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  1. Entertainment
  2. Movies

50 Best Total Film Features of 2012

Features
By Total Film published 22 December 2012

We look back at a year in features...

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Classics from the 1990s

Classics from the 1990s

90 reasons the 1990s was arguably the greatest decade in the history of cinema.

Read 90 Greatest 90s Movie Moments


Page 1 of 50
Page 1 of 50
The story behind Stars Wars Episode VII

The story behind Stars Wars Episode VII

The day after Star Wars Episode VII was announced, we compiled the complete history of a film that's been 35 years in the making.

Read Star Wars Episode 7 The Story So Far

Page 2 of 50
Page 2 of 50
Iron Man 3 questions

Iron Man 3 questions

When the Iron Man 3 trailer finally made its debut in October, we examined it in fanboy detail, and found we had more than a few questions…

Read Iron Man 3 11 Questions Raised

Page 3 of 50
Page 3 of 50
Best of Bond

Best of Bond

In the build up to Skyfall 's release, we compiled all the brilliant Bond moments that have shaken, stirred and killed us over the past half-century.

Read 100 Greatest Bond Movie Moments

Page 4 of 50
Page 4 of 50
Valiant women

Valiant women

50 of the most fearless females in cinema history.

Did your favorite character make the list?

Read 50 Bravest Movie Heroines

Page 5 of 50
Page 5 of 50
Simpsons homages

Simpsons homages

From Reservoir Dogs to Raiders Of The Lost Ark and everything in between.

Read 100 Greatest Simpsons Movie References

Page 6 of 50
Page 6 of 50
Superhero careers

Superhero careers

What did our favourite superhero actors do before they pulled on their spandex suits?

And how did it qualify them for the super-roles they ended up with?

Find out right here…

Read Before They Were Superheroes

Page 7 of 50
Page 7 of 50
Crazy credits

Crazy credits

Did you know the credits for Dumb & Dumber are littered with typos? Or that Anchorman is based on actual events?

For these facts and many more, check out…

Read 50 Maddest Movie Credits

Page 8 of 50
Page 8 of 50
Skyfall analysis

Skyfall analysis

Skyfall was the biggest film of the year, and a fitting celebration of Bond's 50th year anniversary.

With so many great moments, we decided to celebrate them all - including exploring all the different franchise references - by gathering them together in one place.

Read Skyfall: 50 Best Moments

Page 9 of 50
Page 9 of 50
Meddling studios

Meddling studios

Studios have a bad rep for interfering with movies during production.

So, we thought we'd collect all the instances where their meddling ways have had a positive effect.

We're nice like that.

Read 40 Movies Made Better By Studio Interference

Page 10 of 50
Page 10 of 50
Expenda-girls

Expenda-girls

When the female Expendables was announced, we couldn't help but cast it, using the exact same template as the boys' version.

Read 12 Action Women For The Female Expendables


Page 11 of 50
Page 11 of 50
Liam Neeson on his own films

Liam Neeson on his own films

When Liam Neeson came into town to promote Taken 2 (and probably to rescue someone from a London-based terror cell), we sat him down to talk about his long a varied career… in four minutes.

See Liam Neeson's Career In Four Minutes

Page 12 of 50
Page 12 of 50
Prometheus explained

Prometheus explained

We walked out of Prometheus with a lot of questions. Thankfully, Ridley Scott answered them for us, via his Blu-ray commentary...

Read 11 Questions Answered By Ridley Scott's Prometheus Commentary

Page 13 of 50
Page 13 of 50
From child stars to adult actors

From child stars to adult actors

Aw, look how they've grown…

Read When Child Stars Grow Up

Page 14 of 50
Page 14 of 50
Amazing auditions

Amazing auditions

Gerard Butler rocking ridiculous hair in his Dracula 2000 screen-test, Scarlett Johansson trying out for Jumanji , Harrison Ford bellowing some Han Solo lines that didn't make the final cut of Star Wars , plus loads more incredible footage can be found below.

Read 50 Greatest Movie Screentests

Page 15 of 50
Page 15 of 50
Dismal disappointments

Dismal disappointments

The films we were at the front of the queue for, only to tear up our tickets when we came out of the cinema.

Quantum Of Solace , Terminator Salvation , Iron Man 2 , and many other cinematic atrocities can be found at the link below.

Read 50 Most Disappointing Movies Of All Time


Page 16 of 50
Page 16 of 50
Bad ex-boyfriends

Bad ex-boyfriends

Way back in August, we stopped taking calls from this lot.

They're a nasty / needy bunch.

Read 50 Worst Movie Ex-Boyfriends

Page 17 of 50
Page 17 of 50
Tony Scott tribute

Tony Scott tribute

One of the saddest events of 2012 was the passing of Tony Scott, a director we've given four / five star reviews throughout his career. We looked back at his best films.

Read Tony Scott's 10 Best Films


Page 18 of 50
Page 18 of 50
Lundgren looks back

Lundgren looks back

To celebrate the release of The Expendables 2 , we sat down with Dolph Lundgren to discuss his own personal career highlights… in four minutes.

Fun was most definitely had.

See Dolph Lundgren: A Career In 4 Minutes

Page 19 of 50
Page 19 of 50
So bad they're hilarious

So bad they're hilarious

We celebrate all the truly ridiculous movies that were supposed to be delivered with a straight face.

Read the 50 Most Unintentionally Hilarious Movies Of All Time

Page 20 of 50
Page 20 of 50
Life after The Dark Knight Rises

Life after The Dark Knight Rises

With The Dark Knight Rises in cinemas, we decided to put together a list of all the projects coming soon from the people involved. If only to give us new stuff to look forward to.

Read What Next For The Cast And Crew Of The Dark Knight Rises

Page 21 of 50
Page 21 of 50
Casting the He-Man movie

Casting the He-Man movie

On 7 August, after hearing the news that a new He-Man movie was in the works, we put together a dream cast, based almost exclusively on how much the actors looked like the original actors.

Read 15 Awesome Actors For The He-Man Movie

Page 22 of 50
Page 22 of 50
Justice League movie advice

Justice League movie advice

On 9 August, a Justice League film was announced for a 2015 release.

So we hit our typewriters to put together a mission statement for Warner Brothers.

Read Justice League Movie: 7 Tasks For Warner Brothers

Page 23 of 50
Page 23 of 50
Batman reboot guide

Batman reboot guide

As Chris Nolan's Batman trilogy wrapped up, we asked our resident Batman geek to explain how the series could carry on.

Read 15 Ways To Reboot Batman After The Dark Knight Rises


Page 24 of 50
Page 24 of 50
50 films you have to watch more than once

50 films you have to watch more than once

This feature's definitely worth a second look.

Read 50 Most Rewatchable Movies

Page 25 of 50
Page 25 of 50
The Amazing Spider-Man best bits

The Amazing Spider-Man best bits

We loved The Amazing Spider-Man , and we ran straight from the cinema to our laptop, to lay out all the best bits.

Read The Amazing Spider-Man 50 Key Moments


Page 26 of 50
Page 26 of 50
2012 half-time report

2012 half-time report

We've already announced our greatest film moments of the year, but if you want an in-depth look at the first 6 months (and why wouldn't you? Avengers , The Muppets , The Cabin In The Woods were all out in the first half of 2012) then check out our comprehensive guide.

Read The 50 Greatest Movie Events Of 2012

Page 27 of 50
Page 27 of 50
Film characters we love

Film characters we love

In March we collected all the movie characters we'd like to have as best mates.

We're still waiting for them to return our calls.

50 Most Likeable Movie Characters

Page 28 of 50
Page 28 of 50
Awesome cartoons

Awesome cartoons

Biker Mice From Mars The Movie , anyone? No? How about Pixar's Animaniacs ?

Read 50 Awesome Cartoons That Should Be Movies

Page 29 of 50
Page 29 of 50
Ultimate film facts

Ultimate film facts

If you're the type of film fan who likes putting together Christmas movie quizzes, we've done the heavy lifting for you…

Read 50 Geekiest Movie Facts

Page 30 of 50
Page 30 of 50
Stunning comic-book scenes

Stunning comic-book scenes

Kneel before Zod, Wolverine's beserker rage, Jessica Alba as a cowboy stripper, and enough iconic movie moments to make you want to pull on a spandex suit…

Read 50 Greatest Comic-Book Movie Moments

Page 31 of 50
Page 31 of 50
Jaw-dropping moments

Jaw-dropping moments

Puppet sex, magic tricks and Vader's paternity test results…

Read 100 Most Jaw-Dropping Movie Moments

Page 32 of 50
Page 32 of 50
Best of Lord Of The Rings

Best of Lord Of The Rings

YOU SHALL NOT PASS… this link without clicking on it to have a little look at what we thought were the 50 Greatest Lord Of The Rings Moments.

Read 50 Greatest Lord Of The Rings Moments


Page 33 of 50
Page 33 of 50
Utterly awful movies

Utterly awful movies

A movie list examining films so egregious that even The Phantom Menace didn't make the cut…

Read 66 Worst Movies Of All Time

Page 34 of 50
Page 34 of 50
Best Of Star Wars

Best Of Star Wars

The force was strong with this one…

Read 50 Greatest Star Wars Scenes

Page 35 of 50
Page 35 of 50
Insane in-jokes

Insane in-jokes

In February we put together a collection of movie in-jokes so gloriously geeky that only true obsessives would have spotted them first time out.

Consider the following link your very own cheat sheet.

Read 50 Greatest Movie In-Jokes

Page 36 of 50
Page 36 of 50
Joss Whedon answers your questions

Joss Whedon answers your questions

We knew all along that 2012 would be Joss Whedon's year, which is why we asked our social media followers to quiz him on his career.

The results were as wry and brilliant as you're probably imagining.

Read Joss Whedon: Social Media Interview

Page 37 of 50
Page 37 of 50
Cool cameos

Cool cameos

We celebrated the art of the movie cameo way back in January - hit the link to see what we think of Quentin Tarantino in Desperado , Stan Lee in Mallrats , Martin Freeman in Shaun Of The Dead , and many, many more.

Read 50 Greatest Movie Cameos

Page 38 of 50
Page 38 of 50
Star Wars wish list

Star Wars wish list

Before the director had even been announced, we decided to have fun casting Star Wars Episode VII .

With Hamill, Fisher and Ford all rumoured to be returning as their characters, we put together a few possibilities to step into the shoes of their respective character archetypes.

Mainly because we're massive geeks.

Read Casting Star Wars Episode 7

Page 39 of 50
Page 39 of 50
Brad Pitt's hits and misses

Brad Pitt's hits and misses

Brad Pitt is one of the greatest actors of our lifetime, but he's sure made some stinkers along the way.

In September we celebrated both aspects of Mr Jolie.

Read Worst To Best: Brad Pitt

Page 40 of 50
Page 40 of 50
Incredible improvisations

Incredible improvisations

You'll be surprised by how many iconic movie moments were completely made up on the spot.

Read 50 Greatest Improvised Movie Scenes

Page 41 of 50
Page 41 of 50
The best bits of The Dark Knight Rises

The best bits of The Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Knight Rises was one of our favorite films of 2012, so it should come as no surprise that we stumbled straight out of the screening to write a 7,000 word analysis of all the best bits.

Read The Dark Knight Rises 50 Best Moments

Page 42 of 50
Page 42 of 50
Tom Hiddleston answers your questions

Tom Hiddleston answers your questions

Ever wondered who would win in a fight, Loki or Ernest Hemingway? And would Tom Hiddleston want to play Batman? Find out from The Hidds himself, in our social media interview.

Read Tom Hiddleston: Social Media Interview

Page 43 of 50
Page 43 of 50
Meeting The Muppets

Meeting The Muppets

One of our favorite interviews of 2012 came in February, when we sat down with Kermit The Frog and Miss Piggy.

Awesomeness ensued.

Watch Total Film Meets The Muppets

Page 44 of 50
Page 44 of 50
Arnie one-liners

Arnie one-liners

From "You're luggage" to "I'll be back," in August we compiled 50 of Arnie's coolest gags / threats / death celebrations.

Practise your best Arnold accent by reading aloud the below...

Read 50 Greatest Arnie One-Liners

Page 45 of 50
Page 45 of 50
Alan Partridge's review of the year

Alan Partridge's review of the year

As the year started to wind down, we decided to drop our pal Alan Partridge an email (via his friend Steve Coogan), to find out what the master broadcaster thought of the year's biggest films.

This is what we got back.

Read Alan Partridge Critiques 2012's Best Movies

Page 46 of 50
Page 46 of 50
The most hated movies of all time

The most hated movies of all time

Hell hath no fury like a fanboy scorned…

Read 50 Most Hated Movies Ever Made

Page 47 of 50
Page 47 of 50
Potter fan art

Potter fan art

Harry Potter has a gang of particularly dedicated fans. Fans so dedicated, they've drawn pictures of Potter and pals as My Little Ponies, Star Trek characters, and in a series of wildly inappropriate sexy scenarios.

In January we pinned several of the strangest onto our walls. You can see them by clicking the link below.

Read 50 Weirdest Examples Of Harry Potter Fan Art

Page 48 of 50
Page 48 of 50
The best films of our lifetime

The best films of our lifetime

As voted for by Total Film's writers, the greatest films of the past 15 years…

Read 50 Best Movies Of Total Film Magazine's Lifetime

Page 49 of 50
Page 49 of 50
Incredible performances

Incredible performances

Our most epic list, celebrating the most epic performances of all time.

Chances are your favorite actor made the cut - but for which role?

Read The Greatest Movie Performances Of All Time

Page 50 of 50
Page 50 of 50
Total Film

The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine. 

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