Summer Blockbuster Recap
10. Iron Man 3
To kick things off, I'll go with my biggest disappointment of the summer. I am not the biggest Marvel guy, but they are doing something magical with their movies, mainly by showing that it's possible to deliver to fans while making boat loads of money. However, with IM3, I felt like I'd been had. I love twists, but the twist in this made me feel like I was promised something and got something else. Possibly I should give this another view. I left the theater with a sour taste in my mouth, and that is not the best way to kick off the summer movie season.
My own feelings aside, I really enjoyed RDJ's acting, as is tradition, and the direction in this film was great. I try not to base my opinions on nit picking, but this film was difficult to approach without pretty massive expectations. All around, this was a solid flick, just not for me. Also, you can't deny $1.2 Billion in the bank. Disney/Marvel clearly did something right here.
9. Fast & Furious 6
When you can casually release a 6th film in a series and have it become the highest grossing installment in the entire franchise, you are doing something right. I don't care if the movie is good or bad, if I love it or hate it, if it's respected or not, if critics praise or pan it, or if a single person in the film can act. These issues were addressed and subsequently disregarded after the original The Fast and the Furious. Anyone going to see these movies knows exactly what to expect, and that’s cool cars, and cool scenes involving those cars. Occasionally they blow up the cars too. That’s all they’re trying to do here, not trying to reinvent the wheel. It can’t be easy to keep churning out such similar movies and not only stay relevant, but have your audience continue to grow. Bravo, Universal. You have managed to succeed where The Land Before Time franchise failed.
8. Despicable Me 2
Not too much to say about this one. It was really enjoyable, much like the first installment. It appeals to both kids and adults. They didn't feel the need to change up the formula too much, and that really resonated with fans as it became the 2nd highest grossing movie of the summer. Let's hope the formula doesn't get stale, and perhaps this is a franchise I can stay behind for years to come.
7. The Wolverine
I am not a Marvel fan. I'm a DC guy at heart. I've never gotten into Marvel comics. However, the Xmen movies opened my eyes to how much I could enjoy superhero movies on the big screen. Heck, the original Xmen came out the same year Troy Aikman stopped playing QB for the Cowboys. I needed something to fill that void, and Bryan Singer made that beautiful movie to do just that.
Fun fact: Xmen 2 was the first movie I saw in theaters 4 times opening weekend. (Thankfully, it remains the only movie I have seen 4 times opening weekend.)
What I am getting at is that the Xmen films mean something to me, as they were crucial in growing my love of comic book movies. That being said, The Wolverine is one of the truest live-action adaptations of a comic book I have ever seen. It really captures the mutant world, and the inner turmoil of its immortal protagonist, Logan, played by Huge Ackman in his 6th appearance of the role. Wolverine is definitely the crowd-favorite of the Xmen, and this movie delivers a solid story-telling action romp that honors the character while pleasing the audience.
Couple all of that with The Wolverine being the highest domestically grossing movie about an American in Japan, and you've got a summer winner! (Please note: this designation is unadjusted for inflation...the real winner here is The Karate Kid II)
6. This Is The End
This Is The End was a hilarious, offensive, self-referential, fresh take on the apocalypse craze that has been sweeping the nation these past few years. I expected to laugh in this movie, but not nearly to the extent that I did. I guess you could call this movie a spoof of all the apocalyptic thrillers out right now, but it felt more like a comedy where a few actor-friends get together and have a blast making the kind of movie they feel like making. This Is The End is definitely worth seeing, as long as you go in knowing what to expect from the actors involved, and perhaps a few beers wouldn't hurt either.
5. Elysium
Let's face it: Neill Blomkamp's last film, District 9, was just too good for a rookie director. Expectations were set way too high on his sophomoric effort, Elysium. You'd be hard-pressed to find a single review of this movie that doesn't compare it to his first film. That may be a fair comparison, since the 2 films are very similar in themes, structure, genre, etc. However, this isn't The Lone Ranger trying to piggy back off the success of its studio's and director's previous franchise; this is just a great writer/director making exactly what he wants to make. Those are the only terms on which it should be evaluated in my opinion.
Taken for what it is, Elysium is a fun sci-fi action flick equipped with all of the gadgets, explosions, socio-political commentary, and over-the-top acting that you would expect. This would be the freshest film of the summer were it not for the standard set by Blomkamp's prior film.
4. Star Trek Into Darkness
JJ's Star Trek reboot is followed up with another solid installment. I really enjoy the mix of serious story telling with the cast not taking itself too seriously. This movie is fun. The best part is, you don't have to be any sort of Trekkie to enjoy it (you don't even need to know what exactly a "Trekkie" is!).
STID delivers solid action, gorgeous set pieces, and one hell of a performance by Benedict Cumberbatch. That guy is going places.
3. Man of Steel
I would say this is the best film of the summer, but I'm afraid too many visitors of this site would never come back. I've never anticipated a movie as much as MOS, and I've never had as high of expectations. In my opinion, MOS delivered on every front. Unfortunately, around half of the people who saw the same movie couldn't disagree more with my previous statement. I don't even think that's a bad thing. I love controversy in opinions on film. Prometheus was one of my favorites of last summer, and half the people who saw that were either too confused to enjoy it or thought it was the dumbest movie they'd ever seen.
The fanboy in me is unable to say anything negative about this movie. I will admit that there are plenty of ridiculous aspects about it, but I came into this movie wanting to see Zack Snyder go apeshit crazy with the budget and subject matter with which he was entrusted, and that's exactly what I got. MOS has the best action I have ever seen in a film in all my years on this earth. With the amount of CGI, the action will probably feel outdated in about a decade, but who cares? No Superman film has allowed him to deliver punches like he has in the comics and animated series. This film held nothing back, whether or not you think that is a good or a bad thing.
Much like Elysium, the reviews for this movie were plagued by comparisons. As much as I loved the Donner films, I cannot begin to describe how frustrated I was with reviewers whose main issues with the film were not having the "joy" and "fun" of the originals. That's beside the point. The series is moving forward with or without the support of its audience, and I couldn't be happier.
I strongly believe they'll fix the issues in the team-up sequel. A Justice League movie will come eventually, and it MOS has set the groundwork for the DC universe on screen. Let's hope Ben Affleck saves the day when he fights Superman in 2015. I, for one, am fully on board.
2. Pacific Rim
I love Guillermo del Toro. He really follows his dreams and just does what he wants in movies. If there's one problem I have with him, it's that he doesn't churn out movies at a faster rate. Pacific Rim is nowhere near his best film, and it's nowhere near the best film of the year, or even the summer. PR isn't trying to be "good" in the traditional sense. PR is about throwing your cares, concerns, judgments, and cynicism out the window and simply having fun. Fun is something this movie delivers in spades.
PR is all about not just suspending your disbelief, but suspending the fact that you're probably not a 14 year old boy and putting yourself in that mindset. There's no better way to watch giant monsters go head to head against giant robots.
Guillermo must have been like a kid in a sandbox making this movie, albeit with a backpack containing $190 million to make that sandbox as badass as possible. Hopefully, with the relative success that PR received, Guillermo will have free reign to continue making exactly what he wants as long as he is able.
1. World War Z
To round out this list, I have chosen the film that I most wanted to fail going into the summer. Not only that, but I was 100% certain that it would be a disaster. This is due to a combination of reports coming out well before the originally planned release date talking about production problems, and critics discussing how far it would stray from its source material. Being a big fan of all things zombies, I was not willing to admit that a Brad Pitt PG-13 exploitation of such a fantastic book could be well-received by anyone.
Even when fantastic reviews started pouring in, I was not willing to watch this movie ruin the book, which was so magical and original. Even as it silenced all of the doubters and became a huge international box office success, I still would not admit that it was anything but an abomination.
Then I finally broke down and saw it, and by gosh, it was pretty damn good. This could be due to my unreasonably low expectations, but all I know is 20 minutes into WWZ I was on the edge of my seat watching the gripping, tense action. Slowly, I put the book in the back of my mind. I came to terms with the fact that this is its own interpretation. I stopped acting like a pretentious and ignorant critic. I simply enjoyed a great action flick.
WWZ may not deserve to be #1 on this list, but I was so humbled by the movie that I think it deserves it. Compared to every other movie on this list, it definitely has the least opposition I've seen in terms of people admitting it was a really good movie. In the same way I was vocal about how good MOS would be, then millions of people were disappointed, I was vocal about how WWZ was going to be a bomb and the end of an era of bad film, and I wasn't disappointed at all.
I couldn't be happier that WWZ proved me wrong, and I couldn't be happier that I have yet to run into a single person that didn't like it. That, to me, is what makes a summer blockbuster.
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