The sun actually decided to finally show its face in London this week, and that along with me spotting that the 2012/13 season of TV shows is soon coming to an end has made me realise that the summer season is nearly upon us and that can mean only one thing. Blockbuster movie season. Over the last few years I’ve said that the that summer is the best ever for movies as it is full of comic book adaptations. Well I am saying it again, and I really don’t think this year can be topped (until the Avengers 2 vs. Justice League season). So here is what I am really looking forward to this year, in release date order so you can start booking your cinema tickets!
Iron Man 3 (UK release date 26 April)
Tony Stark returns with a new director and the trailer shows less of the comedy side of Stark and more of the hero doing everything he can to fight the big bad guy.
Star Trek into Darkness (UK release date 9 May)
Ok, I know its not a super hero movie, but its sci-fi and its going to be a summer hit so I’m including it in this post!
Man of Steel (UK release date 14 June)
Superman is still my favourite super hero, he is the one I remember from my childhood (Superman 1-4 and Superboy), my teens (Lois and Clark) and my adulthood (Smallville and Superman Returns). He is the reason that I got into this genre. And boy am I excited to see Henry Cavill play Clark Kent/Superman.
World War Z (UK release date 21 June)
I’m currently listening to the Audible audio book of this film, it’s really interesting with the various characters (all voiced by different actors in the audio version) and the interview with the vampire style concept of telling the story, where each character builds on the story told by the previous one. I can’t wait to see how this is taken and adapted to the big screen.
Kick-Ass 2 (UK release date 19 July)
I was lucky enough to see some of the filming of this right opposite my office on my morning walk to work, so I can’t wait to sit in the cinema and ‘spot’ my street.
The Wolverine (UK release date 25 July)
X-Men surely has to be one of the most successful super hero movies. It was on our screens way before the constant burst of Marvel and DC smash hits on the big screen. Hugh Jackman has been brilliant as the Wolverine, so its great to see he’s getting to tell the character’s story in more detail again.
Red 2 (UK release date 2 August)
I only recently watched Red, it wasn’t the most exciting (I was watching it tired, whilst multitasking other things), but the second is looking good from what I have seen/heard so far.
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (UK release date 14 August)
I love all of the Greek tales, I studied many a tragedy during my A Level drama studies. I felt that the first Percy Jackson film went under the radar, but when I watched it, I actually was surprised it wasn’t shouted about more. It’s a great family film and I have been looking forward to its sequel.
Thor: The Dark World (UK release date 30 October)
Thor is my personal favourite of all of the Avengers films to date, I loved the romance and can’t wait to see that continue as we missed Jane Foster in Avengers Assemble.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (UK release date 22 November)
These books are brilliant. Although I was a little disappointed with the first film, but I am hoping the second one will step up.
I’m sure there will be some more pop up in the year, but these are the ones that I really can’t wait to see. Man I am going to be spending the whole summer at the cinema.
Image source: Screen Crush
If you've actually read the book, then World War Z the film promises to be a total disappointment. The only thing it seems to actually have in common with the book is the name and that it has zombies in it – the trailers look more like the flashback scenes from "I Am Legend" expanded out to a full movie, with the "fast zombies" from 28 days later and way too much CGI. I'll go to see it but I won't expect much. Of the rest of them listed, the only ones I'd be tempted to go to are Star Trek, Iron Man, Superman and maybe Thor.
The one movie I'm looking forward to this year is "Pacific Rim" – isn't a super-hero movie, but then again, neither are World War Z or Star Trek 😛
Ah, yes, Pacific Rim!!! I am more excited about that than any of these.
I, too, found the Star Trek reboot problematic. The science was terrible. The plot elements ranged from unbelievable to ridiculous. I'll see the next one, but my expectations are unfortunately low for a franchise that first inspired me to love both science and science fiction.
I'm looking forward to Kick-Ass 2 the most. The first one was innovative for the genre in many ways, simultaneously fun and horrific in a way that's really hard to get away with.
World War Z looks promising to me, and looks to distinguish itself among a glut of zombie stories.
Sequels to Iron-Man and Thor movies are likely to be worse, and the last films weren't that great.
Superman, for me, is a problematic character. I've seen very few great Superman stories, and none on-screen yet.
Hmmm, I think I sound kind of down about the group of upcoming films. I suppose I am. I mean, everything there is a sequel and hence unoriginal. Even though World War Z isn't a sequel, I hesitate to call any zombie film totally original. Well, I'll likely see most if not all at some point. Hope they're better than I anticipate.
Superman is the movie to watch, if only because the last reboot was terrible and a lot is weighing on the success of this version. I must say that the special effects look exactly like those of the upcoming Star Trek movie and I'm afraid that all of these movies will sacrifice story to special effects. I'm no longer interested in the Star Trek franchise because they cheated last time around: Spock sent them into an alternate universe where anything can happen now. So that means none of it really counts. That's a cheat. I'm getting tired of time-changing paradoxes in Star Trek. It's been done to death. As for Iron Man, I expect more special effects and a final battle with another iron-suited villain as in the last two movies. I think Superman will be the best of the superhero movies this summer.
The one thing I've noticed now that trailers are available for Star Trek II: Not the Wrath of Kahn is that the director has taken an episodic television show concerned with issues of morality (the films were essentially two hour long episodes) and has turned it into yet another super hero franchise. Kirk and Spock = Batman and Robin. Paul, I agree, the whole alternate reality is a cheap cheat, simultaneously removing any constraints imposed by the original material and like you suggest, rendering everything about it unimportant. Don't like the way the story is going? Open up another universe.
I also have to say that I was – I guess the word is 'insulted' – by a lot in the re-make: Spock is on a Moon from which he can SEE Vulcan; there's a Federation base on the moon (inhabited by Scotty) and Spock can't walk there to get a warning out?
The Federation DOESN'T park massive fleets around its two capital worlds? A giant particle beam is ripping the Earth to shreds and academy cadets stand around watching? First you can and then you can't rescue moving people with the transporter? A cadet practically mutinies and is then promoted to Captain? The bad guy is in your clutches and you beam ONE guy over to his ship to fight with him? They keep Vulcan kids in pits? Red Goo?
Yes, the original Star Trek did sometimes resort to hand-waving, and some of the tech has to be taken as a given (Warp drives, transporters) – but, at least they showed some effort to remain within the arena of the plausible, and giving up on that is perhaps the worst thing about the reboot(s).
Ironman III? What can I say – if I can't have a jetpack, I want an Ironman suit. As long as they manage to stay away from introducing short, furry creatures with large eyes as comic relief, I'll keep watching.
Superman is, unfortunately, completely dead to me – and I have the comic book issue to prove it. I find it very hard to get into a character who has one known vulnerability. If they REALLY want to spiffy up that franchise, they ought to base a script on Niven's Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex essay – largely concerned with the dangers faced by Lois Lane if she and Soop ever try and do the nasty….