Australia’s 25 Favourite Movies of 2021

2021 ended up being an incredibly strong year for movies. So much so, that picking the best films of the year feels like an almost impossible task. This is exactly why Rolling Stone Australia called upon you, the readers, to share your valuable opinions on your favourite movies of 2021. Having tabulated over 10.000 votes in the process, we've now been left with a list of films that act as perfect time capsules of the year that was. If any of the titles slipped you by or if they demand a re-watch, they are all available now to either rent, buy or pre-order on disc or digital, so you can enjoy them all from the comfort of your home.

Daniel Craig has defined James Bond for contemporary audiences. His appointment comes to end with No Time to Die, but the substance of Cary Joji Fukunaga’s film shows the 007 franchise is well positioned to carry on into the future. In fact, despite beginning with a flashback sequence and going hard on call-backs to moments and characters from the Craig era, No Time to Die displays an expanded worldview and a newly burnished empathetic depth. It’s not all touchy-feely stuff, mind you—Rami Malek’s turn as the sociopathic Lyutsifer Safin will get under your skin in a way few former Bond villains have.

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You don’t need to have read Frank Herbert’s 1965 sci-fi epic, Dune, to know that adapting it into a feature film is a fool’s errand—for that, you need simply refer to David Lynch’s 1984 attempt, which was painfully disorienting for all the wrong reasons. That said, director Denis Villeneuve has form when it comes to reviving sci-fi classics (he was behind 2017’s Blade Runner 2049) and by casting Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya as the film’s two young leads, Villeneuve has crafted an altogether more approachable film than Lynch’s Dune. Beyond that, however, Villeneuve’s Dune succeeds as a visually stunning, dramatic old-school blockbuster, with a Hans Zimmer soundtrack to boot.

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Free Guy is like an IRL version of The Lego Movie. Though, instead of the narrative action stemming from a child’s imagination, Ryan Reynold’s Guy must rebel against the automated programming imposed on him by the designers of the video game in which he lives. After a lifetime of being shot at, hit by cars and ambushed at work, Guy wants a change. But by breaking the mould, Guy messes with the game’s entire infrastructure. Like The Lego Movie, Free Guy can be read as an allegory from the robotic nature of 21st century living. But the film morphs into a tale of survival and altruism in the face of Guy’s apathetic capitalist overlords.

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Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings

All the commentary about the perils of Marvel’s monopolisation of mainstream cinema seems to have reached the ears of the studio heads. Their response has been to redouble their commitment to producing films with uniquely fulfilling storylines that don’t underestimate the audience’s intelligence. Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings is one of the year’s favourite films for precisely this reason. It follows Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) as he transitions from living incognito as Shaun to partnering with Katy (Awkwafina) and resolving to take down the evil order overseen by his father. Shang-Chi is funny and dynamically violent, while also emphasising character development and the on-screen chemistry of its two leads.

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Jon Watts, the director of Spider-Man: No Way Home, started his career making films for satirical media company The Onion. And it shows: in a similar manner to the Tom Holland-led Spidey prequels—Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)—the humour in No Way Home is rooted in self-awareness. Not only does the film manage to build on the first two movies, it also touches on the legacy of Peter Parker in clever and surprising ways. The blockbuster action is deftly balanced with genuine emotion and strong performances from Holland and Zendaya, leading to No Way Home becoming the biggest crowd-pleaser of the year and one of the MCU’s best.

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Australia’s 25 Favourite Movies of 2021

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