From the success of autonomous spacecraft, to the Golden State Warriors’ NBA Championship, the world saw a great many wondrous things in 2015. The same can be said about the cinematic world, with many new movies reviving classic gems or putting themselves in the movie Hall of Fame. Throughout the year, thousands of eager movie-goers flocked to their nearest theater to marvel in the greatness of these fantastic films. Here is what I thought made the cut for the five best movies of 2015:

1: Mad Max Fury Road:

The fourth installment of George Miller’s post-apocalyptic saga doused the world with a cinematic wave of thrilling action. One of the movie’s many reasons why it is such a great film is its vastly complex characters. Max (Tom Hardy) was deranged yet calm, and Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) kicked off the year’s theme of strong, independent female roles in movies. Fury Road is a visual marvel to behold as the barren environments of the wasteland act as a fiery battlefield strewn with wreckage, destruction, and all-out craziness. The movie’s unique feeling and style stand out as an odd yet magnificent addition to the action genre.

2: Sicario

This crime film, inspired by actual events from Denis Villeneuve, depicts the horrific reality of the various drug cartels in Mexico. As you follow a DEA agent’s (Emily Blunt) journey to take out the head of a notorious cartel, the film elaborates all of the terrible truths in the drug world and excellently keeps viewers engaged in the plot through some of the most suspenseful scenes of 2015 cinema, as it keeps viewers on the edge of their seats; closing one eye in fear. The many twists and character developments play with the audience’s emotions in a subtle, yet terrific manner. With the stellar cast, amazing score and brutal realism, Sicario can easily call itself one of the grittiest and most harrowing films of 2015.

3: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens:

It’s no secret that anything that is branded with Star Wars will sell like hot cakes, so it’s no surprise that the latest installment of one of the world’s favorite movie franchise earned as much as it did. Thanks to pent up excitement and frivolous advertising, The Force Awakens earned a staggering $815,843,529 as of January 11th. Despite a movie’s revenue having no correlation to how great its quality is, this staggering figure is still quite the marvel. The movie itself is extremely similar to the original film, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, which may be upsetting to some viewers, but doesn’t take away from the fact that the seventh episode is a phenomenal movie. It introduces immensely complex and interesting characters  and brings back some of the the stars from the original trilogy. What the film brings to the table in terms of content is a skillfully executed revamping of the widely innovative and influential series. Despite having great visuals, acting, sound, and sensation, the reason why JJ Abrams’ take on the Star Wars franchise isn’t at the top is that it recycles a lot of the same content from previous films. The Force Awakens succeeds in its attempt to attract both new and old Star Wars fans to the theater.

4: The Martian

Andy Weir’s science fiction novel The Martian proves to be very successful as a film adaptation.  The film retained all of the great aspects from the book, such as suspense, realistic science, technical comprehension, humor, and more, while adding beautiful, awe-inspiring visuals that the book could not quite capture. Best described as triumphant story of survival and human perseverance, The Martian evokes all of the emotions which the protagonist, Mark Watney (Matt Damon), experienced. Between its faithfulness to the novel, gorgeous scenery, and sound science Ridley Scott’s latest film was able to work its way to the top of the charts.

5: James Bond: Spectre

Because the James Bond franchise is filled with cinematic masterpieces, it was a bit of a surprise surprise to the world that critics called the latest film, Spectre, one of the best of the bunch. Spectre may have been Daniel Craig’s best performance as he captures the image of both the classic and modern James Bond excellently. Not only did Craig embody Bond’s dark and broody assassin personality, but he seamlessly merged it with the charismatic, playful, flirtatious, and witty style that was introduced to the series by Sean Connery. Complete with the one of the franchise’s most interesting villains, mesmerizing settings, intense action, and further character development from previous films, Spectre can easily be considered as one of the greatest films of both the James Bond franchise and 2015.