The last 12 months may have been disappointing overall for conservatives. However, film-wise, it was actually a pretty good year.
Many mainstream films took obvious conservative stances and conservative documentaries like “Occupy Unmasked” and “Hating Breitbart” were aplenty, informing and entertaining their audiences. I thought I would take a moment to share my favorite conservative films of 2012. Afterward, feel free to share yours in the comments. Note: this list does not include documentary films.
1. “The Dark Knight Rises” – This is an obvious pick. It was blatantly conservative and realistic in its worldview. Plus, it gave us a perfect ending to Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy. We saw a successful businessman forced to answer for his own fortune as people rail against freedom and capitalism. Bane (Tom Hardy) soon comes to lead the Occupy-style thugs to the utopia we witness in action in the film’s third act. Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) comes to fight this tyranny and give people the very freedom they so easily give away. From Joseph Gordon Levitt’s star-making role as one very good cop to the action to the script, ‘Rises’ was pretty darn close to being a masterpiece.
2. “Atlas Shrugged: Part II” – The second part of Ayn Rand’s epic vision was leaps and bounds better than the first film. Director John Putch gave the film a wider vision, and the script was closer to Rand’s ideas. Jason Beghe and Esai Morales, along with the rest of the cast, breathed life into their monumental characters. For a film so designed to sell a philosophy, it was a great time at the movies.
3. “The Expendables 2” – I know. I know. This wasn’t a conservative movie! But it was, dear friends. Not only did famous Republicans line the cast, but “Expendables” embraced every one liner, patriotic attitude and old-school idea of machismo from the Reagan era of movie entertainment. It was also a vast improvement on the first as its tone became much clearer. A great time at the movies. Laughs, thrills and one liners like, “rest in pieces.” What more could a conservative film lover ask for?
4. “Red Dawn” – Sure, the first was way better as far as character and basic intelligence went, but “Red Dawn” managed to surprise me, and I was a skeptic from the get go. “Dawn” shined best when it came to the action scenes, which were some of the best of the year. It also, thankfully, did not shy away from the patriotism inherent in the story. That’s probably why liberals hate it so much and are proving with their criticisms that they are inept at not just analysis, but sometimes basic common sense.
5. Lockout: This was my guilty pleasure of the year. But, I would also argue it was one of the more important films for conservative entertainment. “Lockout” wasn’t just a throwback to ’80s action (always a plus), but it did what liberal movies do all the time … it just turned the tables. Instead of one liners about Sarah Palin and welfare, we got one liners about Democrats and raising taxes. Guy Pearce’s heroic Snow was the Libertarian screen hero of the year. If you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend it.
So there it is dear readers. Sound off with your favorite conservative films of 2012 below.