Summer is the best time to hang out with friends, relax, enjoy life and be entertained. The best summer entertainment is usually enjoyed as a break from reality in the form of blockbuster films. However, not all summer movies are made equal, as some try too hard and fail and others succeed for various reasons. Here’s a look back at what I consider to be the three best and three most disappointing movies of the summer.
Top 3 Best Movies
Captain America: Civil War
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The summer’s first superhero film opened at the beginning of May, just in time to give college students something to enjoy after finals. Captain America: Civil War (CACW) quickly became the summer’s biggest blockbuster by thrilling audiences with incredible action sequences. There are too many reasons why CACW is by far the best superhero film of the summer to list, as it doesn’t have many flaws.
The best part of CACW is that the film is grounded in reality, making it plausible and believable. The Marvel films have been leading up to the moment when tension between the Avengers break the group apart, mostly because of the constant struggle over who should lead the Avengers. As differing opinions boil over, Marvel presents a superhero film that doesn’t have a real villain. Each side of the argument over the repercussions of the group’s actions in Avengers: Age of Ultron believes that the opposing side is the villain.
The film also lets the action tell the story instead of using dialogue. With minimal dialogue, the film is able to convey every character’s emotions and thoughts perfectly through extremely well-choreographed and well-written scenes. Overall, CACW was a great way to kick off the summer film season and is the only summer superhero film I would recommend.
Finding Dory
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This summer brought lots of long-awaited sequels to life for fans to enjoy, but no movie was more anticipated than Finding Dory. The world had been waiting 13 years for Dory, Nemo, Marlin and crew to hit the big screen again, and Finding Dory was definitely worth the wait. The nostalgia factor made Finding Dory a massive success by entertaining audiences of all ages. It doesn’t matter if you are 2 or 22, you will definitely enjoy Disney-Pixar’s latest adventure.
By using its typical charming techniques, Pixar made Finding Dory funny, adorable, emotional and full of great life lessons for both adults and kids. The story does have a lot of similarities to Finding Nemo, yet it tells a new tale that elicits the same emotional connection Disney movies are known for. Finding Dory is hands down the best animated movie of the summer and is perfect for every family to enjoy together.
Nerve
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Out of all the films that have been released since July, Nerve is by far the most enjoyable. The young-adult-geared film was the most surprisingly excellent movie of the summer, delivering one of the most original concepts of the year. Nerve centers around a social media/YouTube-like game of truth or dare without the truth, where watchers get to assign players insane dares.
The game only lasts 24 hours, so players have to make the most of the time to complete their dares for increasing increments of cash. The main characters, played by Emma Roberts and Dave Franco, become imprisoned by the game and have to fight their way out, leading to a thrill-ride story that will keep you guessing at what will happen next.
Besides being an incredibly interesting and well-thought story, the cast did a great job. Roberts and Franco had great on-screen chemistry, which helped make their performances better. The whole cast did a good job bringing the story to life, making Nerve one of the best films of the summer.
Top 3 Most Disappointing Movies
Suicide Squad
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The most disappointing film of the summer is easily awarded to Suicide Squad. With so much hype and positive reinforcement from Warner Bros. and DC Comics prior to its release, it was hard to tell that the final version of the film would be a chaotic nightmare. Suicide Squad had all the same problems as Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice: loosely written characters, minimal/non-existent plot, choppy storylines, bad visual effects and all-around bad writing.
All these undesired characteristics were mashed together with an awful villain and continuity errors. On top of the script, story and visual issues, the entire film feels disjointed, as there is a clear point where two films become one.
The first 30 minutes were great and enjoyable, which left me thinking that the rest of the movie had the potential to be something special.
Once the villain is introduced, Suicide Squad takes a nosedive and spirals out of control. It was clear that this was the point where the studio executives took over and cut out the rest of the director’s version of the film to insert a poor version of Guardians of the Galaxy. It’s no secret that Suicide Squad was written and made by too many differing opinions, which is too bad considering how enjoyable the first part of the movie is. DC is going to have a tough time keeping loyal viewers if they keep making bad movies.
The BFG
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Disney may be having the best year in box office history, but not all of their films are homeruns. Disney and Steven Spielberg have managed to make the worst movie of the summer: The BFG. I’m not sure what Spielberg was thinking when he was adapting the Roald Dahl book, but this is the worst movie he has ever made. The BFG is not only terrible; it’s also extremely boring and probably struggled to keep the attention of the young audience it was intended for.
The film had no plot and was pointless, making it a huge disappointment. The expectations are high for every Spielberg film, and it’s shocking that The BFG fell so far from his normally fantastic visionary work. It was a waste of two hours and is barely watchable. Don’t waste your time or money on this disaster.
Independence Day: Resurgence
Every year, at least one extremely cheesy, corny and laughable sci-fi film is released. This year’s worst sci-fi film is Independence Day: Resurgence (IDR), a.k.a. the sequel that no one wanted after a 20-year hiatus. Most of IDR’s issues lay in its warped sense of reality. The film takes place in an alternate 2016 where humans have taken the alien technology that was left from the 1996 invasion and repurposed it to create our own highly-advanced technology.
The problem is that in 20 years’ time, the human race was able to advance way too far, making the rest of the film completely implausible. Nothing about the film feels remotely realistic, making IDR forgettable and difficult to watch. The only enjoyment the film brings is that it’s so bad, you can actually laugh at the constant errors. It almost feels like no one watched the film before it was released in order to fix obvious problems within the story and editing.
Honestly, if a studio is going to make a sequel 20 years after the original, then it better be very good. Otherwise, why bother wasting the time and money on a movie that won’t be worth the investment?
