2021 has been a difficult transitional year when it comes to new movies as the ongoing COVID pandemic delayed production and theatrical releases of numerous projects. Despite the obstacles still being a major problem, stricter guidelines have allowed theaters to reopen more frequently. Here are the best films (that I’ve seen) in 2021.
#5: Raya
It’s been hard for Disney to come up with originals that are actually original, but once in a while, they do come up with something great. For once we have a Disney princess film that isn’t a musical, no romantic partner (though there was LGBT subtext). There isn’t even a villain the real antagonist is society and the lack of trust people of different cultures have over one another because of tragic events, something we all can relate to.
As with all recent Disney films, the animation is beautiful with bright and vibrant colors. Furthermore, each city in this fictional world of Kumandra is given a very clear and unique Identity. Very few Disney movies put this much effort into this type of world-building.
While Raya is not the first Disney princess from the East, it’s nice to see South Asia represented – as the setting appears to be a Burma or Thailand feel. I always give Disney films a lot of credit for adding real culture to their animated films. The only problem I have is Awkwafina‘s performance as the dragon Sisu. It’s clear they’re trying to be like the Genie though but it doesn’t always work, however, Awkwafina does have one funny line.
Note: I only saw Encanto a week before writing this so sadly it doesn’t count… for *this* year.
#4: A Quiet Place – Part 2
Because of COVID, this film was delayed for a whole year only a week before its initial release date (March 20, 2020). Thankfully, it was a wait that was worth it. Films like this with a heavy sense of atmosphere and tension make this a must-see theater experience. Given that these films are told through very little dialogue or music make the scenes feel real despite the fact they are aliens in this. It is not a long movie clocking in at just an hour and 37 min, however, like a lot of good projects, the tight writing shows you don’t need long films to suck you into your seats.
#3: The Suicide Squad (now with more Gunn)
Imagine you had a style that worked extremely well but you are restrained by Disney, then you got fired and then hired by its rival company, and your given complete freedom. That’s what Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn blessed us with when he was hired for The Suicide Squad. In this soft-ish reboot the squadmates, both old and new, come together to depose a Caribbean dictator and his evil starfish with a whole bunch of collateral damage along the way. The biggest strength of this movie is that it 100 percent embraces the fact that there are no heroes.
If you want to create a full team of anti-heroes fully realized regardless of the moral responsibility of human life, this is how you do it. Raid a supposed army camp, ops it’s a camp full of freedom fighters that were on your side. Since this is R-rated they are allowed to go all out with their brutality. Want to watch a gritty Guardians of the Galaxy? Here you are.
#2: The Last Duel
Based on a true story, The Last Duel revolves around the last (legally sanctioned) Trial by Combat in medieval France. It’s been a long time since a sword-and-sandal film of this scale graced the theaters. The fact they had to shoot this amid a pandemic makes this even more impressive. The battle scenes were very well shot and the cast among them especially performances by Adam Driver, Ben Affleck, and especially Jodie Comer steal the film. This honestly may be one of Ridley Scott’s best films since Gladiator.
I’ve mentioned this movie in depth before, but to summarize its themes briefly, It is a deep and intense character study about sexual assault and toxic masculinity that was very prominent in medieval times. This was enhanced by a unique form of perspective chapter storytelling. Matt Damon’s character for example can be a noble hero in one chapter, and a complete monster in another subverting the tropes seen in other such films. Like Suicide Squad there are no real heroes in this film.
Objectively, this should be the best on this list. It has everything one could be asking for a sword and sandal film buff like myself (accents aside), a great cast, and a legendary director at the helm all of this should work. And yet despite numerous positive reviews, the film bombed, box office-wise. Things weren’t helped when director Ridley Scott went on to blame the age-old Millennials on their phones not showing up as the problem instead of acknowledging that it releases in the middle of Halloween and older audiences were still reluctant to see theaters because were sadly still in a pandemic. Also given the subject matter this film tackles (sexual assault) – while necessary to the film’s artistic goals – is not something that a mass audience typically goes for. Ridley Scott has even gone on further in claiming superhero films are ‘Boring as Sh*t’ with Scripts That ‘Aren’t Any F*cking Good’, which (at least in our opinions) is not a fair comparison.
Ridley, you may be my favorite director, but just for that statement, I’m going to spite you by putting this on my #1 list.
– Peter Hortensius, Head Writer and Vengeful God @ Crude-Mirror.com
#1: Spider-Man: No Way Home
The movie is essentially Spider-Man fanfiction but in the best way possible. Everything that has been shown in the trailer and heavily rumored is in this movie and in the final climax you get the interactions of all 3 Spider-Men. All of the spider’s villains are in there like William Dafoe’s Green Goblin and Alfred Molina’s Doc Oc. We also get back the morally complex ones like Sand Man and all of them are transported in the MCU universe in a way that makes conceivable sense.
The ending for this film has grave implications for the MCU as the Multiverse is now officially canon. And judging by the trajectory the franchise is entering into new territory unseen in the films. The MCU has gone on a stale peak after Avenger’s Endgame with the remaining characters going their own way. However, despite this being a separate story it has big implications for this series going forward and I’m very excited for what’s next in Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness.
Perhaps the biggest factor why this is #1 is despite the Omicron surge, it became the only film this year to hit 1 billion – revealing that despite all obstacles and an evolving market, there are still people who want to go to theaters.
Eat that, Ridley.
