TOP 10 FILMS OF 2017

On the whole, 2017 has been a pretty good year for films. Last year had it’s hits and misses, and unfortunately the latter outnumbered the former. However, this year has produced some absolute gems, and some moments that will hopefully go on to influence the industry for years to come. We’ve had a killer clown terrorising a group of kids, a female-lead superhero film proving to be one of the best in the genre, and the end of Hugh Jackman’s role as Wolverine. Bearing in mind I obviously haven’t seen every film that came out this year, especially ones I wanted to like The Disaster Artist, which I look forward to watching at some point, this is the list of films released this year that, for me at least, topped the lot.

10: Blade Runner 2049

I only watched the first Blade Runner the day before I watched its sequel, and I have to say I’m not a huge fan. The concept behind it was good enough but the film itself is very, very slow. And yes, Blade Runner 2049 is by no means a fast-paced film, but it is a beautiful one and it’s got some great scenes. A sequel that by all means is a vast improvement on the original.

9: Justice League

So far, the DC Cinematic Universe has had its fair share of problems, as did Justice League during its production. And while the finished product is by no means perfect, I for one thoroughly enjoyed watching it. It’s more light-hearted approach to the DC Universe and some hugely enjoyable moments made Justice League a lot, lot better than I was expecting it to be.

8: War for the Planet of the Apes

The new batch of Planet of the Apes films seemingly came out of no-where. 2011’s Rise was a good start, but it was 2014’s Dawn that solidified the series’ place in modern cinema. And while its title can be seen as misleading, it’s still a great watch, with some heart-felt scenes and brilliant characters. Ceaser’s story continues in a sequel that doesn’t out-shine its immediate predecessor, but certainly does it justice.

7: Spider-Man: Homecoming

Spider-Man: Homecoming was the Marvel movie I’ve waited a long time to watch. With its famous web-slinger back under its control, Marvel made Homecoming into throwback to the coming of age stories of the 80s with a modern, super-hero twist. It’s a fun watch on all fronts with a great casting for Spider-Man, however for me at least it always felt like something was missing. Perhaps it’s just the effects of growing up with the Spider-Man films of the 2000s, but Homecoming is still a strong return to form for the character.

6: Wonder Woman

Aside from Justice League, Wonder Woman was DC’s other big product this year, and I have to say it was bloody good. Telling the story of DC’s leading lady was no easy feat, but the film uses some truly iconic moments to pull that off and delivers one of the most impressive and inspiring super-hero flicks in recent memory. It had its downs, but on the whole its well worth a watch, for both die-hard fans and casual movie-goers alike.

5: Dunkirk

Christopher Nolan has long been a favourite director of mine. The Dark Knight Trilogy and Inception made sure of that. Now he’s given us Dunkirk, a very famous event from the Second World War. Using fresh story telling techniques and an unconventional approach, Dunkirk offers some truly brilliant moments of modern cinema and one perfectly tense plot. If you haven’t watched it, get round to it right away. If you have seen it, go ahead and watch it again. You’ll see what I mean. Taking a star-studded cast and a fresh direction in the field of modern Blockbusters, Dunkirk truly stands out from the rest.

4: Get Out

It’s a this point this list starts getting into more serious territory. Get out was a film that had

long stoked my curiosity and by the time I finally watched it I truly didn’t know what to expect. What I got was one of the best films I’ve seen in a long time. It’s perfectly connected world mixed with very, very real issues from ours provided a brilliant and tense film that twisted and turned at all the right moments. Not often do I finish a film with my mind all over the place, but Get Out made sure of that.

3: It

If there’s one film I both do and don’t regret watching this year, it’s It. The new adaptation of Stephen King’s classic tale of a killer clown was both beyond creepy and impressively good. Never before has a film scared me so much whilst at the same time leaving such a good impression. The story is simple enough but brilliant performances all round secure the film’s place on this list. Am I looking forward to the sequel? Yes. And I at the same time really not looking forward to it? Also yes.

2: Logan

Logan was quite a surprise for me. I’ve been a fan of the X-Men films for as long as I could remember and seeing Wolverine’s story come to an end was something I both was excited and concerned about. With a character that well known, the send off would have to be good. Low and behold, Logan delivered on all fronts. It’s bleak and depressing tone mixed with lessons of family and the future were served perfectly together and made for a perfect send off for the clawed mutant. And believe me, it very nearly took top spot on the list.

1: Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi

I know it’s getting a bit old, with Star Wars topping this list for the third time, but for me it more than secured its space this year. Logan was an unbeaten favourite until I walked out from seeing The Last Jedi for the first time. Twists and turns left right and centre mixed with one of the saga’s most impressive spectacles made for a superb film that blew all others on this list out of the water. The Last Jedi is just one of those films that brings together everything I love about the Star Wars franchise, and I like it more and more with each viewing. I don’t know where the saga goes from here, but I am more than looking forward to it.

So that’s it for my Top 10 Films of 2017 list. As it stands, this year has had some absolute gems and it will be interesting to see if they stand the test of time. Stand outs like It, Logan and Dunkirk hopefully will, as it would be good to see a few more films of their type in the world. I don’t know how next year’s list will compare to this one, but I can almost guarantee Avengers: Infinity War will be on there somewhere…hopefully.