The most anticipated film of the year, Dune, has also been voted best sci-fi film of 2021 with virtually every top spot in authoritative publications. The Absolute Ranking of Science Fiction Films, compiled by the film channel FAN, has shown this. Also in the top ten are the films that brought cult heroes – Neo, Godzilla, King Kong, Spider-Man – back to the big screen.
Dune
“Denis Villeneuve’s Dune, which came in first place by a wide margin, has been called by some publications not just the most anticipated film of the year, but the most anticipated film of the past five years. For it was in 2016 that it was announced that Legendary Pictures Studios had acquired the rights to adapt Frank Herbert’s iconic novel. In 2018, it was revealed that the new adaptation of the famous saga would consist of two parts – exactly what the director insisted on when he started work on the film. Grandiose special effects, Hans Zimmer’s critically acclaimed music and a stellar cast of Timothy Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Stellan Skarsgård, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Charlotte Rampling, Zendaya, Javier Bardem and Jason Momoa ensured the film’s success. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival. In the world box office “Dune” has collected 393,5 million dollars. The film has been ranked in 12 of the 15 best sci-fi films considered by FAN, and has also been named best sci-fi film of the year by the channel’s program directorate.
The Matrix Resurrections
In second place is the long-awaited return of Neo and Trinity to the big screens. “The Matrix: Resurrection is the fourth film in a series that fans have been waiting nearly 20 years for. It was Lana Wachowski’s debut work as sole director, with her sister Lilly believed to have retired from filmmaking. The makers of the first three parts – producer Joel Silver, cameraman Bill Pope, composer Don Davies and set designer Owen Paterson – have not been involved either, with Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss in the lead roles again to the delight of fans of the series. Opinions on the film are diametrically opposed. Some emphasise its nostalgic nature, the director’s penchant for self-irony and the love story in the centre as the film’s pluses, whilst others scold it for its lack of action and monotonous narration. Despite the film’s unfinished plot, it has already been announced that no sequel to the franchise will follow.
Shang-Chi and the legend of the Ten Rings
Not far behind the new Matrix is the first film in the Marvel universe to feature an Asian hero, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton.
Destin Daniel Cretton. Private park ranger Shaun is actually a martial arts master, and his father is the head of the Ten Rings criminal organisation and secretly rules the world. Shang-Chi must return home to face the ghosts of his past. The film achieved 9th place at the worldwide box office and received positive reviews from critics, making it into half of the top sci-fi films of the year.
A Quiet Place 2
The sequel to John Krasinski’s sci-fi horror film A Quiet Place 2 is in fourth place in the Absolute Rating. The reason for filming the sequel was the excellent grosses of the first part – the film grossed $340 million at the global box office in 2018. “A Quiet Place could well become one of the most popular franchises, spawning a new meta-universe. In the new installment, the Abbott family leave their home to find other people and discover what catastrophe has befallen humanity.
Godzilla vs. Kong
Rounding out the top five is the sci-fi action film Godzilla vs Kong, directed by Adam Wingard. It is the twelfth King Kong film in the world and the fourth in Hollywood, and the thirty-sixth in the Godzilla series. The characters had appeared together on screen in 1962 and on Toho’s 30th anniversary they were destined to meet again.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League
In sixth place is Zack Snyder’s Justice League, the director’s version of the famous superhero film. The so-called Justice League includes Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Cyborg, Aquaman and The Flash. In 2017, when Zack Snyder had to leave the director’s chair due to the death of his daughter and Joss Whedon was refining the film, Justice League was a box office flop. Fans waited three years for an alternate version from Snyder, and in 2020 it was announced that it would be completed. The new film focuses on the director’s daughter. On the streaming platforms where the film was released, it is one of the top 10 most watched films.
Free Guy
In seventh place is Sean Levy’s sci-fi action comedy Protagonist, starring Ryan Reynolds. The hero of the film works as a bank teller, unaware that the world around him is just a computer game. He has only one dream: to meet an ideal girl and that dream completely changes everything around him. The film premiered at the Locarno Festival in Switzerland.
The Mitchells vs. the Machines
In eighth place was the animated road movie Mitchell vs Cars from the makers of Spider-Man: Across the Universe and Gravity Falls. The teenage protagonist dreams of rushing away from her annoying parents by enrolling in a film school on the other side of the country. But caring father decides to accompany his daughter and organizes a family road trip to the place of study. During the journey, however, an artificial intelligence starts a machine uprising. “Mitchells vs Cars” has become the most-watched animated feature on streaming service Netflix and is ranked as the second best sci-fi film of the year, based on Rotten Tomatoes’ approval rating.
Spider-Man: No Way Home
In nine place is once again the hero of the Marvel universe, Spider-Man: No Way Home. This is John Watts’ third film about the iconic superhero. This installment brings together villains from all the previous series: Doctor Octopus, Green Goblin, Electro, Lizard and Sandman. The film grossed over a billion dollars, making it the highest-grossing project of the year.
Boss Level
Rounding out the Absolute rating is The Day of the Trick, Joe Carnahan’s sci-fi action film about a Special Forces soldier trapped in a time loop. The hero experiences the day he is to be killed more than a hundred times. He fights an assassin armed with a machete, neutralises the gunman, jumps out the window of a house hit by a helicopter, steals a car, but still ends up dead. And so it goes every day. A Groundhog Day of sorts, starring Mel Gibson and Frank Grillo.