Every year I do a list of Must -See movies for the year ahead. I published 2017’s list earlier but thought it was worth reflecting on the year that had past by looking at my most anticipated films for 2016. Did I make the right choice? Did they live up to the hype? Did I actually watch them? Let’s find out as we start with 2016’s heroes…
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First movie I had in my list was one of the biggest disappointments. Not a terrible movie but with an excellent marketing campaign and some great performances, the lack of a decent story let it down.
Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice
Another DC disappointment. Considering this movie brought the two biggest superheroes to the big screen, it couldn’t have felt more “messy” and didn’t have the great impact you’d hope for.
This movie did live up to the hype. My movie of the year, containing some of the best movie moments, including our introduction to the new Spiderman, Ant-Man’s newest trick and a showdown to end all showdowns.
Nobody really knew what to expect from Ryan Reynolds second attempt to play the Merc with a Mouth but what they got was a surprising success. An R-Rated superhero movie that dared to try something different.
Back to disappointment as returning director Bryan Singer gave us another generic superhero movie. Some decent moments and all put together very well but hardly the quality of the previous two in the prequel series.
Another Marvel studios installment but this time with a magical twist. It followed the same origin story tropes but had something slightly different to add to the mix. It also gave us a great version of the character played by Benedict Cumberbatch.
Assassin’s Creed
I haven’t seen the video-game adaptation and have heard mixed reviews so far. My review will be coming soon though.
The second half of my look-back is the movies not featuring superheroes (yes, there were some…)
This proved to be evidence of leaving a character at the top. Bringing Brent back didn’t have the success you’d hope and proved a disappointing-end to the characters story.
A decent Star Wars movie if your fan. It filled an interesting gap in the back story but proved nothing more than filler for the big event later this year.
Knights of the Round Table: King Arthur
Was moved! Will be released this summer and has made my Must-See list again!
Probably the most controversial movie on the list because it updated a true classic, played with the casting in a dramatic way (shock: women!) but proved all the fuss was for nothing. A funny, decent reboot of the series.
One of my surprises of last year. Made my must-see list on the trailer alone but proved to be a funny, action-packed and very well-made Shane Black success. A sequel would be welcome.
A more personal disappointment as I’m so fond of the source material. This movie looked great wasn’t quite the magic and wonder that Roald Dahl’s book was and that Spielberg has proved to capable of.
My main concerns were valid as all the funniest moments of the trailers were the best bits of the film. The rest was a poor Toy Story rip-off.
Another surprise because the thought of rebooting animated classics felt cheap. This was amazing, with great casting, amazing effects and proof that live-action may be the way forward for some of Disney’s greatest stories.
Another very passable installment. The first two were fantastic and while Star Trek Beyond wasn’t terrible, it didn’t live up to the quality of the two movies which preceded it.
Overall, looking back at 2016 you realise what a disappointment the large tent-pole blockbusters were. DC needs to step-up their game, superheroes movies need to be original but reboot may not have been so bad after all. Add your thoughts below.
Batman vs Superman was the biggest disappointment to me. I rather enjoyed Suicide Squad despite its obvious flaws. Great write up!
Thanks. There were elements of Suicide Squad I liked but could and should have been better really.
Interesting list, I wasn’t expecting much from BvS so when it turned out the way it did I wasn’t too disappointed but more frustrated, still liked the Batman stuff. Suicide Squad I didn’t hate, but as time passed it pissed me off more and more just because of the way it was edited, the lack of character depth and a poor choice of mission for the team. X-Men: Apocalypse was a forgettable session, most of my other anticipated films either met the hype or exceeded them like Civil War, Nice Guys, Doctor Strange and Rogue One.