Top 10 films I saw in the cinema in 2021

I start with the usual disclaimer - this is not intended to be a best films list; this is a list of films I've enjoyed the most. 

If you would like a more reasonable list, may I recommend @PostCreditMR on Twitter, we disagree sometimes but his reviews are always well-reasoned. 

As a general summary of the year, I was impressed with the general quality of the films. While no film was a good as Jo Jo Rabbit or Away, both of which are exceptional and I would recommend to anyone, this year, the positives outweigh the negatives of all the films down to 13, and possibly I am just being about number 14. 

I am applying my usual 4 criteria: 

a – did the film do what it set out to do? 

b – did it use its resources to its best ability? A £250,000 film is not going to have as good explosions as a £25,000,000 film, or it shouldn’t, and if it does, there’s something wrong with the £25,000,000 film. Basically, it's a technical merit score. 

c – Intellectual satisfaction – does the film’s plot pull some really stupid move at the last moment? Does the plot rely on characters being more stupid than they are? 

d – Does this work as a whole? Did it work for me? I am aware that this is the most subjective of subjective criteria! 

With that, I bring you my top 10 of the year. 

1 - Jungle Cruise/Boys from County Hell 

Apparently I am not allowed to have Jungle Cruise this high just for the action scene set to an orchestral version of Nothing Else Matters.  

But it's not this high just because of that, or because Emily Blunt makes everything better. It just works. 

I am vividly aware of the film's flaws but I loved it. 

Boys from County Hell is from the other end of the budget scale, but they used the money well - the opening was well done 'orrible. The sound design was particularly awesome. There's a moment, which I shan't give context to avoid spoilers, where you go "I know these people". It's got a sense of place and character that's exquisite. 

I definitely recommend it for all your vampire film needs. It's a combination of the correct amounts of scary, funny and touching. 

3 - No Time To Die 

There is nothing wrong with this film, I just have a standing disagreement with the filmmakers about who James Bond is and who he should be. 

I did love the new 007 mind you. 

4 - Monster Hunter 

I only saw this after the offending scene had been cut. The rest of the film was good enough that I am annoyed that they were stupid enough to include it. 

With regard to the rest of the film, it did lots of fun things with language, the SFX for the nasties was suitably gribbly and it stared Milla Jovovich and Tony Jaa. I am easily pleased. 

I've never played the games so I cannot comment on how closely it hews to the canon or if the film does it justice. The ending totally set up a sequel we will never get which is also annoying. 

5 - Last Night In Soho 

This one gave me difficulties. It's original, has a very distinctive visual language and excellent soundtrack, production values and acting. Trouble is that it just doesn't hang together. It's basically a toss-up whether to put this here or after the swatch of superhero/superhero-type films. 

6-9 - Snake Eyes, Suicide Squad, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Black Widow 

They really are a clump. 

Of the clump, I liked Snake Eyes the best. It could have done with a stronger actor in the lead role but all else was catnip for me. I think I have fallen for Storm Shadow again though. 

Suicide Squad was the one of the four that made me cry. To avoid spoilers, it was *that* scene with Ratcatcher's father because I am Team Vermin and James Gunn apparently knows just how to stomp on my heart (no, I am never forgiving you for other spoilery thing, Mr Gunn [well played]). 

Is it for the faint-hearted? No. 

Could it have done with someone telling James Gunn "no" occasionally? Yes, hence why its so low on the list. 

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings - I enjoyed it, I loved the style and some of the meta touches. Other bits I thought were overbroad, and one spoilery thing will thoroughly annoy me for some time. 

Black Widow - I see why everyone else love it. The reasons I didn't are a mixture of my own narrative preferences, other things beyond their control (I was never getting my hella dark Rachel Weisz as Natasha's original handler who betrays her low-tech spy movie) and a couple of glaring "you (blanking) what?" moments. 

10 - Dune 

I wanted to love this. I would have settled for liking it. I think I read a completely different book to Denis Villeneuve. The film was beautifully made, excellently directed, produced, visually FXed and soundtracked. And could have been half an hour short if they cut the 15 repetitions of every flashforward down to maybe 3. 

Fuller reviews of these films, and the 4 others I saw in the cinema in 2021 to come.