VOG's Best Movies of 2013
So this is our list, based completely on the reviews compiled here on the site with a little help from our readers. I've gathered all the A range reviews and ranked them based on where they fell into that range, using the review response grades to break any ties. And even if you never got around to adding a review response, you can rank these movies yourself at the end of the article for one final list of the best in geek film for 2013.
5. Iron Man 3
Along with kicking off the summer movie season, Iron Man 3 was the first theatrical review to hit VOG. Critical Myth's John Keegan liked the action pieces and said it was "a different take on the character arc of Tony Stark, but ultimately lacking the briskness and fun of The Avengers or the first Iron Man." Readers mostly agreed, praising the film as a fun summer popcorn movie as long as you don't think about the plot too much.
4. Star Trek Into Darkness
While tied with Iron Man 3 based on both grades on the site, I bumped J.J. Abrams' Star Trek sequel to 4 on the list because of the greater number of A grades in the response reviews. With all the responses, it was clear this movie stirred a lot of opinions. In his review, Bronzethumb pointed out there was "still a lot of the fun adventure elements that made the previous film so watchable" but that the sequel does take a darker turn and even takes liberties with established Star Trek canon.
3. Gravity
The response review grade for Gravity was the highest of the movies on this list, but there wasn't as much feedback as the other big movies this year. I'm sure the film will probably end up with a handful of awards, and it was a box office hit on top of that, for its depiction of space that Henry Tran called "something less magical and more terrifying." It definitely worked for a film that could have no villain other than the unforgiving setting.
2. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Henry Tran was also on hand to review the sequel to the smash-hit Hunger Games film. He praises the performances in the movie, especially Jennifer Lawrence who he says "once again imbues Katniss with this determined personality that seems to have hardened since the first film." The VOG readers responded with minor issues over the length or ending, but still enjoyed the movie overall.
1. Man of Steel
Topping our list for 2013 is Zach Snyder's take on Superman. It scored a solid A, again from reviewer Henry Tran, and the same grade from the average of VOG review responses. While it was certainly a controversial take on the most recognizable superhero in history, the film performed well enough at the box office to relaunch the Superman franchise for the 21st Century. Henry agreed, calling it "a great start to the newest version of Superman."
That's the list according to VOG, but you the readers can have one final say. Rank these films based on where you think they should be when we look back at the geek movies of 2013. And what about the films we didn't get around to reviewing or didn't score an A grade? Add your opinion in the comments below.
act_deft
1/6/2014 9:55 PM
Reply
But out of my favorite films of the year, Pacific Rim has got to be one of them. That movie was my childhood in live action/cgi form.