World Bloggers Awards Nominee 2023

MM Top 5: 2014 Films

Bringing things to a close for 2014, the MM Top 5 series will focus on the very best films of last year. From animated adventures to dystopian thrillers, which movie will be crowned the pinnacle of 2014’s offerings?

Shall we begin?

5. The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Director: Marc Webb          

Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone

Soundtrack: Hans Zimmer

WORLD BOX-OFFICE TOTAL: $700m+

MM Score: 50/60

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlM2CWNTQ84?rel=0&w=560&h=315]

It was a difficult toss-up between the highly underrated Amazing Spider-Man 2 and the rather overrated X-Men: Days of Future Past. In the end it came down to just one point between them.

Andrew Garfield donned the iconic spider costume in Sony’s rushed sequel that was expected to be a complete let down. In the end we had something that managed to capture the brilliant world of the hero alongside his emotionally involving love story with Gwen Stacy, played beautifully by Emma Stone.

Couple that with mesmerising special effects and a great soundtrack and Amazing Spider-Man 2 fully deserves to be here, more so considering how much of an underdog it actually was.

4. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

Director: Francis Lawrence

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Julianne Moore

Soundtrack: James Newton Howard

WORLD BOX-OFFICE TOTAL: $650m+

MM Score: 50/60

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PkkHsuMrho?rel=0&w=560&h=315]

Despite not coming anywhere near the standard of 2013’S Catching Fire, Mockingjay Part 1 managed to be a fine addition to the ever-popular franchise based on Suzanne Collins’ trilogy of novels and is one of the year’s finer blockbusters.

From a brilliant cast including the likes of Julianne Moore and the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman to a thoroughly evil Donald Sutherland, everything about the performances were completely on point.

However, splitting the film into two has severely damaged the series’ fantastic pacing and therefore, it cannot achieve higher than a fourth place finish here.

3. Godzilla

Director: Gareth Edwards              

Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Bryan Cranston

Soundtrack: Alexandre Desplat

WORLD BOX-OFFICE TOTAL: $500m+

MM Score: 53/60

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIu85WQTPRc?rel=0&w=560&h=315]

Godzilla had all the makings of a cracking monster flick from the moment Gareth Edwards was announced as the director of the long-awaited update to the series. Despite coming from the relatively unknown world of Monsters, Edwards directed one of the best action thrillers of all time.

Despite a lack of fleshed out human characters, Godzilla thrilled from start to finish with some of the finest set-pieces every brought to the big screen. Couple that with a brilliant soundtrack by Alexandre Desplat and an intense performance from Bryan Cranston, it will go down in history as the saviour of the king of monsters.

A sequel is well on its way with some of the titular monster’s most terrifying adversaries promised to be making an appearance. 2018 promises to be a rather good year indeed.

2. Guardians of the Galaxy

Director: James Gunn                     

Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana

Soundtrack: Tyler Bates

WORLD BOX-OFFICE TOTAL: $750m+

MM Score: 54/60

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d96cjJhvlMA?rel=0&w=560&h=315]

The end is nowhere in sight for the Marvel movie train and thank goodness, because if people were starting to get fed up of the constant onslaught of superhero films, we may never have got to see one of, if not the finest film to come out of the studio.

Guardians of the Galaxy was an exceptionally brave move by the company, creating a film about heroes that the majority of us had never heard of. However, it worked brilliantly and became one of the highest grossing films of the year.

Brilliant pacing, excellent performances and cracking special effects mean that it only just misses out on the top spot of this coveted countdown. But what else can possibly beat that?

1. How to Train Your Dragon 2

Director: Dane DeBlois                   

Voices: Cate Blanchett, Gerard Butler

Soundtrack: John Powell

MM BOX-OFFICE PREDICTION: $600m+

MM Score: 58/60

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9a4PvzlqoQ?rel=0&w=560&h=315]

For me it was going to be very hard for any film to beat How to Train Your Dragon 2. After I had watched it, I knew it was going to be one of the greatest animated films of all time and I wasn’t wrong.

Receiving the highest ever rating on Movie Metropolis, Dragon 2 managed to prove that even animated films can make you laugh, cry and care for their characters just as much as their live-action counterparts.

Losing two points due to Cate Blanchett’s peculiar voice work are the only reason why it misses out on full marks. It is a must see and for me, the finest film of 2014.

Honourable Mentions

  • The LEGO Movie
  • X-Men: Days of Future Past
  • Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
  • Interstellar

22 Comments

  1. Heather

    An interesting line up… completely agree about the acting in HG… definitely worthy of a top 5. Surprised not to see films such as Gone Girl or the Fault in our stars in there though?
    Will give Godzilla a watch after reading this 🙂

    • Adam Brannon

      Hi Heather,
      Thanks for reading and thanks for commenting. I don’t see those two films you mentioned as better than these 5 here. Though I think Gone Girl is definitely worth an Honourable Mention – I’ll add it now! Thanks for the reminder.

  2. Kate

    I agree with this good top 5 for 2014. I would have put The Lego movie number 4 and The Hunger Games number 3. But I haven’t seen Godzilla yet. I will let you know if I change my mind after I watched it. 😉

    • Adam Brannon

      Hi Kate!
      Definitely check Godzilla out, it’s well worth a watch to see the king of monsters finally get the American movie it deserves!

  3. Aimee Griffin

    I haven’t seen the top three yet but definitely agree on 4 and 5. I would also have put in Gone Girl and Divergent.

    • Adam Brannon

      Hi Aimee.
      I wasn’t a fan of Divergent, but you should definitely check out the top three, they are brilliant films.
      Gone Girl has now been added to the Honourable Mentions.

  4. Fiona

    What a detailed review of the year. I can’t wait to see Mockingjay part one and I predict that part two will be on the 2015 list along with Jurassic World. The children in my class would be delighted to see that HTTYD2 got the top spot xx

    • Adam Brannon

      Hi Fiona.
      Thanks very much for your kind comments.
      Have you seen HTTYD2 yet? It’s a wonderful film!
      I hope to be reading your comments in 2015!

  5. Meredith

    I’ve not seen godzilla or httyd2, but I am looking forward to seeing the latter. I definitely preferred days of future past to Spider-Man 2, I think I was disappointed with the lack of Paul Giamatti and felt they rather rushed the green goblin storyline, however I did like Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield.
    I really enjoyed Guardians off the Galaxy and Lego movie, they were my favourites for the year. A surprise for me was Captain America 2, it took a couple of watches but it would be probably in my top 5.

    • Adam Brannon

      Hi Meredith,
      Thanks for your comments! I liked both Spider-Man and X-Men but thought the continuation of the ‘First Class era’ storyline was’t as fun as it could have been. The lack of Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan especially made the choice a little easier.
      And aren’t you fed up of Hugh Jackman being the focus of every X-Men movie? I know I am. 😉

      • Meredith

        I know what you mean actually, in the comics the one who goes back in time is kitty Pryde, I think it’s time they let another x men take the lead. And I do think Ian mckellan and Patrick Stewart should be in films as much as possible. 🙂
        I think between xmen and Spider-Man we just preferred x men, maybe it’s partly because I enjoyed first class so much as a reboot.

        • Adam Brannon

          Definitely, I completely agree. As much as I like Hugh Jackman, I feel like he’s been massively overused in the X-Men series.
          Perhaps some more origins stories would be a good idea? Magneto and Xavier would be a good start with the current crop of actors.

  6. Emma

    This has made me realise how few films I saw this year – haven’t seen a few in your shortlist. But enjoyed X-Men, Hunger Games and Gone Girl… Thought Godzilla was easy watching (so good for me!) but not outstanding

    • Adam Brannon

      Hi Emma,
      I’m surprised you weren’t overly fond of Godzilla, it’s definitely one of the better monster movies to come out of a studio in recent times.
      Check out How To Train Your Dragon 2 for something really memorable!

  7. Emily

    After reading this, I need to watch the top 3! Looking forward to a year of good films in 2015 xx

    • Adam Brannon

      Hi Emily!
      Thanks for commenting, definitely check out the top three, they are all fantastic films and very different!
      2015 is going to be a bumper year for blockbusters!

  8. Katie

    I completely agree with your number 1, definitely my favourite film of the year I reckon. I haven’t seen number 2 or 3 but I plan to at some point! I would probably include in my top 5, Gone Girl and probably Imitation Game and Fault in Our Stars 🙂

    • Katie

      And also loved The Hobbit!

      • Adam Brannon

        Thanks for your comments Katie. Definitely check out the second and third choices, they’re both excellent films.
        I am not a fan of The Hobbit films, although the latest is definitely the best!

  9. garethrhodes

    Interesting list Adam. Are there still films you have’t seen that might eventually make it onto this list?
    I’ve still only caught around 25 releases from 2014…so many that I need to see.

    • Adam Brannon

      Hi Gareth, most definitely – there’s always films I would love to see.
      I don’t think anything will topple HTTYD2 though, it was a wonderful experience for young and old viewers alike.

      • garethrhodes

        I must see it! A don’t tend to watch many animated films, although the ones I have caught have been tremendous; The Lego Movie, Up, the Toy Story trilogy. It’s a huge blind-spot in my film knowledge.

Leave a Reply

© 2024 Movie Metropolis

Theme by Anders NorénUp ↑