15 Problems Only Film Fans In 2016 Would Understand
Hello darkness, my old friend.
2016 has been quite the emotional rollercoaster for film fans: a ton of anticipated movies ended up disappointing us all, a brilliant actor died long before his time, and some heavily divisive movies had everyone questioning the very purpose of cinema.
These problems are largely isolated to this year specifically rather than serving as a wider commentary on the film industry, with audiences facing brutal dilemmas, the Internet stirring up absurd controversies and fans getting blindsided by unexpected revelations.
It may have been a rather grim year in its entirety, and as much as we like to see movies as escapism, Hollywood also offered up its share of rude awakenings, shocks, and tough decisions for film-going audiences. Fingers crossed that 2017 is a little more merciful.
Here are 15 problems only film fans in 2016 would understand...
15. Angry Birds Was The Year's Best Video Game Movie
2016 could've been a banner year for video game movies, given the release of a not-terrible-looking Angry Birds movie with a great cast, a Warcraft film directed by the brilliant Duncan Jones, a Ratchet and Clank movie written and voiced by the original artists, and an Assassin's Creed film directed by the guy behind Macbeth starring Michael Fassbender.
And yet, not a single one of them was really any good, with The Angry Birds Movie scoring the best reviews with a middling 43% on Rotten Tomatoes, while the others were largely panned.
That's without even considering Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV, which landed a pitiable 13%.
Gamers were optimistic that 2016 would change everything and Hollywood would start taking them seriously, but they're in fact still waiting for the first truly great movie adapted from a game.
Sadly, 2017 only has Resident Evil: The Final Chapter penciled in so far, so don't expect next year to redeem things at all.