There are a lot of incredible films that come out every year. But what were the top movies of 2017? Well, we’ll tell you. This list looks at theatrical releases that were not just good, but also visually stimulating. Best of all, they’re available for download right now.
The Top Movies of 2017 To Download:
WAR FOR THE PLANT OF THE APES
This third addition to a film franchise reboot created 50 years earlier does the impossible—it surpasses everything that came before it! Filled with a cast of motion-capture apes—rendered with the best CGI that Hollywood has to offer—this western-meets-war-movie expands on the ideas first put out by author Pierre Boulle in his novel La Planète des Singes, by bringing his future to our modern world and not making any of it seem far-fetched. Keep in mind, War for the Planet of the Apes is the third of a trilogy. A fantastic trilogy. It’s a rarity that it also turns out to be the best of the three … and one of the greatest films of the year.
LOGAN
The character of Wolverine has seen fan enthusiasm dwindle with one lackluster film after another. But then Logan came along. This dark and thoughtful iteration of the man with the metal claws follows the famous comic book story arc of Old Man Logan. He’s a superhero who’s no longer very super … and he knows it. His world and the world of his fellow X-Men is gone and Logan is just doing what he can until it’s all over. But then he meets a young girl with claws of her own…. The movie, beautifully captured by cinematographer John Mathieson, is the first X-Man film to get an R rating—and rightfully so. Never before has anyone fully illustrated what happens when you get slashed and gored by adamantium blades. The studios feared losing the family audience that an R keeps out. James Mangold’s Logan was always meant to be an R film—and it rewards hardcore Wolverine fans with something they’ve been pining for forever.
BABY DRIVER
Normally, a film with a trailer as fantastic as Baby Driver’s was, doesn’t live up to the hype—*cough* Suicide Squad—however, this film does. The cast does a great job, but the real star here is Paul Machliss and his matchless editing skills. He takes what could have been just an ordinary heist-type-film and turns it into a beautifully choreographed musical … and makes director Edgar Wright look like a film auteur in the process.
BLADE RUNNER 2049
The tale that began over 30 years ago gets a welcome and amazingly beautiful sequel that, in some opinions, improves on the original. Its deliberate pacing and gorgeous cinematography allow fans of the first Blade Runner to reenter that world while immersing them in this newer one filled with new characters … as well as some old favorites. Ridley Scott, who directed the first film, handed the reins over to Arrival’s and Sicario’s Denis Villeneuve and legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins, and the result is one of the most incredible science fiction films ever made.
SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING
Before his appearance in Captain America: Civil War, no one was anticipating the famed wall-crawler’s return to the big screen. It appeared that the Marvel hero—who started out with a bang—wore out his welcome after several sequels and a reboot. But Marvel’s handling of the character in Civil War, along with Tom Holland’s endearing performance, proved that great power and great responsibility can make great superhero movies. Homecoming thankfully skipped over the tiresome origin story and showed us what a real teenage Peter was like. It also gave us one of the best Spidey villains (Michael Keaton’s Vulture) to hit the screen since Alfred Molina’s Doc Oc in Spider-Man 2.
JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2
The first John Wick movie was a surprise hit that only got popular after its home release. No one thought that a film about a retired hitman, starring Keanu Reeves would be as incredible as it was. After all, “Neo” is now in his 50s—and let’s face it, he’s never been revered for his acting chops. But somehow, the eponymous character fit. Reeves, with his wooden grace, brought to the role a matured gravitas that his prior youthful looks and quirky tics kept at bay. And stuntman-turned-director Chad Stahelski along with cinematographer Jonathan Sela created a violent work of art that begat a second. This second from Stahelski (lensed this time by Dan Lausten) immersed its audience in the ultra-stylized gothic underworld of John Wickian assassins. It gave them more of everything. More story. More world-building. More carnage. And more John Wick.
DUNKIRK
Christopher Nolan is no stranger to heady films that make bank. His previous features have garnered a very rabid fan base that believe he can do no wrong, along with an equally fervent group that believe his work to be pretentious. Dunkirk continues that tradition. While some criticized its slowness and lack of dialogue, many lauded its beauty and tact. In my opinion, it’s a film that has only one equal: Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line—a director and movie that divides audiences just like Nolan.
WONDER WOMAN
When a solo film starring Diana Prince was first announced, many DC fanboys and fangirls almost lost their sh*t. After 75 years, the Princess of Themyscira who came to America to fight injustice (alone and alongside her pals in the Justice League) was finally going to star in her own big screen production. But as history has proven, female superheroes don’t usually get a lot of love—and paired with DC’s imperfect film-making record, there wasn’t a lot of hope that Wonder Woman would be good. However, director Patty Jenkins took the reins and made a wonderful movie that many are calling “the best DC superhero movie” of late.
*Honorable mention goes to Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 2 and Beauty and the Beast.
The Top Movies of 2017 Are Still Coming To Your Home
Sorry Kong: Skull Island, Atomic Blonde, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, and Ghost in the Shell, you looked good, but you just didn’t make the grade. However, there are still some amazingly entertaining films out there that did. They just haven’t been released for the home market yet. I’m talking about you Thor: Ragnorak, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and The Shape of Water.
Did we miss one of your favorites? Tell us about it in the comments section below.
