Top 10 Films of 2014 (UPDATED)

This is an amended version of my Top 10 Films of 2014 list that I made several months ago.

10 - THE BOOK THIEF
I feel I should put The Book Thief further up the list. Its an excellent film and I really liked it. However, upon reflection I realized just how bad the pacing was at points. Its a great film though with a strong cast, great production design, fantastic score and an excellent screenplay. 8/10

9 - EDGE OF TOMORROW
Put simply, I can't quite put my finger on what's missing from Edge of Tomorrow. Maybe its the lack of originality at points or that I would have preferred to have had someone other than Tom Cruise playing Cage. That being said, he's good in the role, so what is my problem? The beginning is a bit clunky as you'd expect and there are a couple of unexplained plot holes - Rita explains that Cage relives the same day over and over again, yet he's reliving the same two days over and over again - and a few other things. That being said, its a great film and well worth your money. 8/10

8 - CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER
An absolutely brilliant addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Winter Soldier explores a spy thriller with Captain America that proves to be a winning combination. After all, with the most patriotic and kind-hearted person imaginable as the main protagonist, it makes the mystery even more interesting. It doesn't use the Winter Soldier as much as it should, especially after the poor set-up in 2011's The First Avenger, but with great pacing, a strong cast and some truly terrific action, Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a great film that I highly recommend. 8/10

7 - DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES
A fantastic sequel to a fantastic prequel, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes follows on the story of the Apes' rise to power with some great acting and some stunning visual FX. It is a bit clichéd, but its a great and thought-provoking watch. Highly recommended. 9/10

6 - LUCY
Lucy seems to have been forgotten by most people now. It just sort of came and went and few gave it much thought. Something really resonated with me with Lucy though, maybe because its Scarlett Johansson being badass or maybe because it really gelled with me and almost everything about it worked. I really enjoyed Lucy as an action flick, and while I do have my nitpicks, its a really great film. 9/10

5 - THE LEGO MOVIE
Despite being one giant advertisement for the most popular toy franchise ever made, The LEGO Movie is a surprisingly heartfelt film with a strong story, a great sense of humour, and buried beneath it all is a surprisingly deep message about conformity that perhaps may go over the heads of the film's target audience, but not over the heads of an older audience. Its a lot of fun, and while one of the big twist-elements in the film is fantastic, it does lend to some problems in The LEGO Movie. 9/10

4 - THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES
The Hobbit trilogy has divided some fans, with it adapting a short children's book into three incredibly long, detailed and much less child-friendly films. That being said, The finale to The Hobbit trilogy was engrossing, action-packed and all-round entertaining. It also has some pretty damn awesome moments, and Benedict Cumberbatch as a dragon. 9/10

3 - THE IMITATION GAME
A fascinating film detailing the life and work of mathematician Alan Turing, focusing on his work on the Engima-cracking machine 'Christopher' which helped the Allies to win WWII, enhanced by a stunning lead performance from Benedict Cumberbatch, a fantastic script and a cracking score courtesy of Alexandre Desplat. 10/10

2 - X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST
Easily the best X-Men film, I was almost going to put Days of Future Past first on this list. Everything about it works and it proves to be one of the greatest superhero movies of all time, even if it probably makes no sense if you haven't seen its predecessors. Working as a sequel, prequel and reboot, Days of Future Past got full marks from me. 10/10

1 - GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
You could probably see it coming, but Guardians of the Galaxy was brilliant, hilarious, fun and a treat to watch. It may have a bit of a knaff villain and I really wanted to see more of Karen Gillan as Nebula, but seeing as there's a sequel coming in just over two years, there will be room for her then. Also, I don't think I've had such a big smile on my face after seeing a film. And no, I'm not going to do a hooked on a feeling joke... 10/10

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