Spectre (2015)
Sam Mendes returns to give Daniel Craig's Bond a proper villain, a confessed organisation and a surveillance subplot with teeth. Less surprising than Skyfall, but handsome, confident and built to rewatch. 8/10.
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Sicario (2015)
Denis Villeneuve crosses the border into the cartel war and comes back with the most controlled, most frightening thriller of the year. A procedural with the floor pulled out from under it. 8.5/10.
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The Martian (2015)
Ridley Scott swaps dread for competence and makes a survival film about doing the maths. It is funny, clever, gorgeous to look at, and the most purely enjoyable thing he has directed in years. 9.5/10.
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The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015)
Guy Ritchie turns a 1960s television relic into a tailored, unhurried Cold War caper that values style and chemistry over plot. Slight on stakes, generous on pleasure, and built to rewatch. 8/10.
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Mission - Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015)
Christopher McQuarrie takes over the franchise, hands it a proper antagonist and a breakout co-lead in Rebecca Ferguson, and produces the most controlled Mission yet. 8.5/10.
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Ant-Man (2015)
Marvel closes its second phase not with a god or a billionaire but with a burglar, a heist and a man the size of a fingernail. The smallest premise on the slate turns out to be one of the most enjoyable. 8.5/10.
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Jurassic World (2015)
Twenty-two years after the park first failed, the gates reopen on a working resort and a lab-grown monster nobody should have built. It is louder and less magical than the original, but it knows exactly what it is for. 8/10.
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Tomorrowland (2015)
Brad Bird leaves animation to build a sincere, retro-futurist adventure about the cost of giving up on the future. The story wobbles where the design soars, but the optimism is hard to resist. 7.5/10.
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Mad Max - Fury Road (2015)
George Miller comes back to the wasteland after thirty years and makes the leanest, loudest action film in ages. Almost no plot, almost no let-up, and a stunt team doing it for real. 8.5/10.
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Chappie (2015)
Neill Blomkamp turns a stolen police droid into a newborn mind raised by Johannesburg gangsters. It is messy, sincere and far more interesting than the critics will tell you. 8/10.
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