Hello CBM! It's definitely been awhile since I've written anything on here. This article is going to be pretty long so bear with me. This article is going to include my take on which comic book movies will prosper and surprise us. I'm also putting this disclaimer out there as well: I'm not an expert on many Comic Book series. I know enough about some, so if I get something wrong, I apologize now ahead of time but I won't apologize again.
We certainly have a lot to look forward to and a lot of money to spend this coming summer. With Thor, Green Lantern, X-men, Transformers, and Captain America, god knows I'm going to be broke with all the madness.
I'll start the article off by stating which movie I'm looking forward to the most. X-men: First Class. I'm aware that alone probably generated a lot of "Stupid, that movie looks dumb." remarks. I really don't care. I'm not going to apologize for liking something that's being backed by a cooperation people don't care for. That to me is sort of like apologizing to a vegetarian for killing a cow and eating a burger. Uhm. No. Another disclaimer: Do I think the franchise could be in better hands? Absolutely. But it's not.
First movie coming out: Thor.
It looks pretty genius. At first I was worried about this movie because the whole Asgardian Mythology just doesn't fit with anything mainstream. Not to say that's bad or anything. When they announced it being made my first reaction was more "eh...alright." rather than "HELLYEAH." The set pics, the cast, and from we've all heard of the story line it looks really bad ass. And I personally feel like that this movie is going to be the second most successful at the box office. Why? Natalie Portman. She's very hot in Hollywood right now and very popular among audiences that with just her name being tagged with it, it'll gain a lot of money. Now - I know my basis shouldn't solely be on commercialism and by stating that i think Natalie Portman will bring in money completely disregards anything else about the Movie, but it mostly is. The company making this movie chose their actors from a marketing perspective: Who do people want to see on the big screen? Which actor can we bank on? - that's what the execs are asking themselves. Not what the 'fans' want to see. If it were about the fans and fans opinions mattered, I'm sure FOX would have relinquished rights to the X-men franchise.
The story itself seems to have the "lost boy on a high horse" cliche. Dislikes humanity. It sentenced there. Eventually likes and defends humans after falling in love. We all know that's how it's going to end. But the commercialism that they put into this story, such as Natalie Portman and Chris Hemsworth as well as a strong supporting cast: Whoever decided to cast Anthony Hopkins deserves a raise. I think it'll be very successful and we'll get a sequel akin to Iron Man 2. Take that as you will.
Green Lantern:
I'm not actually expecting much from this franchise. I think part of it is because, as much as I love Ryan Reynolds, I can't take him seriously and the Hal Jordan that I imagine...is not the comedic, situation humor, and boy next door embodiment that is Ryan Reynolds. And I open to being pleasantly surprised? Yes. I just feel like he has a lot of work to do to be taken a bit more seriously. However, the supporting cast is very strong and his female co-lead that is Blake Lively has a very promising career ahead of her and i'm sure she'll be great at playing the future villainess Star Sapphire.
I feel like from a marketing stand point, this will generate a lot of money but might be considered a flop. It will gain money because they've marketed it really well and kids, especially, will be begging their parents to see it during the summer months when they're not at school. I just feel like the DC Universe is very hard to make into film unless they try to focus on the modernness of the characters. I expect this one to come in 4th or 5th place in box office. But by saying that, I'm expecting this move to make a couple of hundred million.
X-men: First Class
This is probably one of the most controversial titles and one that divides so many people on this website.
Before I start this rant I'm going to break a few things down.
1: What is a movie? It's s form of entertainment, yes?
Okay. What is an X-men MOVIE (refer to above definition) supposed to be? A form of entertainment, yes? Okay. That's it. No gray area.
This movie is supposed to chronicle the beginning of Charles Xavier and Erik Lenscher. And I feel like it's being criticized a lot because it's in FOX's hands and it's in the same cannon storyline even though it's a prequel/reboot/whatever.
As far as marketing goes, I'm very worried for this movie. It's release date is a few months away but no one has heard anything of it. And it needs to make a name for itself which it hasn't yet. I feel like there is a lot of overlooked talent in this movie that i can't wait to see come out. James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender are really great actors and I have no doubt they'll kill it in their roles.
Now for the reality of things and the differences with the fanbase. I would love to see this franchise in better hands. But the simple reality of it is that FOX isn't letting go and they don't care about the negative feedback. They have X-men by the balls. And if people go pay to see this movie, which they inevitably will, they're going to make more. I'm going to pay to see this movie - I don't agree with FOX and I don't agree with some of the choices in how they've handled things, but it doesn't mean these movies aren't good and don't ENTERTAIN their audience.
I'm not trying to tell people to not voice your opinions if you don't like something. But just a question for point clarification, has FOX issued you a personal apology? No? Hmmm. There is probably a reason. They don't care. So complaining clearly isn't changing anything. You just have to hope for the best.
But I still rank this movie to be 3rd highest grossing of them all. Why? Because it's coming out in June and doesn't have to worry about competing against the finale of Harry Potter.
Transformers:
Okay. This movie is probably going to make the highest in Box-Office this summer. Because it's the last of the trilogy and it already has an established fanbase. I know people are pissed that they don't get to look at Megan Fox being in this movie. I'm not. She has pretty features but when she talks I don't think anyone could be more flacid. (She was pretty good in that music video though. She didn't talk.) Anyway, Shia is a badass and he plays a killer Sam Witwicky. And the new girl cast as Fox's replacement is a welcome addition: why? Because no one knows what she can do and it's kind of exciting. I just hope for god sakes they lose the clusterf$cked-ness of everything that Revenge of Fallen was swarmed with.
Oh. And Peter Cullen is a badass. Just sayin.
My only issue with this movie is that they haven't marketed it very well. Summer is not far along and the 4th of July weekend is very busy, so they need to make an impression to get audiences attention. Because after its release, Harry Potter 7 is coming out. And it'll be tough competition.
And Finally, Captain America.
I felt extremely iffy with this movie. We all knew it was inevitable. But I can't say I was amused with the Human Torch taking the super soldier serum in this movie. Chris Evans is one of those actors that you either love or hate. I'm on the fence with him. I don't know if he can act or not. Nothing has really shown me that he can play a character correctly and I'm worried. One thing that makes me excited for this movie is the strong villain in Hugo Weaving as Red Skull. Hugo Weaving = straight up bad ass behind camera. He's a great villain, we all love to hate him.
This movies TV Spot at the superbowl did make me hopeful that it would be good. But then I look at the Calender and I see that the release date is a week after Harry Potter Finale and there is no way. No freaking way it's going to compete. I think it'll bring in good numbers, no doubt. But I feel like they could have planned this better. My prediction is that it will come in last of the summer hits, sorry to say. But I am excited to see one of worlds most notable superhero's finally get some screen time.
Thank you all for listening to my rather long and excruciating rant - I'm sure. I hope you enjoyed what you read. And I'll see you guys next time. I'll be reviewing more and more soon.