2021 is the slow and steady return to the big screen, in spite of the obstacles placed by Covid. This year saw studios take more risks to release larger, big budget films that they sat on rather than release this year. This meant there were a big number of big anticipated releases that really drove right to the top of my list for the year. The other side of the coin is that some studios shrugged and released some films that weren't worth holding back any longer. I definitely watched a few disappointments this year and couldn't bring myself to enjoy some of the sequels and reboots shipped our way. Covid times means that I carried on watching a number of streaming films but there is an ironic drop in quality here this year, leaving me underwhelmed with this medium somewhat. In fact two of my bottom five are Netflix originals and one I managed to watch via HBO Max.
In a weird way this felt like a more hesitant year, there were some brilliant features but the quality of the films throughout the year certainly could've been better. 2022 is the year in which a large number of delayed features have been slated for and I for one highly anticipate the year we have in store. There's a lot of big titles that I have been waiting a couple of years for now while there is also some fresh content that just looks plain exciting and original.
As for what I saw this year, allow me to walk you through some of the high and lows I got to experience in theatres this year...
The Best:
5. Reminiscence - 8.5/10
I think this is the dark horse of my Top 5 list this year, not least because the audience for this Hugh Jackman lead feature wasn't large. I have to empathise that I'm off the opinion Reminiscence is a cult film in the making, it has all the marks of great cinema and will only find more and more of its audience with time. This was a wonderful blend of sci-fi and film noir, with all the compelling components of both. I thought visually this made an enchanting dystopian setting, with the reminiscence scenes being especially unique. The mystery at the heart of the narrative is really intriguing and I was deeply engaged by the protagonist's pursuit for the truth from start to finish. Reminiscence is the Blade Runner of the 2020s and if you haven't caught it yet I strongly urge you take on this very stunning piece of cinema.
4. Luca - 8.5/10
Rare is the year in which Disney/Pixar doesn't find one of its animated features on my Top 5 list for the year. These studios tend to embody the very best of the animation film industry, toting some of the most charming and heartwarming narratives in any given year. I also think we look to these studios to set the bar for what we expect from our animation industry throughout the years. In Luca, we are given this folktale brought to life; a pair of young fish-folk who seek out their place in the human world. This is a very charming tale that sets out a wonderful theme around inclusivity and how we treat those who are different to us. Luca wasn't as big and flashy as some of the animated features you'd expect from these studios and if anything that was the strength of this wonderful piece of animated cinema.
3. The Harder They Fall - 8.5/10
This might well be my new favourite Western of all time; a film that has literally honoured and at the same time, reinvented the genre. In The Harder They Fall we get a classic narrative of revenge between outlaws set to a very fresh take on the elements of the Western. I loved seeing the triumph this was for black cinema, the step taken here is something that I think stands for a big shift in our media. As a genre the Western has been one of the worst for African-American representation, with black protagonists often being placed in the role of freed slaves or women who run brothels/bars. The Harder They Fall is entirely led by a black cast with a diverse range of characters, more than this there is a significant black production team behind this feature. The music for this film is my favourite collection of tracks for any film out this year. Nothing short of a triumph, this one is a must watch.
2. Spider-Man: No Way Home - 9/10
This film comes like a shot of adrenaline to movie-going audiences right at the end of 2021. There has been such excitement in the lead up to the release of this superhero blockbuster that it almost became difficult to imagine it could ever live up to the hype; but boy, does it. I went to the midnight screening at my local cinema and found an electric atmosphere, people were cheering or applauding at all the big moments. In a number of ways I haven't seen an audience react so strongly to a film since I went to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens. This feature gives a lot to the fans; a number of cameos or special throwbacks that reward long-time viewers of superhero media. But more than this it rounds out the emotional coming of age story for Tom Holland's Peter Parker in a way that is bittersweet, and absolutely perfect.
1. Raya And The Last Dragon - 9.5/10
Yeah, Disney stepped it up with this one. Raya And The Last Dragon is my favourite film to have emerged from the main Disney studio in years, maybe even a couple of decades. In this story we are treated to a rich fantasy world, with a compelling character who is an action heroine in her own right. Throughout the film Raya learns to trust in others, setting aside her personal prejudices to build a community of people dedicated to saving the world. I was very moved by the themes in the story but also fascinated by the well-written characters and intricately detailed world-building. The most impressive quality of this film is the animation, in which I think we are watching the next step of animation unfold before our eyes. The sheer detail is unbelievable, especially when it comes to how water is presented (a quality I admired when water is such a significant motif). If Disney makes a better animated feature than this in the next five years I'll be surprised.
The best films for the year was strongly dominated by animated features that really stood out this year, an absolutely inspired years for superhero media and a couple of genre-defining features. I really loved how big the mainstream releases here were but also just how good dark horses like Reminiscence and The Harder They Fall earned their respective placings. Now, Without further ado, my bottom five for 2021...
The Worst:
5. The Boss Baby: Family Business - 2.5/10
The Boss Baby was never the best film in and of itself, but it certainly had its strengths. The sequel strips a lot of what made the first film good, leaving us with this joyless excuse of a sequel. The main protagonist of this film is adult Tim, who is reverted back to a child and proceeds to use this opportunity to reconnect with his young daughter. It's a strange writing choice and doesn't depict the relationship between those characters very well at all. It also means the character of Boss Baby is reduced to little more than a side character, which is a bizarre move considering he's your title role. There's even a terrible moment in the film in which the animation for this film is held in comparison to the classic Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron; a moment which really only convinces me how poorly Dreamworks films have become.
4. Shadow In The Cloud - 2/10
In spite of Chloe Grace Moretz giving one hell of a performance, Shadow In The Cloud is a cautionary tale for B-grade blockbusters. The way this feature is film is intentionally quite unique, sticking with our protagonist in the cockpit of a gunner turret seat for an hour with no cut away. This technique has been done well in past films but Shadow In the Cloud uses the same inane shots, repetitive dialogue and a rather forgettable supporting cast to film in the time. This leads to an excruciatingly slow pacing time, a worrying development for a feature that couldn't even make a 90 minute runtime. The entire final battle of the film in which we move away from the turret is awful, showcasing a poor special effects design and never once justifying the supernatural elements of the feature.
3. Gunpowder Milkshake - 2/10
In a world where Atomic Blonde and the John Wick film series has lately been drawing audiences I had some pretty decent hopes for this one. Unfortunately Gunpowder Milkshake is a film that is very corny in nature, with a heavy 50s/60s aesthetic and an overly gritty tone that does not blend well together. The movie does not balance out the action sequences well at all, light in the first act and then dumping almost the entire action for the whole feature into the final act. The protagonist for the feature is entirely unlikeable, and sadly this makes this role a bit of a low for lead star, Karen Gillan.
2. Space Jam: A New Legacy - 1.5/10
Space Jam wasn't a good film, even as a cult film this is basically recognised. So why we got a sequel to it is far beyond me, the fact that it was worse than I could ever imagine is just further fuel for the fire. This feature is a self-congratulatory mess, toting LeBron James as this untouchable athlete who is only hampered by his dismal parenting skills. Far weirder than this is seeing Warner Bros. playing such an intrinsic role within the film, both as a setting and a collection of characters felt like a strange choice that just didn't work. Overall it's quite a vapid film with few interesting roles, poorly written dialogue and a very two-dimensional theme around sticking by your family.
1. Thunder Force - 1.5/10
If there's one reason I'll be less likely to review streaming original films in 2022 it is because of Thunder Force. This film is a very drab superhero comedy that looks like it was made with the budget of a CW network show. Not a single special effect throughout the film looks very good and visually there is entirely no style to the feature. The film is riddled with lazy writing and plot holes, rushing to achieve what a scene needs to get closer to the end rather than to weave together a compelling story where each moment leads off from the other. The film is lead by Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer, who have each had some bad roles but both of these are admittedly career lows. The biggest failing of the feature is that it is really pitched as a comedic outing but there is a very dull feel to the film and the only scenes I found myself laughing in were the ones with Jason Bateman.
So concludes another wrap up of the year's best and worst films, as
always I'm keen to hear what your own favourite and least favourite
films were! Here's to a new decade of exciting cinema ahead! For those
curious where your favourite film of 2021 wound up check my list below
to see my complete rankings:
- Raya And The Last Dragon – 9.5/10
- Spider-Man: No Way Home – 9/10
- The Harder They Fall – 9/10
- Luca – 8.5/10
- Reminiscence – 8.5/10
- Nobody – 8.5/10
- Free Guy – 8.5/10
- Rurangi – 8.5/10
- The Suicide Squad – 8.5/10
- Eternals – 8.5/10
- Synchronic – 8/10
- Promising Young Woman – 8/10
- Shang Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings – 8/10
- King Richard – 8/10
- Last Night In Soho – 7.5/10
- Jungle Cruise – 7.5/10
- Black Widow - 7.5/10
- Kate – 7.5/10
- Crisis – 7.5/10
- Cruella – 7.5/10
- The Little Things – 7/10
- No Time To Die – 6.5/10
- Dune – 6.5/10
- I Care A Lot – 6.5/10
- Ron’s Gone Wrong – 6/10
- Judas And The Black Messiah – 6/10
- Ghostbusters: Afterlife – 6/10
- Wrath Of Man – 6/10
- Those Who Wish Me Dead – 6/10
- The Starling - 6/10
- Voyagers – 6/10
- Army Of The Dead – 5.5/10
- Godzilla vs Kong – 5.5/10
- Monster Hunter – 4.5/10
- Escape Room: Tournament Of Champions – 4.5/10
- A Call To Spy – 4.5/10
- The Ice Road – 4.5/10
- Don’t Breathe – 4.5/10
- The White Tiger – 4/10
- Mainstream – 4/10
- Night Teeth – 4/10
- Venom: Let There Be Carnage – 4/10
- The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard – 4/10
- Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins – 3.5/10
- The Matrix Resurrections – 3.5/10
- The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It – 3.5/10
- The Marksman – 3.5/10
- Mortal Kombat – 3/10
- The Boss Baby: Family Business – 2.5/10
- Shadow In The Cloud – 2/10
- Gunpowder Milkshake – 2/10
- Space Jam: A New Legacy – 1.5/10
- Thunder Force – 1.5/10
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