Last year, I put together a list of my most and least anticipated films of the year. While compiling my look forward to 2018, I realized that maybe I should look back at my list from last year and see how things went.

I mostly avoided films on my least anticipated list and didn’t get to see all the films on my most anticipated list (for various reasons), so I’ll start by clearing out anything that I didn’t get/want to see.

Least Anticipated Movies I ultimately avoided

Baywatch – The 18% rating at Rotten Tomatoes confirmed my desire not to see the film.
CHiPs – 17% on Rotten Tomatoes was all the confirmation I needed.
The Emoji Movie – It was even worse than expected at 9% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Friday the 13th – Originally slated for 2017, the film was never produced and thus never released.
Gold – The Matthew McConaughey starrer came away with 43% on Rotten Tomatoes, so it’s a good thing I missed it.
It – Even with the certified Fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes of 85%, we just never got around to seeing it.
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword – 29% on Rotten Tomatoes made this one a sure miss.
Kong: Skull Island – At 75% on Rotten Tomatoes, I should have given it more credit, but early 2017 wasn’t a prolific time for me for going to the movies.
The Mummy – Tom Cruise’s action-heavy monster film just didn’t appeal and the 16% RT score only reflected that.
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter – I was never going to watch this being the continuance of a franchise I never watched, but 36% is sufficient to have dodged the bullet.
Rock Dog – The early year release, lame trailer, and 46% from Rotten Tomatoes is adequate reason not to see it.
Snatched – As much as I liked the stars, everything was confirmed when it received a poor 36% rating.
The Space Between Us – Even if it had been successful, I still wouldn’t have wanted to catch this. It wasn’t, nor was the 16% rotten rating.
Transformers: The Last Knight – Will this hopefully be the end of this sad franchise? Hopefully, 16% will be the golden number.
Underworld: Blood Wars – Saw the original and didn’t care for it, so I wasn’t likely to watch this umpteenth sequel and 20% is the perfect reflection of tha tlack of interest.

Modestly Anticipated Movies I ultimately missed

A Dog’s Purpose – As sappy as the trailer was and as much as that appealed to me, it ended up with a 33% score on Rotten Tomatoes and that did in my interest.
Flatliners – The original only has a 48% rating on RT (though, it predates that site by quite some time), but with the remake getting only 5%, I’d say I dodged a bullet on this one.
The Great Wall – It’s too bad this Chinese monster movie didn’t do better than its 35% rating, but no one had any real interest in seeing it, so we ultimately skipped it.
The Greatest Showman – I still want to catch this before it leaves the theaters, though the 55% rating from Rotten Tomatoes does dampen my expectations a smidge.
Life – 67% Fresh rating is not bad at all, but we never quite made it to the theater in time to see this as it left too quickly.
The Six Billion Dollar Man – Originally slated for 2017, the film is still in development and no longer has a release date.
Untitled Saw Film – Ultimately titled Jigsaw, no one was expecting critics to adore it, but even 34% suggests that it wasn’t quite the invigorating reboot anyone wanted it to be.
xXx: Return of Xander Cage – The return of Xander Cage was apparently a dud, but the more surprising thing is that none of my friends, who all loved the original, actually wanted to see this.

Most Anticipated Movies I ultimately missed

2017 Cloverfield Movie – Like other slated 2017 releases, this one never released. There’s current expectation for it to come out in 2018, but no one has seen or heard anything about it yet.
A Cure for Wellness – In spite of the 42% at Rotten Tomatoes, I still want to watch this. Perhaps I’ll catch it when it on home video.
Dunkirk – I wanted to see it. I pushed to see it, but ultimately, we never got around to seein git. That disappoints me greatly and that’s ignoring the stellar 92% Fresh rating.
Free Fire – 68% is a decent score from Rotten Tomatoes, so it’s definitely worth checking out, I’ll just have to put it in my Netflix queue.
The Snowman – I’ll still watch it, but the film has a 7% rating from Rotten Tomatoes, which makes it a very high profile misfire.
World War Z 2 – Multiple delays have plagued this once-2017 release. It hasn’t yet been rescheduled.

Now that we’ve looked at what I didn’t see, let’s look at what I did see. I’ll share my original thoughts and then my ultimate thoughts.

2017’s Least Anticipated Movies that I saw

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

What I said: The Robin Williams children’s adventure of 1995 is a key memory in the minds of most children and teens of that period. There’s little purpose to remaking this movie, except as a nostalgia cash grab and putting Dwayne Johnson into the Williams role is exactly that. Johnson may have some small talent, but it will never be enough to equate to our memories of Williams and this film may be the best testament to this that we can imagine.
What I thought: When it was first announced, we all thought it would be a remake. Ultimately it was a sort-of-sequel. The trailers weren’t great, but they were sufficiently funny that friends and I decided to go see it to lighten up the mood. We are really glad we did as this was one of the funniest, most entertaining film we saw in 2017.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

What I said: The first film was fun, the second less so, and the third was borderline frustrating. They’ve gone far beyond what they should have and the series is beginning to feel like it’s flush with desperation. That the first trailer for the film doesn’t even include the man that made the series successful is modestly telling.
What I thought: Every problem that has crept up over time in this series returns bigger and bolder. While the opening chase sequence is fun, the rest of the film is not even if the effects are fine and the concept isn’t terribly bad. Execution matters and this one needs to go under the guillotine.

2017’s Modestly Anticipated Movies:

Cars 3

What I said: The Pixar sequels have been a mess lately and no film better exemplifies this than Cars 2, a complete deviation from the charm of the first film. The first teasers have arrived for the new film and while I’m excited to see that it might be trying to return to its roots, there’s still a lot of concern left after Cars 2 and the Disney-crafted Planes and its sequel.
What I thought: Perhaps it was too similar in ways to the original, but that’s what we expect from a genuine sequel. It might have felt familiar, but it worked hard to remind viewers what they loved about the original and make this feel like a return to form rather than a further deviation.

Coco

What I said: Normally, each new Pixar film is something I anticipate greatly. While Inside Out was certainly a marvel, their other output lately has been lackluster at best. As such, I look towards each new film with more trepidation than I had ever hoped I would. This marks two outings for Pixar this year (as referenced in the prior paragraph for Cars 3, so here’s hoping at least one of them is good, preferably both.
What I thought: The Pixar formula is put to the test here and while that formula is getting old, it still works incredibly well. This film was a vibrant, imaginative, escapist adventure with plenty of joy and tears along the way. This is more in line with what Pixar is and always has been even if it isn’t quite as good as the heyday of Pixar releases.

The Dark Tower

What I said: I never got a chance to read Stephen King’s Gunslinger series, but I’ve heard a lot of great things from those who have. With Idris Elba in the film it could be much better than I expect, but one of my other bêtes-noire, Matthew McConaughey, is in the lead, which makes me wonder if the director will reign him in or let him run roughshod over the production.
What I thought: It turns out that McConaughey wasn’t the lead, he was just the villain and while my dislike of him somewhat bolstered my disdain for the character, all of the things that annoy me most about him are there. Still, the film was enjoyable. Perhaps a bit threadbare in places, but it was engaging enough to make me want to know more about these characters and possibly even delve into the books where I hadn’t delved before.

Justice League

What I said: Zac Snyder’s Warner Bros. DC adaptations have been a mixed back. They’ve succeeded at the box office, but fans have been frustrated by the darkness that permeates them in not so pleasing ways. The characters are brooding, easily angered, and egomaniacal. The characters don’t quite match their comic book counterparts, which is frustrating. As such, this unified team film promises to be more of the same, but that doesn’t mean one can’t anticipate what’s coming.
What I thought: There were a lot of incongruous tonal shifts throughout the film and while there were some engaging elements here and there, the fingers of Snyder, who left the film late in production, were still everywhere. Further, we had already gotten the marvelous Wonder Woman earlier in the year and that allowed us to hope, to our chagrin, that the series was turning over a new leaf. It didn’t.

Murder on the Orient Express

What I said: The Sidney Lumet film from 1974 is one of the best adaptations of an Agatha Christie novel ever. With a star-studded, international cast and a gorgeous score and production design, it was a film not easily replicated. Yet, actor/director Kenneth Branagh is trying, taking on the role of the renowned super sleuth Hercule Poirot while also directing. It’s hard not to be wary when the original cast compared to the modern cast is very broadly different. The original was filled with Oscar nominees and winners while the latter has a small number of them. The star wattage of the original far outshines even the most recognizable name on the current cast list. Still, it could be worth it, especially if Christie makes a star-studded return to the Silver Screen.
What I thought: This was my impression before seeing the first trailer. My reticence only increased at that point. Still, I went to see the film and while it is mostly faithful, it’s also a pale comparison to the original adaptation. Branagh just isn’t that good, nor is much of the cast, each overacting as much as they can with only Judi Dench, Derek Jacobi, and Olivia Colman avoiding the trap of unnecessary exuberance. It also threatened a sequel, which only irks me further.

Spider-Man: Homecoming

What I said: When Spider-Man rebooted the second time, they had found the perfect young cast: Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, two actors that gave the film weight while giving the audience their best adaptation of the character yet. However, after the disastrous sequel, the studio relinquished joint-control of the character to Disney and thus the second reboot in the last decade is here. The character wasn’t that impressive in his first outing in Captain America: Civil War and the initial trailer isn’t nearly as exciting as it should be. There’s a lot to be cautious about, especially in his third incarnation since 2002.
What I thought: There are a lot of fun elements to this film, but they are weighed down by corny bits and Disney-style claptrap. Tom Holland is fine as Peter Parker, but can never top Andrew Garfield in the role. It could improve with future outings, but right now, I’m not nearly as impressed as I should be.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

What I said: While Star Wars: The Force Awakens was precisely the sequel everyone wanted, there were a lot of questions coming out of the film that still need to be answered and considering how often we’ve been burned by reboots, it’s safe to say that I’m cautiously optimistic that this eighth film in the overall saga will be better than its predecessor.
What I thought: What hindred the first film was its overt similarity to the original Star Wars. Director J.J. Abrams never met a director he wouldn’t shamelessly copy. In Rian Johnson, the Star Wars universe got just what it needed, a shot in the arm. The best entry in the series since The Empire Strikes Back, Johnson struck a new and original tone, diverted from many Star Wars tropes while making sure that everything still feels distinctly a part of that universe. Too bad, we’re stucking going back to Abrams for the third film.

Thor: Ragnorok

What I said: The two prior Thor films have been good, but nowhere near as good as other films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Thus, the worry [is] that this third solo film will suffer similarly. There are a lot of things to give one hope for it, but the character has always been better served as part of a team rather than as a solo character and that will get a small boost with the addition of Mark Ruffalo as The Hulk to the cast.
What I thought: Those first two movies were similar in tone. They tried to make the character a dramatic figure with only light comic touches. After Ant-Man and Guardians of the Galaxy, the studio finally decided to shift tones with this third outing and it’s a blessing they did. Thor moved into comedy territory with dramatic bits thrown in and it was every bit as enjoyable as anyone could have imagined it would be and easily put the film into the upper echelons of the franchise’s best work.

Wonder Woman

What I said: The only character so far created in the DC Extended Universe at Warner Bros. that seemed to be more positive and uplifting than the others is finally getting her own movie. The first female-led superhero film to date. That’s great news, except that reports of production difficulties and studio interference are everywhere. That makes the possibilities frustrating.
What I thought: Yet, in the end, the difficulties we heard about were immaterial as director Patty Jenkins handily delivered the DCEU’s absolute best entry, one that won’t easily be topped. With darkness around her, Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) was a shining light in that bleakness and helped showcase how a world with many evils could be looked at with hope and Wonder Woman made that hope both palpable and realistic.

2017’s Most Anticipated Movies:

Alien: Covenant

What I said: How bad was Ridley Scott’s prior attempt to resuscitate the Alien franchise? Prometheus was a tolerable, but poorly-constructed sci-fi spectacle that wanted to be smarter and more philosophically wise than it was. What makes Covenant feel like it might succeed where Prometheus failed is that first trailer, which reminds me more of the original Alien and its immediate sequel than anything in Prometheus did.
What I thought: Unfortunately, that first trailer was misleading. Ridley Scott, who successfully created this universe, may have unwittingly destroyed it. One of the greatest thing about those original films was the mystery. The universe had myriad questions that were never answered and we were never concerned about that Scott, in Prometheus, and now Alien: Covenant continues to dismantle his own mythos and explain everything away, which only makes it feel like a disservice to the rest. That it wasn’t nearly as tense or exciting as those early films is an even bigger knock against it.

Beauty and the Beast

What I said: My favorite Disney animated film has quickly become my most anticipated film of the year. With the few trailers that have come out and the snippet of Emma Watson singing, everything about this film seems better and better. Director Bill Condon, who did one of my favorite musicals of the last twenty years, Dreamgirls, is at the helm, so there’s little that could possibly go wrong.
What I thought: And little did go wrong. Beauty and the Beast took the story of the original and fleshed it out a bit, gave it depth, and added several new songs, including the lovely solo Dan Stevens delivered as Beast called “Evermore.” The producton design and costuming was delightful and while elements felt familiar and turning the opening narration into a song was a misfire, the end result was still a wonderful event.

Blade Runner 2049

What I said: It’s been three decades since the original Blade Runner became one of the biggest cult sci-fi films in history. The first trailer is a bit of a disappointment, but in spite of my weak reservations, I can’t help but wonder if it can live up to that first film’s expectations. With director Denis Villeneuve at the helm and Ryan Gosling in the lead, I have a lot of faith in what could become of it.
What I thought: I tried to get the original on DVD to rewatch before watching the sequel, but was unable to secure it. I saw the film anyway. I’m glad that I did. Although a later rewatch of the Ridley Scott-directed original only solidified my love for this version, the gorgeous photography and marvelous design work helped amplify a potent, true sci-fi story making this easily one of the year’s best.

Despicable Me 3

What I said: If you toss out the Minions movie, this franchise is one of the best there currently is. The original Despicable Me was a surprisingly sweet spy comedy thriller that had at its heart a wonderful, beautiful story of single parenthood. The sequel deviated slightly from this, but was still an engaging, lighthearted caper. I hope that this third film, already well represented by a humorous trailer featuring Michael Jackson’s “Bad,” should hopefully continue the trend.
What I thought: Unfortunately, we received more of the same with this third Despicable Me film. Obvious plotting, weaker jokes, and a general sense of over-familiarity create a big barrier for the audience. While there were still things to enjoy about the film, it’s such a step down from the first two that I cannot imagine being excited about future sequels the way that I was for this.

Get Out

What I said: My first encounter with the film’s trailer was not one of a good impression. However, as I’ve pondered on this unique take on horror by comedy mastermind Jordan Peele, I’ve become more interested in its subject matter. Exploring racism in an unusual and somewhat pointed manner may give it an edge I wouldn’t have otherwise expected it to have, which is one of the reasons my interest in it is high.
What I thought: The exact reason I cited above for why it could be great and why it had piqued my interests is the exact reason why I loved this film. A simple horror framework with biting social and political commentary woven into it, sometimes imperceptibly, is exactly what we need in our current national landscape.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

What I said: My personal feelings about Chris Pratt aside, the original film was one of the grandest experiences of the cinema in 2014. Director James Gunn is back at the helm with Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, and the voices of Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel back in tow. Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, John C. Reilly, Glenn Close, and Benicio Del Toro are also, thankfully, back. While it’s possible the wonderment will have worn off the original, it should still be quite fun.
What I thought: And it certainly was fun, but it was also plagued by minor issues. There were too many concurrent storylines going on, the villain was predictable and only modestly interesting, and some of the humor didn’t quite work as well as it should have. It was still an engaging and entertaining time at the movies, but finding a way to tap back into the original’s successes proved difficult and future sequels might end up with the same issues.

The Lego Batman Movie

What I said: I’ve often criticized The Lego Movie for its live-action sequence near the end of the picture. The whole segment felt self-serving, out of place, and brought the viewer out of the action. The rest of the film was quite engaging. However, from the first trailer of this film, I’ve become absolutely enamored with its possibilities. The *rip* running gag alone has me amused, and that’s only a small portion of what we’ve seen so far.
What I thought: Beyond the silliness of the trailer and the beginning sequence of the film, there was a wonderful familial core to the film. It explored self-imposed loneliness in a compelling way and delved deeper into the Bruce Wayne/Batman personality and history better than almost any film has to date. While it wasn’t as grand as it could have been, it was still great fun.

Logan

What I said: The 20th Century Fox Marvel films are among my favorites, even when they suffer from overbearing storylines. What strikes me most about Logan is just how much of a departure it is from all that have come before it. A post-apocalyptic universe where mutant kind has largely died off and all that remains is an aging Wolverine and a Alzheimer’s-afflicted Professor Xavier, plus a young new mutant pursued by nefarious people makes for a compelling placement for this type of story. It humanizes the situations and puts them into a more naturalistic environment. The excellent use of Johnny Cash in the trailer definitely enhances that mood.
What I thought: All of the possibilities for this film were well supported by the end result, a potent drama that upends years of comic book adaptation conventions, giving the audience a new lease on the genre and hope that future departures from the norm will embolden and enhance this universe as time goes on. That it features two of the yaer’s best performances from Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart is icing on the cake.

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

What I said: Apart from his Lucy suffering from the use of a scientific fallacy, director Luc Besson has a fascinating filmography and this returns him to a genre he hasn’t often tackled: science fiction. His last attempt, The Fifth Element, was easily one of his best films, a comedic romp starring Bruce Willis that left an indelible impression in my mind. The first trailer suggests the magic that exemplified that film is in abundance here, which should make for a good time even if it can’t live up to Fifth Element-sized expectations.
What I thought: Nothing can top Fifth Element, but Valerian is an incredibly successful attempt. The acting is subpar, but the visuals more than make up for it. This is a universe with fascinating detail and depth. While the story is a bit pedestrian in places, this was a rather enjoyable film and the eye-popping brilliance of it all makes up for most of its shortcomings.

War for the Planet of the Apes

What I said: The two prior Planet of the Apes outings are among the best post-apocalyptic fiction films currently in release. They were well written with superb visual effects and a layer of humanity that is both robust and relatable. As the series picks up its third effort, I fully expect plenty of moral and ethical questions posed and answered in its length while the war depicted in the trailers rages on behind the scenes. Two great experiences should lead to a third.
What I thought: And they did. A fine finale to the prequel trilogy, War for the Planet of the Apes hits all the right notes and positions itself as one of the greatest science fiction trilogies ever made (not that there are many of those). These are also more than just great sci-fi, they are great humanist works that I think even John Ford would have been impressed by.

And that’s it. A look back at the most and least anticipated films of 2017. While I was on-target for most of my early impressions, there were just enough to buck expectations to make for a fairly solid year. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for my Best of 2017 article and my 2018’s Anticipated Movies article.