Ranking the Live-Action Disney Remakes

I’m going to start this post off with a quick disclaimer. If you’re someone who is by no means a fan of Disney’s recent trend of producing live-action remakes of their animated classics, you’re not going to get much out of this post since it will be a generally positive take on these films. Yes, since 2010, Disney’s live-action output has primarily been focused on live-action re-imaginings of some of their most iconic animated films. However, while these films have been quite successful at the box-office, they’ve been far more polarizing in terms of their overall reception. While general audiences seem to be fairly receptive towards these new spins on Disney classics, there are a sizable number of folks who have been highly critical of this trend for the exact same reason that folks would take issue with any remake in general. Why would anyone even bother remaking something that’s been regarded by many as an undisputed classic? And yet, as someone who recognizes that the original animated films will always be there regardless of how these new films turn out (which is why I’m thankful for the advent of Disney+, which prominently features both incarnations of the films that have recently gotten the live-action treatment), these recent remakes have never bothered me in the slightest. In fact, I’ve recently started to detest the use of the adjective ‘unnecessary’ when it comes to reviews because I feel that it’s become one of the most overused words in critical vernacular, especially since you could easily apply it to any film that comes out and not just the ones that are remakes/sequels/reboots. In other words, while many of these films are re-imagining some of my favorite Disney films of all-time, I try not to let my affinity for the originals overly cloud my judgment towards the remakes because I personally feel that doing so would be largely unfair to them. And so, with that in mind and in honor of the latest Disney remake Mulan’s impending ‘Premier Access’ release on Disney+, today I’m ranking these live-action remakes from ‘least favorite’ to ‘favorite’. While their placement on this list will primarily stem from overall preference, I will also factor in their efforts to present a new spin on their classic stories.

Before we begin, though, I just need to lay out the ground rules for this list. For starters, I won’t be including the two sequels that were spawned from these recent remakes, 2016’s Alice Through the Looking Glass and 2019’s Maleficent: Mistress of Evil. The reason for this is quite simple; from a subjective standpoint, they’re not ‘remakes’ anymore. Instead, they’re just ‘sequels’ to the remakes. However, I will briefly address them when I go over their predecessors. Also, for this list, I’m only going to be focusing on the remakes that have been released since 2010 since this is when this current trend first began to take shape. Because of this, there are two films from the ’90s that won’t be appearing on this list even though they are technically the first big Disney remakes. The first is the original live-action remake of The Jungle Book (that’s right, Jon Favreau’s version wasn’t the first time that a live-action adaptation of Disney’s Jungle Book was made) which was directed by Stephen Sommers and released in 1994. Admittedly, I haven’t seen it at the time that I’m writing this, but I’ll probably do some kind of post on both it and a different Disney-produced Jungle Book film from the ’90s, 1998’s The Jungle Book: Mowgli’s Story, in the future, perhaps when the sequel to Favreau’s Jungle Book comes out. The other big remake that won’t be included here is the 1996 adaptation of 101 Dalmatians, but again, that’s because I’m saving my thoughts on that film and its 2000 sequel, 102 Dalmatians, for a different occasion; in this case, the upcoming spin-off Cruella that will hit theaters next May. Lastly, while it does technically count as a ‘live-action remake’ and can genuinely be considered as a part of this recent subgenre, I’m also not going to include the 2016 remake of Pete’s Dragon since it’s a remake of a live-action film rather than an animated one. Yes, for this list, I’m mainly focusing on the live-action remakes of animated Disney films, and while two of them are technically more like ‘sequels’ than ‘remakes’, I believe that they still count here given that they are primarily based on their animated counterparts. And so, without further ado, I present my current rankings of the live-action Disney remakes that have been released since 2010.   

10. ALICE IN WONDERLAND

We start things off with the first big live-action reimagining of a Disney classic from this modern era, Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. This is the first of the two films that I mentioned earlier that are more like ‘sequels’ rather than ‘remakes’ as it follows a teenaged Alice returning to the world of Wonderland (referred to in-universe as ‘Underland’). Like the original animated film, Burton ultimately went with a combination of elements from both the original Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland novel and its sequel, Through the Looking Glass, rather than just being a direct adaptation of the source material. And right off the bat, the best thing that I can say about this film is that it’s another prime example of why Burton is one of the greatest visual directors in the industry. While the film’s visuals do feel a bit excessive at times due to the scenes in Underland being almost entirely green-screen based, they’re still very much the best part of the film as they wonderfully capture the eccentric nature of the Wonderland setting through the equally eccentric style of Tim Burton. Because of this, it’s easy to see why this film won Oscars for both its production and costume design and how its production designer would go on to direct his own live-action Disney remake a few years later. That said, though, there are a few instances where Burton’s style arguably goes a bit too far for a film that’s primarily geared towards younger audiences. In other words, moments where creatures get their eyes poked out and a scene where Alice crosses a moat filled with the heads of the Queen of Hearts’ victims do make you wonder how the film was able to get away with its PG rating. But despite this and an often-uneven plot (which, yes, is saying something for an Alice in Wonderland film), the film still manages to be another solid outing from Burton, especially thanks to its cast. Helena Bonham Carter is an absolute standout as the figuratively and literally big-headed tyrant the Red Queen and the film sports an impressively stacked voice cast with big names like Stephen Fry and Alan Rickman.

Thus, while it wasn’t exactly a runaway hit with critics, Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland was a smash hit financially as it managed to gross over $1 billion worldwide. This has mainly been attributed to the general lack of competition that it faced upon its release in the Spring of 2010 and the boost that came from 3-D ticket sales since this was right when the 3-D format was experiencing its peak resurgence. Because of this, a sequel was eventually made in 2016, Alice Through the Looking Glass, under the direction of James Bobin, who was fresh off the 2011 Muppets film and its 2014 sequel, Muppets Most Wanted (Burton was still heavily involved as a producer). Like its predecessor, though, it didn’t do too well with critics, and unlike its predecessor, it was a rather notorious underperformer at the box-office. But while we’re not going to spend too much time comparing these two films, I will say that there are two things that the sequel does better than the original. First off, it boasts a brighter visual style that is still a lot of CGI overload, to be fair, but is all-around more pleasant to look at. It also means that there aren’t really any moments that push its PG rating like Burton’s film did. The other key advantage is that since the first film was primarily focused on Alice finding the confidence to help her Underland friends stop the Red Queen, she is a far more confident lead in Through the Looking Glass, which is well-reflected by Mia Wasikowska’s excellent performance in the role. And so, with all this in mind, while the live-action Alice in Wonderland films are far from being my favorites when it comes to Disney’s recent live-action output, I don’t necessarily ‘dislike’ them, either. They may be far from perfect, but as much as they do have their incredibly vocal critics (especially those who love taking these films to task for not being the most faithful adaptations of their source material), there’s no denying that they also have their fair share of fans.    

9. LADY AND THE TRAMP

The most recent film on our list, Lady and the Tramp was one of the many exclusive titles that debuted on Disney+ the day of its launch, and I won’t lie, it was, in fact, the first ‘Disney+ Original’ that I watched. While most of the attention that day was directed towards the pilot episode of The Mandalorian, I was genuinely looking forward to the live-action remake of one of Disney Animation’s most underrated projects. To be clear, I’m not saying that the original Lady and the Tramp is a forgotten entry in the Disney canon, but you could also argue that it often gets overshadowed by the other Disney films of the decade such as Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, and Peter Pan. Nevertheless, it’s a charming love story that was nicely translated into a live-action film by director Charlie Bean. Now admittedly, there aren’t many deviations from the original film, with the biggest changes consisting of minor things such as giving the dog-catcher a more prominent villain role and changing the song sung by Aunt Sarah’s pair of troublemaking cats in light of the original’s often-accused case of racist stereotyping. But even though this does make this version of Lady and the Tramp one of the more straight-forward installments of the recent Disney remakes, that’s not such a bad thing in this instance. Whereas almost all the other remakes are big-budget, CGI-heavy flicks, the Lady and the Tramp remake is refreshingly simple in its approach since the original film was more of a light-hearted romp with the period setting of a classic 1900’s Midwestern town. It also helps that the filmmakers utilized actual dogs to help bring the characters to life even though it goes without saying that CGI was used for the process of making them talk. All in all, this is just an incredibly cute and harmless film that does a nice job in recapturing the charm of its source material’s timeless romance.   

8. DUMBO

In 2019, Tim Burton took on his second major live-action Disney remake with Dumbo. Admittedly, the story of a lovable circus elephant who uses his big ears to fly may have seemed like an odd choice for Burton to direct, but at the same time, it did fit his usual M.O. of stories about misfit characters. Thus, while Burton’s Dumbo doesn’t feature his traditional gothic style, its visuals are still very much on point throughout as they do a wonderful job of capturing the bright and majestic visual aesthetic of the circuses of yesteryear. The film also has the benefit of having greater opportunities for new material when compared to some of the other remakes on this list since the original Dumbo is one of Disney’s more simpler-plotted affairs, especially due to its short 64-minute runtime. As such, all the key moments from the original such as Dumbo’s mother being put into captivity after causing a ruckus and the moment where Dumbo first publicly showcases his flying ability during a clown act are covered in just the first forty minutes. After that, a new subplot occurs when a greedy theme park entrepreneur purchases Dumbo for use in his circus while the members of Dumbo’s original circus troupe work to free his mom from her captivity at the entrepreneur’s amusement park. The remake also focuses more on the story’s human characters, namely WWI veteran Holt Farrier and his two kids Milly and Joe, who take the place of Timothy Q. Mouse from the original as Dumbo’s primary allies since this film doesn’t feature any talking animals. However, the new material that’s added in ends up feeling just as simplistic as the original film’s plot which, to be fair, was reportedly the point according to screenwriter Ehren Kruger. Ultimately, though, Dumbo still works quite well as a good-natured family film with a solid cast headlined by Burton regulars such as Michael Keaton and Danny DeVito and some fun nods to the original, including the infamous pink elephants.

7. MALEFICENT

Since Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland is technically more of a sequel than a remake, one could argue that 2014’s Maleficent is where this current crop of live-action Disney remakes truly got started. Under the direction of Alice in Wonderland’s production designer Robert Stromberg, the film serves as a live-action reimagining of Disney Animation’s 1959 outing Sleeping Beauty that, as the title suggests, mainly focuses on the story’s iconic villainess, Maleficent. However, instead of just having her be the main antagonist, the film turns her into more of an anti-hero whose actions against Princess Aurora and her family were the result of her getting revenge against Aurora’s father, her former love interest, for stealing her fairy wings. And while she does curse Aurora to fall into an eternal slumber on her 16^th birthday, she ends up developing a motherly connection to her to the point where she’s ultimately the one who saves her from the curse. As you might have guessed, those who prefer Maleficent’s traditionally villainous persona weren’t too pleased with this interpretation of the character, but overall, I think that it’s a uniquely fascinating take on Maleficent and the mother-daughter relationship that forms between her and Aurora is genuinely sweet. But, of course, the biggest highlight of the film is Angelina Jolie in the title role as she perfectly encapsulates the look and persona of the ‘Mistress of All Evil’… even if that designation doesn’t necessarily apply to this version of the character. Thus, Maleficent turned out to be a big hit with audiences upon its release in the summer of 2014, ultimately grossing over $758 million worldwide. This effectively paved the way for a sequel in 2019, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, which was generally on par with its predecessor in terms of quality while also expanding upon its fantasy world, namely by introducing more members of Maleficent’s race, the Dark Feys. Really, the only major disappointment with the sequel was that there were fewer scenes between Maleficent and Aurora. Nevertheless, the Maleficent films are a solid duology of fantasy flicks that pride themselves on being female-driven stories.

6. THE LION KING

Now I’ll be the first to admit that Jon Favreau’s CGI-based remake of The Lion King (which admittedly makes this one a bit questionable to include on this list since it’s not really live-action but arguably still counts based on its status as a remake) is quite arguably the most straight-forward remake of this bunch when it comes to retelling the original film’s story. Apart from some minor additions like an earlier introduction for adult Nala and a rivalry between her and Shenzi the hyena, this is the exact same story as the 1994 film with the exact same story beats. In other words, the biggest difference between the two films is that Favreau’s version is CGI whereas the original was traditionally animated. But while this has made the new Lion King one of the most controversial installments yet of the recent Disney remakes, I’d argue that it still manages to be a solid enough film. Like Favreau’s other big remake, The Jungle Book, much of this is due to the utterly impressive visual effects that do such an incredible job in maintaining their photorealistic nature. And while this does mean that the film lacks the more extravagant moments of the original (i.e. there’s no scene of Timon distracting hyenas by donning a grass skirt and dancing the hula (although there is a brilliant substitute bit for that part)), the attention to detail is truly spot on. Plus, I’d argue that the film still manages to hit the right emotional beats from Mufasa’s death to the moment where Simba speaks with the spirit of his father. And so, if anything, I’d say that at the very least, the new Lion King succeeds as a demonstration of how far CGI has truly come in the past few years. Obviously, I’m not saying that it’s ‘better’ than the 1994 film, but with phenomenal visuals and a great voice cast that includes the likes of Donald Glover, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Billy Eichner, Seth Rogen, and the Queen Bey herself, Beyonce, it’s also quite far from being completely worthless. And yes, this is all coming from someone who lists the original Lion King as his favorite Disney animated film of all-time, but as I’ve made it clear already, just because it’s my favorite doesn’t mean that I was going to hold that against this new film. Still, I will admit that the fact that it is largely note-for-note the same as its traditionally animated counterpart does keep me from putting it any higher on this list.

5. CHRISTOPHER ROBIN

Christopher Robin is the other film on this list that’s more of a sequel rather than a remake as it revolves around a grown-up Christopher Robin being reunited with Winnie the Pooh and the rest of the Hundred Acre Wood gang. But, of course, it still counts on this list since it utilizes much of the iconography from Disney’s interpretation of Winnie the Pooh, and since Winnie the Pooh was such a significant part of my childhood, this was easily one of my most anticipated films of 2018. At the end of the day, I’m happy to report that it did not disappoint. Christopher Robin is an incredibly poignant story about the tragedy that is the loss of childhood innocence through the harsh but sadly natural process of growing up. But while this ordeal ends up being an incredibly rough one for Christopher Robin (e.g. losing his father at a young age, enduring the horrors of World War II, etc.), it is what also makes his eventual reconciliation with his friends and family incredibly cathartic. Ewan McGregor does a fantastic job in the title role and when it comes to his Hundred Acre Wood friends, it was only appropriate that they bring back Jim Cummings, the voice of Pooh and Tigger for many a generation (mine included), for his iconic roles. Now admittedly, many have noted that Christopher Robin sports a rather bleak tone, which is true if focusing solely on the first half of the film before Christopher Robin regains his childhood innocence. After that, the film takes on a more light-hearted tone and the scenes where Pooh and company get into all sorts of adventures in London are purely delightful. And really, that perfectly sums up the film in general. It’s a truly delightful family flick that’s fully bolstered by the ever-enduring charm of its timeless characters to be another great Winnie the Pooh story.  

4. ALADDIN

As I’ve mentioned plenty of times before, director Guy Ritchie’s live-action remake of Aladdin ended up being quite a noteworthy success story even though, before its release, it was quite possibly the most scrutinized installment yet of these equally scrutinized remakes. Simply put, it was almost as if this film could never catch a break as it caught flak for various reasons ranging from certain casting choices to the infamous first reveal of Will Smith’s Genie in his traditional blue form. But when it finally came out, it managed to earn over $1 billion worldwide while also doing decently enough with critics, many of whom felt that it turned out to be much better than they initially anticipated. And if you ask me, that means that this film deserves a lot of credit for managing to avoid being the disaster that many predicted it would be. Now as far as being a remake of its animated counterpart, Aladdin is in the same boat as Lady and the Tramp and The Lion King by not making a lot of radical changes to the original story of a good-natured thief who tries to woo the Princess of Agrabah with the help of a wisecracking Genie. Despite this, however, one great change that it does make is letting Princess Jasmine play a far more proactive role in the story. With no disrespect to her animated counterpart, this is the best incarnation of the character to date, especially thanks to Naomi Scott doing a phenomenal job in the role. Meanwhile, Mena Massoud shines in what is surely going to be his breakout role as Aladdin while Will Smith, despite all the pressure that stemmed from having to follow in the footsteps of Robin Williams’ iconic rendition of the Genie in the original animated film, successfully delivers his own, unique take on the character. Ultimately, the only thing that holds this film back is its mediocre interpretation of Jafar, which is primarily due to this version’s more grounded take on the character. But at the end of the day, the live-action Aladdin ends up being a lot of fun, and while it may have seemed like a weird choice to have it done by a director who’s known more for making gritty crime dramas, Guy Ritchie does a highly respectable job when it comes to maintaining the original’s great atmosphere and unforgettable musical numbers.  

3. THE JUNGLE BOOK

Out of all these films, Jon Favreau’s The Jungle Book is arguably the best example of a live-action Disney remake that isn’t fully tied to its animated counterpart. While it’s still very much the story of a young boy named Mowgli who is raised by wolves in the jungles of India and pursued by the sinister tiger Shere Kahn, it’s ultimately a combination of the 1967 animated film and Rudyard Kipling’s original novel. In other words, it only features three of the songs from the animated film (“Bare Necessities”, “I Wanna Be Like You”, and “Trust in Me”) and places greater emphasis on the dramatic parts of the story such as Mowgli’s history with Shere Kahn, who killed his human father, and the dangerous power of ‘Man’s Red Flower’, fire. Favreau does an excellent job of balancing these two aspects of the story, resulting in some excellent emotional moments (e.g. when Mowgli first leaves for the man-village and says goodbye to his adoptive wolf mother Raksha) while also featuring plenty of great homages to the original. But, of course, the most notable aspect of this film is its extensive use of CGI to bring both its animals and its jungle landscapes to life. And because Favreau’s VFX team did such an outstanding job with the visuals (which ended up netting them the Oscar that year for Best Visual Effects), sometimes it’s easy to forget that Neel Sethi, who plays Mowgli, is literally the only ‘real’ thing on-screen 95% of the time. All this and a top-notch voice cast that includes big names like Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, and Lupita Nyong’o helps make this adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s classic story a full-blown visual masterpiece. And as I noted back in the intro, Favreau and screenwriter Justin Marks are currently prepping a sequel that, according to Marks, could potentially incorporate some of the unused elements from the animated film’s original screenplay by Bill Peet that was ultimately rejected by Walt Disney himself for being too dark.

2. CINDERELLA

No matter how much these live-action Disney remakes get ragged on by their biggest critics, there will always be the select few that were genuinely well-received, and the one that started it all for this group was Kenneth Branagh’s 2015 remake of Cinderella. Unlike both Alice in Wonderland and Maleficent, which received mixed reviews upon their release, Cinderella fared quite well with critics and became the first of these remakes to secure a ‘Fresh’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes. And just like Christopher Robin, this was another one of my most anticipated films back when it was coming out due to the original Cinderella being one of my all-time favorite Disney films growing up. All in all, Branagh’s remake does a wonderful job of bringing this classic story to life. Sure, it’s another case where the remake is predominately faithful to its animated counterpart without many significant changes, but in this instance, the changes that it does make are some of the best to come from any of these recent remakes. Easily the best example of this is how it expands upon the relationship between Cinderella and Prince Charming, namely by having them meet before the ball, which also allows the latter to be a more fleshed-out character compared to his animated counterpart. And while Cinderella continues to get a lot of flak nowadays for allegedly being ‘too passive’ of a protagonist, I still stand by what I’ve been saying these past few years in that her unshakably optimistic nature in the face of all the crap she’s put through makes her a far better heroine than she’s often given credit for. Sure enough, this is well-reflected in the live-action remake, especially thanks to Lily James’ outstanding turn in the role. The same goes for Richard Madden as the superior version of Prince Charming, Cate Blanchett as the unforgettably sinister Lady Tremaine, and Helena Bonham Carter in a scene-stealing turn as Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother. And so, with a phenomenal cast, gorgeous production design, and all-around excellent direction from Kenneth Branagh, the live-action Cinderella is one of the most uplifting films to have come out in recent years.

1. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

To be perfectly blunt, folks, I have the feeling that this film’s placement at the top spot on this list is going to garner some controversy given its usual reception. Let me put it this way; when it first came out, it did relatively well with critics. It currently boasts a 71% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which is a decently solid score for a film to have on that site, and it also grossed over $1 billion worldwide, effectively making it the second-highest-grossing film of 2017 behind only Star Wars: The Last Jedi. In other words, it was, at the very least, clearly a big hit with audiences. However, I think it’s safe to say that this was the film that fully intensified the utter contempt that the ‘Disney remake’ critics have towards this trend, especially due to the legendary reputation of the film that this remake was adapted from. Before 2017, all the live-action Disney remakes were based on older animated films such as Alice in Wonderland and Cinderella. As such, one could argue that the overall expectations for them weren’t as intense given how long it has been since their releases. Beauty and the Beast, on the other hand, was the most recent Disney animated feature to get the live-action treatment at that point and it also happens to be one of the studio’s most beloved outings. It is, after all, the first animated film that was ever nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, a distinction that only two other films have achieved since then. As such, this remake clearly faced stricter expectations because of how much the original has meant to my generation, and the same can also be said for the remakes of Aladdin and The Lion King that would come out later and would end up garnering far more polarizing reactions from critics. Thus, despite what I just said about the film maintaining a solid rating on Rotten Tomatoes, I wouldn’t be surprised if many of those who gave it a ‘Fresh’ review aren’t as positive about it nowadays. And yet, I’m not afraid to admit that I still love this film.

Yes, this is yet another instance of a remake that doesn’t make a lot of changes to the original’s story, but overall, I was genuinely fine with the updates that they did make. This includes, among other things, Belle being an inventor just like her father (played excellently by Kevin Kline in a uniquely more subdued take on ‘crazy old Maurice’) and her discovery as to why he has been overly protective of her all these years after her mom died from the Plague. I also loved all the new songs that were made for this remake, especially the Beast’s new solo, ‘Evermore’. And while I’m well aware that much of the criticisms towards this film have been directed towards Emma Watson in the lead role of Belle, namely due to her singing, I still think that she does a fantastic job in the role if we’re talking about all the other things that have made Belle one of the most popular Disney princesses. She’s then backed by a phenomenal supporting cast that includes Dan Stevens as the Beast, Luke Evans and Josh Gad as the scene-stealing duo of Gaston and LeFou (so much so that they’re going to get their own Disney+ series) and the likes of Ewan McGregor, Emma Thompson, and Ian McKellen as the Beast’s servants. In short, I will fully admit that there’s probably quite a bit of bias behind my decision to place this film at the #1 spot on this list. I saw it twice in theaters, with the first time being in IMAX at the film’s ‘Fan Event’ screening on my birthday. I also bought the soundtrack on iTunes not long afterward and loved the film so much that my mom asked one of her co-workers to pick it up on Blu-Ray and ship it to us so we could get the special Best Buy Steelbook*. In other words, I know that I’m probably in the minority when it comes to liking this film, which has certainly faced tons of scrutiny over the ‘necessity’ of its existence and has often been negatively compared to its animated counterpart. And yet, as this entire list has hopefully established by now, I don’t really care about any of that stuff, even if this is another case like The Lion King since the original Beauty and the Beast is one of my Top 5 favorite Disney films. Ultimately, though, that doesn’t prevent the live-action Beauty and the Beast from legitimately being one of my favorite films of the 2010s.

*(By the time that I was fully intent on getting the Steelbook, it wasn’t available at any of the Best Buy stores that were near our home in Rhode Island, hence why we needed to have my mom’s co-worker pick it up for us in Wisconsin where he’s from. As our way of saying thanks, we then proceeded to get him his own Steelbook copy of the film. In other words, as a friendly piece of advice for all you Blu-Ray enthusiasts out there, if you’re ever interested in getting a film’s Steelbook release, be sure to pre-order it in advance because it could very well go out of stock as soon as it hits the shelves, especially if it’s for a highly popular film like one of the MCU films or, say, a billion-dollar grossing remake of a Disney classic…)

And that concludes my rankings list of all the major live-action Disney remakes that have been released since 2010. Thanks for following along and be sure to be on the lookout for my review of the next big live-action Disney remake, Mulan, not too long after the film makes its Disney+ debut on September 4^th.

TOP 12 FAVORITE FILMS OF 2017: TOP 3!

Welcome back to Rhode Island Movie Corner’s annual end-of-the-year list in which I count down my picks for my Top 12 Favorite Films of 2017. And today, folks, we’ve come to the grand finale of this epic 4-part endeavor; today, I’m listing my Top 3 Favorite Films from this past year in film. If you missed the last three parts of this list, click the following links below to check out my last 9 picks and my 6 Honorable Mentions. With that said, let’s not waste any more time and close out this list…

PART 1

PART 2

PART 3

For some people, my #3 pick is an obvious choice. For others, though, that’s not exactly the case. Yes, folks, I’m referring to the film that has surprisingly proven to be one of the most polarizing releases in recent memory. And the reason why I say ‘surprisingly’ is simple just because of what franchise it comes from.

3. STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI

Who would’ve thought that a Star Wars film, of all things, would end up being one of the most divisive films of the past few years? And yet, that has been exactly the case with director Rian Johnson’s entry in the legendary franchise and the follow-up to 2015’s smash hit Star Wars: The Force Awakens. While critics have been almost universally positive about the film, audiences have been split down the middle by comparison. To put this all into perspective, while the film’s current score on Rotten Tomatoes is 90%, the site’s audience score is 49%, a rating that is lower than any of the audience scores for the infamous prequels… that is saying something. And if you were to ask me the main reason why this film has been so divisive amongst Star Wars fans, I honestly couldn’t narrow it down to just one thing because there have been several aspects of the film that have proven to be a source of contention amongst fans. This includes everything from certain characters’ roles in the plot to specific moments in the film itself. Ultimately, though, this just confirms the one thing that I’ve been saying for these past few years now; Star Wars fans are some of the hardest to please in the entire film fan community. It’s been quite a ride for the Star Wars fandom, which started out strong thanks to the universally revered original trilogy but then began to stumble once series creator George Lucas began to make a bunch of controversial changes to it. Of course, this was then followed by the near-universally maligned prequel trilogy which many fans are still getting worked up over even though it’s been more than a whole decade since its conclusion. And while the Disney-era Star Wars films have done quite well with critics and audiences, they’ve also had their fair share of dissenters for their own unique reasons.

As we all know, in the case of The Force Awakens, there’s been the nagging nitpick made by those who argue that the film was nothing more than a retread of Episode IV: A New Hope. And yet, ironically, one of the main complaints that several people have had with The Last Jedi… was that it was way too different. Depending on who you ask, though, the fact that the film was such a radically different take on Star Wars was why they felt that it was ultimately the best thing to happen to the franchise in a long time. And while I’ll admit that I initially didn’t quite get what everyone was talking about when they said that The Last Jedi was a ‘fresh, new’ take on Star Wars, in retrospect I do recognize the main thing that it does to be different from the franchise’s previous installments. The most notable thing about The Last Jedi is that it completely debunks the entire lore of the Star Wars franchise through its main theme of learning from one’s mistakes. As witnessed in the film’s first trailer, Luke Skywalker often talks about how he believes that the time has come for the Jedi Order to end. And as the film goes on, he continually points out some of the Order’s biggest downfalls, namely the fact that it placed its entire faith on Luke’s father Anakin to be their ‘chosen one’ and bring balance to the Force. Ultimately, though, both the Order and its faith were completely undone when Anakin was corrupted by the dark side and became Darth Vader as was witnessed in the prequels. In other words, the main theme of this film is best summed up by its biggest surprise cameo, Master Yoda (and yes, Yoda (voiced again by Frank Oz) was created via puppetry this time around; a very neat development following his CG design in the prequels). In his one scene with Luke, he explains to his former protégé that, at the end of the day, failure is often one’s greatest teacher.

And the cool thing about all this is that the idea of ‘learning from past mistakes’ ends up being an effective means of character development for each member of the new trilogy’s trio of leads. Right from the start, we see Poe Dameron having to understand that his reckless behavior (or, as Leia puts it, ‘getting into an X-Wing and blowing something up”) always runs the risk of getting him and his fellow pilots killed. This allows Poe to become a much stronger leader by the film’s end, something that will surely carry over into Episode IX. Meanwhile, Finn, after reawakening from the coma that he ended up in at the end of The Force Awakens, embarks on a secret mission with mechanic Rose Tico to try and stop the First Order from destroying the Resistance. Said plan involves the two of them traveling to the casino city of Canto Bight to find a codebreaker who can disable the First Order’s tracking devices. And while they do manage to find one in the enigmatic DJ (Benicio Del Toro), their new ally ends up betraying them to the First Order to save his own skin. In other words, their headstrong nature ultimately ended up getting the best of them. On a side note, Rose proves to be an endearing new addition to the franchise’s ever-growing cast of characters thanks in large part to Kelly Marie Tran’s terrific performance in the role. And no, Star Wars fans, she is not the franchise’s worst character since Jar Jar Binks and does not deserve all the racist attacks that she’s been getting recently. Finally, we have Rey, who finds herself becoming more connected to Ben Solo AKA Kylo Ren through the power of the Force. When Kylo tells her about the incident where he ended up turning against his uncle, in which Luke was this close to killing his own nephew when he realized that he had become corrupted by Supreme Leader Snoke, she embarks off on her own accord to try and help him find redemption. But even after Kylo ends up turning against Snoke and killing him, along with the two of them teaming up to take down Snoke’s guards, Rey discovers that Kylo is still unable to leave his new power-hungry mentalities behind as he assumes control of the First Order.

As for the rest of the film, it features everything that you’d expect out of a great Star Wars film. It boasts some of the franchise’s best visuals and cinematography which, as expected, results in some fantastic action sequences (e.g. the final battle on the planet Crait where the Resistance mounts one last defense against the First Order’s AT-AT battalion in outdated speeders). And while I’ve found that some were rather iffy on Johnson’s screenplay being a lot more comedic-based in terms of its dialogue, I personally didn’t mind the humor in this film. This includes everything from Luke casually tossing his old lightsaber away when Rey first gives it to him to the scene where Poe trolls General Hux via comms during the opening battle (“Hi, I’m holding for General Hugs…”). And, of course, the cast is phenomenal from top to bottom; this includes everyone from the lead trio of Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, and Oscar Isaac to newcomers like Laura Dern as Vice Admiral Holdo, who becomes the Resistance’s new leader after Leia ends up incapacitated by a First Order attack. While the bulk of the film revolves around Holdo and Poe getting into a conflict based on their differing strategic methods, namely due to her passive strategy of a discreet evacuation, she ends up going out on an epic note when she rams the First Order’s fleet while at light-speed to allow the Resistance enough time to escape. And, of course, we cannot forget about the franchise’s original protagonist, Luke Skywalker. After only having a non-speaking cameo at the end of The Force Awakens, Luke (and therefore Mark Hamill) gets a far more substantial role in this film. And while it does end with the legendary Jedi being killed off, at the very least he goes out on the most badass of notes during the final battle on Crait where, after spending the entire film telling Rey that he isn’t going to come back to help the Resistance, he arrives on the battlefield to take on the First Order all by himself.

When Kylo orders his forces to fire upon Luke, we see that Luke somehow manages to survive this complete with the most badass moment in the film where he brushes dirt off his shoulder as if to say that the last attack on him was nothing. And after a lightsaber fight between Luke and Kylo, we learn that the former has been Force projecting himself from his current location on the planet of Ahch-To. This was hinted at before when it was apparent that Luke’s footprints weren’t appearing on the planet’s salt-based surface; that and there’s also the fact that Luke looks a lot younger compared to what we’ve seen from the rest of the film. Anyway, after telling Kylo that “he will not be the Last Jedi”, a moment that is intercut with Rey using the Force to rescue the Resistance, Luke’s projection disappears (“See you around, kid!”). Back on Ahch-To, Luke witnesses a double sunset (a perfect callback to the iconic scene in A New Hope where he witnessed a similar sunset on his home planet of Tatooine) before fading away a la Yoda in Return of the Jedi. And as for the backlash surrounding Luke being able to do all that… well, Rian Johnson recently proved these critics wrong by showcasing a Star Wars book from a few years back that proves that it’s possible so… yeah, no further comment. Speaking of final hurrahs, as we all know, this film served as the final appearance of Carrie Fisher as Leia following her death back in 2016. Suffice it to say, she also concludes her run on an excellent note. The scene where she finally reunites with her brother Luke is easily one of the best emotional moments in the entire film, and not just because of the real-world context surrounding it. And as for the scene where she manages to survive being blown out into space, another point of contention amongst fans… well, it has been established that even though she isn’t a Jedi like Luke, she is tied to the Force just as much as he is. So… yeah, no further comment.

In conclusion, I want to make it clear that, at the very least, I do understand why some folks weren’t too big on The Last Jedi; film is a subjective medium, after all. However, I also encourage this film’s biggest critics to try and give it another chance so that they can hopefully appreciate all the interesting things that it does for the franchise. Specifically, Rian Johnson deserves a lot of credit for taking so many huge risks by deconstructing Star Wars’ expansive mythology and going against fans’ expectations. Regarding the latter, this includes everything from the unceremonious death of the trilogy’s supposed big bad Snoke to the scene where Kylo tells Rey that her parents were ‘nobodies’ who gave up their daughter for chump change. And as the film concludes with a young child labor worker back at Canto Bight being shown to be one with the Force, along with the reveal that Rey had taken the Jedi Order’s ancient texts onto the Millennium Falcon before Luke could destroy them, we’re left on an uplifting note for the franchise’s future. Of course, we’ll soon be seeing the conclusion of this current story when J.J. Abrams returns to ‘finish what he started’ with Episode IX in 2019. But one thing’s for certain, though… while The Force Awakens managed to avoid being undone by all the hype and expectations that surrounded it prior to its release, it’s clear that this turn of events was ultimately reserved for The Last Jedi as evident from all the various fan reactions to it. And to be perfectly frank, the Star Wars fan-base’s handling of this whole debacle hasn’t been very smooth… and that’s putting it lightly…

Well, we have another arguably polarizing release at the #2 spot. In this instance, it’s because the film in question is a remake of one of the most famous animated films of all-time. But even with the hefty expectations that were put upon it for that very reason, I ultimately enjoyed this charming new rendition of everyone’s favorite ‘tale as old as time’.

2. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

Now I’ll admit that my highly positive feelings towards this film may have been somewhat influenced by the fact that I first saw it in one of those ‘perfect moments’. I first saw this film on my birthday while on vacation in Washington D.C. at its special Fan Event. Along with getting to see the film in IMAX, this event featured a few behind-the-scenes videos and the music video for John Legend and Ariana Grande’s rendition of Beauty and the Beast which, contrary to apparently popular opinion, I thought was a pretty good take on the classic song. With all this said, though, I do recognize why this was arguably the one entry in Disney’s continuing line of live-action remakes that attracted the most skepticism prior to its release. After all, we’re talking about Beauty and the Beast, one of the most beloved entries in Disney’s ever-expanding collection of animated classics. It is, after all, the first animated film that ever got nominated for Best Picture. And while the same outcome didn’t occur for this new take on it, I still felt that it was a pleasant new rendition of a classic story. Now, granted, unlike some other Disney remakes (e.g. The Jungle Book, which was a combination of Disney’s animated classic and Rudyard Kipling’s original novel), this new take on Beauty and the Beast follows the same general plot as its animated counterpart. Belle, a fair, young maiden from a quiet town in France, takes her father’s place as the prisoner of a ferocious beast who resides in a hidden castle. Belle soon learns that the Beast was once a prince who was cursed along with his subjects by an enchantress when he refused her request for shelter. Eventually, though, Belle and the Beast end up falling in love as she tries to help him and his servants break the curse before it becomes permanent, which all coincides with the villagers’ attempt to kill the Beast as led by the boorish hunter Gaston.

Still, I do think that the film does ‘just enough’ to be its own thing when compared to the original. This is thanks to various plot alterations and additions that never betray the heart of its classic story. Probably my favorite new addition comes in the form of backstory that explains why Belle and her father Maurice have remained in their ‘poor, provincial town’ indefinitely. When Belle gets the chance to return to ‘the Paris of her childhood’ thanks to a magical book that was given to the Beast by the Enchantress that allows them to travel wherever they want, she learns that her father had the two of them evacuated when the city began to be ravaged by the plague, with her mother being one of its unfortunate victims. This, along with Kevin Kline’s more subdued portrayal of ‘crazy, old Maurice’ compared to the original film (which I may, in fact, prefer…), gives the remake one of its best bits of emotional poignancy. I also appreciated the decision to have Belle be just as invention-savvy as her father. Early in the film, she comes up with a more efficient method of doing the laundry before it ends up getting dismantled by the townspeople. During her first night as the Beast’s captive, she uses the various bits of clothes that came from Madame de Garderobe the Wardrobe to try and escape out the window of her tower. And when Gaston has her and her father imprisoned before he and the townsfolk head out to storm the castle, she and Maurice manage to pick the lock and escape themselves. Changes like these are arguably quite simple, but in this instance, I’d say that they work because they don’t end up being so substantially different that they drastically alter this iconic plot.

As for Belle herself, I think it’s safe to say that when Emma Watson was first cast in the role, a lot of people were enthusiastic about this given her iconic turn as Hermione in the Harry Potter films. However, I noticed that this began to change drastically once the film came out, as Watson has gotten some flak for her singing performance. Ultimately, though, I felt that she was perfectly fine when it came to her singing, namely during the new songs that were created for the film (more on those in a bit…). And as far as the entire role is concerned, Watson does quite well with maintaining everything that fans of the original film loved about Belle as a character, including her independent spirit and her knack for being ahead of her time. She also has solid chemistry with Dan Stevens, who’s also quite excellent as the Beast and does a fine job of handling the character’s great redemption arc. The two of them are also backed by an equally terrific supporting cast. The Beast’s collection of servants boasts a stacked ensemble that features the likes of Ian McKellen as Cogsworth, Ewan McGregor as Lumiere, and Emma Thompson as Mrs. Potts, just to name a few. As for the film’s main villains, both Luke Evans and Josh Gad are delightfully hammy as Gaston and LeFou, respectively. And yeah… the time has come to once again address that whole controversy surrounding the moment where the latter dances with a male villager who had been put into a dress during the attack on the castle. As I’ve said before, the backlash that this got from LGBT critics was completely ridiculous as this is literally a ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ moment that arguably would’ve gone unnoticed had it not been reported by various news outlets beforehand. In fact, the moment where Madame de Garderobe puts the other guy into a dress, which he reacts to in a positive manner, was received with applause the first time I saw this in theaters… do with that as you will.

Visually speaking, the film looks amazing even when considering that a lot of it is CG-based (e.g. ‘Be Our Guest’, where behind-the-scenes videos show that everything that Emma Watson had to react to would be added in later). Speaking of music, this film’s renditions of the original film’s classic lineup of songs are quite excellent, though there are also some great new songs as well. There’s ‘Days in the Sun’, which is arguably the melancholic but ultimately hopeful counterpart to ‘Human Again’, a song from the animated film that ended up getting cut. There’s the heartfelt melody ‘How Does a Moment Last Forever’, which is sung twice in the film, once by Maurice and then later by Belle. It’s also sung by Celine Dion (who performed the pop version of the original film’s title song) during the end credits. But my personal favorite of the new songs is ‘Evermore’, which is the Beast’s big solo that he sings as Belle leaves to rescue her father. Stevens’ strong vocal performance, paired with the great imagery of seeing Belle’s bright yellow dress stand out in the darkness as she heads off into the night, combine to make this one of the standout sequences of the film. But if you ask me, there are plenty more great standout moments in this film that help to make it a worthwhile addition to Disney’s growing line of live-action remakes of their animated classics. I’ve gone over my thoughts on Disney’s current live-action film strategy several times in the past, specifically noting that I’m in no way bothered by all the remakes that have either been announced or are currently in development. Because regardless of how they end up faring with critics and audiences, the original animated films will still be there and will not be ruined by a ‘lousy’ re-imagining. And this mindset applies perfectly to the new Beauty and the Beast. Is it better than the original? No, but it doesn’t have to be.

And finally, we’ve arrived at my #1 favorite film of 2017. Seeing how this list has been almost entirely dominated by blockbusters, I’d figured that it was time to highlight something from the independent market… nah, I’m just messing with you guys. Cue one of the most obvious #1 picks that I’ve ever made in 3, 2…

1. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2

When I originally reviewed this film back in May, I decided to make a conscientious effort to avoid addressing the one argument that was being brought up by almost every major critic; that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was not as ‘fresh’ as its predecessor. I’m serious, look at ANY major review for this film, even the positive ones, and nine times out of ten you’ll find that argument in it. And to be perfectly frank, this whole ‘not as fresh as the original’ argument is a recent fad that I’m getting rather sick of, as it’s also been thrown around to the unwarranted detriment of films like Kingsman: The Golden Circle and X-Men: Apocalypse. Yeah, I know that the current film market is heavily dominated by remakes, reboots, sequels, etc., but whatever happened to the simple but more effective argument of a film just not being ‘as good as the original’? To me, this whole ‘not as ‘fresh’ as the original’ argument comes off as being a bigger detriment to a film than it really needs to be because it mainly stems from one’s demand for original content taking greater precedence over the matter of giving the film a fair chance to prove itself. Anyway, I’ll admit that upon first viewing, I was legitimately on the fence about which Guardians films was better. But this changed when I participated in a podcast with my friends Matthew Goudreau and Alex McDevitt in which we ranked all the films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe prior to the release of Spider-Man: Homecoming. During this podcast, I realized one important thing; that this film had been getting the same treatment as films like Iron Man 3 and Avengers: Age of Ultron. And that is why I’ll be saying the following statement here and now… Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 IS a superior sequel to Marvel Studios’ equally fantastic 2014 outing, Guardians of the Galaxy.

Now, to be clear, I still very much adore the original Guardians of the Galaxy for its vibrant visuals, great humor, and an endearing cast of main protagonists tied to a plot that was steeped in emotional poignancy. But with Vol. 2, writer/director James Gunn manages to craft a plot that boasts an even stronger emotional core. This is thanks to the film’s main theme of fatherhood which primarily stems from the plotline of Peter Quill AKA Star-Lord finally meeting his long-lost father, the celestial being known as Ego. The film also does a great job when it comes to further developing the Guardians, which is namely due to the decision to have them be split off into teams of two. And while I know that some may view this as a bad thing because it keeps them all separated for most of the film, it ultimately works for two reasons. For one thing, it’s a crucial element of the plot as the Guardians find their familial bonds being put to the test. But the other key thing about all this is that each of these pairings ends up being quite well-balanced in terms of who spends time with who. It all starts, of course, with Peter spending a lot of time with Ego. While this does allow Peter the opportunity to finally connect with his real father (or, as Gamora puts it, his ‘Zardu Hasselfrau’, which is her mistaken name for Peter’s childhood icon David Hasselhoff (and yes, ‘the Hoff’ makes a cameo in this film when Ego briefly takes his form)), it also keeps him separated from the rest of his friends.

Another key pairing is the duo of sisters/rivals Gamora and Nebula. After being generally underused in the first film, Nebula is thankfully given a larger role in the sequel as it delves further into the complicated relationship between her and Gamora. As the adoptive daughters of the Mad Titan Thanos, both were pushed to their limits with Gamora often coming out on top over Nebula, who was forced to be subjected to torturous cybernetic enhancements by their father as punishment for her failures. This ultimately explains why they’ve been at odds with each other for such a long time. Because of Gamora’s concern for survival when it came to dealing with Thanos’ wrath, she never realized how this often ended up affecting Nebula, who always ended up being the primary victim of said wrath. This is also key to Nebula’s main drive in the film (which, obviously, had already been established in the first film when she stood by Ronan after he boldly defied Thanos) to kill their father. Because of all this, while the film is still mainly about fatherhood, it’s also firmly tied to the idea of sisterhood as well, all culminating in the scene where Nebula leaves to hunt Thanos but not before sharing a heartfelt goodbye with Gamora, who assures her that she will always be her sister. Next, there’s everyone’s favorite ‘walking thesaurus’, Drax, who mainly spends time with Mantis, Ego’s assistant (or, as Drax puts it, his ‘pet’). This pairing is perfect as it’s well-established that they’re both rather lacking in terms of social skills; Mantis herself openly admits this given how she’s spent almost her entire life with Ego on his planet. Despite this, however, the two of them end up becoming kindred spirits as Mantis’ ability to feel whatever another person is feeling by touching them allows her to experience the sorrow that Drax felt when his wife and daughter were killed by Ronan.

The final ‘major pairing’ of the film comes in the form of Rocket (and, therefore, Baby Groot) and Yondu, who end up involved in their own little subplot where they deal with a bunch of mutinous Ravagers. Much of Guardians 2’s plot stems from Rocket stealing a bunch of batteries from the alien race known as the Sovereign. Not only does this result in a fallout between them and the Guardians, but it also begins to cause significant tension within the Guardians’ group themselves, especially between Rocket and Quill. But this all leads to a crucial scene where Yondu confronts Rocket over his volatile attitude. It is here where Yondu remarks that the only reason why Rocket often pushes people away is that he’s unable to express how much he truly cares about them due to his overall insecurity. In short, Yondu points out that they are a lot more similar than they think, which serves as an excellent way of further developing them both as they work to overcome this shared weakness of theirs (I’ll get into how this affects Yondu later…). But what about Baby Groot? Well, you might be surprised to find that the younger self of Rocket’s best friend doesn’t really factor into the film as much as some may have expected. Still, he does manage to have quite a few of his own standout moments, including the opening credits sequence (done in the style of one long take) where we see him dance around while the Guardians deal with a giant alien monster. There’s also the scene where Yondu and Rocket try to get him to find a new prototype fin for Yondu (which is the technology that allows him to control his famous whistle-controlled arrow) only for him to keep bringing back the wrong items, including but not limited to Yondu’s underwear, “That Guy’s Eye!”, and even a severed toe.

MCU films have always been known for their excellent visual effects, and Guardians 2 is no exception to this. The first Guardians was already one of the franchise’s best-looking installments due in large part to its vibrant color palette that helped to bring the cosmic side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to life. And yet, this film somehow manages to top the beautiful visuals of its predecessor, effectively putting it on par with Doctor Strange as one of the most visually stunning MCU films to date. And, of course, like the first Guardians, this film also boasts another great soundtrack courtesy of ‘Awesome Mix Vol. 2’. In fact, just like how I’ve argued that this film was superior to its predecessor, I’d argue that the second ‘Awesome Mix’ is better than the first. Again, no disrespect to ‘Awesome Mix Vol. 1’, which featured the likes of ‘Hooked on a Feeling’, ‘O-o-h Child’, and ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’, all of which were tied perfectly to the film’s overall narrative. However, I do think that ‘Awesome Mix Vol. 2’, which features the likes of ‘Surrender’, ‘Mr. Blue Sky’, and ‘My Sweet Lord’, has a slight edge to it when it comes to the songs’ connection to the plot. One prime example of this is Fleetwood Mac’s ‘The Chain’, which is used twice in the film. It’s first used during the scene where Peter, Gamora, and Drax head off with Ego to his planet while leaving Rocket and Groot behind to fix their ship, a nod to the growing divide between the group. But then, as the Guardians reunite at the end and Peter remembers who his real family is in a beautiful, non-dialogue montage sequence in which he remembers a bunch of happy moments that he’s had with each of his friends, the song roars back with a vengeance. Then, of course, there are other song-to-scene highlights, like the hilariously dark juxtaposition of a light-hearted song like Jay and the Americans’ ‘Come a Little Bit Closer’ set to the scene where Yondu, Rocket, and Groot kill all the mutinous Ravagers.

On that note, let’s talk about this film’s villains, as there are three main groups that fall into this category. First, there’s the Sovereign, led by their ruler Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki). However, despite what the marketing campaign may have suggested, they ultimately aren’t the main antagonists of the film. Instead, they’re more of a constant thorn in the Guardians’ side after Rocket steals their batteries. Still, they do have their moments, namely via the scenes that show off their arcade-style facility where they remotely pilot their attack ships; it’s basically that one scene in the first Avengers where Tony Stark calls out a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent for playing Galaga while on the job fully realized. Plus, it also seems like the Sovereign are set to play a larger role in the next Guardians film as apparent from one of this film’s five (yes, five!) post-credits scenes in which Ayesha shows off her new creation, Adam Warlock. Next, there’s the mutinous group of Ravagers led by Taserface (Chris Sullivan)… and yes, that’s his name. Obviously, the film takes much pleasure in making fun of this character and his silly name; James Gunn did once refer to him as the ‘dumbest character of all-time’ back when he was first hired for Guardians of the Galaxy. And while the mutinous Ravagers ultimately play a minor role in the overall plot, just like the Sovereign, they also contribute to some of the film’s best moments. So, who is the main villain of the film, you ask? That would be Ego himself, as the group soon learns of his sinister plan to terraform other planets so that they can become further extensions of himself via a set of seedlings that he’s planted all over the universe. But what truly turns Peter against his father is the moment when he reveals that he was the one who caused his mother’s death as witnessed at the beginning of the first film. This big reveal, along with Kurt Russell’s charismatic performance in the role, ends up making Ego one of the MCU’s better villains. Like I said before, Marvel Studios has done a lot better with their villains since the start of Phase 3.   

And this brings us to the film’s emotional finale or, as I like to call it, the best thing that Marvel Studios has done to date. Throughout the film, Peter learns that because his father is a Celestial, he too possesses Celestial abilities, as evident from the fact that he was able to survive the might of the Power Stone in the first film. However, right before the Guardians destroy the core of Ego’s planet, Ego warns Peter that killing him would lead to him losing his Celestial powers and becoming just like everyone else, to which Peter responds by asking one simple question, “What’s so wrong with that?” Thus, the core is destroyed and Ego disintegrates right in front of his son. But as Ego’s planet collapses around him, Peter is then saved by Yondu, who puts the group’s last spacesuit on him as they fly off into space to avoid the planet’s destruction. Yondu tells Peter that ‘he may have your father, boy, but he wasn’t your daddy’ before his body freezes in space right in front of ‘his boy’. It is in this moment that Peter finally realizes who his real ‘father figure’ was… Yondu. Earlier in the film, it was revealed that Ego had Yondu bring all his other celestial children to him. However, once Yondu learned that Ego ended up killing the other children, he backs away from their agreement to protect Peter, resulting in the path that Peter’s been on in these films as an Earth kid who was kidnapped and later taken in by Yondu and his fellow Ravagers. Simply put, Yondu’s sacrifice is one of the best-handled moments in the entire film; both Michael Rooker and Chris Pratt are phenomenal in this scene, which is all backed by Tyler Bates’ equally excellent score (e.g. the track ‘Dad’).

But the film does not stop there. After Peter and the other Guardians give Yondu a proper funeral, they learn that Rocket had messaged Yondu’s fellow Ravagers and told them about his noble sacrifice. In response, the Ravagers arrive on the scene to give Yondu a true ‘Ravager funeral’. This serves as a fitting callback to Yondu’s first scene earlier in the film when he gets into an argument with his former associate, Ravager leader Stakar Ogord (Sylvester Stallone). It is in this conversation where it’s revealed that since the events of the first film, Yondu has been exiled from the Ravager community for breaking the Ravager Code by doing the one thing that they forbid, child trafficking. Of course, as we already know, this was the whole situation that he was in with Ego where he was initially unaware of what Ego was doing to the kids that he was bringing him. Regardless, Ogord tells Yondu that he’ll never receive a proper Ravager funeral. But at the end of the day, Yondu’s sacrifice ultimately proves to his fellow Ravagers that he never truly abandoned their ways. Honestly, what more can be said about this amazing scene? It features some of the most beautiful visuals in the entire film thanks to the Ravagers’ lavish fireworks display. And then, to top it all off, this scene is backed by arguably the most perfect song to coincide with these events, Cat Stevens’ ‘Father and Son’. It’s also worth noting that the song is played on the Zune player that Peter receives from Yondu’s most loyal subordinate, Kraglin (played by James Gunn’s brother Sean, who also served as the visual stand-in for Rocket on both Guardians films), after Ego had destroyed his beloved Walkman.

Earlier I had noted that I felt that this film was being given the same general treatment of films like Iron Man 3 and Avengers: Age of Ultron. In that instance, I was referring to the fact that these two MCU films have been generally regarded as inferior sequels even though they are arguably better than any of their predecessors. But with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, I do fully stand by what I’ve said about how this film is better than the original Guardians. Now, for those who have been following this blog for a while, you’ll know that since it first came out, Guardians of the Galaxy has been my personal favorite Marvel Cinematic Universe film. In other words, that means that I now have a new personal favorite MCU film, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Now sure, maybe the film didn’t exactly capture the same ‘lightning in a bottle’ that made the original Guardians of the Galaxy the critical/commercial hit that it was back in 2014. But even if that was the case, Vol. 2 more than makes up for this by having a stronger plot that yields greater character development and greater emotional poignancy. And again, that’s not to say that the first Guardians of the Galaxy didn’t have any of this; it’s just that the sequel managed to pull off the incredibly difficult feat of being a superior follow-up to what was an equally outstanding first film. Ultimately, though, the high quality of these two films is a testament to the brilliant writing and direction from James Gunn. And because of this, the Guardians of the Galaxy films have been some of the most enjoyable outings of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. Not only that, but they have also succeeded in once again asserting Marvel Studios’ dominance in this current age of the superhero genre.

And that, folks, brings us to the end of my annual ‘Top 12 Favorite Films of the Year’ list. As always, I’d like to thank you all for following along with me on this look back upon some of the greatest cinematic adventures of the past year as you’ve done with every previous year that I’ve done this annual retrospective. With that in mind, I’d like to make one quick announcement about the future of this site. If you’ve been following me on social media, you probably know that I recently got accepted to the Disney College Program. For those who don’t know what this is, the Disney College Program is a paid internship that gives its participants the chance to work at Disney’s theme parks. Right now, I’m currently in Orlando, Florida working at the Happiest Place on Earth, Walt Disney World. With that said, though, what does this mean for the future of Rhode Island Movie Corner? Well, I want to assure you folks that my current work situation will not result in me stepping away from this site and the world of film criticism. I promise that I will still try to publish as many reviews, editorials, and Top 10 lists as I possibly can. Admittedly there may be a decrease in published posts due to my work schedule, but regardless, I will continue to do what I’ve been doing on this site since it first started back in May 2012. So, until then, to quote the legendary Roger Ebert, “I’ll see you at the movies…”

…also, no, I’m not changing the name of this site to Florida Movie Corner. Not as catchy of a title, if you ask me…

2017 Midyear Recap

Well, we’re now halfway through 2017, and for those who have been following this blog for a few years now, you know exactly what that means. Yes, today I’m looking back at these past six months of the year, recounting every film that I’ve seen during that time, and ultimately ranking them from worst to best. And unlike previous years where I didn’t keep much track of everything that I saw, the film fan website Letterboxd has allowed me to keep a ‘diary’ of the films that I’ve seen, thereby making these posts easier to assemble. And, overall, I’d say that this year has been quite excellent in terms of its new releases. Sure, there will always be those out there who will say otherwise (hopefully, in a few months, we won’t have another situation like last year where the entire internet expresses disappointment over this year’s summer slate) but, as usual, there has been a great variety of films from multiple genres to appeal to all age groups. Though, of course, there have also been a few notable ‘stinkers’ that I’ve seen this year, as there always is. However, for now, at least, I’ve found that the ‘worst’ films that I’ve seen this year so far have been more ‘disappointing’ than ‘anger-inducing’. After all, as I’ve made it clear in the past, I rarely get angry at films anymore because I find it to be rather pointless in a time where I feel that film fan culture is starting to get more nitpicky and negative due to overly heightened expectations. I mean, the internet does have this tendency to focus more on the ‘bad stuff’ than it does with the ‘good stuff’… and, simply put, that’s just not what I’m about as a film fan. Thus, with that in mind, here is my annual Midyear Recap of every film that I’ve seen so far in 2017, starting with my worst of the year and culminating with my current Top 5.

Also, just as a quick warning, there may be a few spoilers ahead for some of these films.

WORST FILM OF THE YEAR (SO FAR)

BAYWATCH

While I had never watched an episode of Baywatch before seeing it, it seemed like this year’s R-rated film adaptation of the cult TV series was shaping up to be the big comedy hit of the summer, especially given all the marketing that went into it. Sadly, it ended up being the complete opposite; in other words, Baywatch was a colossal dud. Its talented cast, which included the likes of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Zac Efron, and Priyanka Chopra, was ultimately stranded with a mediocre script that failed to produce any major laughs. From what I’ve read, the show took a more serious approach by comparison. At the same time, though, nowadays the show is regarded as being overly cheesy; thus, there legitimately was some potential for some good humor that poked fun at the show’s goofier elements (e.g. its iconic motif of lifeguards running in slow motion). However, this film ends up having one of the worst hit-miss ratios that I’ve ever seen out of a comedy, producing only a few chuckle-worthy moments and not a single laugh-out-loud moment. And it’s sad because many of the people involved in this have done better in other films, especially comedies. Zac Efron, of course, has been a stand-out in the Neighbors films while Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is one of the most charismatic actors in the business. But even with their solid on-screen camaraderie, their best efforts do nothing to save this film. As such, this new adaptation of Baywatch does quite a piss-poor job of representing its source material. I mean, I probably will watch a few episodes of the original show someday, but if you’re like me and you went into this film having never watched Baywatch before, this does not portray it in a positive light.

OTHER NOTABLE ‘STOINKERS’

(For those unaware, the term ‘Stoinker’ is a homage to Schmoes Know host Kristian Harloff, who often uses the phrase ‘It Stoinks!’ to describe bad films.)

THE CIRCLE

Despite the best efforts of a talented and impressively stacked ensemble cast, director James Ponsoldt’s adaptation of Dave Eggers’ best-selling novel from 2013 felt like a severely watered-down version of its source material. Granted, I haven’t read it at the time that I’m writing this but from what I’ve read about it online, the film clearly cuts out some of the darker elements of the story. This ranges from a plotline in which main character Mae’s (Emma Watson) best friend Annie (Karen Gillan) suffers some serious emotional trauma due to some unearthed family history to the ultimate characterization of Mae herself, who goes down a more sinister path by the story’s end to tie everything back to its themes regarding the dangers of technology. And while I don’t mind the idea of toning these plot elements down to make the film more appealing to audiences, it ultimately feels like there’s not much at stake here. The whole plotline in which Mae and Circle co-founder Ty (a severely underused John Boyega) try to prevent their superiors from misusing employee information doesn’t amount to much. Plus, the film doesn’t do much to make its supposed ‘main villains’, Circle CEOs Eamon Bailey and Tom Stenton, seem like sinister antagonists. I mean, for one thing, it doesn’t help that likable actors like Tom Hanks and Patton Oswalt were cast in these roles, to begin with. Ultimately, though, the overall truncation of the source material is what hurts The Circle the most, as any chances of it being an engaging and even timely technological thriller are wasted in what ultimately becomes a rather dull affair. On that note…

THE MUMMY

It’s quite sad when a Mummy film that stars the one and only Tom Cruise ends up being quite the dull affair. But, unfortunately, that was exactly the case with Universal’s new adaptation of their 1932 horror classic, The Mummy. It tried to be a combination of the horror elements of the original and the action-adventure vibe of the 1999 remake starring Brendan Fraser. Unfortunately, it didn’t really deliver on either of those aspects; it wasn’t that scary and while the action sequences are, at least, well-directed, they feel few and far between. And despite the best efforts of a talented ensemble cast that includes the likes of Cruise, Russell Crowe, and Sofia Boutella in the title role, they’re all stranded by a mediocre screenplay with subpar character development. And then there’s the whole thing about this film being the first installment of a new cinematic universe based around the Universal Monsters. It’s odd, though, because this film does so little to set-up this universe and yet still focuses on teasing future films so much that it ends up being a ‘set-up’ film first and a Mummy film second. Despite this mediocre start, though, I do think that this ‘Dark Universe’ could work because it’s technically been done before in some of the original Universal Monster films. I mean, Bill Condon is set to direct the next installment, Bride of Frankenstein, which he does have experience with because he directed a 1998 film, Gods and Monsters, that partially focused on the making of the 1935 horror classic. But as for The Mummy, while I don’t blame all its shortcomings on director Alex Kurtzman, this new franchise is admittedly off to a slow start.

WORTHWHILE RECOMMENDATIONS

THE ZOOKEEPER’S WIFE

In director Niki Caro’s newest film The Zookeeper’s Wife, based off the book of the same name by author Diane Ackerman, Jessica Chastain stars as Antonina Żabińska, who ran the Warsaw Zoo in Poland during the 1930’s with her husband, Jan (Johan Heldenbergh). However, most of the zoo ends up getting destroyed when the Nazis invade the country during World War II. Amidst the chaos of their war-torn city, the two decide to use their zoo as a place of refuge for several of the Jewish families who are being aggressively tortured by the Nazi regime. Caro’s direction is solid in this adaptation of a true story and Jessica Chastain does do a fantastic job in the lead role, as does Daniel Bruhl in the role of Nazi zoologist Lutz Heck, who Antonina has a tumultuous relationship with that’s often on the verge of being romantic. The only downside, though, is that I don’t think the film manages to fully capture the emotional depth that it wants to convey. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a powerful story about two people who risked it all to save several during one of the darkest times in history. However, it does feel like the film focuses more on its protagonists’ actions than the protagonists themselves. In fact, it could be argued that Antonina is sometimes overshadowed by her husband despite being the titular character of the story. Still, it’s hard to fault this film when its heart is clearly in the right place. Thus, while it may not end up being the award contender that it’s aiming to be, it still is a fascinating story of hope, one of several that came out of the horrors of World War II.

SPLIT

During the 2000’s, M. Night Shyamalan experienced one of the most brutal periods of ‘rock bottom’ that any filmmaker can go through. Many of his films (e.g. The Last Airbender, The Happening, etc.) were subjected to scathing reviews from critics and audiences, a far cry from his early successes with films like The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable. However, it seems like things are turning around for him recently thanks to hits like The Visit and this year’s Split, in which James McAvoy stars as a man named Kevin with 23 distinct mental identities. The story revolves around him kidnapping a trio of teenaged girls as he prepares to sacrifice them to his mysterious 24^th identity known as ‘The Beast’. McAvoy truly is the star of the show in a well-layered and multi-faceted role, as he effectively switches in and out of his numerous identities with ease. Some of his most notable ‘identities’ include the 9-year old child Hedwig and the stern matriarch Patricia. Meanwhile, Anna Taylor-Joy is solid in the role of main protagonist Casey while Betty Buckley shines as well as Kevin’s psychologist Dr. Fletcher. And then, of course, there’s Shyamalan’s trademark twist ending. But while many of his more recent twists have gone down horribly with audiences (e.g. nature is responsible for the events in The Happening), this one I think will go over better. Why? Because through a closing cameo by Bruce Willis, it’s revealed that this film takes place in the same universe as Unbreakable. And while I haven’t seen that film yet, I probably will soon as Shyamalan is now preparing to do a third Unbreakable film, Glass, in 2019. Taylor-Joy and McAvoy will be returning from this film while Willis reprises his role of David Dunn once again. And, of course, Samuel L. Jackson will be returning from the original Unbreakable as that film’s main villain, Mr. Glass. Given Shyamalan’s recent track record, I bet that it’ll turn out to be another solid hit.

KONG: SKULL ISLAND

The most legendary ape in cinema, King Kong, returned this year in a brand-new film, Kong: Skull Island. This film is the second installment of Legendary Pictures’ planned Cinematic Universe (AKA the ‘MonsterVerse’) that also involves the version of Godzilla seen in the character’s 2014 reboot. Like that reboot, though, this new take on King Kong has proven to be rather polarizing as well. And to be fair, it’s understandable as to why this is, as Kong: Skull Island is a much different kind of beast compared to other blockbusters both visually and narratively. Plus, like Godzilla, there isn’t much in terms of character development for the human characters, despite some solid performances from the likes of Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, John Goodman, Samuel L. Jackson, and John C. Reilly. Though even with that said, Reilly does, in fact, get the most interesting subplot of the group given his character’s status as a WWII pilot who got stranded on Skull Island several decades prior to the time that this post-Vietnam set story begins. But unlike Godzilla, where the monster-based action sequences were mainly limited to the finale, this film doesn’t shy away from its monster action. Featuring the largest Kong yet in film, Kong: Skull Island benefits from an eye-popping visual style and great production design. Thus, overall, I did enjoy it despite its shortcomings. Plus, this is all leading up nicely to future films, including a sequel to Godzilla directed by Michael Dougherty in 2019 and the biggest one of the bunch, a Godzilla vs. Kong crossover in 2020 directed by Adam Wingard.

ALIEN: COVENANT

Speaking of polarizing releases, we have a similar situation with Alien: Covenant, the follow-up to 2012’s most polarizing release, Prometheus. This film claimed that it would answer some of the unexplained mysteries left by its predecessor, which was one of the biggest problems that critics had with Prometheus. Whether it does so is ultimately up to the viewer, but I will say that I did find Covenant to be another solid entry in this long-running franchise. Sure, it probably has one of the weaker overall stories of the franchise and it doesn’t really live up to its promise of returning to the series’ horror roots. That and the ending is rather lackluster because a lot of it is based around a blatantly obvious twist. Still, to its credit, the film’s ending is also a rather ballsy one given the ways in which it sets things up for the next installment. And, of course, just like the other Alien films directed by Ridley Scott, it benefits greatly from fantastic visuals and a terrific production design. As for the cast, the sheer amount of ‘main protagonists’ in this story does sometimes make it hard to keep track of them all, but the plotline of having them all tied together as couples does give some emotional depth to their death scenes. Michael Fassbender is terrific as always in the dual role of Prometheus´ android David, who’s still just as enigmatic as ever, and the new crew’s android, Walter. Meanwhile, Katherine Waterston immediately establishes herself as the most sympathetic member of the new crew, Daniels, after an opening in which she suffers a tragic loss. With all this in mind, Alien: Covenant may not be the best entry in the Alien series but it’s also far from being one of the worst.

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES

And speaking of polarizing franchises, this year gave us another installment of Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, a series that’s done far better commercially than it has done critically. And that overall streak continues yet again with the new installment, Dead Men Tell No Tales. However, as someone who has been a fan of this series and has liked all four of the previous films (yes, even the sequels), I found that I still liked this film about as much as I did the other films. Sure, there are times where the film slips into the same old flaws of its predecessors, like a messy narrative and scenes/characters that don’t really go anywhere (e.g. a truly random scene where Jack Sparrow and his crew are captured by an old associate of his who forces Jack into marrying his sister). But at the same time, directors Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg did do a solid enough job of keeping things generally fresh, especially with the addition of new main protagonists as well as some solid development for returning characters. Barbossa, especially, gets a major plot thread in this installment that surprisingly elicited some effective emotional results, though it’s mainly because of how big a part he’s played in this franchise. Johnny Depp, even amidst all his recent controversies, is still just as memorable as ever as Captain Jack Sparrow while Javier Bardem is a solid (albeit a bit underwhelming) adversary as the ghostly Captain Salazar. And, once again, I’ll admit that I wouldn’t mind seeing future installments of this franchise. After all, this film’s post-credit scene teases an interesting plot development revolving around the apparent revival of one of the series’ best characters. At the very least, I would like to see how this new development pans out.

CARS 3

Contrary to popular opinion, I really love the first Cars film from 2006. Was it one of Pixar’s absolute best? No, but it was still a charming little story with a heartfelt message about slowing down and appreciating the simpler things in life. Heck, I’ll even admit that I still like Cars 2, Pixar’s first critical dud. Again, it’s nowhere near the studio’s best work, namely due to a messy narrative, but it’s ultimately a harmless affair. Thankfully, with Cars 3, the filmmakers leaned more towards the spirit of the first film; it’s back to racing again and this time, the story of Lightning McQueen comes full circle. In Cars, he was the hot-shot rookie that eventually learned about his mentor Doc Hudson’s devastating crash that put him out of commission before he was ready to retire. This time around, Lightning finds himself in the same situation as he tries to outlast a new and advanced line of rookies who threaten to put an end to his career. Yes, like its predecessors, the story in this film is simple but at the same time, that doesn’t mean that there’s no emotional depth to it. Just look at this film’s terrific implementation of Doc Hudson, despite the character’s passing after the events of the first film due to his voice actor Paul Newman passing away in 2008. Then there’s also the great characterization for new protagonist Cruz Ramirez who, despite starting out as just Lightning’s new trainer, is shown to be very much capable of lasting alongside other racers on the racetrack. If this series ever does continue in the future, I wouldn’t mind seeing her return to become its new main protagonist. After all, to reiterate, this third Cars film did basically conclude the overall story arc for Lightning McQueen. No matter what happens, though, I’ll always argue that while Cars 3 may not be the best Pixar film ever made, it’s certainly more than just a ‘middle-of-the-road’ affair as some critics have been saying.

TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST KNIGHT

Yeah, I know… this is a questionable choice to put in the ‘Worthwhile Mentions’ category given that it’s one of the worst-reviewed films of the year and is yet another critical dud in the live-action Transformers series. But, for those who have been following this blog for a while, you’ll know that I’m one of the few people out there who does indeed like every entry in the series; yes, even the most critically despised ones like Revenge of the Fallen and Age of Extinction. The same can be said for The Last Knight. Now don’t get me wrong, this film isn’t even remotely flawless. For one thing, this was the first time where I genuinely got lost at times with the plot. They literally throw everything but the kitchen sink at you when it comes to conveying new ‘information’ about the Transformers. Plus, this time around it’s legitimately a Transformers film where the titular characters themselves are downplayed in favor of the human characters. So… why the heck did I still end up liking this film, you ask? Well, like always, its shortcomings in terms of the writing are [somewhat] saved by the consistently terrific visual effects. Plus, Michael Bay at least deserves some credit when it comes to crafting impressively staged action sequences. Though on that note, hopefully, this will be Bay’s last entry in the series, as he’s claimed, for two reasons. A.) Because it’s time for him to move on to other projects before he gets stuck doing these for the rest of his career and B.) so that new blood can be brought into this franchise to turn things around. I mean, who knows, maybe the upcoming spin-off starring the franchise’s best character, Bumblebee, could turn out fine. After all, it is set to be directed by Travis Knight, director of last year’s critically-acclaimed Kubo and the Two Strings. Only time will tell, though…

POWER RANGERS

This was one of the year’s most pleasant surprises for me. As I’ve noted in the past, I didn’t really grow up with the Power Rangers franchise despite being part of the generation that grew up with it. Still, I was genuinely interested in seeing this new big-budget film reboot of the franchise BECAUSE of its connections to my generation. And even as a casual fan of the franchise, I felt that this film was a solid new take on this iconic facet of 90’s pop culture. Granted, it isn’t perfect; like its source material, there are quite a few goofy moments in this. For one thing, this film has one of the most ludicrous bits of product placement in recent memory involving Krispy Kreme. Despite this, I was impressed by the film’s surprisingly effective handling of its plot. This is a true ‘origin story’, as we see the main characters grow and develop to become the Power Rangers. And when they do, it results in an awesome finale that respects the original Mighty Morphin series while still being its own thing. Sure, this means that the film doesn’t really get into any Power Rangers action until the very end, but unlike, say, Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie, where the Rangers did nothing until the finale despite having their powers, this film takes its time to develop the main characters. And this is what makes the finale incredibly satisfying because, at this point, we’ve become fully attached to this group of ‘misfits’, portrayed by an excellent group of young leads who work off each other incredibly well. In fact, they work so well together that I genuinely hope that they get to do a sequel. I mean, I know that the franchise’s future is in flux right now because this film didn’t do so well at the box-office, but come on! After that post-credits tag that teased the franchise’s most iconic character, Tommy Oliver AKA the Green Ranger, they deserve at least ONE sequel.

JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2

In 2014, Keanu Reeves’ career experienced a great bit of resurgence with the action thriller John Wick. Directed by former stuntmen Chad Stahelski and David Leitch, who had both worked with Reeves before on the Matrix films, the film featured some of the most stylish and all-around best action sequences in recent years. These were then packaged nicely with a simple but effective story of a legendary hitman who’s out to avenge the death of his dog against those who attacked him. And while it’s only Stahelski behind the camera this time around due to Leitch moving on to other projects (i.e. Atomic Blonde and Deadpool 2), John Wick: Chapter 2 is yet another fantastic and action-packed thrill ride. Keanu Reeves is great once again as the calm and collected badass John Wick, while also being backed by a highly memorable supporting cast that includes the likes of Common, Ian McShane, and Laurence Fishburne. But, of course, the true stars of the show are the action sequences and, once again, they’re excellently choreographed and filmed. Plus, the film ends on an awesome note that sets the stage for what will surely be an epic third installment, in which good ol’ ‘Baba Yaga’ will find himself facing down incredible odds without the help of the hitman community. And that’s because he broke the one rule that a hitman knows never to break; never commit one’s business in the Continental Hotel. With all this in mind, I will, in fact, argue that John Wick: Chapter 2 is one of the rare ‘superior sequels’ to an equally fantastic predecessor. It has a larger scale compared to the first film, as is the case with most sequels, but it still manages to maintain the simplistic but badass nature of the world that it creates.

THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS

We’re now at the eighth installment of this absolute monster of a film franchise. And at this point, you’re either fully invested in it… or you despise it with a burning passion for being so popular despite it getting more ridiculous and goofy with each new film. And yet, that’s precisely what makes these films so damn fun; at this point in the game, they know exactly what kind of series they’re trying to be. And I won’t lie… this new one may have become my new favorite entry in the series. While many of us may have joked at how the film would handle its main plotline of main protagonist Dominic Toretto going rogue against his team, the reveal is surprisingly well-handled. If anything, it ties in perfectly with the franchise’s recurring theme of ‘family’… despite all the behind-the-scenes controversy that happened during this entry of the series. Of course, there was the ‘clearly not staged’ feud between Vin Diesel and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, but now it’s being reported that Michelle Rodriguez may leave the franchise if they don’t start giving its female characters larger roles (which, to be fair, she’s right…). Well, no matter what happens after this, one thing is for certain; the cast still works great together on-screen. Jason Statham is thankfully given a larger role this time around and while Charlize Theron spends most of the film away from the action, she manages to be one of the series’ best villains through her effective manipulation of Dom. In conclusion, though, to reiterate a point that I made in my original review, if you scoff at the sight of The Rock pushing away a torpedo with his bare hands, then this film isn’t for you. But if you’re one of this series’ long-time fans, then I’m sure that you’ll love this new entry just fine.

THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE

After Warner Bros. scored a big hit in animation with 2014’s The LEGO Movie, they continued their new line of animated LEGO films with yet another smash-hit, The LEGO Batman Movie. Of course, as the title suggests, it focuses on the character that many felt was the standout of the original LEGO Movie; LEGO Batman. And Will Arnett once again does a phenomenal job as this hilarious interpretation of the classic superhero. But this time around, he’s also given a great story arc in which he learns to finally accept people into his life again after years of isolation. This comes to fruition through his ‘unintentional’ adoption of a young ward, Dick Grayson, his sometimes-tumultuous partnership with Gotham’s new police commissioner, Barbara Gordon, and even his ‘hero-villain’ relationship with his greatest nemesis, the Joker. And because of this, the film very much delivers on having a strong emotional depth, just like its predecessor. Meanwhile, the animation in this is just as excellent as it was in the original LEGO Movie. It really is impressive how the animators managed to inject a stop-motion feel (the animation style commonly seen in fan-made LEGO films) into a computer animated film. And, of course, being a Batman film, The LEGO Batman Movie is full to the brim with references to DC Comics and the character’s long, long, long history (“I have aged phenomenally!”). Thus, The LEGO Batman Movie is a fantastic follow-up to its equally fantastic predecessor. Simply put, to quote the predecessor’s iconic song, ‘everything is awesome’ right now with Warner Bros.’ LEGO franchise.

BABY DRIVER

It’s good to see that Edgar Wright has managed to come back after his tumultuous exit from Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man. Clearly, both sides have moved on from that problematic ordeal; Marvel Studios continues to dominate the superhero genre (as we’ll see in a bit) and Wright has another stylishly entertaining film for us with Baby Driver. Influenced by a music video that he directed for the band Mint Royale in 2003, Baby Driver focuses on a young and generally innocent getaway driver for a local kingpin who constantly listens to music. This allows him to both drown out the hum in his ears following a traumatic incident from his past and to be the best getaway driver in the business. And that is very much apparent thanks to the film’s exceptional car chase sequences, all of which were done practically and are excellently shot and edited. But the real star of the show is the film’s soundtrack. Not only does the film feature a rocking soundtrack full of classics but Wright also manages to seamlessly tie them into every action that happens on-screen, from a shoot-out set to ‘Tequila’ to a scene where Baby takes the time and effort to restart a song so that he’s in the proper mindset. And it’s all backed by an excellent ensemble cast, which includes the likes of Ansel Elgort as the film’s charismatic lead, Kevin Spacey being the Kevin Spacey we all know and love, and a great collection of supporting characters played by, including but not limited to, Jon Hamm and Jamie Foxx. Thus, if you’re a big fan of Wright’s previous work, including the legendary Cornetto trilogy, then I bet that you’ll love his latest directorial effort just as much. It truly is fantastic.

AND NOW, MY TOP 5 OF THE YEAR (SO FAR)

Spoilers… almost all these are superhero films! So much for that superhero fatigue, eh?

5. CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS: THE FIRST EPIC MOVIE

Yes, a film adaptation of a popular children’s book series that has been around for two decades has turned out to be one of my favorite films so far in 2017. The main reason why is because it managed to be one of the most faithful adaptations of any given source material that I’ve seen in recent memory. Director David Soren and screenwriter Nicholas Stoller (AKA the director of comedy hits like Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Neighbors, along with co-writing the screenplay for the two most recent Muppets films) perfectly capture the crude but charming style of Dav Pilkey’s best-selling series, right down to the on-screen implementation of its iconic running gags. Seriously, I damn-near cheered when they brought in the classic ‘Flip-O-Rama’ segment from the books. But amidst all the toilet humor (figuratively and literally as there are, in fact, sentient toilets in this), this film genuinely has some heart to it. This is mainly represented by the terrific friendship between main protagonists George Beard and Harold Hutchins, who are excellently voiced by Kevin Hart and Thomas Middleditch, respectively. Meanwhile, Ed Helms is a great pick for the dual role of Mr. Krupp AKA Captain Underpants as is Nick Kroll as the film’s main villain, Professor Poopypants. Really, I can’t say much more about this film except for that I really felt like a kid again while watching it because I used to read these books all the time when I was growing up. And even though it’s been years since I’ve read any of them, the kid in me was very much satisfied with this adaptation. TRA LA LA!!!!

4. LOGAN

After 17 years in the role of Wolverine, Hugh Jackman ended his run as one of the best casting choices in the history of the superhero genre on the best note possible. With Logan, Jackman and director James Mangold managed to give the iconic hero the film adaptation that his fans have long wanted to see; a brutal, no-holds-barred, and all-around gory R-rated superhero film. They almost got that with 2013’s The Wolverine, but Jackman and Mangold were forced to cut that film down so that it would be PG-13. Thankfully, an uncensored cut was released on Blu-Ray and it was, obviously, the superior version of that film. But as for Logan, nothing is toned down here; these fights are so brutal that they’re very much capable of eliciting visceral reactions from the audience. But even amidst all the awesome action sequences, the film also does a great job in concluding Logan’s story. Part of this is through the introduction of a young girl named Laura, AKA Wolverine clone X-23. Newcomer Dafne Keen straight up steals the show while Jackman and Patrick Stewart give arguably their greatest performances in the roles of Logan and Xavier AKA Professor X, respectively. Save for a few underdeveloped villains, this film is an incredibly well-layered story that also serves as the final curtain call for the X-Men of the original film series. Of course, the cast of the franchise’s First Class era lead the show now and will do so again next year in X-Men: Dark Phoenix. But as for Logan, not only is it the best Wolverine solo film to date (though some may say that this isn’t saying much), but it’s also one of the best entries in the entire X-Men franchise. And it achieves this with a story that, as we expected, really hit us on an emotional level.

3. WONDER WOMAN

After suffering tons of critical backlash in 2016 with Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad, Warner Bros. and DC finally managed to catch a lucky break this year with the fourth installment of the DC Extended Universe, Wonder Woman. Director Patty Jenkins did a phenomenal job in bringing the beloved member of DC’s Trinity to the big-screen in her long-awaited solo film after initially debuting in BvS. And, of course, Gal Gadot did an equally phenomenal job in the role of the iconic heroine, very much proving her critics wrong thanks in part to a terrific character arc in which the initially naïve Amazonian princess soon learns about the harsh reality that is the darker side of humanity. But even though the film is primarily set during World War I, that doesn’t mean that it forgets to be a fun and light-hearted superhero film that ties in perfectly with Wonder Woman’s characterization, complete with epic action sequences and an equally terrific supporting cast to back Gadot up. Chris Pine is a great foil to Gadot as Diana’s love interest Steve Trevor, never once overshadowing her while still being more than just a typical love interest. Meanwhile, the two are joined by a highly memorable group of supporting characters in the form of their fellow team members (Sameer, Charlie, and Chief), while both Connie Nielsen and Robin Wright give great, dignified performances as Diana’s mother Hippolyta and aunt Antiope, respectively. And while I do think that the villains are ultimately some of the weaker elements of the film, that doesn’t take away from everything else that’s great about it. In short, Wonder Woman is one of the most satisfying entries in the superhero genre and a much-deserved win for all who were involved.

2. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

Sure, maybe this entry in Disney’s continuing line of live-action remakes was a questionable one given that the original Beauty and the Beast is one of the studio’s most beloved animated efforts. And sure, at the end of the day, it’s mostly just the same plot as its predecessor, making its overall status even more questionable in the minds of those who aren’t fans of remakes. But even with all this in mind, and ignoring the completely overblown and 100% stupid controversy revolving around the announcement that the film would feature Disney’s first ‘exclusively gay’ moment (a moment which, may I add, is so subtle that some may not have even noticed it if it hadn’t been pointed out by the media beforehand), at the end of the day this is just a highly satisfying ‘feel-good’ film. It respects the original film while also doing just enough to be its own thing, even if it is admittedly the same general narrative. Still, the changes to the narrative are subtly executed without ever betraying the heart of this classic story of embracing people for who they are on the inside. And if that wasn’t enough, the film is visually spectacular with terrific visual effects and a great production/costume design. It also boasts a terrific ensemble cast highlighted by Emma Watson as Belle (P.S. Contrary to popular opinion, I thought that she was perfectly fine in terms of her singing), Dan Stevens as the Beast, Luke Evans as Gaston, Josh Gad as LeFou, and an awesome supporting ensemble to fill the beloved roles of the Beast’s servants, from Ewan McGregor to Ian McKellen to Gugu Mbatha-Raw to Emma Thompson. And of course, who can forget the classic songs from Disney icons Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman, plus a few new songs as well that are great additions to this ‘tale as old as time’ (I especially love the Beast’s new solo, ‘Evermore’). In conclusion, no, I don’t think that this was better than the original; that was a tough act to follow, after all. But even though the original Beauty and the Beast is one of my Top 5 favorite Disney animated films of all-time, that doesn’t mean that I was going to be judgmental towards this new take on the story because of it.

1. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2

Now when I first reviewed this film, I noted that I felt that there were some instances where, to quote the common argument seen in almost EVERY SINGLE DAMN REVIEW for the film, ‘it wasn’t as good as the original Guardians of the Galaxy’. However, as I thought about it more, I realized that, contrary to popular opinion, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 IS better than the first film. Don’t get me wrong, I still adore the original Guardians for its successful efforts in making us care for a group of characters who were once viewed as a ‘C-list’ superhero team in the comics. However, writer/director James Gunn manages to take the strong emotional depth of the original one step further with the sequel thanks to a poignant story based on the theme of fatherhood. And while some may question the decision to have the Guardians be split up into pairs of two for most of the film, it ultimately works because each pairing (e.g. Drax and Mantis, Yondu and Rocket/Groot, etc.) is a perfect match. This all leads to what is arguably the most emotional moment in any Marvel Cinematic Universe film to date, which is backed by the scene’s excellent score by Tyler Bates (i.e. the track ‘Dad’) and is then followed by the perfect use of Cat Stevens’ song ‘Father and Son’ in the subsequent scene. And just like the original, the main characters are all lovable and portrayed by an excellent ensemble cast, the film boasts gorgeous visuals, and it’s all backed by the kick-ass tunes of Awesome Mix Vol. 2. Simply put, I adored Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and because I do think it’s better than the original, that effectively makes it my new favorite entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And bear in mind that at the time that I’m writing this, I’ve only seen it once. That, my friends, is saying a lot!

And those are all the films that I’ve seen so far in 2017. Thanks for following along and be sure to sound off in the comments below with your own personal Top 5 of the year so far.