It’s no secret that movies have gotten more expensive over the years. Hollywood’s chief goal these days seems to be to swing for the fences, by lavishing millions of dollars on special effects and digital fireworks in hopes of scoring big with audiences worldwide. There are movies nowadays that have bigger budgets than the entire GNP of some countries, so with all that money spent, they should be pretty good, right?
Well, no. Some movies are still dreadfully bad, even with all the money thrown at the filmmakers. They have a lot of flashy effects and even some big name stars, but they’re duds in the area of storytelling and audience appeal.
Here are my choices for best big budget movies since 2010. They’re entirely personal, and you may agree or disagree, but these are the ones where I thought the money was well spent.
- Gravity. George Clooney and Sandra Bullock in space, and some truly awe-inspiring vistas of Earth from above. Sandra Bullock is alone for the last half of the movie, and she turns in a stunning performance.
- Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Johnny Depp, channeling Keith Richards, and the rest of the motley crew return for another go at the Pirates franchise. Especially good, as usual, is Geoffrey Rush, as Captain Barbossa, a flamboyant pirate complete with a monkey on his shoulder.
- The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. Great scenes with the dragon Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch) and fabulous battles with armies of dwarves, orcs, and other creatures.
- The Dark Knight Rises. Christian Bale reprises his role as the brooding Batman, and Tom Hardy is creepy as the villain Bane. Lots of cool gadgets in this one.
- Toy Story 3. The very best of the Toy Story series, this one is a joy to watch. The characters are fully developed, the animation is pristine, and the story grabs you by the heart and doesn’t let go. An instant classic.
All of these movies show that if you spend your money wisely in the moviemaking process, you can tell a good story and entertain your audience, and not bore them with too many special effects.
Thanks for John for taking the time and effort to create this post!