20 Best Movies Of 2017

1. Blade Runner 2049

After 35-years and a total of seven different versions of the film, during which time it achieved an almost untouchable cult icon status, there was plenty of reason to be sceptical about a Blade Runner sequel. Denis Villeneuve's follow-up not only expels those doubts during its 163 minutes, but builds to something that lives up to Ridley Scott's original, and arguably even surpasses it.

This one pushes the story forward to 2049, where replicants work as servants and slaves, and one known as Officer K (Ryan Gosling) works as a Blade Runner, leading to him discovering a secret that puts him on a mission to find the missing Rick Deckard. Gosling fits seamlessly into this world, and Harrison Ford slips easily back into it. A lot has been made of him reprising all his old roles, and Blade Runner challenges him in a way The Force Awakens did not, resulting in one of his greatest performances in years, and a deeper one than he offered in the original.

The movie might be long, but the time flies by in a story of belonging, love, and what it means to be human. Villeneuve is on the hottest of Hollywood hot streaks, and this contains the beauty and emotion of Arrival with the sheer intensity of the likes of Prisoners and Sicario. The plaudits have and will go to cinematographer Roger Deakins, whose work is stunningly good here and must surely, finally land him the Oscar, but every element of this movie, from score to effects, is firing on all cylinders.

It improves the original along with it by reframing the story of Deckard and Rachael, and contrasts that with the love between K and Joi, which is where the heart of this movie truly lies. It's a sci-fi epic with all the bells and whistles you could possibly want, and it's also a beautiful, gorgeously-realised, and shockingly human love story.

What do you think are the best movies of 2017? Let us know down in the comments.