July Movies in Review

It has been quite an eventful month for movies, and it has also been some time since I have written a review. The month of July 2017 has ushered in a large quantity of high-profile films, more so than usual in one month. The "big three", so to speak, of this month have been the latest Marvel entry Spider-Man: Homecoming, the trilogy-capper War for the Planet of the Apes, and Christopher Nolan's war epic Dunkirk. With anticipation at a high for all three of these movies, did all of them live up to expectations? Did any of them? I will quickly cover each to determine which were home runs and which were misfires.

One movie that did not leave me satisfied was Spider-Man: Homecoming, the third attempt at a franchise-starter for the iconic web-slinger. Tom Holland does a fine job as the titular character (though I enjoyed him more as a supporting character in Civil War) and Michael Keaton plays a memorable, surprisingly likable villain, but one can't help but feel a sense of familiarity and routine as the events of this movie play out. Is Marvel fatigue finally starting to set in? I would say that while this movie was entertaining, it never rose above "okay" status due to its predictability and lack of any standout action scenes. My score for this film would be 3 out of 5 stars.

The second major release of this time period, War for the Planet of the Apes, left me with a similar feeling of disappointment. As expected, both the visual effects and Andy Serkis's performance are stunning, but the story was lacking; it felt uneventful and downright boring in certain parts, especially as the conclusion to a well-regarded trilogy. Woody Harrelson's underwhelming villain character as well as an annoying, out of place comic relief ape also served to hinder the movie's quality. While it certainly has its fair share of intense and well-done scenes, they were not enough to outweigh the movie's flaws, and I would give it 3 out of 5 stars.

Fortunately, Dunkirk was able to end the month on a high note. Light on character development but heavy on action and suspense, this movie was fast-paced and incredibly tense throughout. Nolan did a fantastic job of putting the audience in the shoes of the characters; at no point did I feel anyone was "safe", and the sense of claustrophobia invoked in certain parts was incredible. Exhilarating, emotional, and satisfying, Christopher Nolan has most certainly added another masterpiece to his already distinguished filmography with this release. I would award Dunkirk 4.5 out of 5 stars.