2022 was the year that the silver screen officially returned to prominence, though not necessarily in the way we expected. Typical blockbusters still made bank, but they often had significantly less fanfare than previous years. In many cases it was all about the standalone productions with the occasional big budget sequel making a massive impact both critically and commercially. Perhaps the trend of endless sequels and follow-ups is starting to wear thin? Be that as it may, there were still plenty of enjoyable productions in the last 365 days.
Films That Just About Made Par
A passable entry for the MCU, but with Sam Raimi at the helm it could have been much better. Weak new characters and a lack of ambition kept Multiverse of Madness from fully engaging.
A perfectly serviceable slice of throwaway sci-fi, this Netflix production will be an easy-going distraction for families, but it still falls into the traps of typical blockbusters with the usual quips from Ryan Reynolds.
This follow-up to the 2017 original goes for mass-market appeal, but there are many better alternatives available in the whodunit genre. Go for the all-star cast, but don’t expect anything more.
Most Underappreciated Release
It’s long, slow moving and the characters needed more depth, but this grisly modern update still makes an impact. The battle scenes depict the horrors of trench warfare in an incredibly realistic and brutal fashion.
Like many standalone releases, this one doesn’t beat around the bush. It gives you Idris Elba vs Lion and that’s all you need for a tense ninety-minute thrill ride. If it happens to pop up on streaming platforms, Beast is worth a watch.
1st: Everything, Everywhere, All At Once
Overshadowed by Dr Strange In The Multiverse of Madness, this strange and wildly entertaining flourish deserved far more attention from general audiences. I didn’t get the chance to write a full review, but it is still highly recommended.
Most Disappointing Film
This zany rollercoaster aimed to convey a ton of witty action, but lost itself in outlandish sequences and side characters that crashed out of the story right after being introduced.
The Wizarding World didn’t receive the resurgence it needed with the third Fantastic Beasts, a dull and drab outing that has now killed off the prequel franchise. More than anything else, it was bland and dull, something you’d never expect from Harry Potter.
I was very disappointed to see the Kingsman franchise continue to go nowhere. The change in time period and characters failed to pull the series out of the mud. Will the third mainline entry fare any better? I’m having a hard time getting excited for it.
Biggest Audience To Critic Split
Audiences were taken in by the visual splendour of Baz Luhrmann’s biopic, despite its many stumbles in story and characters. The star power of Austin Butler in the lead role also kept people coming back.
2nd: Bullet Train
I didn’t think much of Bullet Train at all, but audiences still flocked to see it. The mindless action still had an appeal to the wider masses. When it comes to mindless entertainment, it seems the flick delivered for many.
Some critics turned their noses up at Dwayne Johnson’s superhero debut; it still made bank, though not enough to satisfy the execs at Warner Bros. It doesn’t offer anything that other flicks haven’t done before but it seemed to be enough for general audiences.
Best And Worst Trends
Best: The return of the cinematic juggernaut blockbuster
After two years where many cinema-goers were confined to the house, the theatre experience stamped itself back onto the scene in a big way this year. The two films that led the way were Top Gun: Maverick and Avatar: The Way of Water; these productions demonstrated the very best of what the silver screen can offer and were rewarded handsomely with the highest profits. Cinema auditoriums needed to prove they were still relevant in an age of streaming and they did so with flying colours. Hopefully it leads to bolder productions that get a wider audience back in the seats.
Worst: The downfall of the superhero genre
Over fourteen years after the craze began, 2022 was the year that audiences seemed to turn against the superhero genre on most fronts. The Batman and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever were relatively successful, but there was nothing that really wowed me this year. It didn’t help that behind the scenes, things didn’t go well for Marvel or DC. The MCU turned into a production line as content was rushed out with diminishing returns while DC chose to nuke their extended universe and start over, squandering any goodwill in the process. The genre may have to scale down in future.
My Top 5 Worst Films Of The Year
5th: The King’s Man
Thanks to a misguided use of characters and a painful twist that wrecks the story, The King’s Man actively frustrated me for much of its runtime.
An utter waste of both the Russo brothers and two great actors, this highly generic spy movie is one of the weaker efforts put out by Netflix.
Another stinker from Michael Bay, this horribly edited and poorly paced action flick continues the director’s atrocious track record with few reprieves.
Certainly one of the worst biopics in some time, an overly-long and ugly slog that screws up everything outside of the central performance from Ana De Armas.
The lowest point yet for the embattled franchise, a pitiful blockbuster that has no business making as much money as it did. It’s time to lay this old fossil to rest...
My Top 5 Best Films Of The Year
5th: Everything, Everywhere All At Once
If you can handle the strange side, Everything, Everywhere All At Once is a multiverse story taken to its wildest extremes; it is easily the most unique film of the year with a ton of zany scenarios. Yet it never loses sight of the family at its centre.
Robert Eggers has never disappointed and The Northman is a near-impeccable cinematic experience. Its power, weight and brutality is unmatched by most other films in 2022. It’s also a brilliant standalone story, unburdened by connections to a franchise.
Prey was a brilliant comeback for the ailing Predator franchise. I loved how it stripped everything back and the way it delivered a story from the Comanche perspective was brilliantly executed.
For many audiences, Top Gun: Maverick was the best film of the year, an outstanding sequel that delivers an unparalleled cinematic experience and improves on the original. It made a very serious run at the top spot, but there’s one release that surpasses it.
Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio is a masterful tale, one that packs in a ton of heart while demonstrating the vivid creativity of stop-motion animation. It’s a story that can appeal to anyone while not shying away from darker elements.
Those were my personal picks for 2022; next year we’ll be seeing further blockbusters like Dune Part 2 and Oppenheimer alongside the return of major franchises like Saw, Indiana Jones, Transformers, The Equaliser and The Expendables. Let’s see how the next round of film pans out...
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