Jordan Farley

Epic in scope, intimate in execution, Napoleon is a thrilling, surprisingly funny account of the infamous French Emperor’s rise and fall.

The most action-packed Avatar yet still has the capacity to dazzle, with Oona Chaplin's Varang turning up the heat. Even if a frustrating lack of resolution and some repetitive storytelling choices make this feel more like The Way of Water part 2.

It may not dazzle as much as Attack the Block, but Cornish’s second feature is a fun family adventure.

An uncompromisingly bleak slow burn, it leaves the pulse frantic and nerves frayed.

The burgeoning bond between man and monster hits soaring emotional heights, even if the new world feels a little under-developed.

Blow for blow Creed 2 is a closer match for its heavyweight predecessors than anyone dared hope. Transparently formulaic at times – but boy will it get your blood pumping.

Proving there’s life in the zom-com yet, Forsythe’s down under rib-tickler might just be 2019’s funniest film.

It may not be a perfect movie, but in a word, it’s pretty super.

A superior sports biopic with a never-better LaBeouf? You cannot be serious! But it only fully gets to grips with the ice-cool Swede.

Predator: Badlands may irk traditionalists, but it's a big swing that just about works. The odd-couple dynamic between Elle Fanning's busted synth and the more human Yautja adds laughs to the usual lacerations for a fun, propulsive, off-world action-adventure.

Prisoners of the Ghostland exists entirely outside the norms and conventions of moviemaking. Really there’s only one word to describe it: nuts.

A bloody fun second round, Mortal Kombat 2 creatively resets the series for the better. Karl Urban adds irreverent energy as a post-Deadpool Johnny Cage, while the all-important fights mostly deliver the goods. A step up from 2021’s bizarrely tournament-less Mortal Kombat that lands some killer blows, but it’s far from a flawless victory.

Ben Wheatley goes back to basics for a pandemic chiller where Covid is the last thing to be afraid of.

Egerton gives it his all, and there are moments of visual invention, but this largely formulaic rock biopic can’t hit the high notes.

Though suffering from its own shortcomings, Zack Snyder’s gargantuan Justice League is a commendable improvement on the widely derided original. Stock up on snacks.

One of the smartest zom-coms in recent memory gets a faithful French remake, but it's too well made to convince as the ultra-low budget schlock its aping.

Sex, violence and surgery: the king of body horror is back, but the script could do with a scalpel.

Living up to its billing as the most ridiculous film of the summer, The Meg is one to laugh at rather than with. Instantly forgettable, but undeniably fun.

Dark Fate gets more right than it gets wrong (just about, anyway), and there’s an undeniable thrill in seeing Hamilton and Schwarzenegger reunited onscreen for the first time in almost three decades. But this fourth attempt at crafting a worthy sequel to James Cameron’s peerless sci-fi double bill only just gets passing marks.

A relic of the ’90s in more ways than one, Sonic offers frenetic fun for younger viewers, and in Jim Carrey’s preposterous Robotnik an enjoyable shot of nostalgia for adults.

Justin Lin gets the series back on track with Fast and Furious 9 by delving into the past while racing into the future. See it on the biggest, loudest screen possible.

The seventh and supposedly final Scream is never as sharp or as smart as the series' best, but it still has a few neat tricks up its billowing sleeve. Enjoyably self-aware and satisfyingly bloody, this may be imitation Craven, but it proves Scream's slasher-whodunnit formula is still potent enough to thrill.

Incendiary storytelling with nuanced performances, but the transition from stage to screen lacks focus.

Derivative and a little dumb but consistently fun: there’s personality and panache to spare in this monster blockbuster.

Sharper, meaner, and meatier than Prometheus, Covenant's weak narrative drive stalls its brutal good intentions.

Rampage was always going to be the cinematic equivalent of junk food – enjoyable enough while consumed, but devoid of nourishment. When the homo sapiens are on screen, you can feel the film start to flatline but, against the odds, a computer-generated gorilla might just win you over.

George Miller combines myth, magic, and romance to mixed effect in a visually dazzling adult fairytale starring a committed Swinton and Elba.

It’s a sensitive, sweet, frequently heartbreaking trip through deeply personal history, but there’s no getting round the fact that Gray had what most might consider a fairly typical childhood.