As 2011 comes to a close it's time to look back at a year of surprises and disappointments in the world of the CBM. This year saw four big superhero based comic book movies as well as a few smaller ones, and I'm also going to include some movies that have spawned spin off comics even if they didn't begin life that way, such as Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes. Anyway, lets start with three of the best, in no particular order of quality.
X-Men: First Class.
For me this was probably not only the best CBM of the year but one of the best movies period. It surprised a lot of people who had written it off as just another Fox X movie that disregards comic continuity - and of course, it did a little! In fact it disregarded the previous movie's continuity in some ways too. But what it got right was spot on incarnations of two of the most iconic Marvel characters in history. Sure some of the supporting cast and characters are not as impressive (January Jones is bordering on awful), but overall we were treated to a well thought out, even moving superhero drama, that didn't feel the need to pander to ADHD audiences by sticking an action sequence in every 10 minutes whether it was called for or not.
Thor
I must admit that I wasn't expecting too much from Kenneth Branagh's Thor from the trailers we had seen. I thought it would just be an entertaining but forgettable romp. And I was partly right, it is a romp, but it's VERY entertaining and memorable! The movie's success is mainly once again down to Marvel's knack for choosing the best leading man. As Thor Chris Hemsworth display just the right amount of arrogance and likability to keep us invested in his story. He is amply supported by Tom Hiddleston as the villainous, but somewhat relatable Loki. It's a bit silly at times, and the final act loses momentum. Plus Natalie Portman's character exists for literally no other reason that to give Thor someone pretty to latch onto while on Earth. But despite the problems Thor was a big success imo.
Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes
I think this one must have knocked everyone for a loop. Although the trailers were great, the last time we saw any of these clever simians on screen was in Tim Burton's awful remake. So when this turned out to work as not only an action packed sci-fi flick but a real emotional drama too, it was a very pleasant surprise. Andy Serkis has established himself as the king of motion capture with good reason, here he delivers another astounding performance as Caesar. Simply put, a great movie. If you still haven't seen it sort it out!
Honorable mentions:
Captain America: TFA, Super 8, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Pt 2.
Now time for three of the worst. I only consider one of these movies to be really awful, but we only have a limited amount of CBMs to work from and something has to go in the bad pile. That being said none of these are good either so don't feel too sorry for them!
Transformers: Dark Of The Moon
I really don't know what to say about this because once I begin ranting I might not stop. Let's just say I find it difficult to even classify this as a movie at all. It's more a random collection of images from the mind of a juvenile sleazebag that has fooled the world into believing he is a film director. Terrible acting, terrible script, nonsensical plot, laughable attempts at drama. Oh sorry, it looks good, with great action scenes. And? What are explosions and battles worth when there is no risk or threat? Even if there was something on the line these characters are so annoying it's hard to care anyway. I'm sure we will get this in the comments section: "What were you expecting, an Oscar winner - it's a movie based on a toy" etc etc. Correction, it's a [frick]ing terrible movie based on a toy.
Green Lantern
Ah poor Hal Jordan, you deserved so much better. I almost feel bad taking shots at a movie that has been ridiculed since it's release, especially since it's really not QUITE as bad as many make it out to be. But it is bad. Why? A mixture of bad choices and a really awful script I think. Ryan Reynolds is actually pretty decent as Hal, he just has to do lost of really stupid and silly things so we end up hating him. But he has no support at all - Blake Lively injects no life at all into Carol Ferris and Peter Sarsgaard is a bizarre, screeching annoyance as the villain. The only real bright spot is Mark Strong as Sinestro, but he gets nowhere near enough screen time and even if he did he wouldn't have saved this I'm afraid.
Cowboys & Aliens
Technically a competently made film, but John Favreau's Sci-Fi/Western commits the biggest movie crime of all: It's boring, It's bland, it's forgettable. It's also predictable, but let's be honest if we leveled that charge at every CBM the "best of" list would be empty. Daniel Craig might have been decent in this, I couldn't tell because every time his character was on screen I dozed off. Likewise Harrison Ford's. But get them together and there will be sparks right? Wrong, zero chemistry. I just didn't care about anyone and wanted the Aliens to win. That can't be a good sign! There is a great supporting cast here too, with Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell and Clancy Brown and they are all wasted too. I have heard some people say they enjoyed thsi so maybe I'm being too harsh, all I know is there is no way I'm giving it another chance to find out.
Dishonorable mentions:
Priest, Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Conan The Barbarian
Agree? Disagree? Lets hear why, and feel free to post your own best/worst of the year lists below.