Best/Worst Movies of Summer 2017
By Alexandra Wilson
Summer blockbuster season is over as of Labor Day weekend. It’s no secret that the summer wasn’t great for movies. Profits were surprisingly low, thanks to a series of poorly performing and overly budgeted films that didn’t become the mega hits they were expected to become. At the same time, there were some great movies this summer — even if they were under-the-radar successes. Here are the best and worst movies from summer 2017 that you might have missed (intentionally or otherwise).
Best: Baby Driver
Who doesn’t love a good Edgar Wright movie? This film was utterly delightful, and its stellar cast elevated the film to a whole other level. (In particular, Kevin Spacey and Jamie Foxx stand out.) Despite its heavy use of music, it wouldn’t be fair to call this movie a musical; it’s technically an action thriller, but per Wright’s typical style, it crosses multiple genres. Make sure to see this movie before awards season hits, as you’ll definitely be hearing its name a few months from now.
Worst: The Dark Tower
This long-gestating film was a disappointment to pretty much everyone — fans, critics and the businessmen that created it. It glossed over the book series’ main mythology and transformed it into a completely different viewing experience for fans: the uninitiated got a watered down version of a classic sci-fi story, and the die hard fans got something was barely reminiscent to what they knew. Not even Idris Elba could save this movie, and that’s saying something.
Best: Wonder Woman
Forget what James Cameron says. Wonder Woman showed the world that ladies kick ass on screen and that they can do it better than men. (Especially male DC superheroes…. Sorry, but you have to admit Wonder Woman was a better film that Man of Steel!) We can’t wait for the inevitable sequel (the deals are being formulated as you read this), and we’re glad that Gal Gadot and Patty Jenkins will be teaming up again soon.
Worst: The Mummy
Oh, did you already forget about this movie? Don’t worry, you’re not alone — people forgot about this film so hard that they didn’t even make it to the theater during opening weekend. And if you were unlucky enough to have paid to see this film, you got Tom Cruise being a less cool version of himself from the Mission: Impossible movies with some bad special effects and a really strange use of Russell Crowe. Yikes.
Best: Atomic Blonde
Does anyone else kick ass like Charlize Theron? No. No they don’t. Theron’s version of a revenge action thriller (think John Wick, but in a similar-yet-different way) is a lot of fun. Not just for the audiences, but you can tell that Theron had a lot of fun making this film. We’re on board regardless. Atomic Blonde is the perfect summer popcorn movie, and we’ll definitely be watching it again.
Worst: The Emoji Movie
It feels useless to waste words on describing how bad this movie is. Any movie whose message is “word are bad, emojis are cool!” is pretty awful, and the lack of coherent plot, humor and interesting aspects in general makes for a terrible viewing experience.
