Yesterday, I posted my most disappointing movies of 2017. While it was a fairly easy post to write, some of the films on that list were painful to put up, because of their massive potential. For THIS post, I’m going to discuss the movies that probably should have been crap, but really weren’t. In fact, some of these are some of my favorites of the year. I was genuinely surprised at how good some of these films really were, despite the lousy marketing or negative press. So….let’s dig right into the “Surprisingly Not Crap” movies of 2017.
Split
If we’re talking about surprises, then Split is the biggest one I’ve had this year. I’m going to be honest: I’m not a fan of M. Night Shyamalan. I don’t like the fact that his ego basically dictates what movies he makes, because a lot of them were crap. Now, I know that Shyamalan is a talented director. He really is, but again, he picks some really bizarre projects and a lot of them don’t pan out the way he intended them to. That is where Split changes the game a bit. This is a very tight and smart little thriller. This film has to deal with guy that suffers from a split personality disorder. While most people that suffer from that affliction, tend to switch between two to three personalities, the main character of the film has well over a dozen. The surprisingly sharp writing is also bolstered by some really fantastic performances, especially James McAvoy. While the film does tend to fall into some typical Shyamalan shenanigans, it’s still a white-knuckle thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Bravo, Mr. Shyamalan. Bravo.
Power Rangers
Now, here’s another film that I was very skeptical about. I’m a huge fan of the original Power Rangers tv show from 1993. I even enjoyed the 1995 theatrical film, even though it was clearly not good. Dean Israelite, the director, takes the premise of 5 dysfunctional teenagers who become superheroes and gives them a much needed make-over. The main 5 characters: Jason, Billy, Zack, Kimberly, and Trini, are truly teenagers with attitudes. Each character has his or her own unique backstory and problems that makes them sympathetic. While the film does have some pacing issues, the story is really good. Bryan Cranston plays Zordon and Elizabeth Banks plays the villainous Rita Repulsa. I was not prepared for how well this film worked. It shouldn’t have, but it did. When the kids become the Power Rangers, it feels like they earned it. Even though the box office take of Power Rangers was less than spectacular, I still hold out hope for at least one good sequel, because the movie needs it.
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast
Disney’s been making a habit of doing live-action adaptations of some of their beloved animated features. Not all of them were good. I didn’t care for The Jungle Book at all, but Maleficent was decent. Enter 2017’s Beauty and the Beast, adapted from the 1991 animated adventure. I was very surprised at how visually stunning the film is. It has some fantastic visual effects, costumes, set designs and creature designs. The Beast himself is extraordinary. Thankfully, the cast was more than up for the challenge of adapting such a classic. While Emma Watson had some auto-tuning issues, the other cast members were phenomenal in terms of performing the musical numbers. There’s a new song, “Evermore” which has a very operatic feel to it that gives it such grandeur and Dan Stevens just knocks it out of the park. Luke Evans IS Gaston and at times channels Richard White in his performance. Josh Gad is wonderful as LeFou. While the film suffers from some pacing issues, Beauty and the Beast is one of the best live-action adaptations of an animated feature I’ve seen in a long time.
Justice League
The reaction to Justice League has ranged from mixed to very negative, and it’s not necessarily hard to see why. In spite of the film’s glaring issues, I found myself having a hell of a time here. Instead of the really dark tone of Batman V. Superman, Justice League is much more light-hearted affair. It’s got a lot more humor than I was expecting, but most of it lands. The film introduces Aquaman, The Flash and Cyborg into the DCEU. Oddly enough, this bunch of super-misfits works. The way Superman comes back is also pretty cool. This is a film that needed more than 2 hours to really work, so that was a little disappointing, but the action is awesome. Gal Gadot and Ben Affleck are awesome in their respective roles. Jason Momoa was pitch-perfect casting as Arthur Curry/Aquaman. Yeah, the movie’s got a lot of problems, but I’ll be damned if I didn’t have fun with it.
The Hitman’s Bodyguard
Oh, man, this one’s a riot and a half. If it wasn’t for Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson, this film would have been utterly forgettable. Thankfully, the chemistry between the two actors is absolutely spot on. Both characters are smart-asses, good at what they do, and are constantly trying to kill each other. While The Hitman’s Bodyguard won’t win any REAL awards, it certainly is one of the most entertaining movies of the year. It’s absolutely worth checking out.
Wolf Warrior 2
A lot of people complained about the first Wolf Warrior being far too nationalistic. For the Chinese, it was a very patriotic film, but I think some of that got in the way of what could have been an entertaining film. Thankfully, the second film, also helmed by Wu Jing, is a much better film. It also has a much better fight against the main villain, played by Frank Grillo. It still has some of that patriotic flair that the first film did, but thankfully, it was dialed back a bit in favor of a more personal story for the main character. The action is intense, bloody and has a lot of explosions. Wu Jing has definitely improved as an actor as well as a director. It’s not perfect and has some issues, but it’s a surprisingly decent action flick that really shouldn’t be missed by fans of the genre.
Those were some of the most surprising movies that I’ve seen this year. While they aren’t perfect, they aren’t bad movies at all. So, yeah, these surprised me a great deal. I’ve got a few more lists planned for the rest of the week, so stay tuned.