In hindsight, 2015 has proven to be a rather disappointing year for geek movies. Despite the hype accorded to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, JJ Abrams’ reboot of the franchise proved less than satisfying but that could not stop the movie from grossing over a billion at the box office (and still going strong at time of posting).
Considering that Minions, Furious 7 and Jurassic World were also billion dollar movies (emulating the risible Transformers: Age of Extinction last year), it is not difficult to see the direction in which geek movies will take in the foreseeable future.
As for non-franchise scifi movies, 2015 witnessed the likes of Ex Machina, Chappie, The Martian, Project Almanac, Coherence and Jupiter Ascending earning mixed reviews from critics and audiences.
By and large, Marvel Studio movies managed to deliver two films viz Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man that enhance the reputation of superhero movies, though 20th Century Fox took a critical and commercial pounding with the dismal Fantastic Four reboot. Pixar enjoyed a return to form with the fabulous Inside Out and George Miller defied the odds to redefined Mad Max’s relevance with the dynamic Fury Road.
Other notable disappointments were Terminator: Genisys (yet another reboot), Disney’s Tomorrowland, Matthew Vaughn’s flawed attempt to raise Kingsman above its cliched source material and a rather limp Man from U.N.C.L.E.
The good news is that 2016 promises to be an excellent year for geek movies. Check out our forecast here.
… still there’s more …