The summer of 2014 exploded with Hollywood’s most anticipated movies. This year has been full of sequels, and many of them lived up to the hype that they were generating among the fans and even the casual moviegoers. An avid movie fan myself, I watched these movies and had a great deal of fun, even though amongst the notable movie releases, there were the occasional disappointing stinkers. Here are my picks for the summer’s best and worst movies.
“X-Men: Days of Future Past”
Whoever said that comic book movies are too childish should seriously see “X-Men.” In the series’ best installment yet, the action-packed “X-Men: Days of Future Past” has a serious tone that exemplifies how big the stakes can be. Inspired by the comic storyline of the same name, the movie focuses on the aspects of time travel. In a not-so-distant future mechanical robots called Sentinels are ruling mankind and eradicating mutants. Wolverine, played by the ever-beefed-up Hugh Jackman, must go back in time to prevent an assassination by the mutant Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), in order to stop a chain of events that will lead to the end of mutants everywhere. The acting and dialogue of the movie’s ensemble cast are top-notch, and the story incorporates the cast of director Bryan Singer’s original “X-Men” trilogy with the cast of “X-Men: First Class” to introduce a film that is both dark and lighthearted, as well as awesome and tearjerking.
“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”
A sequel to the reboot of the franchise, the film follows Caesar (portrayed by the genius of motion capture, Andy Serkis) the ape with advanced human intelligence, 10 years after a simian flu virus has caused humanity’s collapse. Caesar is living peacefully in the woods as the leader of his enormous community of evolved apes, not having seen humans for a long time. However, tension builds as humans appear at his home, seeking a new source of energy for the humans’ survival camp. The movie introduces different characters of conflicting ideologies, and the special effects are so brilliant that I wondered if they actually used real animals for the film. Although the plot is admittedly formulaic, the direction of the storyline and the depth of Caesar and his loosening grip on peace between the two species made for an entertaining film.
Initially, when news of the film broke out, I, like many other people, was skeptical as to whether a relatively unknown team of pseudo-Avengers would be able to compete in the box office. Boy, was I wrong. “Guardians of the Galaxy” is so far the No. 1 grossing movie of 2014 domestically, featuring a cast of characters that’s shamelessly irreverent and rebellious, echoing an ’80s-era feel similar to that of “Star Wars.” The movie follows Peter Quill, a.k.a. Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), teaming up with fellow outlaws Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and Groot (Vin Diesel), in order to prevent cosmic destruction from a feared madman. Although the film takes place mostly in space, the aliens have a human element that renders them both relatable and sympathetic. Its comedic tone proved to be a hit with audiences everywhere, and the old-school soundtrack, along with impressive special effects, produced one of the most fun movies of the year.
“The Amazing Spider-Man 2”
Another sequel to a reboot, the movie was hyped up to be (ahem) amazing due to the success of the reboot two years prior. However, the result was, for lack of a better word, messy. I cannot even give a simple plot line to introduce the movie because there are so many plotlines, muddling up the direction of the story. While the characters are entertaining, the pacing of the story feels too inconsistent and makes certain characters’ actions questionable. A positive in the movie is the cast, which includes Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man/Peter Parker, Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy and Jamie Foxx as the main antagonist Electro/Max Dillon. However, the movie ends up cramped as it has too many villains, so many that the final act of the movie becomes rushed. The tone of the movie is also erratic: cheesy in one scene, then depressing in the next. It looks like Sony has to be reminded once more that with great power comes the great responsibility to not make another bad Spider-Man movie.
“Transformers: Age of Extinction”
Now, I’m the not the biggest Michael Bay fan, but I do recognize that there are people who might enjoy the same Michael Bay-isms of explosions, special effects and mindless action. However, this does not hide the fact that this movie lacks interesting protagonists, a focused plotline, convincing acting, an appropriate runtime and any heart. The story follows the consequences of the third movie: Now, Transformers are being hunted by the government. However, a bigger threat arrives with the intention to wipe out humanity – you know what, it doesn’t really matter. What the viewers need to know is that there are EXPLOSIONS! AND NOISY PANDEMONIUMS OCCURRING LIKE THIS THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE MOVIE! In all seriousness, this is the first movie without the original cast, instead featuring Mark Wahlberg and Stanley Tucci and nobody else important. However, even those talents cannot break through the abysmal dialogue and characters. In the end, although the movie at first seemed like a refreshing new start to the franchise, it ended up with the same traits as all the previous “Transformers” films: simplistic and loud.
I regret not being able to mention all the other good movies that came out, including “Edge of Tomorrow,” “How to Train Your Dragon 2,” “Neighbors,” “22 Jump Street,” “Godzilla” and “The Fault in Our Stars.” However, I can truly say that it’s been an impressive line of films so far this year. Let’s hope that they can keep the streak going until the end.
– By Jake Choi
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