2020’s Film Highlights
As regular readers will know, I don’t rush into choosing my favourite films of any given year until a few months into the next one – partly because a film’s staying power is a key factor for me when picking my favourites, and partly because there are still some films left to catch up on. But after such an awful 2020, I think it’s important to recognise some of my favourite films of the last year with a few light-hearted awards of my own!
So without further ado, here are some of my highlights from 2020’s (admittedly limited) film releases.
Most Visually Stunning Film of 2020 – 1917. The year started off so promisingly, with Sam Mendes’ 1917 offering an immersive cinematic experience unlike any other. The continuous-shot technique put you right there with the characters in amongst the mud and the barbed wire, and the night scene involving a burning village and overhead flares was one of the most visually impressive, nightmarish and surreal things I have seen for some time.
Best Soundtrack of 2020 – Hamilton. Should the recording of the original Broadway stage musical be considered a “film”, or not? Does it even matter? I don’t know the answer to those questions, but I do know that for those of us (like me) who hadn’t seen Hamilton on stage, the Disney+ release was a revelation, and I played the soundtrack on loop for weeks over the summer.
Family Film of 2020 – Onward. While a number of other family films misfired (to varying degrees) in 2020, Pixar’s Onward was an absolute joy, with its near-perfect blend of comedy, a family friendly adventure plot, and emotional moments that really pull on your heartstrings.
Best Villain of 2020 – The Invisible Man in The Invisible Man. With no disrespect intended to Oliver Jackson-Cohen’s performance as Adrian Griffin, it’s Leigh Whannell’s direction that makes this villain so terrifying. Who knew that an empty chair or a blank wall could be so unnerving?
Best Score of 2020 – Bad Boys For Life. There were plenty of things I loved about Bad Boys For Life, but Lorne Balfe’s fantastic, propulsive score is right up there. Creating new riffs on Mark Mancina's musical themes from the first film (which I also loved), it ramps up the film’s momentum while also heightening its emotional impact.
Best Original Film of 2020 – Tenet. In a world saturated with reboots and sequels, Christopher Nolan continues to stand out as one of the greatest directors of original-concept blockbusters, and Tenet combined mind-bending sci-fi concepts with spectacular action set-pieces and an all-star cast. Runner-up in this category was the excellent Jojo Rabbit, although technically Taika Waititi’s surreal “anti-hate” comedy was based on an existing novel.
Biggest Disappointment(s) of 2020 – Extraction. I love Chris Hemsworth and action movies as much as the next guy, but the characters in this were so two-dimensional, and the plot so unoriginal and uninspired, that even the handful of decent actions sequences couldn’t make up for all of its other shortcomings. My other main disappointments were Uncut Gems (I’d heard good things about it, but I found it exhausting spending two hours with such an unsympathetic and unlikeable character), and Artemis Fowl (a forgettable franchise wannabe, weighed down by a dull and muddled plot, a vague and under-developed main character, and a villain that’s nothing more than a place-holder concept).
Biggest Relief(s) of 2020 – Bad Boys For Life. Having been a fan of the original film for 25 years, I was terrified that this belated threequel would, at best, be mediocre, and at worse tarnish the memory of the earlier films – so I was very relieved to find that Bad Boys For Life is arguably the best instalment in the series. It was a similar story for another belated threequel, Bill & Ted Face The Music, which is also my Comedy of 2020.
Biggest Surprise of 2020 – The Invisible Man. When they first announced that they were making yet another version of The Invisible Man, I really wasn’t that excited (especially as it was originally intended to be a special-effects-heavy, bombastic blockbuster set in the same universe as Tom Cruise’s 2017 version of The Mummy). But writer/director Leigh Whannell’s 2020 version is nothing short of a masterpiece, that for me, was the most unexpected surprise of 2020.
Guilty Pleasure(s) of 2020 – Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn. It may not be “high art”, but the DCEU’s first R-rated movie is foul-mouthed, violent and lots of fun, powered by an entertainingly energetic central performance from Margot Robbie, and containing some of the best action sequences of 2020. The runner up in this category was Charlize Theron’s The Old Guard, which (despite its flaws) is arguably the best original “blockbuster” which Netflix has made so far.
Hidden Gem of 2020 – The Gentlemen. I feel that with everything that happened in early 2020, everyone’s kind of forgotten about Guy Ritchie’s return to his stylised, gangster-comedy roots – but it’s a lot of fun, bolstered by a satisfyingly twisty narrative and some great comedy performances.
Most Uplifting Moment of 2020 – Wonder Woman 1984. While the film as a whole wasn’t quite as good as 2017’s original Wonder Woman, there’s no denying the joy of watching Wonder Woman’s first appearance in the sequel. Without going into spoilers (as many still haven’t seen the sequel), Wonder Woman’s first appearance is a fun sequence that took me right back to my childhood memories of watching Christopher Reeve’s Superman rescuing cats from trees at the same time as catching bank robbers.
Person of the Year 2020 – Chadwick Boseman. I normally nominate a person who’s had a good year and made a real impact in more than one film, but for 2020 it felt right to posthumously recognise Chadwick Boseman, an extremely talented filmmaker taken from us far too soon. Not only will he be remembered by a generation of children for bringing T’Challa to life, but the reports that circulated after he passed away speak volumes about his strength of character as a person. Colleagues talked of the quiet dignity and leadership that he brought to sets, Ryan Coogler spoke about the thoughtfulness and preparation that he brought to every aspect of Black Panther, and his 21 Bridges co-star Sienna Miller revealed that Chadwick had made up her salary shortfall from his own earnings, to ensure that she was paid what he believed she deserved. He was genuinely a man who led by example, and who has inspired countless others to follow in his footsteps.
Favourite Cinematic Moment of 2020 – The Invisible Man. Every year I pick one moment in particular that really stood out as a memorable cinematic experience, and for 2020 it has to be “the scene with the knife” in The Invisible Man. I don’t want to say anything more in case I spoilt it for people who haven’t seen the film yet, but the whole audience in the cinema erupted when that unexpected event came completely out of the blue…
These aren’t necessarily all of my favourite films from 2020, but they are some of the highlights!
Watch this space for my Top Ten of 2020 in a couple of months, but for now, you might want to check out some of the above highlights if you’ve not seen them already.
