The State of Superhero Movies

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Superhero Movies. It’s a genre that has taken over. Now, that’s both a good thing and a bad thing. On the positive side of it, we now get a whole lot of options and a whole lot to choose from. Characters who we never thought we’d see brought to the big screen, (Ant Man,) are now getting their own films.

On the negative side of things, with everyone trying to cash in on the craze, plenty of products that are being turned out are not very good. The Amazing Spider Man 2 screwed up in all kinds of ways, starting with the trailer. The Josh Trank directed Fantastic Four film was also a mess, and that one was due to a studio that had no faith in its director. Finally, there is Batman Vs Superman, which might or might not be good. I’m hoping for the best, but the latest trailer, which shows both Doomsday and Wonder Woman at the end, really gives away too much. Have we learned nothing from that Amazing Spider Man 2 trailer, where the Rhino was featured front and center? He turned out to be the very last scene of the film. Talk about giving away too much.

Looking ahead, this year, 2016, will bring us a lot of superhero movies. 7 to be exact. The following year, by comparison, only has 6, and then the year after that, 2018, only has 4. I’m sure some of the 2017 films will be good, and some won’t. Hopefully the ones that don’t rely on effects so much that whole characters are computerized (like Ultron was in Avengers: Age of Ultron,) will be the better films. My guess is that Gambit will be the weakest of the bunch, but it might get some competition from X-Men Appocalypse or Batman V Superman. I am also predicting that Captain America: Civil War is the best of the group and then Suicide Squad and Deadpool are right behind. That leaves out Doctor Strange, and until we get a first trailer, and actually see the look of the film, it’s really hard to make any guesses about that one.

One thing I don’t love about the 2016 lineup is that there are two movies being released in May, and then none in June or July. Summer is the time for these movies. It’s Superhero movie season. Marvel knows that, which is why they always claim the first weekend of May. Then, they don’t want to give that first film of theirs competition, so they space out and tend to give us something in July or August (in the past, these movies have been Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant Man.) Marvel’s lineup from the past two years had Captain America: Civil War in April / May, then Guardians in August. Avengers: Age of Ultron in May, then Ant Man in July. But in 2016, it looks like the summer months aren’t being used very well. Nothing in June or July and two movies in May? Ridiculous.

Luckily, the following year looks to be doing things a little better. That year, 2017, there is a superhero movie coming out in May, June, and July. Now that’s more like it.

Here is the lineup of Superhero films coming out in 2016.

 

2016

Deadpool   (February 12)

Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice (March 25)

Captain America: Civil War (May 6th)

X-Men Appocalypse (May 27th)

Suicide Squad (August 5th)

Doctor Strange (November 4th)

 

2017

Wolverine (March 3rd, 2017)

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (May 5th, 2017)

Wonder Woman (June 23rd, 2017)

Spider Man (July 7th, 2017)

Fox / Marvel Movie – Gambit or Deadpool 2? (Oct 2017)

Thor: Ragnorak (Nov 3rd, 2017)

Justice League: Part 1 (Nov 17, 2017)

 

2018

Black Panther (Feb 2018)

Fox / Marvel Movie – Gambit or Deadpool 2? (March 2, 2018)

The Flash (March 16, 2018)

Avengers: Infinity War, Part 1 (May 4th, 2018)

X-Men: New Mutants (June 29, 2018)

Ant Man and The Wasp (July 6th, 2018)

Aquaman (July 27, 2018)

The Batman (Oct 5, 2018)

 

2019

Captain Marvel (March 8, 2019)

Shazam (April 5, 2019)

Avengers Infinity War: Part 2 (May 3, 2019)

Justice League Part 2 (June 14, 2019)

Suicide Squad 2 (Nov 2019)

 

 

Most Anticipated Movies of 2016

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2016.

So Many movies to look forward to.

Here are my top most anticipated films as of now.

1.) Captain America: Civil War

2.) Suicide Squad

3.) Ghostbusters

4.) Dr. Strange

5.) Deadpool

6.) Batman Vs. Superman

7.) X-Men Appocalypse

8.) Jason Bourne

9.) Star Wars: Rogue One

10.) Assassins Creed

Here’s a little bit about each of these films, and why I am looking forward to them. First of all, as of this moment, in March, I have already seen Deadpool. It was a February release, and quite a good film. I was excited for the movie because of its R rating and promise to be something different in the superhero genre. This was the movie that took on the genre and made fun of it, and was filled with graphic humor and violence, both at the same time. It’s the kind of film I enjoyed, but did not love, and can already tell that I can’t wait to see again. That’s because there were tons of jokes that flew by so fast, I didn’t even have the chance to catch them. Looking forward to giving a closer listen on a second viewing.

Now for the nine other movies on the list, none of which I have yet to see. Captain America: Civil War. This movie looks incredible. The Marvel movies are the most bankable films out there, in the world of Superhero movies. From Iron Man to Captain America: The Winter Soldier, at least half of them, (like the first Avengers movie,) are great. Captain America: Civil War definitely looks like it will be another one to add to the list.

From there, we have Suicide Squad. This is a superhero movie presented in dark and disturbing undertones. David Ayer, the man behind most cop dramas, is directing. This is the guy who masterminded everything from Training Day to Dark Blue. Sure, not all of his films are great, (did anyone see Harsh Times?), but overall he’s pretty talented. And Suicide Squad looks about as dark as it needs to be. With great villains, (including the Joker,) and a promise to have Batman in the movie as well, this should be a fun time.

Ghostbusters is next. Some people are down on the movie based on the first trailer. Not me. I have no problems with that trailer and in fact, think it is pretty funny. Kristin Wiig and Melissa McCarthy are falling right into their usual stride, and that’s exactly what you want. The same can be said of Leslie Jones. It’s Kate McKinnon who is the wild card. Either way, the movie is directed by Paul Feig, and that’s a name that deserves lots of considerable attention. Feig has not let me down yet. He is the man who made Bridesmaids, The Heat, and Spy. All Melissa McCarthy movies, and in fact, all of them her best movies. She hasn’t made a good movie without Feig, and Feig hasn’t made any movie without her. The two of them are perfect together. There’s just one caveat. All of their movies have been rated R. Now Ghostbusters hasn’t been rated yet, but I’m guessing with the name brand and all, it will be PG-13. So the only question is, can Feig and McCarthy do it again, only this time without the R? I’m betting they can.

Next up is Doctor Strange. It’s a Marvel movie. That should be enough said right there. After all, look at Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant Man. These guys do not screw up. Especially not when they are giving a character an origin film. And on top of that, the cast looks stellar. You’ve got Benedict Cumberbatch playing Strange, and he looks perfect in the role. Then you’ve got Tilda Swinton playing an androgenous spirit character, and also Chiwetel Ejiofor. The director is the man who made a bunch of horror films, like the sinister movies. That’s the only point I’m not sure about. This director. Then again, I wasn’t sure about James Gunn before he made Guardians or Peyton Reed before he made Ant Man, and look how both of those turned out. I’m sure it will be fantastic.

Batman V Superman is the movie I’m really hoping is good. It’s just such a great concept, and I love the cast and director. Zach Snyder is a man with a vision. From 300 to Watchmen, to his breakout film, The Dawn of the Dead remake, Snyder is nealy always on top of his game. He had one screwup with Sucker Punch, but other than that, he’s been flawless. What he did with Man of Steel was pretty cool. Too dark for some, but incredibly interesting, nonetheless. I expect Batman V Superman to be even better. It’s not only got those two, but also Lex Luthor and Wonderwoman and Doomsday. In fact, it might have too much. I sure hope this movie isn’t overpacked, or that they haven’t shown us too much already in the trailers the way that The Amazing Spider Man 2 did.

X-Men Appocalypse is a movie that doesn’t look especially good, but it’s got something pretty major on its side. Every X-Men movie has been worthwhile. Even the bad ones. On the list of lousy X-Men movies, you’ve got to have X-Men III, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and The Wolverine. And while those three films are all flawed, they also have plenty of redeeming qualities. There’s also something else to note about X-Men Appocalypse. It is by the same director who has made most of the X-Men films, Bryan Singer, and yet he isn’t the one behind any of those crappy ones. In other words, of all the great X-Men movies, Singer has made all of them except for one (X-Men First Class.) He is a man who knows what to do with this universe, and has shown us that with every one of his new entries. Appocalypse is a cool villain and Oscar Issac is a great actor to portray him. My concern is that the movie will be too heavy on CGI effects, but even if it is, if the story is good, and the action is fun, that’s really all that matters.

Jason Bourne. It’s about time. Matt Damon is back. So is director Paul Greengrass. These guys made the second and third Bourne movies together. For me, personally, I like the first Bourne movie the best, and so I would really be the most excited if Doug Liman (the guy who made that film, and also Swingers and Edge of Tomorrow,) was coming back. But this is the next best thing. Greengrass is a very talented director who gives an aura of seriousness and drama to his films. He also makes them dark and gritty as hell. Both of his Matt Damon Bourne movies were good, and I expect this one to be the same. It’s really Damon who is the selling point on this one. He is so right for the character and series, and without him it all falls apart. They tried doing that with the Jeremy Renner version, The Bourne Legacy, and it sucked. It’s good to have Damon back in the title role.

Star Wars: Rogue One. So this movie is a prequel to the original Star Wars movie. It actually takes place in between Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: A New Hope (between episodes III and IV.) Amazing that they are able to do that with this series. Make prequels that actually fit in right in the middle of the timeline. There are so many films here, in all kinds of fractured order, that they can’t even do numbers anymore. If they did, I suppose this one would be episode 3 and 1/2. What I’m really looking forward to is how closely it connects to A New Hope. It’s about the rebels stealing the Death Star plans. The movie is directed by Gareth Edwards, who is a decent filmmaker. I didn’t really care for his big budget Godzilla film, but when he went at it with a smaller scale, to make the movie Monsters, he turned out a pretty excellent picture. Clearly the man has talent. I look forward to seeing what he does with this one.

Lastly, there’s Assassins Creed. It stars Michael Fasbender, an excellent actor, and is videogame adaptation. I believe if there’s any movie that can pull off a good videogame adaptation, it’s this one. The movie has a classic film director, this guy who made Macbeth with Fasbender and Marion Cotilard. They are both in Assassins Creed. So there’s already a working relationship, and on top of that, word has it they are going for a Par Cour look to the stuntwork, which means real people jumping around in amazing ways, as opposed to all computer effects. Think the opening scene of Casino Royale at the construction site meets the movie District B-13. If they do this right, it should be pretty cool.