15 Unexpectedly Awesome 2014 Movies Everyone Thought Would Suck

Like any other year, 2014 has had its share of good movies and bad movies, and this time last year, everyone had their own rigid predictions about which films would and wouldn't work. Sometimes, however, Hollywood can pull off an unexpected victory and surprise everyone, and in the case of these 15 movies, they took premises, casts and directors that simply shouldn't have worked well together for a multitude of reasons, and made some pretty damn good films in the process. This list includes spin-offs nobody really wanted, sequels and reimaginings which had little business existing, poorly cast movies that just inspired no interest whatsoever, and simply movies marketed so poorly that nobody would have ever expected them to succeed, but somehow they managed to anyway. Whatever the reason, these 15 movies surpassed all expectations to deliver a fun time at the cinema, and though many of them are still plenty flawed, they're nevertheless infinitely more entertaining than audience expectations typically indicated they would be. It's always a pleasant surprise when this happens, and hopefully the year of movies ahead will bring just as many surprisingly great films. Without any further ado, here are 15 unexpectedly awesome 2014 movies everyone thought would suck...