The first full week of July has just ended, and that can mean only one thing (well it can mean a lot of things, but for the purpose of this column the meaning is singular); it’s time for a midsummer movie recap and review and a sketch of some of the most anticipated features left to come.
The summer opened up fast with the highly anticipated Marvel comic adaption “The Avengers,” which boasted arguably the summer’s best ensemble cast. Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner, Liam Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Samuel L. Jackson and a host of others all brought their respective characters to live in what was (while not necessarily good cinema) a more than worth-the-price-of-admission film.
From the “Avengers” lofty starting point, Tim Burton and Johnny Depp made us feel both uncomfortable and entertained while watching “Dark Shadows,” Sacha Baron Cohen pushed his ever-increasing boundary farther with “The Dictator,” and Liam Neeson, Rihanna and Taylor Kitsch laid an egg with the board game adaptation of “Battleship” (the only salvageable moment that movie could have had would have been if Neeson had lamented the loss of his vessel with the phrase, “You sunk my battleship”). The first wave of summer movies ended with the release of “Men in Black III,” which hoped to revitalize the franchise with a healthy dose of Will Smith as Agent J and a Josh Brolin/Tommy Lee Jones timeshare of Agent K.
Overall, the month of May was a mixed bag for movies. “The Avengers” was definitely a high starting point, but following that, not much really stood out. “Dark Shadows” not only proved that Tim Burton can make a beautiful looking film, but also that he still has trouble bringing all of his visions together into one coherent story. And “The Dictator” and “Battleship” only provided momentary entertainment. In fact, the only really good movie in the month after “The Avengers” was Wes Anderson’s sleeper-hit “Moonrise Kingdom,” which was both funny, awkward and genuine.
Following the roller coaster ride that was May, the June box office provided a more stable series of good movies. “Snow White and The Huntsmen” was poorly executed, but visually stunning. “Prometheus” not only gave all Ridley Scott fanboys the most divisive movie question since the arguments over Deckard’s humanity being up for grabs when “Blade Runner” was still culturally relevant, but also told a massive (and loose) story with subtle ease. “Brave” is just another film in the long succession of incredible Pixar classics, and this time around, the movie provided a strong female role model (something lacking in this current crop of summer films). “Magic Mike” told essentially the story of Channing Tatum’s early in life career as a stripper, which, despite several stale characters, a bland plot and an obscene amount of screen time for a shirtless Matthew McConaughey, provided entertainment solely through possessing an abundance of purely attractive people. June wrapped up with the surprisingly funny and incredibly raunchy, “Ted,” which marked the successful film-debut for “Family Guy” creator Seth McFarlane.
The story of July and beyond for this summer’s quality of movies rests on two film’s shoulders: “The Amazing Spider-Man,” and “The Dark Knight Rises.”
“The Amazing Spider-Man” is a way-too-soon reboot of the classic comic series, but this time helmed by a much more age-appropriate looking Andrew Garfield. His performance is both genuine and enjoyable, and does much to off-set the toothlessness of Rhys Ifans’ villainy and the awkward stage chemistry between him and his love interest Gwenn Stacy, played by the talented Emma Stone. But ultimately, this summer’s chances at reaching the pinnacle of success rests with Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated finale to his revolutionary “Dark Knight” trilogy.
Christian Bale reprises his role as an older, more tired Bruce Wayne, who is once again forced into the line of fire by the viscerally evil Bane, played by the seemingly omnipresent Tom Hardy. Throw in Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle, Gary Oldman as James Gordon and a couple random Joseph Gordon-Levitt appearances, and “The Dark Knight Rises” has the chance to be one of the best summer films in recent memory.
The summer so far has been – like all movie
seasons – a hodgepodge of good and bad. “Brave,” “Prometheus,” and “Moonrise Kingdom” represent clear hits, while “Battleship,” “That’s My Boy” and a cornucopia of others fell short of even modest expectations. With really only “The Dark Knight Rises,” “Total Recall” and “The Bourne Legacy” left as the last major film releases before classes start, this summer seems to be like any other. There were good movies, there were bad movies, and there were some that fell in between. And it seems likely that appraisal will only change if Nolan can pull another rabbit out of Frank Miller’s “Dark Knight” hat.
– Preston Peeden is a senior in history. He can be reached at [email protected]
