12) Deadpool
Deadpool is the most refreshing superhero movie since Guardians Of The Galaxy. I’m fine saying that. Not everyone agrees, but raunchy, immature, fourth-wall-breaking mercenaries just aren’t for everyone. I’ll gladly take Salt-N-Pepa, baby hands and foul-mouthed badassery over yet another straight-laced Marvel origin story as long as the perversion is earned – which, yes, it is. Wade Wilson rains angry hell down on the bastards who turned him into a Freddy Krueger look-a-like, and we’re there for the gun-blasting fireworks show.
Truly, Tim Miller has one of the best feature debuts of 2016. Comic book aesthetics like action choreography and wacky hijinks are elevated by in-jokes galore, stuffing Deadpool with geek-tastic goodies other than obvious excitement. Ryan Reynolds’ passionate ploy to make the Merc’s story right won out, thus birthing a new kind of Hollywood superhero film that plays by no rules. Loud, obnoxious, trigger-happy, cocky, a dictionary’s worth of curses, hilarious – this is the Deadpool people need right now. The Colossus-beatin’ anti-hero decked out in red.
11) The Jungle Book
A live-action version of The Jungle Book was not high on my must-see list for 2016, yet here we are. The nostalgic child in me balked at realistic talking animals and a hyper-natural feel. This was the movie I sang along with at grandma’s house when she babysat me, as I walked – and talked – like King Louie (+5 adorable points). Did we really need another remake clogging our Hollywood system, especially of a Disney classic?
Right. Tell that to the 26-year-old film critic sitting on the edge of his seat as Mowgli (a brilliant debut for the young Neel Sethi) battled Shere Khan (voiced by Idris Elba). Tell that to the (barely) functioning adult who felt like a kid again. Not a single moment felt like wasted innocence, since Jon Favreau constructed one of the most visually stunning spectacles of the 2016 cinema season. Maybe Christopher Walken’s Brooklyn-accented King Louie doesn’t live up to Louis Prima’s original big-jazz solo, but all other vocals are on point (even Bill Murray as the bumbling Baloo).
Disney dawns a new age with Favreau’s dazzling jungle adventure, without lacking the heart or themes that speak to children like 1967’s The Jungle Book did to me.