By: MattInRC
Read on to learn about our most anticipated movies of 2014.
Despite a rather thin offering, 2013's box did manage to beat 2012's record-setting numbers, a startling fact that we covered here. Big-budget franchise sequels dominated the landscape like Iron Man 3, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Despicable Me 2, while Star Trek: Into Darkness and Fast and Furious 6 turned in strong but not overwhelming numbers.
But that was 2013, and so it's time to get excited for the newest movies that will grace our screens in 2014. The trend seems to point to more sequels, but there's a decent amount of new entries that desperately want to occupy a place in your heart. As always, our list runs the gamut, from risky comic book projects to interesting adaptions and reboots. Your friends at SJF have compiled our top 20 most anticipated, which means we're not looking at Oscar winners but those which we would actually pay to see (since we see everything free, that says a lot) and pay more than once if they're good enough. They're also organized by month instead of desire, because frankly there were too many interesting ones. Now on to our list!
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
Release Date: January 17, 2014
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Cast: Chris Pine, Keira Knightley, Kenneth Branagh, Kevin Costner
Why We're Excited: We've always been a fan of the Jack Ryan story, whether it was the terrific The Hunt for Red October or the very good Patriot Games. But recent installments failed to inspire us or audiences for that matter, so we're hoping this reboot can tie the best elements of the books while ushering in the new elements of action that we got with the Jason Bourne series. From the trailer, it looks like a solid production, but will audiences find this type of spycraft - one that might favor actual spying over random violence - appealing enough?
Release Date: March 21, 2014
Directors: James Bobin
Cast: Tom Hiddleston, Salma Hayek, Stanley Tucci, Tina Fey
Why We're Excited: It's the Muppets, DUH. Seriously, if you didn't find the 2011 rebirth of the Sesame Street/Muppet Show characters to be a perfect return, then you're dead inside. With so few interesting films for families in 2014, we're hoping Kermit, Ms. Piggy, and Fozzie can find their way into everyone's viewing schedule. If you're not a Muppets fan, you should probably just jump off a bridge. Of course we're kidding bout the jumping part...sort of.
Captain America The Winter Soldier
Release Date: April 4, 2014
Directors: Anthony Russo & Joe Russo
Cast: Anthony Mackie, Chris Evans, Cobie Smulders, Robert Redford, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan
Why We're Excited: From the early reviews of the script to the amazing sequences from Comic-Con, we've been excited about a return to the darker side of S.H.I.E.L.D. as covered by so many great Marvel comic series. We're also interested in the way Cap might be trying to adjust to his new life and the event s of New York. It's clear that Marvel wants WS to be nothing less than the bridge connecting 2012's The Avengers with 2015′s The Avengers: Age of Ultron, and we couldn't be more ready to see how it all plays out.
The Raid 2: Berandal
Release Date: March 28, 2014
Director: Gareth Evans
Cast: Donny Alamsyah, Iko Uwais, Raiden Integra, Yayan Ruhian
Why We're Excited: Gareth Evans's original The Raid: Redemption became an instant action classic, with action sequences that are still mindblowing today. Given its amazing cult following ($5.6 million in home video sales as compared to a $4.1 million theatrical run), we're a little worried about whether Barendal can match the excitement of its predecessor. But, the fact that both Evans and Actor Iko Uwais are returning certainly doesn't hurt. Check out Redemption before you see Berandal: it will alter everything you know about the action genre.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Release Date: May 2, 2014
Director: Marc Webb
Cast: Andrew Garfield, Dane DeHaan, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Paul Giamatti, Sally Field
Why We're Excited: We weren't excited at all about The Amazing Spider-Man calling it one of the worst superhero films in recent memory, and it still leaves a bitter taste in our mouth. Sloppy dialogue and a climax of Spidey being helped by building tower workers was a letdown for sure. But with news that Webb is planning multiple Spider-man movies, including a Sinister Six storyline from the comics, we've warmed considerably over the past year. The cast of bad guys looks impressive (except for the mechanized Rhino), and the actors assembled look ready to take the Spider-Man universe into new and exciting territory. Frankly, the idea of another well-crafted Marvel Cinematic Universe is good for the entire genre, but ASM2 needs to hit it out of the park to establish its footing for future films.
Godzilla
Release Date: May 16, 2014
Director: Gareth Edwards
Cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche, Ken Watanabe, Sally Hawkins
Why We're Excited: Honestly, we were interested but not excited about the return of The Big Guy to the big screen, based on the awful 2008 flop. Six years later and a lot of impressive reveals, Warner Bros and Legendary seem to have created an fitting return for our Kaiju. This one seems unique in that Godzilla will be battling his own rogue's gallery of monsters, but it's still a question of whether the creature itself will impress audiences beyond his new look (three times the size) and his familiar wail. We're not sure if that means he needs to battle giant robots ala Pacific Rim, but we can't help ourselves but imagine Gipsy Danger wrestling Godzilla into a building during the impressive teaser trailer released in November. Why can't we have our special dream?
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Release Date: May 23, 2014
Director: Bryan Singer
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult, Patrick Stewart, Peter Dinklage
Why We're Excited: X-Men: Days of Future Past promises not only to serve as a sequel to the very good X-Men: First Class, but as a followup to the original trilogy. Whether that's good or bad depends upon if you're a comic book fan or not. The idea of bringing nearly every character into this film is both exciting and filled with enough concerns (based on X-Men: The Last Stand) that purists have every reason to be worried. Luckily, Bryan Singer returns to the director’s chair as well as every original actor from the series. Whether this effort - based on the classic comic book - actually fixes the maddening continuity errors of the films, we'll have to see. If done right, this one has the potential to help launch any number of superhero spinoffs and sequels, one which is already planned for 2016.
Edge of Tomorrow
Release Date: June 6, 2014
Director: Doug Liman
Cast: Tom Cruise, Bill Paxton, Emily Blunt
Why We're Excited: We love Tom Cruise. The master of great films gave us our favorite of 2013 - Oblivion - and Cruise has continued to expand his already considerable resume, from funny comedies (Rock of Ages) to more serious action dramas (Jack Reacher and the Mission Impossible series). When he stood before Comic-Con fans last year, stating that all he wanted to do was make great movies that fans wanted to see, our appreciation for his work only grew. With the Matt-Damon-powered-up-exoskeleton-combat-suit from Elysium, Cruise promises another wild ride, this time with co-star Emily Blunt in a time travel/alien invasion vehicle. Whether it's actually the Elysium suit or not isn't the point, but with Cruise behind this one, we can't help but feel a little...giddy.
Transformers: Age of Extinction
Release Date: June 27, 2014
Director: Michael Bay
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Nicola Peltz, Stanley Tucci, Kelsey Grammer
Why We're Excited: Despite his rants that he was done with TF, Bay decided to return for a sequel. Gone are Shia and Megan, replaced with new human leads like Wahlberg. Peter Cullen returns to voice Optimus Prime, and we're getting new new vehicles, such as the fan-favorite Dinobots. The question on our minds is - and will always be - why have humans involved at all? The story of how the arrival of Autobots and Decepticons affects humans is interesting, but the idea of Optimus and others ravaging city after city to contain their enemies is so much more thrilling. Let these stories be about the Transformers themselves, their interaction with each other, as well as the politics which sent their culture headlong into destuction. That would make for some serious drama. For now, we'll live with the upcoming version.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Release Date: July 11, 2014
Director: Matt Reeves
Cast: Gary Oldman, Jason Clarke, Keri Russell, Andy Serkis
Why We're Excited: After a surprisingly deep and intense reboot in 2011, James Franco departs with Clarke and Oldman brought in to tell phase 2 of the story. We love the work Serkis did for Rise of the Planet of the Apes and The Lord of the Rings, but will audiences finally accept his role as Caeser? The sequel sees humanity dealing with the catastrophic events of Rise, with Dawn promising even more darkness as humanity falls victim to the evolving apes. We loved the first one, and can't wait to see a deepening drama with Caesar at the lead.
Guardians of the Galaxy
Release Date: August 1, 2014
Director: James Gunn
Cast: Chris Pratt, Benicio Del Toro, Bradley Cooper, Dave Bautista Glenn Close, Lee Pace, John C. Reilly, Karen Gillan, Michael Rooker, Vin Diesel, Zoe Saldana
Why We're Excited: By far the riskiest project from Marvel Studios to date, Guardians introduces completely new characters behind the backdrop of space to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Whether moviegoers will embrace a weapons-wielding/talking raccoon and a human-like tree that only says "I am Groot!" is anyone's guess; but we love that Marvel is taking such a bold risk. This universe is only as good as its last film, so it needs to build a foundation of comedy, strong character development, and epic battle scenes. We'll be the first in line to see the result, but hope the casual fan will stop by to do the same.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Release Date: August 8, 2014
Director: Jonathan Liebesman
Cast: Megan Fox, Will Arnett, William Fichtner, Whoopi Goldberg
Why We're Excited: Of the properties we've covered here, TMNT is one of the hardest to figure out. Among the favorite of 90's kids, the cast of turtles with kung-fu powers was silly, a little zany, and all around badass. Their influence has waned over the years, but with a fresh reboot, perhaps new fans will enter the mix. The problem here will be Fox, who's on the back-end of a career that had so much promise but has resulted in so little. Will Fox merely be Fox playing April O'Neil. or will she inhabit the role? Will today's audiences embrace pizza-loving reptiles named after Renaissance-era painters? CG-captured humans as turtles come off to audiences? TMNT appears on our list with as much possibility for promise as it does for disaster.
The Equalizer
Release Date: September 25, 2014
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Cast: Denzel Washington, Chloe Grace Moretz, Melissa Leo
Why We're Excited: Among our favorite series, The Equalizer ran from 1985-1989 and focused on the ex-spy Robert McCall, who used his powers to help New Yorkers in need. And while it's missing a couple of the elements which made it so appealing, we're interested to see how a heavy like Washington channels his best white British accent while navigating the dangerous life of an ex-spy. There's early reports that the movie will get a hard R rating, something which the show was well-known for when it ran on CBS.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
Release Date: November 21, 2014
Director: Francis Lawrence
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Donald Sutherland, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Hemsworth, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Woody Harrelson, Stanley Tucci
Why We're Excited: Director Francis Lawrence brought us a vastly superior sequel in Catching Fire, and we're wondering how Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) will view the coming revolution, all started by her fierce determination. We've elected not to read the books, in hopes that the dramatic events will have more impact on us. Regardless of how it works out, the franchise has been a blockbuster in every sense of word. Now, we just need an equally satisfying ending that begins this November.
The Hobbit: There and Back Again
Release Date: December 17, 2014
Director: Peter Jackson
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, Luke Evans, Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Orlando Bloom, Richard Armitage
Why We're Excited: Say what you want about The Desolation of Smaug, the series has been a critical and financial disappointment. At the time of this post, Smaug had taken in $30 million less than An Unexpected Journey, even though we noticed improvements in every area. The final installment of Peter Jackson's epic needs to make solid connections to Fellowship of the Ring, while giving Actor Martin Freeman and his troupe of dwarfs the dramatic space they need to wrap things up. Let's hope audiences are still interested in seeing the conclusion to this series.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Not every film could occupy our most anticipated list, so we included the following titles which appeared on one but not both of our lists:
The LEGO Movie (February 7, 2014) - We love playing the video games in this series, and with a voice cast of seemingly hundreds, this should get our inner kid motivated.
How to Train Your Dragon 2 (June 13, 2014) - A favorite of ours in 2010, the original gave us high flying animation that made us feel like we were actually flying. Everyone's back including Gerard Butler and the dragon Toothless, which impressed many with his ability to emote human emotions. We can't wait for this one.
22 Jump Street (June 13, 2014) - The 2012 comedy surprised everyone, delivering solid laughs and a good story. We're curious to see if returning stars Jonah Hill and Canning Tatum can recapture the magic as two dumb cops undercover at a local college.
Ride Along (January 17, 2014) – Funny dude Kevin Hart hooks up with rapper Ice Cube, potentially giving Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit a run for its money.
RoboCop (February 12, 2014) – We absolutely loved the 80s over-the-top action and futuristic vision, but with delays that have seen a poor February release date, we're curious to see if the promise matches up to the ads and updated look of Robocop.
Hercules (July 25, 2014) – Whether the second offering of Hercules this year results in any more interest is hard to determine, but with a cast that includes Dwayne Johnson, John Hurt, and Ian McShane, we think this has a better chance at success than the Kellan Lutz version.
Discuss this story with fellow SJF fans on Facebook. On Twitter, follow us at @SandwichJFilms, and follow author Matt Cummings at @mfc90125.
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