This is post is coming pretty late as its right now beginning of March 2025. I was delaying this post because movies like Mufasa, Moana 2, Sonic 3, Wicked, etc. are taking forever to come to the streaming platforms I use. But anyway let's rank the theatrically released movies I have watched.
11) Despicable Me 4 - 5/10 (Mediocre)
So starting out last is DM4. It was so underwhelming in spite of me just being mildly excited for it. There is barely any plot and it's just random side-quests crammed in for gags, the villain Maxime Le Mal is one of the worst villains in recent animation, and the Mega Minions that were so hyped in the marketing were in the end pointless. The only saving graces of the movie are some of the funny minion antics, the dynamic between Gru and Poppy, and the soundtrack with banger songs like “double life” and “everybody wants to rule the world”. I die a little when people say this movie is better than KFP4 and Maxime Le Mal is a better villain than Chameleon.
10) Venom: The Last Dance - 5/10 (Mediocre)
Can’t believe Venom got a trilogy while other superheroes like Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man did not. The symbiotes, xenophages, and the dynamic between Eddie and Venom are what carry it. Otherwise the plot is all over the place, the side characters are bland, and the style of humor the franchise is known for can become overwhelming at times.
9) The Garfield Movie - 6/10 (Okay)
I don’t know much about the Garfield IP but regardless of that I think this is a fun popcorn movie. There are some cool action scenes and good jokes but the plot is average heist thriller storyline and the voice acting performances do feel phoned in. It’s a fun one-time watch IMO.
8) Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire - 6.5/10 (Okay)
Skar King is a great villain and the highlight of the movie for me. I liked the roles of Shimo and Mothra and there were some fun comic relief scenes from characters like Bernie and Trapper. But overall the action sequences were disappointing, the CGI felt a bit poorly edited, especially that of Godzilla, and I disliked how they killed off so many cool titans - Wart dogs, Scylla, Tiamat, Drownviper, etc. The human characters were still annoying and too bad this movie came out the same year as a Planet of Apes movie so I rewatched the Caesar trilogy and Kong feels like rip-off Caesar to me.
7) Deadpool & Wolverine - 7.5/10 (Good)
The meta-commentary humor was a highlight for me. I enjoyed it a lot and it was the best aspect of the movie for me. The dynamic between Deadpool and Wolverine was entertaining to watch. The car fight was hilarious. Strong cast performances from Reynolds and Jackman. There are some solid action sequences which meshed really well with the song montages. Coming to mixed and negative aspects, the plot is pretty weak. The villains were alright. Cassandra Nova felt cartoonishly evil and over-powered. Paradox was better, I liked his accent and motivations but he felt stupid when he explained his entire plan to Deadpool. The redemption arcs of Wolverine and Deadpool felt surface level. There was also a lack of meaningful supporting characters and stakes during the action scenes. Also, I am mixed on the visual style. There are some really good action scenes but also some scenes where the visuals felt dull and lifeless and the fight choreography felt poorly edited. I can understand I am not the target audience for this movie and I am glad MCU fans enjoyed this a lot.
6) Quiet Place: Day One - 7.5/10 (Good)
It was mildly disappointing because it did not explore the initial chaos of the Death Angels arriving on Earth and the characters slowly adapting to it. That just happened for 20 seconds and after that it was regular Quiet Place content. So a bit underwhelmed how it wasted its potential and lost its identity. However, it's still pretty good. Lupita Nyong'o and Josephine Quinine had strong performances and there were some spine-chilling horror moments but the gimmick of Death Angels is starting to wear off.
5) Kingdom of Planet of Apes - 7.5/10 (Good)
This was probably the most disappointing movie of 2024 !! But how is it so high then ? Well it's still a good movie. I was not expecting it to be as good as the Caesar trilogy. I know those movies are hard acts to follow. I was disappointed because the movie did not feel like a very good stand-alone movie. For starters, it felt like a beat by beat rehash of War of POTA and so the plot suffered from diminishing returns. Then the pacing is a mess. It's way too slow and for me the slow pace did not feel like it contributed to world-building or character development. I was really interested in the themes of legacy and the concept of apes misinterpreting the teachings of Caesar but the movie did not explore those themes much and left it for sequels. The villain, Proximus Caesar, is one of the most overrated villains in recent cinema. He is barely in the movie and the only reason he is praised is because of a meme worthy dialogue “What a Wonderful Day ?”. I don’t know how people who criticize Chameleon for lacking screen time or not doing much destruction praise him as a great villain. His defeat was also pretty underwhelming. There are still a lot of redeeming qualities in the movie - The action sequences, musical scores, and main characters like Noa, Rakka, and Mae. It's a good movie but felt far from being a “great start to a new trilogy” like everyone is praising it to be. To me it felt like a “Set-up for future installments”.
4) Kung Fu Panda 4 - 8.5/10 (Great)
Maybe I am exaggerating this movie but there is also a part of me that feels justified in defending it and feels very depressed because of the way it is getting massacred online. I am not denying it is flawed. It is pretty rushed, the plot is pretty predictable, the past villains are under-utilized, and it lacks the emotional depth of some of the previous entries. However, there are a lot of overlooked positives and it feels depressing how they are not acknowledged or just brushed off as “poorly executed” whenever brought up. Po has a really good arc of embracing change from dragon warrior to spiritual leader and it was personally relatable to me. Zhen’s arc might have been rushed and predictable but I think she was overall an engaging character. Chameleon is probably the most misunderstood DreamWorks villain IMO. Her design and powers are cool and Viola Davis nailed it with her voice-acting but what stood out to me the most was how she was a dark foil to Po in so many ways - backstory, role as mentors, and embracing change, etc. There were also really subtle storytelling elements in the movie like the peach pit metaphor with Po, Chameleon, and Zhen or the “one often meets his destiny on the road he avoids to take it” parallel. These subtle elements are why I think this movie is far from being surface level. Of course other than these storytelling aspects, I love the technical aspects - animation, action sequences, and theme scores. The comedy was good and well-balanced for the most part. I don’t like the notion that just because a movie has a more comedic tone means that it doesn’t have deeper themes and storytelling. For me this movie felt like a better candidate for “Great Start to a New Trilogy” rather than Kingdom of Planet of Apes. Hopefully, in future years people will come to appreciate this movie. This has happened with so many movies - Jurassic Park 3, Cars 2, Shrek 4, etc.
3) Inside Out 2 - 9/10 🥉 (Amazing)
So the bronze medal goes to Inside Out 2 !! This is probably the best Pixar sequel after Toy Story 2 & 3. The animation is really good and feels unique from the first one, the new emotions are great, especially Maya Hawk’s Anxiety, a great anti-villain. Joy’s character arc was really good and all the old emotions had their moments too. I don’t mind the recasting of Fear and Disgust. While it's not a tearjerker movie, it's pretty emotional. The only negatives are that the plot of the first movie was slightly rehashed and there are some cringe moments which I get are parts of the movie’s theme but still.
2) Transformers One - 9.5/10 🥈 (Masterpiece)
I personally liked the trailers for this film so I relatively had more excitement and higher expectations than most of the internet and still the movie didn’t disappoint me. I was surprised by how dark and emotional it got. The origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron was depicted in a really poignant way and the plot was compelling. All voice actors had great performances but Brian Tyree Henry really out-did himself. The comedy was also pretty well-written. The filmmakers knew when to be dark and serious and when to lighten things up with good jokes. The action sequences were high octane and the world-building was pretty well crafted. It's a shame this movie flopped but hopefully we somehow get a follow-up to it because it's a pretty good streaming hit and has received highly positive reviews.
1) The Wild Robot - 9.5/10 🥇 (Masterpiece)
So the gold medal goes to The Wild Robot !! Although it's not the best DreamWorks movie IMO, it is certainly one of their top 5 best movies. The animation is dazzling and a masterpiece itself, the voice-acting is really good, and the story is really compelling and heartwarming. The theme score was another masterpiece and elevated a lot of the emotional moments. The movie managed to strike a perfect balance between dark elements and comedy. The supporting characters were likeable and nuanced. As for negatives, the villain Vontra, who was a pretty decent villain, was a bit disappointing. The pacing was a bit off (not KFP4 level bad but still noticeable) and I wished they somehow squeezed in the “Birds of a Feather” song in the movie as they used it in their marketing material.
So what do you guys think ?