As like every year I compile a list my personal top 10 films of the year. Now after much debate over the years, I have decided to exclude documentaries so sadly no Super/Man: The Christopher Reeves Story, which easily would have found one of the top spots. As per usual I must have seen the film to be able to include it so movies like Nosferatu and A Complete Unknown will not be on the list as I wasn’t able to watch it in the under 7 days before year end or even to this day. This year I found a lot of movies to either hit or completely miss, with very little in between. Without further ado here is my top 10 films of 2024.
10. The Fall Guy
A movie that is based on an old tv series, most people never heard of sees Ryan Gosling use every once of his charisma to drag this movie over the finish line, an ongoing trend. The Fall Guy sees comedy from Gosling as he plays a stuntman who finds himself in the middle of a growing issue on what he thought was going to be a simple job that was working with his ex, that he still loves. Blunt and Gosling have great chemistry while sharing the screen, but it is Gosling who does the heavy lifting to see this movie to the 10 spot on this years list.
9. The Beekeeper
The Beekeeper is simply an action movie that sees Jason Statham do his thing. While he does tend to bees on a rich woman’s property he is secretly a former agent tasked with keeping the country and its leaders priorities safe by any means. So when scammers scam his friend and take her money which drives her to commit suicide, he comes out of retirement to right this serious wrong as the issue goes so far up the ladder, but does it go all the way to the top ? Well watch this action packed film to find out. This is a prime Statham, pure action and intensity and that what nets it a spot on this years list.
8. Bad Boys Ride or Die
Well bad boys, bad boys whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do when they come for you. A sequel you didn’t know you wanted came in the form of Ride or Die. Now honestly if they had planned it properly the names would’ve been switch so the 4th film would’ve been called For Life, but hey stuff happens. The film centres around the Smith and Lawrence’s characters back at it, while bringing back some familiar faces in small roles from the 3rd installment like Vanessa Hudgens and Alexander Ludwig. It is a fun, action packed story that Bad Boy fans will enjoy, and while I am not a “ride or die” (pun intended) fan of the franchise I still enjoyed this one.
7. Gladiator 2
When it comes to long awaited sequels Gladiator 2 may have come sooner than a Top Gun: Maverick or Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, but came didn’t miss a beat. While the film follows a very similar story arc and plot, the acting, notably by Denzel Washington carries it past those facts to land a spot on the list this year. A film that makes one or two alterations from the original to fit a new(ish) plot, but while not nearly s good as the original it is a worthy sequel. Bonus points for only bringing back a very small amount of the original cast for the film, a major problem with some sequels.
6. The Wild Robot
A movie that from the poster and some of the trailers I had very little interest in seeing but with rave reviews, I thought I needed to give it a chance and it was spectacular. It brought so much depth and meaning to the story that it got me tearing up a little watching it. By the way from the trailers that is why I wanted to avoid watching it, I didn’t want to cry. It is seriously a great family film that the whole family can and will enjoy.
5. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
Now this is an interesting movie that was released to Prime Video not the theatres, the only one on the list without a major theatrical run. A heavily fictionalised version of Operation Postmaster inspired the film from the book “Churchill’s Secret Warriors: The Explosive True Story of the Special Forces Desperadoes of WWII” by Damien Lewis. The casting was good which featured Henry Cavill, Eiza González, Alan Ritchson, Henry Golding and Alex Pettyfer among others. If you want action and “unsanctioned” missions to defeat the Nazi’s than this is the film for you.
4. Wicked
Here is a movie I had ZERO interest in watching. Not that I dislike musicals, if done right I actually quite enjoy them, but I was never a fan of the Wizard of Oz or really a fan of Ariana Grande, but “Good Golly Miss Molly” was this actually a really great film. I fully expected to like a previous entry on the list in Gladiator 2 much more, especially as a love ancient history, but this just did the trick. From the casting to the performances it has me counting down the clock for part 2. Now if I could get “Popular” and “Defying Gravity” out of my head for a bit that would be nice.
3. Sonic 3
The end of 2024 gave us the best family film of the year in Sonic 3. A movie with great hype given the success of the first 2 films but also the addition of Keanu Reeves lending his voice to Shadow, and the double dose of Jim Carrey that looked to continue the time machine into his early career this saga has brought. It did not disappoint in the slightest having the those two added to a cast that had seen Idris Elba’s voicing of Knuckles steal the show in the second installment. The movie provided plenty of laughs and great storytelling, though something could’ve been tightened up in the secondary storytelling, it made for such a great time. With the fourth movie announced and the mid and post credit scenes it has me waiting for 2027. Is it recency bias that lands it this high up ? Only time will tell.
2. Twisters
A movie that simply blew me away, pun intended, finds itself in the runner up spot this year. Twisters acts as a standalone sequel to the 1996 film, that has plenty of references to the original, taking an idea but making it modern. A cast staring Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones bring fun and excitement to the world of tornado chasing or tornado wrangling. It was a movie I had mixed feelings about watching and I am glad I did because it was a great movie to watch and certainly one I have watched many times since. This is a film for almost anyone to watch, maybe not quite young kids, but a great movie night flick to pop on.
1. Deadpool & Wolverine
Taking the top spot is the highly anticipated trilogy making film for Deadpool which as the title suggests features the long awaited proper team up with Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool and High Jackman’s Wolverine. With so much hype and anticipation, how could this possibly live up to the expectations ? Well it did and then some, much the way Top Gun: Maverick did. The film is filled with hilarious jokes and references that hopefully don’t go over your head. From start to finish Reynolds has created another masterpiece that might have just saved the MCU and the superhero genre, which has been on the downslide the past few years. You will wanna make sure you watch the post credit scene, it just adds to the greatness.
– Everett
