HAMMY’S TOP 10…FILMS I WATCHED MORE THAN ONCE AT THE CINEMA!

For the general public to see the same film at the cinema twice (or more), the film has to be something spectacular. If you own an Odeon Limitless Card, then perhaps things are different for you. Seeing a film twice means only spending money on food/drink, rather than tickets. For most people, seeing the same film twice at the cinema means spending twice the amount of money on a film. That means more than twenty pounds or more in most cases (plus the cost of food/drink). I’ve been taken aback by more than a few films at the cinema. There are a number that have forced me to watch them again, as soon as possible, on the big screen.

I’ve spent so much money at my local Odeon (which was previously a UCI)!

Funnily enough, the predecessors to Spider-Man: Homecoming and War of the Planet of the Apes are just some of the films that I’ve trekked to the cinemas twice (or more) to see again. I’ve yet to see Homecoming or War, but even if they’re even close to the quality of Spider-Man 2 or Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, I’ll shell out money to see them at the cinema twice. Of course, there are films that I watched at the cinema twice, only to be revealed as frauds (there’s one example of that on this list!). So here are my Top 10 Films I Watched More Than Once At The Cinema!

10. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Times watched at the cinema: 3 

Okay, I had to admit it sometime: I loved Revenge of the Sith when I first watched it at the cinema. Whether it was because it was (back then) the last Star Wars film ever, or because it was simply better than the previous prequels, I thought it was actually a great film. It gave us a Obi-Wan and Anakin friendship to believe in, and some great character pathos. Oh, and some great lightsabre fights. On the second viewing, I was left a little disappointed. It’s too talky, there are too many lightsabre fights, and Anakin’s reason for turning to the Dark Side seemed lame. On the third viewing, I couldn’t see what I saw in my original viewing. How could I be so mistaken? Or had I just read too many negative reviews? Either way, I paid three times to see the last of the Star Wars prequels.

(Click here for my review!)

9. Spider-Man 

Times watched at the cinema: ?

I’m not sure how many times I watched this at the cinema. Spider-Man was my favourite hero growing up. I loved the comics and the 90s cartoon. I even watched the awful live action 70s films. But when I heard that a live action Spider-Man film was due out in 2002, I couldn’t contain my excitement. Yes, it is flawed, but I didn’t care. On each viewing, I loved it more and more. I even obtained it on pirate copy, much to the chagrin of my grandad (RIP Merlin). Simply seeing my favourite superhero in the (CGI) flesh was enough reason to watch this film over and over again at the cinema.

(Click here for my review)

8. Creed

Times watched at the cinema: 2

I’ve loved the Rocky films (apart from V, of course) since I was little. When Rocky Balboa came out, I expected to be disappointed, but it proved to be a worthy bookend to the Rocky franchise. When Creed was announced, I wondered whether there would be any point to it. Surely Rocky Balboa finished Rocky’s story? I was proved wrong on so many levels. Rarely does a film emotionally affect me like Creed did. I teared up for the first time when Rocky was reading the paper to Adrian’s grave. I teared up again when Rocky was diagnosed with cancer. I teared up several times after that. To see if those emotions were valid, I went to see it again. And I felt exactly the same. Creed packs a number of emotional punches and proves it’s a worthy addition to the Rocky franchise.

(Click here for my review)

7. The Dark Knight

Times watched at the cinema: 2

I needed to watch The Dark Knight twice at the cinema to confirm or deny whether I had watched something fantastic. Christopher Nolan can bully people into believing his films are great by making them feel “epic.” Interstellar tried, and failed, to bully me into liking it. The Dark Knight didn’t need to bully me, but I had to watch it without the hype in my mind. I could sit down on a second viewing, without any preconceived/preconditions, and appreciate the film on its own merits, rather than those I believed it had. The Dark Knight stood the test of the second viewing. Sure, there are plot turns that defy logic, and things can be a little dull when The Joker is off-screen, but it’s still a film that all films should aspire to be.

6. The Avengers

Times watched at the cinema: 3

Sometimes, you want to have fun at the cinema. Most superhero films (before Nolan turned them to the darker side) are fun and light. However, I doubt there’ll be a film as fun as The Avengers. It was built up over four years of films that depicted each superhero on their own. The Avengers promised a team-up of our second favourite superheroes. And boy, did it deliver. The plot is secondary to the applause-worthy nature of the film. The action set pieces are spectacular, but seeing our superheroes together for the first time elevates this film to a whole new level. It’s funny, knowing and witty. And it’s one of the most entertaining film I’ve seen in the past five years.

(Click here for my review)

5. Hot Fuzz

Times watched at the cinema: 2

I never liked Shaun of the Dead when I saw it at the cinema. I’m not sure why. After viewing Spaced, I rewatched Shaun of the Dead and it quickly became a favourite. Ergo, I was hyped for Hot Fuzz. After the first viewing, I wasn’t disappointed, but felt there was something missing that Shaun of the Dead contained. After a second viewing, I realised it wasn’t missing anything, but that the running time was a little too long. There are certain sections that feel dragged out. However, that didn’t stop it from being a great comedy. And the second viewing opened up a whole new slew of jokes and gags that I completely missed.

(Click here for my review)

4. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Times watched at the cinema: 3

Rise of the Planet of the Apes was a fine film with plenty of flaws. Its sequel was a different animal completely. A Shakespearian tragedy with apes as the main players (and humans a mere side plot), Dawn of the Planet of the Apes portrayed both apes and humans as sympathetic characters. Sure, there were evil/misguided characters on each side, but they had their motivations for their evil actions. Dawn is a film where everything is firing on all cylinders. It’s even the rare case where the CGI apes, rather than the humans, are the characters who grab the viewer’s attention. For drama and high stakes, there are few films better than Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. I couldn’t help but see it more than once.

3. Black Swan

Times watched at the cinema: 3 

During my first viewing of Black Swan, I was inebriated. I’d had a few drinks beforehand, and had a few pints during the film. Me and my friend stood up and applauded after it had finished. But I knew I needed to see it sober, to see if it had the same impact on me. And it did. It remained a brilliant piece of cinema, with everything from the dialogue to the direction to the soundtrack being almost perfect. I was determined to see Natalie Portman’s performance for a third time, so I took another friend along to see it. He loved it as well. Probably Aronofsky’s best film…

2. Spider-Man 2

Times watched at the cinema: ?

I knew that with the origin story out of the way, Spider-Man 2 could attain greatness. I just didn’t know how great it would be. The answer? Very! I had to see it twice, just to make sure it was as great as I believed it to be. We’ve all seen films that we thought were great on the first viewing but are revealed as duds on second viewing. The second viewing confirmed it as great, as have subsequent viewings. Spider-Man lured me to see it again to see my favourite superhero in action. The sequel lured me to see it again to show how superhero sequels should be done.

(Click here for my review)

1. Gladiator

Times watched at the cinema: 2

This film has appeared on a number of my Top 10 Lists, because I reckon it’s close to cinematic perfection. When I first saw it, I had no idea what I was going to see. After that first viewing, I wanted to immediately go back and watch it. Unfortunately, me and my friend had to catch the last bus home. But a few days later, we went to see it again. We were still blown away by it. It’s a film that begs to be seen on the big screen, and I was fortunate enough to see it twice on the big screen. Simply perfect.

Honourable Mentions

Jurassic Park

Mad Max: Fury Road (click here for my review)

Inception

Tropic Thunder

X-Men 2

Agree or disagree? Any you’d take away or add? What is your Top 10?