Also check out Five More Movies to watch in 2017-International Version
2017 better be a massive year for movies. If all goes as planned, fans of sequels, series (most of which should have ended long ago), and superheroes (grow up) will hardly see the sun by summertime. Some of these reworked intellectual properties are completely arbitrary and unnecessary. I’m looking at you, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Transformers: The Last Knight, and The Mummy reboot. Others have us pre-ordering our IMAX and VIP tickets now. Here is a look at what I hope to be the top five movies to check out in 2017.
1) Star Wars: Episode VIII
Episode VII was pretty lame as it was essentially just a restart. However, Rogue One was tremendously fun and, arguably, the best Star Wars movie to date. With how dated the old films feel, the newer ones have a chance to capture the Star Wars universe and bring it to the new generation. This franchise seems to be doing that better than anyone could have anticipated. The expectations for Episode VIII are now properly through the roof, just Rian Johnson better not mess it up.
2) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
The first movie in this franchise was an unexpected hit. Chris Pratt has become a megastar who is an action star, sex symbol and comedic actor all at the same time. He has come so far from his super obnoxious (and punchable) character in Parks and Recreation.
Guardians of the Galaxy, unlike a lot of these superhero franchises, has fun. The characters don’t take themselves too seriously, so we, as viewers, don’t have to either. Hey, movies are supposed to be fun. Not every scene has to be dark and brooding for us to know the fate of humanity is on the line. Let’s hope they don’t screw this one up!
3) Spider-Man: Homecoming
If any franchise really did need a reboot, it was Spider-Man. The last iteration, with Andrew Garfield, was just god-awful. Hopefully this will be a fresh take with a Peter Parker who actually looks like he belongs in high school. That is the soul of the character: an outcast high-school kid by day; saving the city by night. We had a sneak peak of this new Spider-man in the latest Captain America flick. This will be our first chance at seeing him carry a story in phase three of Marvels Cinematic Universe.
4) John Wick: Chapter 2
Leave the dude’s dog alone! Keanu Reeves is back for more vengeance in a sequel to the incredibly fun, but incredibly unsubstantial original that came out in 2014. Chapter 2 will have roles for Leg Zam and Common, among others. I tend to think Common should stick to rapping, so hopefully his role isn’t too significant. The guy is pretty hard to take seriously.
5) The Lego Batman Movie
There is no doubt that the first Lego movie was great for fans of all ages. There is also no denying that Lego Batman is way more fun and interesting than human-actor Batman. It is the role the incredibly odd Will Arnett was born to play, and he routinely stole scenes in the original Lego movie. Now, in his own vehicle, both figuratively and literally, Lego Batman is ready to take theaters by storm. But who knows, it could just as easily crash and burn.
