Which July 2024 Movies Are Worth Your Time? A Ranking from Best to Worst

With July at an end, it is time to share my thoughts on the 5 July releases that I saw. July had multiple big money blockbusters as well as a few streaming studio films. I didn't see near as many movies as June but I was also a lot busier this month than the last. This month also had the one MCU movie of the year so I was very excited for that. With that being said, here are my thoughts and ranking of the 5 July releases that I saw.

5. Despicable Me 4

Despicable Me 4 is easily the worst movie I saw this month. On the positive end, the movie delivers a lot of laughs and tons of fun characters and moments. There are a lot of good ideas in the film that are worth exploring. However, the movie lacks any interconnected plot. It has all of these different subplots used to set up jokes and gags but nothing tying them together. It is almost like the writers had these various ideas that the movie could be about but instead of picking one or two, they just decided to go with all of them. The main premise of the movie that sets up the whole film essentially bookends the film, leaving the middle full of independent stories about Gru and his family living undercover. There are too many different ideas for the movie to spend adequate time on any of them. I get that this is not a movie made for adults but kids movies can still have a solid story with heart and emotion, much like the first Despicable Me film. Overall, this movie fails to capture any of the charm of the other films and while it is still quite fun, it doesn't have any of the plot or heart to hold it all together.

Score: 5.5/10 Grade: C

Click Here to read my full review of this movie.

4. Fly Me to the Moon

Fly Me to the Moon is the one rom com I saw this month. It centers around marketing specialist Kelly Jones and launch director Cole Davis as they prepare to market the moon landing to the American people. I found this to be a bit of an ok enough rom-com. It had some funny moments in it. Both Scarlet Johanson and Channing Tatum could be quite funny at times. I also liked the whole space and science aspect with all the stuff leading up to the launch being a lot of fun. I also found the launch sequence itself to be very effective and exciting. What holds this movie back for me is the weird way they use the fake moon landing aspect. It was in the trailer and I assumed it was going to be just a joke sequence in the movie but it ends being the central conflict in the second half of the story. That was just a very odd direction to in the movie and just felt very out of place. I think the whole conflict with it at the end of the movie could have just been completely cut out. I also felt the movie was a bit too long. It clocks in at about 130 minutes when it could have been a solid 100 minute rom com. This again, connects to the weird fake moon landing subplot. If that had been cut out and just been a small joke in the middle of the film, it would have solved the major issues I had. In the end, this is a decent enough rom-com but just made some odd choices in the second half that keep me from going fully positive.

Score: 6.5/10 Grade: B-

3. Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is the newest film in the Beverly Hills Cop franchise and was a lot better than I was expecting. A lot of times, long-delayed sequels of 40-year-old movies don't have the best track record but this movie was a pleasant surprise. It manages to capture some of the magic of the original film while still being leaps and bounds better than the lifeless third installment. Eddie Murphy is still great at doing his thing and has great chemistry with everyone around him. There are also a lot of solid action sequences that come with getting those big Netflix bucks. I also thought Joseph Gordon Levit was a solid addition to the cast as he can play off of Eddie Murphy very well as they go on their detective adventure. Some of the issues I had with the film were some of the lackluster side characters. Both the daughter and the villain characters are pretty bland and one note. Aside from the characters, I wish we got to spend more time with the original trio of Billy, Axel, and John. While we do get to see them together, it just doesn't capture the magic of the original film. Overall, this movie does a good job of hitting all the right notes of the franchise. While it doesn't reach the level of the original two films, it still is a fun addition to the franchise.

Score: 7/10 Grade: B

Click Here to read my full review of this movie.

2. Deadpool & Wolverine

Deadpool & Wolverine is probably the biggest movie of this month and maybe the year. This movie delivered exactly what I wanted from a movie involving Deadpool and the multiverse. This movie did a great job of capturing the magic of the other two Deadpool films while allowing Deadpool to do his thing in the multiverse. The movie also delivers on the cameo fest that one would expect from a movie like this. The best part of the movie is seeing Hugh Jackman return as Wolverine. Hugh Jackman goes all in on the performance and provides a bit of gravitas to the film and is the emotional backbone of the whole story. I was also happy that Disney didn't water down the movie at all and maintained the crass humor that is expected from a Deadpool movie. The only thing keeping this movie back from number one is that the story itself was a bit too simplistic. You could summarize the whole movie in one sentence. I also wasn't a huge fan of the setup that gets Deadpool and Wolverine in their main setting. Overall, this was a very fun movie that delivered everything I wanted and hopefully got the MCU back on track.

Score: 8/10 Grade: B+

Click Here to read my full review of this movie.

1. Twisters

Twisters is one of the most surprisingly good movies I saw this year. Going in, I was expecting an entertaining enough movie that was ultimately not very good, much like the first film. Surprisingly enough, this movie ends up being a lot of fun with lots of action, a solid story and some heart. This is just an incredibly crowd pleasing movie that is fun for everyone. All of the characters are so likable with Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos, and Glen Powel giving great performances. Glen Powel of course steals the show with his charm. The movie does a great job of making silly element work such as Glen Powel as "The Tornado Wrangler". There are several great tornado action sequences that keep you invested for the entire film. The movie also has a good amount of heart to it. We get to see the Daisey Edgar-Jones cope with the loss of her friends to a tornado and learn to grow beyond her mistakes and become a better person. We get to see the effects of this loss on her which leads to some great emotional moments. Of course, you do have to suspend some disbelief as several of the tornado elements are just nonsense but beyond that there really isn't much wrong with this film. Overall, this is a solid summer blockbuster and one of my favorite movies of the year.

Score: 8.5/10 Grade: A-

Click Here to read my full review of this movie.