Jordan’s 10 Most Anticipated Blockbusters of 2014

Now that we’ve reviewed and pretty much beat 2013 to death, it’s time to finally look towards 2014. Although I admit that the Oscars are the true end to 2013, that doesn’t mean we can’t start looking forward now. First things first, I figured I’d narrow down this year’s blockbusters to the ten most anticipated (in my books at least).

Here you go (in alphabetical order):

Although The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is probably lowest of the ten on here, I’m still going to include it because of the behind-the-scenes news that came out after the release of The Amazing Spider-Man. After it released, it was revealed that parts of the planned film were edited out which would make its way to the sequel (and possibly the next sequel). This stuff undoubtedly had to do with Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) himself. As long as they can distance themselves from Tobey Maguire franchise, I can finally justify this movie.

I’m not quite as high on Rise of the Planet of the Apes as some other people, but that doesn’t keep me from thinking the new movie, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, looks stunning. I’m behind on the franchise as a whole, but the inclusion of Jason Clarke (Zero Dark Thirty), Gary Oldman (The Dark Knight Rises), and the return of the always-fantastic Andy Serkis should have even the skeptics (myself included) excited.

A year, six months, or even three months ago, I wouldn’t have guessed Godzilla would crack any type of list for 2014. And while I don’t like to get too excited based on trailers (I’m looking at you Man of Steel), I can’t deny how great Godzilla looks so far. It also doesn’t hurt that Bryan Cranston is one of the leads. All of this has me (cautiously) optimistic about the movie.

Since David Fincher is one of my favorite working directors, it only makes sense that his newest movie would easily fit into my most anticipated list. It also helps that the source material is supposedly pretty good (although I can’t personally vouch for the quality). Ben Affleck is a somewhat polarizing actor, but I’m generally a fan of his, making Gone Girl even more of a draw.

Guardians of the Galaxy is a bit of a departure from Marvel’s Cinematic Universe in that it’s not a well-known entity like the other superheroes. However, Marvel has also been on the forefront of superhero expansion – being the first to the collaborative universe was truly genius – so I’ve learned not to question them. The Chris Pratt-led film could easily become a big stepping block towards The Avengers: The Age of Ultron.

If the trend continues, Peter Jackson’s trilogy-capper, The Hobbit: There and Back Again, should be the best of the bunch. In The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the final chapter seemed to be the most satisfying, which bodes well for the third Hobbit film. Yes, The Desolation of Smaug did kick ass, but should I expect the fire-breathing Smaug to hide for the final film? Heck no. And for that reason alone, bring on the conclusion.

I’m always wary of popular book adaptations because they’re put under much more scrutiny than other films. The Hunger Games series had this going against it at the very beginning, but both The Hunger Games and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire proved the transition from page to screen can be done and can be done well. The series continues this November with The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, but beware, ‘Mockingjay’ wasn’t nearly as lauded as the first two books.

If you thought I was excited for a new David Fincher movie, multiply that by a hundred and you get my thoughts about a new Christopher Nolan movie. Not only is he my favorite working director, but he’s my favorite all-time director. On paper, Interstellar looks like a return to his original days (Following, Memento) but with the budget and heart of some of his blockbusters (Inception). Although I trust his ability to pick a cast, I am happy he is changing it up a bit with additions of Matthew McConaughey and Jessica Chastain (both of whom happen to be favorites of mine as well).

One final director I look up to is Darren Aronofsky. Fans of his have been waiting quite awhile for a new project, and those same fans were probably disappointed to hear him bow out of last year’s The Wolverine. However, he’ll be back at it early in 2014 with a big budget biblical epic titled Noah. If that’s not enough, add in names like Russell Crowe, Anthony Hopkins, and Emma Watson. Excited yet?

Another year, another superhero movie, right? As much as I stick up for superhero movies, it’s sometimes hard to justify the sheer number of them. They all follow a similar storyline with a similar format that ends in a similar way. What makes me think X-Men: Days of Future Past will be different? Well, just like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, X-Men has created its own type of universe that stretches generations (thanks to the wonderful prequel X-Men: First Class). It’ll be cleverly mended into a quasi-time-travel superhero movie that features almost every single X-Men star to date. So..yeah, that’s why I’m excited.

There’s the top ten I narrowed it down to. As for honorable mentions, I felt bad leaving 22 Jump Street, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Divergent, The LEGO Movie, Foxcatcher, and Transcendence off my list. Which others did I miss?

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