For me 2019 has been a great year for films as I actually got to see a lot of them. In 2017 and 2018 I’d seen so few films I couldn’t write any Best and Worst lists. This year however my financial situation and schedule were good enough for me to see so many films to pick three of the Best and three of the Worst.

Let’s start with the Best of 2019 and save the juicy sadistic pleasure of the Worst for last.

3. Godzilla: King of the Monsters

If you’ve followed me for some time now then you shouldn’t be surprised by this film’s presence in the Best list. I totally understand the criticisms King of the Monsters has received. Compared to its grounded, straight-faced predecessor, it’s a strange and unexpected follow up with its abundance of monster action, family drama, sci-fi ideas and occasional doses of humour. Many have dismissed it as a Michael Bay-style dumpster fire. For me, who’s a big Godzilla fan and had major issues with the 2014 reboot, King of the Monsters is a huge improvement.

The characters, while generic and two dimensional, are a lot more fun to watch than the shallow cardboard cut outs from the first film. The plot offers some incredible set pieces featuring numerous titans and good worldbuilding for the Monsterverse. It’s not perfect but out of all the American incarnations of the franchise, King of the Monsters is the most loyal and fun.

2. Us

While the twist ending opens up a lot of plot holes, Us is for the most part an engaging and incredibly original horror thriller.

The plot immediately grabs you with its mysterious opening and ambiguous backstory of the protagonist, Adelaide Wilson (portrayed wonderfully by Lupita Nyong’O). The plot progresses, introducing doppelgangers of Adelaide and her family and gradually revealing more of Adelaide’s past. The theme of duality in American society emerges and how issues of the nation’s past are not quite so distant as some would like to think.

A classic for the ages? I don’t think I’d go that far. One of the best of the year? Absolutely.

1. Joker

No film I’ve seen this year has provoked as much emotion and thought as Joker. The plot tracking protagonist Arthur Fleck’s descent into madness and nihilism is layered with commentary on classism, the consequences of healthcare cuts and modern aspirations.

Its depiction of a man’s mental and social downfall is similar to those in films like One Hour Photo hence it may come across as cliché at times. However, its ability to not only get you to empathize with the protagonist and his world but to understand them, results in a viscerally enthralling experience.

That’s why, out of all I saw in 2019, Joker was the best.

Now let’s have some fun. Here’re the top three Worst films I saw in the year.

3. It Chapter Two

While being a poor sequel, my reasons for listing It Chapter Two as one of the worst of 2019 are not all based on its merit as a follow up, Chapter Two has a few of its own individual faults, its balance of horror and comedy being one of the biggest.

In certain scenes the tone is so muddled that you’re not sure whether you’re supposed to scream or laugh. This especially spoils the antagonism as you struggle to see It as a threat when witty remarks and bizarre soundtrack choices (Angel of the Morning?!) appear alongside. As a result, the film pretty much kills Pennywise as an antagonist, reducing him to a ridiculous, harmless, name-calling Doctor Who villain.

The occasional flashback to the first film was expected but not the heap of new scenes that appeared.

Looking at the film as a whole, the new scenes featuring the young Losers’ Club comes across as filler. In context they make sense as we learn that each individual member of the Losers’ Club must find a personal item so they can use it in a Native American ritual that’ll kill It. However, why weren’t these items set up in the first film? If they were, then the majority of this film could’ve done what it was supposed to and focus entirely on the adult Losers.

A mediocre horror and an even worse sequel.

2. Terminator Dark Fate

Once again a film that has faults of its own and faults as a sequel.

Dark Fate is another cynical reboot in the same vein as The Force Awakens and The Predator. All the new characters are dull two-dimensional clones of characters from the first two Terminators. The plot is that of Judgement Day, Rise of the Machines and Gensys.

There’re some original ideas that had potential, such as Grace’s mysterious origins and the liquid metal Terminator’s ability to hack into modern technology but apart from those, the film is a boring and uninspired mess.

As a sequel it’s kind of worse. While Sarah Connor has clearly changed since the events of Judgement Day, in Dark Fate she doesn’t have a lot to do other than adopt positions and arcs she already has. She experiences the ignorance she did in the first film as Grace introduces her to a completely new future and the vengeful tension she did in the second film as she encounters another T-800 in the form of Carl.

The only truly positive thing to come out of this is that its performance critically and at the box office may’ve prevented any more sequels being produced. At this point, there’s no way that the Terminator story can be continued in a decent and elegant fashion.

1. Hellboy

This film was so bad I couldn’t even be bothered to review it. Everything I had to say about it had already been said by the armies of critics that were lambasting it.

The story’s muddled structure reeks of studio intervention and too many chefs in the kitchen. The overall issue with Hellboy, I feel, isn’t necessarily in its execution (the opening narration by Ian McShane is hilariously fast and awkward) but in its conception. Watching it, you’re under the impression that the film doesn’t know what it wants to be.

At most points it’s telling a story about Hellboy’s struggle to decide whether he should live among humanity or his own people. At other points however it’s about Hellboy’s partner Alice Monaghan and her story. Then it’s about Hellboy and his origins, where we’re introduced to a character known as ‘The Lobster’ who we never see again. Then it’s about Hellboy’s other partner Ben Daimio and his story, and somewhere among all this chaos is Milia Jovovich trying to start the apocalypse.

It’s so obvious that the film’s script and production didn’t have a single overarching idea to base all of its decisions on. The result is a giant wet hodgepodge of so many subplots and themes that the only reaction you can have is to laugh.

Of all the films I saw in 2019, Hellboy was the most poorly written hence the worst. Perhaps some merit can be found in the film if watched intoxicated.

Well, that’s it. 2019 in film. I know I’m biased as I of course didn’t see every film that came out but, from those that I did, I do think 2019 has been a great year. I feel that the good outweighs the bad. The joy that comes from the excitement of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, the intrigue of Us and the glory of Joker is stronger than the disappointment of It Chapter Two’s failure, Terminator Dark Fate’s familiarity and Hellboy’s perplexity.

Yes, 2019 has been good. I just hope I manage to get into the cinema as many times, if not more times, this year than I did last.