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2017's biggest summer blockbusters ranked

From Digital Spy

Summer 2017 has been a strange time for blockbusters. Smash hit franchises tanked, while the once-maligned DC Extended Universe gave us one of the season's most acclaimed movies.

In this age of uncertainty, we've sorted the wheat from the chaff to rank the summer's big guns from worst to best.

13. Baywatch

Photo credit: Paramount
Photo credit: Paramount

Dwayne Johnson's charm and Zac Efron's (inevitable) toplessness couldn't save this woefully unfunny 'comedy' reboot from sinking without trace.

What we said: "What quickly becomes apparent is that we've seen most of the movie's major gags in its extensive marketing campaign. And the ones we haven't seen weren't included in the trailers for a reason – they just aren't that funny."

12. Transformers: The Last Knight

Michael Bay's fifth and (allegedly) final outing became the least successful of the multi-billion dollar franchise, even with a nutso story about King Arthur, Nazis and... abolitionist hero Harriet Tubman?

What we said: "Still, it's better than watching Guy Ritchie's King Arthur movie."

11. Atomic Blonde

Photo credit: Universal
Photo credit: Universal

Charlize Theron kicks serious butt in this '80s set Cold War thriller directed by the guy who made John Wick. The first half is a thrilling, breakneck (literally at one point) showcase of stunts, and Theron is magnificent. The second half sadly gets caught up in a convoluted plot you've no investment in. Half awesome.

10. Baby Driver

Photo credit: Sony
Photo credit: Sony

Edgar Wright creates a (sort of) musical about a getaway driver with tinnitus. The stunts are insane, the soundtrack rockin' but it's a case of style over substance.

What we said: "The craft behind it is undeniably assured. Unlike his Cornetto trilogy though, it's very difficult to care about the characters, meaning that as thrilling as it looks on screen, it struggles to invite you beneath the surface."

9. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Photo credit: Lionsgate
Photo credit: Lionsgate

Luc Besson's vast, stunning space opera might be slightly silly and kind of miscast but it's undeniably ambitious and far more fun than it has any right to be. Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne star as two awesome space secret agents who have to save an entire species after their planet is blown up. Features more eye-catching aliens than you can shake a stick at.

8. Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar's Revenge

Photo credit: Disney
Photo credit: Disney

A pattern has emerged in 2017 of the fifth instalments of mega-successful franchises seriously underperforming at the box office. Still, quality-wise, Salazar's Revenge was a good step up from the dire On Stranger Tides.

What we said: "Captain Jack has his swagger back."

7. Fast & Furious 8

Photo credit: Universal
Photo credit: Universal

The latest instalment in the hit action franchise was predictably fun, if bonkers – despite threatening to jump the shark completely, it still took over a $1 billion at the box office.

What we said: "Fast & Furious 8 ups the ante even more than its previous instalments. There's no 'back to basics' here, it just gets even more insane. They haven't quite gone to the moon yet, but it's getting there."

6. Spider-Man: Homecoming

Photo credit: Sony / Marvel Studios
Photo credit: Sony / Marvel Studios

Tom Holland – who impressed in his Captain America: Civil War debut – gets his chance to go solo in the surprise collaboration between Marvel and Sony that is part John Hughes, part – uh – Spider-Man.

What we said: "It's charming. It's hilarious. And it proves that Holland is the best on-screen Spidey yet."

5. Alien: Covenant

Photo credit: 20th Century Fox
Photo credit: 20th Century Fox

Ridley Scott's follow up to Prometheus (and Alien prequel) is an all-out horror movie showing us the origins of the Xenomorph and featuring two standout performances from Michael Fassbender as androids David and Walter.

What we said: "Ridley Scott's haunted house movie may have evolved, but Alien's DNA is all there."

4. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2

Photo credit: Disney
Photo credit: Disney

Director James Gunn and his cast reunited for a second adventure with the breakout stars of the MCU, combining the jokes we all expected with an added layer of emotional depth.

What we said: "The first film turned out to be a huge hit (and still stands as one of the MCU's best films), so all eyes are on James Gunn to see if he can strike gold for a second time with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. The simple answer is yes. He can."

3. Wonder Woman

Photo credit: Warner Bros.
Photo credit: Warner Bros.

Gal Gadot's first solo movie broke records and defied the critical pasting of Warner Bros' DCEU superhero franchise with its World War I adventures. Hollywood has no more excuses for denying us female-led superhero movies.

What we said: "Wonder Woman is comfortably the best movie in the DCEU so far."

2. War for the Planet of the Apes

Photo credit: 20th Century Fox
Photo credit: 20th Century Fox

The third part of the Apes reboot is a grown up, intelligent, war-western that sees benevolent ape leader go head to head with Colonel-Kurtz-alike human Woody Harrelson. It's super smart, a little bit bleak and one of the most surprising and moving blockbusters we've seen.

What we said: "It's bleak, it's brave, it's groundbreaking, and it does the trilogy proud."

1. Dunkirk

Photo credit: Warner Bros.
Photo credit: Warner Bros.

Christopher Nolan's second world war epic is not only the best blockbuster of the year, and the best film of the yeah, it's Christopher Nolan's best movie ever.

Moving, sprawling, expertly performed by the ensemble cast (Kenneth Branagh, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance, Fionn Whitehead and yes, even Harry Styles), Dunkirk is immersive and thrilling.

What we said: "Dunkirk is the film Nolan has been building to his entire career. It's his masterpiece, it's the best film of the year so far, and it's the one to beat come awards time."


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