2021: At Least The Movies Will Be Better?
- Vega
- Dec 31, 2020
- 6 min read
Note: The bulk of this post was written prior to the Warner Bros./HBOMax movie release announcement.
I've always loved going to the movies, and while I've never been a crazy moviegoer (maybe 10-15 times per year), it has been strange having gone only once this year. Even with theaters currently open in my area, I have found little motivation to visit them. Whether that be for reasons related to infection control, financial, or not appealing enough movies, I can't really pinpoint, but some combination of those things I'm sure. With the way the foundations of movie watching have shifted (and reverted to older ways with the revival of drive-ins), I struggle on whether to talk about theater-going as a future event or a history lesson.
Like many things about this year, I've thrown in the towel on my 2020 movie going experience and am looking forward to 2021. If there is any benefit to be had from the long list of movie delays brought on by COVID-19, it's that 2021 is as packed of a year as ever with blockbuster movies. If you could guarantee a normal a return to normalcy regarding the theater industry (you can't), 2021 could easily set new records for total annual box office.
To really put into perspective the amount of franchise-style movies coming out next year, the following films not only don't make my Top 15, but don't even sneak into the Honorable Mentions:
Matrix 4
Mission Impossible 7
Top Gun: Maverick
007: No Time to Die
Candyman
Ghostbuster's: Afterlife
Uncharted
Sherlock Holmes 3
Honorable Mentions
17. Space Jam: A New Legacy
This is completely for nostalgia purposes.
16. Dune
I've never seen the original, never read the book, but the trailers look interesting. Plus, it has an A+ cast.
15. Jurassic World: Dominion See above, kind of.
14. Morbius While Sony's plan for a Spider-verse wouldn't have been my 1st, 2nd, or even 3rd choice, color me intrigued on this one, especially with Leto starring.
13. Spiral: From the Book of Saw
Another comedian taking over a horror franchise, but with Chris Rock I would trust many things, so let us return to gore-fest of Saw. 12. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Twelve Rings This has the potential to blow it's way up into one of my favorite films of the year. I don't watch many kung-fu movies, so any strong fight choreography is sure to wow me.
11. Venom: Let There Be Carnage
I don't particularly love this version of Venom, but I'll give their interpretation of Carnage a shot. He is one of my favorite characters, so fingers-crossed that he is closely as murderous to his comic counter-part.
Top 10 Anticipated Films
10. The Suicide Squad Following the absolute shit show that 2016's Suicide Squad was, it baffles my mind that a Suicide Squad film makes it onto this list at all, nevertheless in the Top 10. But, WB seems to have made some good decisions here, such as forgetting the first movie even exists and hiring James Gunn to direct. His enthusiasm alone is strong marketing for the movie and the DC Fandome event really sold me on giving this movie a shot, even with a large cast full of characters I know little about, I'm hoping for the same magic Gunn brought to a bunch of nobodies in Guardians of the Galaxy.
9. Halloween Kills I was not the biggest fan of the recent reimagining of Halloween. I enjoyed the first half, but the second half became a Rambo-style death trap movie that lost the simpler lore of Michael Myers. Nevertheless, I am hoping to see a return to form for my favorite horror icon as he rises from the perpetual dead to continue hunting Jamie Lynn Curtis' Lorie Strode and her family. More stalking, more score and less action sets would be welcome, but I'd lie if i said the teaser didn't have me hyped for this film.
8. A Quiet Place II The best thriller of the past five years gets its inevitable sequel following its massive critical and financial success. Movies that play with the senses have always been appealing to me and I still remember the tension the first film built in the pit of my stomach. I do worry, though, that this will become more of an action movie with a larger focus on other threats and not as much on the creatures, similarly to how The Walking Dead is more about living in a world with zombies than it is fighting against zombies.
7. F9
Ever since Fast Five (my favorite of the series), each film has tried to upend its predecessor with the crazier concepts and stunts. Rumors for this film are that some of it takes place in space. Clearly, if you're sticking with these movies like me, you're in it just to watch cool shit blow up. Even with the introduction of Dom's brother, played by John Cena, I don't think they can backtrack to trying to make a cohesive story out of all this. Just "Michael Bay" it up and let me enjoy.
6. Black Widow The strangest MCU release yet. We've had Marvel movies release out of order chronologically (e.g. Captain Marvel being set in the 90s), but never with a character that's dead. This is the movie people have called "pointless" and "too late" and I have leaned that way myself. But luckily for Natasha, COVID-19 has reignited my cravings for the MCU. I need to revisit the universe and am excited to see the movie, don't get me wrong, but I am more excited to see what this will offer the future of the franchise in regards to post-credits scenes, potential Thunderbolts, Red Hulk, a new Black Widow....anything to tease where we go from here.
5. Eternals Really hoping to have a similar experience with this film than I did with Guardians of the Galaxy: an awesome film with lesser known characters. Of the MCU movies coming out this year, Eternals has the most potential for expanding the universe into unexplored corners. A bunch of alien immortals with crazy powers? Sign me up.
4. Mortal Kombat
"Get Over Here!!!". The original MK movies from the 90s are typically NOT looked upon with fondness, but I enjoyed them and enjoyed playing various versions of the video game growing up. It's not a franchise that I would consider myself a huge fan of in regards to the story, but I am a big fan of its character pool (oh, and the senseless gore). With an R-rating, I think the story will have the best chance of using the violent features that made the video games so popular while lending to a more adult story to have stronger appeal to a limited audience. This is a franchise that doesn't need to directly adapt any storyline; I'm really looking for three things - good casting, strong fight choreography, and gore.
3. The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
The first Conjuring is still atop my list of the best modern horror movies and when I learned the subtitle, I was SO excited thinking it would be about the Amityville horror. While it is disappointingly not, the story its based on includes the first time in that demonic possession would be used as a defense in a U.S. court...count me in. I am nervous about James Wan not being behind the camera for this one, but at least Michael Chaves still has one behind him as a producer.
2. Spider-Man 3 (Unofficial Name/Poster) It's been 16 months since THAT Far From Home mid-credits scene. Need I say more? Multi-verse? Maybe. Villains and heroes from past Spidey movies? Maybe as well. This could play more like Civil War and feel more like a super crossover rather than a stand-alone Spider-Man story. There's so much potential for the various paths this movie could take and that is either really exciting or really stressful. I'll take my chances on it being the former.
Not as excited about Godzilla vs Kong, but I gotta agree with the rest of your list, especially the new Mortal Kombat movie! Can’t wait for that one!