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By: Collin Frazier
frazierc@findlay.edu
@Collin_53
Some of the best films of Summer 2021, ranked
Anyone that knows me knows that I am a huge movie guy. I reference films and quote them often. That said, after the lovely year that was 2020, I began to appreciate going to the movies a lot more. While many of the year’s best have yet to come out, that does not mean the summer did not have some good (or at least watchable) films. With that, here are the three best movies I watched over the summer.
- Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins
It had been years since the last G.I. Joe film, and to be honest, I have never seen them, so I did not have much background going into this film. What stands out above this film completely is Henry Golding. He does a great job carrying this somewhat-okay film. This film also shows how much range Golding has. I have now seen him in a Rom-Com with “Crazy Rich Asians,” a somewhat-gangster film in “The Gentleman,” and now in an action movie with this, with him dominating in each. That said, this film was mostly “meh”. A big issue was the action sequences. The camera was very shaky and admittedly it gave me a headache. The story was a by-the-numbers origin story that plays it safe and does not stand out from other origin films. A final issue was the underutilization of Samara Weaving. She killed it in “Ready or Not,” an underrated horror film, and I wish the movie could have had her in a bigger role. Final rating for “Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins”: 62/100
- Black Widow
After almost 2 years of nothing, the MCU has finally returned to the big screen, and this film reminded everyone, for the most part, why they are successful. Before I get into what I liked, what I thought this film did completely wrong was the use of Taskmaster. The Taskmaster I was hoping for was cunning, mysterious, and played mental games with Natasha. Unfortunately, this film had Taskmaster as a silent assassin, which was a letdown. Fortunately, the rest of the film kept true to the MCU. It was an excellent sendoff for Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow (which may be really permanent due to stuff behind the scenes), as well as a great introduction to new faces. Florence Pugh as Yelena was a nice comedic relief, always pointing out superhero tropes, but also showing that she is just as dangerous as her sister. I am looking forward to how she is utilized for Hawkeye. As well, David Harbour as Red Guardian was awesome. He felt like someone longing for the glory days and finally got his shot again. I really hope we see Red Guardian in the future. The action was the classic Marvel Cinematic Universe-style, and overall, the story brings Natasha Romanoff’s story to a nice close. Final rating for “Black Widow”: 82/100
- The Suicide Squad
If you had told me that any film with the words Suicide Squad would be the best movie of the summer after the 2016 identity-crisis that was “Suicide Squad”, I would have called you crazy. Enter James Gunn, who proved me wrong. The “Suicide Squad” benefits from having an R-rating, which it rightfully deserved. The action was gory, brutal, and even funny at times, and the comedy could make you bust out laughing. That said, it did not sacrifice character development or a good story for comedy and action. Every single character was fleshed out very well and made you actually care for them. Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn is officially an irreplaceable role after this, Idris Elba shows off his usual charisma as Bloodsport, and John Cena as the maniac Peacemaker was an unexpected treat. This film also did Joel Kinnaman as Colonel Rick Flag right by making him less serious. However, I think the two best members of the squad were Daniela Melchior as Ratcatcher II and David Dastmalchian as Polka-Dot Man. Two characters with tragic backstories, and both became key roles in the final fight. I knew that when it was announced James Gunn was directing that this film would be awesome, but this blew my high expectations through the roof, and is easily the best film of summer 2021. Final rating for The Suicide Squad: 93/100
