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2021 has not been that much better than 2020 in terms of Hollywood releases, with the promise of a few hits and quite a few misses. Here are some new and upcoming Hollywood movie releases that you can watch in 2021:
1. The King's Man | Release: December 22, 2021 | Rating -4/5
What caught me off-guard about the trailer for "The King's Man" was that it teased the spy tech used in the movie with a gradual build-up. Then came the "War Pigs" song by Ozzy that set the mood for what you could expect, finally linking it to Kingsman.
The Kingsman franchise has done well with its first two installments leading us to believe this prequel would maintain the legacy of box office hits. The cast is great here with Ralph Fiennes and action heavyweight Djimon Hounsou, Marvel veterans Daniel Brühl and Aaron Taylor Johnson.
For the plot, we go back to the early days of Kingsman when the agency was busy stopping a global conflict through precise spycraft and combat. You can definitely go to watch this movie and walk out entertained.
2. The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard | Release: 6 August 2021 | Rating - 2.5/5
This movie is meant purely for entertainment and not intellectual stimulation. In fact, I watched (or listened to) most of the movie sans video and it still made perfect sense. That being said, it is mindless fun that isn't to be missed.
Ryan Reynolds' quippy deadpan humor coupled with Samuel L Jackson's profanity-laced rants make for some great laughs and good fun. But don't expect a deep and profound plot with complex character arcs. This franchise just ain't it.
The plot is pretty simple - Mr. Hitman (Samuel L Jackson) gets nabbed by someone who was affected by his hits while on honeymoon with Mrs. Hitman's wife (Salma Hayek). Hayek pulls in Ryan Reynolds to search for her hubby.
This leads to hijinks and some labored laughs with the movie's exposition serving as a pale background to crude attempts at humor.
3. Free Guy | Release: 10th August 2021 | Rating - 3.5/5
You can expect Ryan Reynolds to be in his element in Free Guy, with meta-humor similar to Deadpool and RIPD. The premise of a computer game character becoming self-aware is simple and has been used before, but still has good potential.
The director and cast are another reason why you can expect this movie to be a hit. Shawn Levy with hits like "Date Night" and "This Is Where I Leave You" is certain to give his best here. Seeing Joe Keery of Stranger Things, Lil Rel Howery the comedian, and the hilarious Taika Waititi you can be assured that the laughs will never stop. You should definitely watch this with anyone you can, it is bound to be entertaining and funny!
4. Jungle Cruise | Release: 24 July 2021 | Rating - 2/5
It seems that 1 out of every 5 Hollywood movies released has Dwayne Johnson in it. There is nothing new about the plot in this movie, it feels like Brendan Fraser's "The Mummy" was crossed with Pirates of the Caribbean and passed through a Disney filter.
The odd pairing of Emily Blunt with Dwayne Johnson, and Jack Whitehall being himself makes for an interesting watch. Apart from these two things, everything else is cookie-cutter movie tropes thrown in as a potluck. The graphics are okay (but poor for Disney), the stunts are so-so and the twists are predictable and boring.
The plot of this movie involves a folksy tour operator in the Amazon teaming up with a cute tomboy type to find a MacGuffin that would save someone or something. It's a good way to spend time with your kids but not something you would watch with a friend.
Read about James Gunns' The Suicide Squad
5. F9: The Fast Saga | Release: 19 August 2021 | Rating - 3.5/5
Mild spoilers ahead!
I watched F9 as well with just the audio on since it's meant to be a movie that's high on action on really really low on plot. Surprisingly, this movie fared better than The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard (THWB) in terms of having to actually watch the video to understand the "plot" nuances.
I mean it's just the action sequences, but still better than THWB, while being more entertaining than Ryan Reynold's forced laughs.
Some of the cool scenes were the ones having cars with powerful electromagnets - somewhat believable. One of the completely unacceptable scenes was the rocket car bit: screw SpaceX - hire these guys! One thoughtful scene was when the Toretto family all sat down for lunch and waited for one important teamster to show up. Wanna guess who? (Hint: hasn't starred in the past few movies.)
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