2021 Wrapped — Best Movies
It was only a couple of days ago that I woke to the sound of firecrackers going off in celebration of the dawn of a new year and here we are, at the end of that same year. A year that, while it did feel ridiculously short, was a mindnumbing rollercoaster. From the drastic lows of the pandemic, to the exciting highs of graduating from college, 2021 was a wild ride for me. It was a wild ride for everyone.
To celebrate the close of the year, I have, in true Spotify-esque fashion, decided to create a 2021 Wrapped for the various cinematic releases that graced our screens over the course of the year. Obviously, there are no algorithms behind this version of Wrapped and this is simply my list of the SIX movies I enjoyed the most this year!
Let’s get started.
6 — The Harder They Fall || Idris Elba, Zazie Beetz, Jonathan Majors, RJ Cyler
Prior to watching The Harder They Fall, I’d had little to no interest in Western movies or TV shows but moments after I’d been completely wowed by the movie, I had a bit of an insatiable craving for more Western movies. Currently sitting at a pretty 87% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, The Harder They Fall revolves around an outlaw, Nat Love [Jonathan Majors], who discovers that the man responsible for killing his family, Rufus Buck [Idris Elba] has been released from prison.
In a quest for revenge, he unites his gang in what is easily one of the best action flicks of the year. From the incredible, Oscar-worthy performances from the likes of Idris Elba, Jonathan Majors, LaKeith Stanfield and RJ Cyler to the greatly likable characters and top writing, to the absolutely beautiful soundtracks, this is a movie that’ll remain in your head for days after watching.
If I had to appropriately score this movie on a scale of 1–100, I’d give it a much deserved 90. It’s that good. I mean, it has goddamn Jim Beckwourth!!
5 — Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings || Simu Liu, Tony Leung, Meng’er Zhang
I’m a known critic of Marvel simply because of my bias towards their rivals, DC but there really isn’t anyway I could criticize this movie. It’s a masterpiece on so many levels.
Absolutely stunning visuals — check
Incredible choreography — check
Unique cinematography — check
Dazzling performances from a talented cast — check, check, check
Shang-Chi is a visual masterpiece, an absolute feast for the eyes but it is also so much more. Featuring some of the best choreography I’ve seen in a movie in recent years and boasting what is arguably the best written supervillain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Shang-Chi is well-deserving of all the praise given to it since release.
Currently sitting at a critic score of 91% on Rotten Tomatoes and an astonishing audience score of 98%, it’s another strong entry into one of Hollywood’s highest-grossing franchises ever.
4 — Zack Snyder’s Justice League || Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot
Warner Bros. and DC Comics were the subject of a lot of discussion back in 2017 for all of the wrong reasons, following the disastrous release of what has to be one of the worst comic-book movies of all time. Tragedy experienced by director, Zack Snyder, forced him to take a step away from the movie for personal reasons and the studio brought on Joss Whedon and handed him the task of completing the movie. Reshoots and allegedly heated relationships with the cast members followed, and this led to the atrocious movie now frequently regarded as the Josstice League, an absolute massacre of the vision had in mind by Zack Snyder.
A god-awful critical reception forced WB to consider the future of the DCEU and make sweeping alterations to its slate of movies but four years on from the release of Josstice League, after an intense fan campaign across social media, the studio decided to greenlight the re-release of Justice League, albeit a version entirely true to what Zack Snyder had originally intended.
The 4-hour movie was released on streaming platform, HBO Max in 2021 and was eons ahead of the 2017 atrocity, presenting a much more coherent story and fixing all of the problems that had plagued the first — cringe humor, monstrous CGI mustaches, awful visuals and a lot more. The length of ZSJL resulted in more fleshed out characters and overall, a much better story and a much better movie.
While there seems to be no intention to proceed with Zack Snyder at the helm of DC movies and restoring what has been dubbed a ‘Snyderverse’, there is no denying that ZSJL is one of the finest comic-book movies to date and one of 2021’s best releases.
3 — Tick, Tick, BOOM || Andrew Garfield, Vanessa Hudgens, Jordan Fisher
Andrew Garfield can do no wrong and this is further proved in the emotional masterpiece that is tick, tick…BOOM!, a musical based on the life of Jonathan Larson, playwright and composer. It’s a deeply relatable movie that left me in tears by its conclusion. There were a number of things I picked up on from this movie but the most significant is this:
Andrew Garfield is an absolutely stunning, deeply talented actor. AND SINGER! Jesus, is there anything he can’t do? The Social Network, Hacksaw Ridge, Amazing Spider-Man, Tick, tick…BOOM, this man has incredible range and he is not afraid to show it.
If you’re an aspiring artist or a creator, this is a movie that could have you bawling your eyes out by the time the credits roll. There aren’t enough words with which to describe just how remarkable this movie is and regardless of whether or not you’re a fan of musicals, this is one you just have to watch.
Just have some tissues within reach. You’ll need them.
2 — Spider-Man: No Way Home || Tom Holland, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jacob Batalon, Zendaya, Jamie Foxx, Willem Dafoe
If you’re not a fan of comic-book movies then chances are this list is a source of irritation to you considering this is the third CBM entry on the list. But it’s an entry that’s deserving of its place as the second best movie this year has to offer.
All of the hype over the past couple of months has been about No Way Home, with there being a number of fan theories plastered all over the internet in anticipation of the movie and now that it’s here, WOW. I had a lot of complaints about Spider-Man Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home and everyone who knows me personally knows I generally wasn’t a fan of Tom Holland as Spider-Man. Until No Way Home.
No Way Home meets your expectations, and then some, delivering one of the most heartfelt entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a movie that’s arguably more ambitious than Avengers Endgame. This movie pays homage to the past 20 years of Spider-Man movies in a way that is so emotionally beautiful and had my theatre erupting into cheers and applause, but this movie’s strengths go far beyond nostalgia and what many may perceive as fan service.
It connects everything. It fixes everything. Every complaint you may have had about the MCU’s Spider-Man prior to this movie, all of that will be gone by the time you’re walking out of the cinema. This is the Spider-Man story we’ve always wanted, a movie that so perfectly depicts what it means to be Spider-Man and the burdens that come with putting that mask on. With great power, there must also come great responsibility.
The cast of the movie shine brilliantly, putting on performances that are some of the best that I’ve seen in an MCU movie till date. While the movie is still largely impacted by the MCU formula, it shines nonetheless and puts forth a strong claim to be the best live-action Spider-Men movie we’ve had to date. Spider-Man, sorry. Slight typo.
From brutal beatdown scenes to heavy emotional scenes that provide depth to characters and will no doubt have you sniffling and biting back tears, No Way Home is everything any Spider-Man fan in the world wants and it’s hard to argue against it taking second spot.
NUMBER 1 — Dune || Timothee Chalamet, Josh Brolin, Jason Momoa, Zendaya
I’m going to be honest, sci-fi as a genre has gotten stale. It’s lost the exciting wonder that made it so popular and it’s been so long since I’ve enjoyed consuming science-fiction, be it books, movies or TV shows. Until Dune.
An adaptation of the popular novels by Frank Herbert, Dune is an absolute masterpiece. The star-studded cast work so well together, putting on incredible performances and the world from Frank Herbert’s books is so beautifully adapted for the big screen that it’ll leave you in awe. The visual aesthetics of the movie are incredibly pleasing and it presents to you a sci-fi world and story, unlike anything we’ve been given recently. It’s wonderfully fresh, and a much appreciated breath of fresh air into the science-fiction genre.
Director, Denis Villeneuve has managed to put together what is easily one of the boldest, most enthralling sci-fi movies to date, helming an adaptation that greatly honors the source material.
For me, Dune is, without much contest, the best movie to grace screens in 2021.
HONORABLE MENTIONS [these are movies that aren’t exactly great, but were nonetheless, quite fun to watch] — Red Notice, Mortal Kombat, F9
