BurtonReviews’ Top 5 Films of 2015!

To preface this bountiful end of year best of list of awesome, I hope that’s not an overstatement, it should go without saying that this list is 100% my own opinion. So before you sharpen your pitchforks and start burning things in utter rage at how wrong and out of my mind I am for making this list how it is; remember this isn’t the list to end all lists and the only right answer for the best films of the year, its just the subjective view of a very nerdy and some times over enthusiastic reviewer. So now that’s out of the way, onto the main event and we start with…

5: Kingsman: The Secret Service

Kingsman: The Secret Service was a cool, fresh and unapologetically fun ride. With badass action, great loveable characters that you can really get invested in; a fact of which is due to in big part because of the great acting involved from industry legends such as Samuel L. Jackson and Colin Firth, and a great showing from its rising star lead Taron Egerton. This movie was a great take on the spy genre and reminded me just how fun and explosive the genre can be when its not bogged down by trying to be moody and broody.

4: Avengers Age of Ultron

Avengers: Age of Ultron, the sequel (If you don’t count the countless Marvel movies between the first and second titled Avengers movies) to my favourite movie of all time (so far). While it didn’t blow my mind beyond comprehension, which to be fair was an unrealistic expectation for me to burden on the film, it was still an explosive and heart pounding action extravaganza. Embracing it’s roots as it makes you feel like you’re actually watching a comic come to life before your eyes in all its spectacular glory, the film is possibly unbeatable when it comes to it’s action scenes where we are not only treated to badass moments for all our favourite characters but are also given THOSE shots of all the Avengers avenging in tandem, I mean what more can you ask for really.  Sure the movie did feel abit bloated and in some places over complicated, but seeing the continuing and ever evolving of our favourite heroes as they reshape the MCU in new and interesting ways is a delight to watch and the fact that they successfully brought some of the most ‘comic book’ aspects to life before my jaw dropped eyes (if that’s even possible) made the comic book nerd in me jump and hoorah for joy.

3: Mad Max Fury Road

Heart pounding action with an intensity that never lets up to a canvas of beautiful landscapes that are peppered with raging explosions and manic post apocalypse men of war hungry for blood and carnage; I know, sounds like every teenage boys bored day dreaming fantasy and with Mad Max Fury Road, we got to see that dream come to fruition. If you didn’t get the oh so subtle hint above, the action is phenomenal; but not only that, the world that George Miller expertly crafts in this film, and mostly not even through over expositional dialogue at all, is so interesting and full of life that you can't help but get sucked into this mangled and twisted world. This attention to detail also went into the characters as everyone on screen feels not only like they have a long and troubled history behind them, but they all believably fill a roll, never being there just to fill the numbers of extras, every man and woman on screen has been carefully and thoughtfully chosen to appear. This movie was just amazing, story telling and action done all too right, and don’t even get me started on that amazing soundtrack that could get even the most mild mannered of person ready and hyped for battle.

2: Big Hero 6

Technically coming out in 2014 in America, us in the UK didn’t get Big Hero 6 till 2015, but oh was it worth the wait. Once again pandering to my love of all things superhero; this movie was a great origin story for a team that I had never actually heard of before but can’t wait to see what their next adventure may be. With a super loveable cast of characters, both human and cybernetic, the movie was bursting with character and a surprising amount of emotion. At many times throughout the film I had to hold myself back from giving into the over abundance of feels emanating from the screen. The animation was flawless and the unique world of San Fransokyo was just beautiful and a wonder to explore to a cool and fitting soundtrack.   

1: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Big surprise right. Of course Star Wars: The Force Awakens is my favourite movie of the year. From it’s amazing cast of characters that bring a exciting new horizon to the franchise, to the stellar acting that brought those characters to life, to bringing us fans triumphantly back into the beloved world of Star Wars in a new and fresh feeling way, all while elegantly setting up an exciting path for this new trilogy to set off on, this movie was basically mind blowing. It has amazing action, emotionally charged moments that leave you uncontrollably screaming in joy or disbelief and all that iconic Star Wars goodness we all have been craving for. There’s not much bad that you can say for this movie and there is a very good reason for that. And because of that and many, many, many more reasons it is with a gleeful smile on my face that I crown Star Wars: The Force Awakens as my favourite film of the year. 

So that’s it, another year of amazing films in the books, and what an astonishing year in the cinema it has been, from returning  beloved faces to new ideas that have ignited the imaginations of cinema goers around the world. An honourable mentions that just missed the cut for this list is the innovative and highly intriguing Ex Machina that had both an immersing psychological story as well as its phenomenal show of acting. I hope you enjoyed the list and can at least agree with some of my choices, I’d love to hear your top 5’s in the comments below and if your still unsure of any of the films’ worth in the list above many of them, along with some games and TV shows of the year have been reviewed on this site. Thanks for reading and I hope you have a great new year.