Top 10 Favorite Summer Blockbusters
The 2022 summer movie season is just around the corner. And in the past, other years have delivered some of the best blockbusters of all time. So in today’s blog post I’m sharing my 10 favorite summer blockbusters. Let’s get started!
10. Guardians of the Galaxy: One of the most fun, fresh, and original Marvel movies out there. When they first announced this movie, so many people didn’t know what to expect. Because they got James Gunn who only directed rated R movies, it was going to star the chubby guy from Parks and Recreation. The guy from The Hangover and Fast and Furious were going to voice a talking raccoon and a talking tree. But the movie that we got, delivered one of the most heartfelt and fun MCU movies out there. You enjoy these characters, James Gunn is so good at writing this mismatch of weird characters, and making them feel like a group. Of course, this movie has one of the best soundtracks of all time.
9. The Avengers: This was another total risk and total gamble for the MCU. Because it was very unclear if Joss Whedon and Kevin Feige could pull off a team-up movie on this size. But almost 10 years later (holy crap, 10 years…I saw this in the theaters. AHHH!), I think it’s safe to say that it payed off very very well. This movie has some of the best banter and most fun chemistry of the entire MCU, Joss Whedon writes very snippy and quippy dialogue for his movie. And it’s a movie that does get better as it goes along, the first act is pretty clunky but as it goes along it gets better and better. All leading up to this great, epic, and fun finale that is one of the best comic book movie finales of all time. So it’s a fun movie that has a bunch of great things about it.
8. The Suicide Squad: Another top tier comic book movie directed by the great James Gunn. And for me, this is my favorite of his movies and one of my favorite DCEU movies. And this is a movie that has one director’s vision for a movie, other DCEU movies feel reworked by the studio in post production and mandated things about the plot. Here James Gunn was given full creative control to direct and make the movie he wanted to make. Plus, he did all of the action with practical effects that just adds something to this movie, when you know the cast actually did this stuff and there wasn’t a lot of green screen involved here. Plus, it’s just a very fun set of characters that have arcs and changes in the movie. Harley Quinn and Peacemaker being the 2 standouts for me. Put it all together, it’s a great comic book movie.
7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2: A very satisfying and emotional end to the Harry Potter franchise that does a lot of things right. And behind Avengers Endgame this is the most satisfying and emotional ending to a movie franchise. And the last 1 hour and 15 minutes of this movie is basically this big epic battle that is the destruction of Hogwarts. You get betrayal and death all throughout the movie, making it really feel like the ending to this movie franchise. And it’s so satisfying when you get the final fight between Harry and Voldemort after 10 years of build up. So all in all, this is one of my favorite movies of all time, it’s my favorite of the Wizarding world movies. And it’s such a great and satisfying end to one of my favorite movie franchises of all time.
6. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl: One of the most rewatchable and most entertaining movies of the past 20 years. And it’s the definitive pirate movie of all time, when you think of a pirate adventure movie…this one comes to mind. And since Johnny Depp has been (or was) such a big box office draw ever since 2003, it’s easy to forget that he wasn’t who he was before this movie came out. He starred in smaller movies, but this was the first big role for him. And got him an Oscar nomination for this movie. It’s a fun adventure movie, one of the best adventure movies out there. When you hear the score for this movie, you automatically think of pirates, ships, and this sense of adventure going on here. So I’ve always loved this movie, and I’ve seen it roughly 10 billion times and it never gets old.
5. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back: Widely regarded to be the best of the Star Wars movies, and widely regarded to be the greatest sequel of all time. And I think it’s the best Star Wars movie and one of the greatest sequels of all time. Where they had a much bigger budget so they could do much greater and epic things. You get bigger and better action in this movie, and it’s present all through-out the movie. And in a lot of ways, this might be the most important movie sequel of all time. Because it set the template for sequels, where normally the second movies are bigger in scope, scale, and size. The stakes are even bigger then they were in the original movie. And this movie laid the foundation and the template for Avengers Infinity War 38 years later.
4. Captain America: Civil War: This is a top tier MCU movie, and my favorite of the Captain America trilogy. I know a lot of people prefer Captain America the Winter Soldier over this movie, but I’ve always prefered this movie. And what works so well about this movie is the tension between Steve and Tony makes sense. Over the previous movies, Kevin Feige did a great job of creating their world views and what makes them tick. So when we get to this movie, we understand why they are doing what they are doing. You did great character introductions with Black Panther and Spider-Man. And the third act here, isn’t the biggest third act on this list but it’s probably the most personal.
3. Back to the Future: One of the most fun and most beloved movies of the 1980s. And it’s my favorite movie of the 1980s. And it’s a movie that came out in 1985, and in the year 2022 it’s just as beloved and still holds up nearly 40 years later. And the concept for this movie, is just such a Timeless concept that could work in the year 2022, and have a 2022 high schooler go back to 1992. Would be just as exciting as a 1985 high schooler going back to 1955. The cast all around is pretty fantastic, of course Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd have amazing chemistry with one another, and they make for one of the best movie duos of all time. Tom F. Wilson is one of the best and most fun movie villains of all time. And the score by Alan Silvestri is one of the best and most fun movie scores of all time. So easily, this movie is one of the best summer blockbusters of all time. And I would be down for a remake in the 21st century.
2. Jurassic Park: In just a little bit over a month, the 6th movie in this franchise, Jurassic World: Dominion hits theaters. So I’m in a bit of a Jurassic Park kick, but this is another super beloved movie that still holds up to this day. And next year the movie will turn 30 years old. And Steven Spielberg just knows how to direct blockbusters, and he creates one of the best blockbusters of all time. It’s tense, it’s exciting, it has tense and exciting scenes, and it’s populated with an amazing set of characters that all have a different world view on how to go about this. The visual effects were groundbreaking back in 1993, and in the year 2022 they still look great. This is a movie from the 90s that still holds up to this day, and I think will continue to hold up for years and years to come. So I love this movie, it’s like a top 3 favorite movie for me.
1. The Dark Knight: I’m a sucker for both Batman movies and comic book movies, so naturally I enjoy a large portion of the Batman movies, and this one is the best of the bunch. What works so well about this movie is that Christopher Nolan took inspiration from other crime thrillers, not other comic book movies. So this movie would work just as well if they removed everything DC and Batman related, that’s how good the story and that’s how good it’s crafted. And Nolan shot this movie with IMAX cameras so it’s gorgeous to look at. And of course, Heath Ledger gives one of the best superhero movie villains of all time, one of the best movie villains of all time, and one of the best movie characters of all time. He just disappears into this force of chaos, you don’t see Heath Ledger just The Joker. So this is easily one of my favorite movies of all time. It's a movie that I’ve seen more than 10 times, and everytime I watch it it’s still a great movie.
There you have it, my 10 favorite summer blockbusters of all time. WHat are some of your favorite blockbusters of all time? Let’s get started!
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