10 Unexpectedly Awesome 2017 Movies Everyone Thought Would Suck

5. Only The Brave

Joseph Kosinskis Only The Brave Miles Teller
Columbia Pictures

Why It Should've Sucked: Movies based on real-life tragedies are always risky cinematic prospects, and with style-over-substance filmmaker Joseph Kosinski (Tron: Legacy, Oblivion) at the helm, it wasn't easy to believe he'd deliver a truly respectful and heartfelt tribute to the men who died during 2013's Yarnell Hill Fire.

Why It Was Awesome: Easily the best of Kosinski's three movies to date, Only the Brave melds his stylish visuals with an earnest, emotional script and fantastic supporting cast to make this one of the year's best-executed movies based on real events.

The spine may be conventional, sure, but it does a great job with character development, and when disaster strikes, it sure is a spectacle to behold, all the way up to the devastating finale. It's this year's Deepwater Horizon: an unexpectedly sensitive and technically impressive dramatisation of an horrific event.

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Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.