this, while Lethal Weapon 3 is a noticeable step down in quality from the previous two films, namely due to it lacking the edginess of Shane Black’s writing, it’s arguably the most entertaining installment of the Lethal Weapon franchise if based solely on entertainment value.

Rating: 4/5

LETHAL WEAPON 4 (1998)

At the tail-end of the 90’s, Donner, Gibson, Glover, and the rest of the franchise’s ensemble cast returned for one last hurrah, Lethal Weapon 4. The film sees Riggs and Murtagh combating the vicious members of a Chinese triad primarily led by Wah Sing Ku, played by Jet Li in his first major American role. And simply put, Ku proves to be a far superior main antagonist compared to Travis in Lethal Weapon 3 as he does pose quite the threat to Riggs and Murtagh; in other words, this was very much Li’s breakout role. Of course, Gibson and Glover’s chemistry is still spot on as always and while Rene Russo doesn’t get as much to do in this one due to Lorna being pregnant with her and Riggs’ child, she still gets to have a few standout moments here and there. As for the action sequences, they are once again superb even if some of them do get a little overblown at times, like the ‘cold open’ where Riggs and Murtagh deal with a pyromaniac who is ultimately defeated when he gets distracted by Murtagh in his underwear and is sent flying into an exploding gas truck. And sure, like Lethal Weapon 3, this one is a step down in quality from the first two installments of the series; plus, it doesn’t necessarily boast the same great humor consistency that helped keep Lethal Weapon 3 from being a mediocre ‘threequel’. With that said, though, I also appreciate how this film, given that it’s the last of the series, does take the time for some genuinely heartfelt moments involving its characters. This even extends to the film’s credits, which highlight everyone who’s ever worked on the franchise while being set to the song ‘Why Can’t We Be Friends’. Because of this, I’d argue that Lethal Weapon 4 is quite underrated. Again, don’t get me wrong, like its immediate predecessor, it’s nowhere near as good as the first two Lethal Weapon films. Still, at the very least, I’d say that this film did manage to serve its purpose as a suitable conclusion to one of the most famous action film franchises of all time.

Rating: 4/5

And that concludes this retrospective on the Lethal Weapon films. Thanks for following along and be sure to sound off in the comments below with your own thoughts on this franchise, whether you’re part of the crowd that prefers the two entries that were written by Shane Black or the crowd who thinks that the third and fourth films are underrated.

Sorry to Bother You (2018) review

In the past, I’ve talked about quite a few films that can be classified as surreal comedies. I’d describe these as films that went all out with a wacky premise while often boasting a strong narrative to back it up. For example, in 2016, one of my favorite films of that year was Swiss Army Man, a film where a man traveled through the woods with a magical farting corpse whose boners were used as a source of navigation. Look a little closer, however, and you’d find a tale about friendship and regaining one’s love for life amidst all the discussions about the corpse’s desire to masturbate when thinking about his friend’s mom (don’t ask…). And for this year, it seems like the most talked about surreal comedy is Sorry to Bother You, in which a young African-American man finds himself sucked into the world of telemarketing once he learns how to use his ‘white voice’ effectively. The film is brought to us by rapper Boots Riley, who makes his directorial debut after nearly three decades in the music industry. And Riley has certainly had quite a career in that industry, mainly as the lead vocalist of the political hip-hop group known as ‘The Coup’. Sure enough, Sorry to Bother You, inspired by Riley’s own history working in the telemarketing business, is full to the brim with political satire that’s seamlessly intercut with all the crazy situations that its main character gets into. And because of this, while it is easily one of those films that won’t necessarily work well with everyone, I won’t deny that this film is an enjoyably wacky comedy that is very much its own thing.

On the streets of Oakland, a young man named Cassius Green (Lakeith Stanfield) struggles to make a living for him and his girlfriend Detroit (Tessa Thompson), often getting harassed for rent by his uncle Sergio (Terry Crews). ‘Cash’ ends up getting hired as a telemarketer for a company called RegalView, where he is told the importance of ‘S.T.T.S.’ (Stick to the Script). However, Cash finds it hard at first to make any sales, with most of his customers hanging up on him just a few seconds into the call. Things begin to change, though, when his co-worker Langston (Danny Glover) teaches him the secret to a successful telemarketing sale, using his ‘white voice’. And so, Cash’s white voice (provided by David Cross) allows him to quickly scale the company’s ranks, eventually managing to get promoted to the company’s most prestigious position, a ‘power caller’. Thus, he befriends fellow power caller Mr. **** (Omari Hardwick; ‘white voice’ provided by Patton Oswalt) and even ends up attracting the attention of Steve Lift (Armie Hammer), the CEO of WorryFree, a company that provides its customers with free food and lodging. However, WorryFree is also established as being quite the controversial business, as their offer comes at the expense of cheap labor that isn’t that far off from slavery. Thus, Cash soon finds himself in a major internal conflict as he finds himself torn between his new life of luxury and his relationships with Detroit and his fellow RegalView co-workers, who organize a strike to demand proper salaries. Things get even more complicated when Cash ends up learning about a dark secret about WorryFree and their plans for those who work for them.

Sorry to Bother You wears its weirdness like a badge of honor, going all out with its surreal humor. Sure enough, this film sports a solid consistency when it comes to that humor thanks to everything from hilarious visual gags to snappy dialogue. This humor is then matched perfectly with a tight script that delves into everything from race relations to one’s fear of becoming a ‘sell-out’. Now with all this said, though, the film does kind of drag a bit at times. While it is under two hours, it also loses a bit of steam by the end despite this being where the weirdest moments occur. Still, for what it’s worth, Boots Riley’s direction is excellent throughout and this is bolstered further by a totally game ensemble cast. Get Out breakout star Lakeith Stanfield shines in the lead role of Cassius while Tessa Thompson more than holds her own alongside him as Detroit, who gets her own unique plotline via her blossoming art career. And then there’s all the great supporting roles from the likes of Danny Glover as Langston, Armie Hammer as Steve Lift, and Steven Yeun as Cash’s co-worker ‘Squeeze’ just to name a few. Admittedly, most of these folks ultimately have minor roles in the larger story, but they all have their standout moments nevertheless. In short, while I don’t necessarily consider Sorry to Bother You to be one of the ‘best films of the year’ as many others are saying, it’s still a very good directorial debut from Boots Riley. If anything, it shows that he clearly has the potential for a prosperous career as a filmmaker to match the prestigious career that he has achieved as a musician.

Rating: 4/5

The First Purge (2018) review

In 2013, screenwriter James DeMonaco helmed his second directorial effort, The Purge, which was co-produced by Jason Blum and Michael Bay through their respective production companies. In this satirical action thriller, set in a dystopian future, the U.S. government initiates an annual ‘holiday’ known as the Purge, where all forms of crime are made legal, including murder, for 12 hours. Upon its release, the film received mixed to negative reviews from both critics and audiences who felt that it didn’t quite live up to the potential of its premise by mostly being a bottle film set within one family’s house. However, the film did do quite well at the box-office, grossing over $89 million on a minuscule $3 million budget. Thus, the series continued with 2014’s The Purge: Anarchy and 2016’s The Purge: Election Year. While neither sequel fared that much better with critics and audiences, they were at least praised for exploring the series’ premise further by spending more time out on the streets during Purge night. The sequels also benefitted from the casting of Frank Grillo as Sgt. Leo Barnes, a man who embarks on a quest for vengeance against the man who killed his son while also helping some innocent folks who end up forced out onto the streets. But now the series takes on a different direction with The First Purge which, as the title clearly states, focuses on the origins of this night of chaos. This time around, though, James DeMonaco isn’t behind the camera as the director due to his commitment to an upcoming drama film, Once Upon a Time in Staten Island. Instead, we have newcomer Gerard McMurray, who most notably served as an associate producer on Ryan Coogler’s 2013 directorial debut Fruitvale Station. But as for The First Purge, ultimately there’s not that much to say about this lackluster precursor to the previous three Purge films as it ends up being more like the mediocre first film instead of the decently entertaining sequels.

In the early 2010’s, America finds itself ravaged by overpopulation and economic turmoil. Amidst all this chaos, a new political group known as the New Founding Fathers of America is formed, successfully managing to assert themselves as the country’s new leaders through fearmongering propaganda and claims that they will save the country from its current state. Thus, to deal with the country’s current predicament, NFFA Chief of Staff Aldo Sabian (Patch Darragh) and scientist Dr. May Updale (Marisa Tomei) propose a ‘social experiment’ where all crimes are legal for 12 hours, including the biggest one of all, murder. The NFFA quickly put the plan into motion and the first official Purge is initiated with the New York borough of Staten Island being used as its initial testing area. Staten Island residents are offered a $5000 reward by the NFFA for staying in during the event with the promise of additional payment if they decide to go out and participate. However, when it becomes clear to the NFFA that not many murders are taking place on Purge Night, they decide to take matters into their own hands by sending in mercenaries disguised as gangs into the area to enact their sinister plans of dealing with the country’s overpopulation crisis. While this is going on, local drug lord Dmitri (Y’lan Noel) rallies his followers to fight back against these mercenaries while also working to protect his ex-girlfriend Nya (Lex Scott Davis), one of the experiment’s most vocal critics, and her brother Isaiah (Joivan Wade), who decides to participate in it after being egged on by a local street thug.

As alluded to in the intro, the Purge films have mainly been known for two things; their unabashedly unhinged action sequences and their politically-charged satire. The most recent films of the series have especially emphasized the latter, with some heavily pointed jabs at this country’s current administration and the overall oppression of minorities. However, at the same time, many have felt that the series never quite reaches the satirical lengths that it wants to even though the films are quite over-the-top in how they go about it, and that’s quite apparent with this film due to its extremely by-the-numbers plot. Simply put, this film’s status as a prequel to the previous films in the franchise is quite arguably the biggest tell-tale sign of how disastrous its proceedings are going to be. And that is because no matter what happens to the characters in this film, the previous films make it very clear that the NFFA will not be defeated, the Purge will continue, and it will expand nationwide. Granted, things get a little better once Purge Night truly gets started, as this is where the series has always thrived due to these films never straying away from showcasing all the pure insanity that stems from an event like this. But even this gets considerably hindered by some of the most poorly shot and edited action sequences in recent memory (and no, having some scenes set in a dark, devastated apartment building where the bright lights of fire alarms are going off doesn’t help). It also doesn’t help that this film ends up pulling quite a few anachronistic decisions here and there by adding in story concepts that weren’t even remotely featured in the previous films that, as a reminder, are set after it, like neon-colored optics that are given to participants by the NFFA for monitoring purposes.

Given that this film serves as the origins of Purge Night, this obviously means that no major players from the previous films appear in this installment, especially Frank Grillo’s Leo Barnes. In fact, this film is primarily centered on a cast of unknowns. The most prominent member of the cast is Marisa Tomei, and even she’s restricted to a minor and rather thankless supporting role (I would explain why, but that’d get into spoiler territory…). At the very least, the main leads all do decent jobs in their respective roles with the material that they’re given, most notably Y’lan Noel as Dmitri. While it’s obviously not the focus of the plot, there are some fascinating bits of development for his character, who is immediately established as being arguably just as harmful to the neighborhood as anything that happens on Purge night while still doing all that he can to protect it on such a night.  If anything, this film at least shows that there’s potential for Noel as a rising star in the action genre. And while they don’t get as much to work with, by comparison, Lex Scott Davis and Joivan Wade are both solid as well. Davis’ Nya serves as one of the rare sources of humanity in this crazy world while also managing to hold her own against her ex-boyfriend, while Wade’s Isaiah is someone who ends up being heavily influenced by the madness that is Purge Night until he realizes the depths that some folks go to during this time. Ultimately, though, as I noted earlier, there really isn’t that much for any of these actors and actresses to work with, resulting in quite a few extraneous characters who either don’t factor into the plot at all (e.g. a mother-daughter duo who mirror two of the main characters from The Purge: Anarchy and yet are just ‘there’) or are just used for comic relief.

If you recall the retrospective that I did on the first three Purge films back in October 2016, you’ll remember that I basically agreed with most critics and audiences in that while the first Purge was an underwhelming home invasion thriller, the sequels were far superior due to them legitimately exploring the craziness of Purge Night. Plus, Frank Grillo’s Leo Barnes was quite frankly the best thing about them. But as for The First Purge, it’s ultimately more in line with the first film due to it being a mediocre prequel. As a prequel, it doesn’t add anything major to the series and even if it does add something, it ends up severely contradicting future events because the things that they add weren’t seen in the other films. Plus, just like the first Purge film (and even some parts of the sequels), this film’s attempts at political satire ultimately fall by the wayside due to a predictable plot and mediocre characters despite the best efforts of a cast that is predominately made up of newcomers. With all this said, though, I’m aware that the idea of a Purge film that explored the origins of its titular event was quite possibly the most requested idea for a new film in the series by fans of the franchise. As such, for those fans, this film will probably satisfy them enough; still, I wouldn’t necessarily say that this is ‘enough’ because it quite frankly worked a lot better in the other films. In other words, this film might have worked a lot better had James DeMonaco stayed on as director. If anything, it would’ve probably resulted in better action sequences instead of the mediocre ones that we got instead. Ultimately, though, ‘mediocre’ is the key word to describe what may just be the weakest installment of the series.

Rating: 1.5/5

Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) review

Marvel Studios’ 2015 release Ant-Man went through what is easily one of the most publicized productions of any film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. For starters, the film had been in the works since 2006 before the MCU was even a thing… and yet ultimately ended up being released more than a decade later as the final installment of Phase Two of the franchise. But, of course, the biggest news story surrounding the film occurred in May of 2014, when it was announced that the film’s director was backing out of the project due to creative differences with the studio. And while the development of ‘directors leaving projects’ has always been commonplace in the film industry, the fact that the director in question was film fan favorite Edgar Wright, who had been working on it since the beginning, effectively cast a dark shadow over the film that sadly hasn’t left it even after its release. Thankfully, though, director Peyton Reed managed to fill in Wright’s spot with ease, delivering another fun entry in this legendary franchise that reveled in the endless possibilities that came from a plot about a superhero who could shrink in size. Cut to three years later and the titular superhero is back after his cameo appearance in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War with Ant-Man and the Wasp. As the title suggests, this film sees Ant-Man team up with his most famous superhero partner from the comics, the Wasp. And without the shadow of Edgar Wright’s ties to the project bearing down on him this time, Peyton Reed succeeds in crafting a superior sequel.  

During the events of Captain America: Civil War, ex-criminal turned superhero Scott Lang AKA Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) allied with Captain America in the feud that the Avengers had gotten into over the creation of the Sokovia Accords. Cut to two years later and Scott is now stuck under house arrest because of his participation in the incident. However, just a few days before his house arrest is over, Scott is approached once more by his colleagues Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), who has now taken on the superhero identity of ‘the Wasp’, and her father Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), the creator of the Ant-Man technology and its original user. Since Scott managed to escape from the microverse known as the Quantum Realm during the finale of the previous film, Hank and Hope are now optimistic about the possibility of finding Hank’s wife (and Hope’s mother) Janet Van Dyne AKA the original Wasp (Michelle Pfeiffer), who disappeared into it in 1987. This plan of theirs is furthered strengthened when it’s revealed that Scott is beginning to become ‘connected’ to Janet on a mental level, thus allowing them the opportunity to figure out where she is. Unfortunately for the trio, the process ends up getting complicated by a mysterious woman named Ava Starr AKA Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), who’s capable of phasing through objects due to an incident from her past where she was exposed to the Quantum Realm. After learning that Ava intends to use Janet to cure her condition, Scott, Hope, and Hank find themselves in a race against time to rescue Janet first when it becomes clear that Ava’s plan would result in her death.

So… seeing how we’re twenty films into the MCU at this point, I’m not going to bore you with the same points about this franchise that I’ve brought up in almost every single MCU film review that I’ve done. Thus, let’s just get it out of the way now… great action sequences, awesome visual effects, plenty of great humor while still finding enough time for some highly effective emotional moments for its characters, yadda yadda yadda, moving on. The main thing to note about this sequel is how it showcases a greater sense of confidence from Peyton Reed as a director. Obviously, in the case of the first film, he was brought on to fix the situation that Marvel Studios had gotten themselves into after the rather scandalous departure of Edgar Wright. And while Reed certainly managed to deliver an entertaining superhero film against all the pressure that he was clearly being put through by those who weren’t too happy about Wright’s departure, this film shows that he has improved on practically everything that he did with the first film. The action sequences are more kinetic, the humor and writing are both sharper, and the film in general benefits from stronger pacing whereas the first film admittedly took a while before it truly got going. But just like the first film, this film spends plenty of time having fun with all the various situations that Scott and Hope get into with their shrinking abilities, like whenever they blow up a tiny object to gigantic size (e.g. a PEZ dispenser). And, of course, we can’t forget about Ant-Man’s new ability to grow large himself (as previously witnessed during what is arguably the most iconic moment from the airport battle in Captain America: Civil War), which is also utilized perfectly here. Simply put, the Ant-Man films have boasted some of the MCU’s most creative action sequences which, given this franchise, is saying a lot.

Paul Rudd is phenomenal once again in the lead role of Scott Lang AKA Ant-Man, with arguably some of the best comedic timing of any lead in the MCU while also continuing to maintain Scott’s general likability as a well-meaning family man who tends to screw up a lot. But, of course, the most hyped member of this film’s cast is Evangeline Lilly, who finally gets the chance to get into all that great superhero action as the Wasp after it was built up in the first film’s mid-credits scene in which Hank gives Hope a new prototype of Janet’s old Wasp suit. And simply put, she kills it in the role; in fact, it could very well be argued that she even outshines Rudd. Still, the film does do a nice job of balancing out their roles in the story and the two do sport excellent chemistry, something that was only briefly covered in the first film. Speaking of the first film, all the major returning players who return for this film are great once again. As Hank Pym, Michael Douglas continues to be an absolute pro when it comes to delivering snarky quips, especially whenever he’s paired with Rudd. There’s also the returning trio of Scott Lang’s ex-thief pals (or as Hank calls them, ‘those three wombats’), who ironically now run their own security company. While T.I. and David Dastmalchian don’t get as much to do this time around, they still have their moments as Dave and Kurt, respectively. And, of course, we can’t forget about Michael Pena as the always-hilarious, happy-go-lucky Luis, the first film’s biggest scene-stealer. Sure enough, Pena once again gets a lot of this film’s best lines.  

As for this film’s newcomers, quite arguably the most prominent is the official debut of the original Wasp, Janet Van Dyne (not counting her cameo appearance in the first Ant-Man during a flashback). And without spoiling anything, the term ‘cameo’ applies to her role here as well as she’s only in it for about ten minutes. Still, for what it’s worth, Michelle Pfeiffer makes the most out of her limited screen-time and I’m confident that we’ll be seeing more of her in future films. DC Extended Universe transplant Laurence Fishburne also makes the most out of a rather small supporting role as Hank’s old partner Bill Foster, who fans of the comics will recognize as one of several who took on the superhero mantle of ‘Goliath’. Finally, when it comes to this film’s villains, there are two major threats who clash with Scott and Hope. While this does mean that they don’t necessarily stand out as much as other recent MCU villains, they’re still both solid enough in the context of this film’s story. First, there’s Walton Goggins as Sonny Burch, a black-market criminal who tries to steal Hank’s technology. It’s a minor role, for sure, but Goggins’ Southern charm helps a lot in the long run. And then there’s Hannah John-Kamen as Ava/Ghost, one of the MCU’s more ‘sympathetic’ villains given her tragic backstory. Thus, instead of just being a typical villain trying to take over the world, she’s just trying to find a cure for her condition, unaware that her plan to fix it would negatively affect several people. John-Kamen (who’s been having a breakout year after appearing in other blockbuster projects like Tomb Raider and Ready Player One) handles the role excellently and the effects used to create her phasing ability pave the way for some awesome visuals and action sequences.   

While some felt that the first Ant-Man didn’t add much to the larger world of the MCU, I’d argue that it had a different goal in mind; to serve as a much-needed change of pace after the large-scaled (no pun intended) affairs of Avengers: Age of Ultron, which came out just a few months prior. Sure enough, Ant-Man and the Wasp fulfills that same purpose in arguably an even greater fashion. I mean, let’s face it, after all the craziness that we went through with Avengers: Infinity War, it’s great that this film scales things back for a much more light-hearted adventure that once again highlights how solo films are still vital to the growth of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (though, for the record, without spoiling anything… this does address Infinity War). At the same time, the film also manages to be a superior sequel to what was already a solid entry in this franchise. No longer undermined by the question of ‘What would Edgar Wright have done?’, this film gives Peyton Reed the chance to make an Ant-Man film all his own, resulting in a sequel that boasts a sharper screenplay and more elaborate visuals and action sequences that don’t lose sight of the best parts of the first film. Plus, there’s also the immense satisfaction of getting to see Evangeline Lilly’s Hope Van Dyne finally get the chance to shine as one of the MCU’s greatest female heroines yet, something that Lilly undeniably revels in. Because of all this, Ant-Man and the Wasp is yet another success for Marvel Studios, who have now reached the unparalleled milestone of having 20 feature films that have all been positively reviewed by most critics and audiences. Admittedly, I wouldn’t call this the best MCU film to date (or even the best MCU film that came out this year, for that matter), but it’s still loads of fun to watch.

Rating: 4.5/5

2018 Midyear Recap

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 4^th, 2018.