What's With This Summer's Blockbusters?

Okay, first off, I have NOT seen any of these movies I'm about to write about, so all I'm about to say is based on what I've heard. Be warned.

NOW...

So far, everything I've read about 2008's summer movie crop shows this year should be a big one. After all, what with gas prices and ticket prices and uncomfortable seats and overpriced popcorn and so on, if you're gonna slap down your hard-earned bucks to spend two hours of your life watching something some film executive thinks would be worth your time (and money - see a trend here?), it had better be good.

And with that in mind, what do we have here to consider?

Well, let's see....

IRON MAN


I've read the comics when I was younger and thought the story of multi-millionauire Tony Stark wearing a cool suit just to live and finding he had super powers with it and being able to fight crime, save the world and so forth was pretty darn cool. Hearing about the movie being made based on it, all I could think of was "great; another superhero movie in a world filled with 'em." - but there was one major plus in this one that so many others didn't have:

Robert Downey Jr.



Not since Errol Flynn has there been such a talented, troubled and quirky actor; one who takes a lot of chances and does so with lots of on-screen charisma. If anyone could pull off Tony Stark, it would be him.

Of course, the special effects in the trailer look good. But nowadays, watching a movie because the effects are good is like buying a car because the tires are round. It's a given. But with a strong story, good actors (Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeff Bridges are also in the cast), decent-enough director in Jon Favreau, though he isn't the first one you think of as an action superhero director. But if all the stars are aligned and everything clicks, it could work.

And according to the initial take, it has.

MY VIEWING POSSIBILITY: Possible. Not an easy-in, since I'm kinda burnt-out on superhero movies but I do like the actors involved. We'll see.


SPEED RACER

































I loved the cartoon (oops: anime. Sorry....) and thought the stories were rather intricate and action-packed, even if the characters all moved their mouths kinda funny. :P Little did I know as an ankle-biter what a cult following the show would have over the years since its initial run.

Anyway, everyone reading this knows what kind of track record the Wachowski Brothers have had (The Matrix Movies, V for Vendetta, etc.) , so there is every possibility that there is going to be smashing visuals and effects rather on the wild side.

Well, good lord, have you seen the trailer?!!!



You see that?! Huh? Suffice it to say that if you enjoyed those visuals and they didn't give you an epileptic seizure, then say hello to your new favorite film.

[me]Hello, new favorite film.[/me]

MY VIEWING POSSIBILITY: Very high. I try not to connect my want to see a film on a cool trailer (I've been burnt on that road before), but how many chances during one lifetime will you have to see so kinetic a film as this? Not many, I'll wager. I may take the Wachowski's bait on this one.

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN


I never was a fan of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe on reading it, nor when it was a cartoon or when it was a made-for-TV special. It was just a little too stodgy for my taste.

Granted, they gave the 2005 film the right amount of action, CGI thrills, talking animals looking as real as anything and everything a fan of the book could want (maybe; I don't know that many book fans). But this sequel (the first of three more) looks like more of the same. Great if you're a fan of the first film; interminable if you're not a fan of C.S. Lewis or instantly dislike the staleness associated with Walden Media films...like I do.

MY VIEWING POSSIBILITY: No. My kids will probably love it, but then again, they dislike watching any film that feels like a homework assignment to sit through.


INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL


Oh well gee, let's see: a chance to see Harrison Ford reprise one of my favorite action heroes ever? A return to the kind of film Steven Spielberg was once the king of? The re-teaming of Ford and Karen Allen from the original Raiders of the Lost Ark? One more opportunity to hear that rousing John Williams theme in the cool comfort of a movie theater and relive grand memories from my past? And to take my son to see adventure films the way they used to be?

MY VIEWING POSSIBILITY: Heck, yeah. Lukewarm to poor reviews be damned. I will revisit my youth and enjoy it profoundly. And probably stand and applaud at the end of it and embarrass my son. Oh well.


THE INCREDIBLE HULK

I thought the 2003 Hulk was kinda talky and cerebral for the crowd it was being pitched to and Ang Lee, while a good director, wasn't the best choice for a summer popcorn movie about a green monster whose dialog consists mostly of grunts.

So here we are, five years later and looking at a continuation of the first film with an entirely different cast and director and, judging from the initial trailer, more of an emphasis on the kind of summer action we expect, mixed with more of the comic book sensibilities we know and love. After all, this one is directed by Louis Leterrier (director of the Transporter movies) and stars Edward Norton (who we all know can carry a movie), Liv Tyler ('scuse me...rowr), William Hurt and Tim Roth...so we all know that acting won't be a problem.

It could work, I guess, I just hope we aren't going to experience a superhero movie glut in which they just export mass movies like this without any thought or detail - just lots of great effects, recognized stars and flimsy story-lines that wouldn't pass muster in the Marvel universe, let alone the Hollywood universe.

Time will tell.

MY VIEWING POSSIBILITY: Lower spectrum. I love the comics, but the big guy doesn't have the best filmed record. It might be pulled off successfully, but this will probably still be an on-down-the-road rental.

Well, that's a good start. There's a lot of movies coming out this summer, and next post I'll tackle the others. And don't worry; my next post won't be in September. :P

Dope out.

-TGWD