2023 was not a great year for movies. In fact, it was one of the weakest years in ages, with there not being too many truly great films. In a year when good, interesting, but for from exceptional movies like Air, Saltburn, Guardians of the Galaxy 3, and Barbie make it on final lists of the best films of the year, you know it wasn’t exactly a spectacular or memorable selection to be choosing from.
That being said, 2024 looks like it might be better. For one, the amount of Superhero movies, or decent looking superhero movies looks to be more under control. There are obviously those that have very little chance of being decent, and are most likely throw-away movies (here’s looking at you Sony, with your Spider Man-less brand of Spider Man spinoff movies, and releasing two of them next year… Madame Web and Kraven: The Hunter. What the hell are these guys thinking? Especially after Morbius was such a disaster?)
But then there are also superhero movies that have some real potential. Namely Deadpool 3 and Joker 2 (is that one really a superhero movie? Whatever it is, it is definitely different and creative, and dark as hell, in a very cool and disturbed way.)
Let’s start looking at the list of movies with potential now, and go through them one by one, to see what this year will be composed of, and the likeliness that some of these are actually pretty good.
Argyle (Feb 2nd)
Here’s the thing about Argyle. It doesn’t look like anything all that fresh or creative. It’s about an author who writes about spies and then gets caught up in a real life spy mystery when the spies come after her because she is revealing real secrets about spies to the public, without knowing it, just because she happens to be a good writer who has hit on some ideas to turn out to be real. If that sounds a lot like the Sandra Bullock movie The Lost City from about a year ago, that’s because the plots are very similar. In that movie she was an author who wrote about a lost treasure, and also by coincidence, what she was writing happened to be true, making It so real life criminal wanted to kidnap her. So Argyle definitely seems like its in familiar territory. Which is a bad place to be. But on the positive side, it stars the always lovable Sam Rockwell, and even more importantly it is written and directed by Matthew Vaughn. This guy is a mastermind filmmaker. He’s one of the only directors out there, (maybe just him and Tarantino,) who has yet to make a bad movie. He’s done two superhero movies (Kick Ass and X-Men First Class,) and they both turned out to be unique visions. And he has certainly had his hand in the spy movie game for some time, with his Kingsmen films. So in Vaughn we trust, and if there’s anyone who can pull off this movie with this story, it’s him.
Ghostbusters Frozen Empire (March 29th)
Alright, let’s be realistic here. The only thing cool about this movie is that it is once again bringing back the original cast. Which means these movies are a spinoff from the original series or a continuation of the series that started with those first two movies back in the eighties. Ghostbusters Afterlife was the movie that brought these characters back and did so by really connecting to the first movie, (even the villain, Gozer the Destroyer, was the same, which turned out to be a very cool touch, and connection.) That movie was loaded up with Easter eggs, and was a whole lot of fun. If this follow-up film can do the same sort of thing, then I’m all on board. If it tries to be its own movie and branch away from the original series, however, then things can be problematic. And what is definitely a bad sign is that the director of that last movie, Jason Reitman (original films director Ivan Reitman’s son,) is no longer on board. A lot of why that first new movie, Afterlife, was so good, was because of Reitman, who is a talented director in his own right. So we’ll have to see.
The Fall Guy (May 3rd) David Leitch
Another one to be doubtful about. Here’s the thing… unlike Matthew Vaughn, director David Leitch does not have the best track record. In fact, some might say he has the exact opposite. Leitch has a way of taking movies that look like they will be great, and screwing them up. His movies all have amazing trailers, great titles, and pretty cool premises. Some examples include Atomic Blonde, Hobbs and Shaw, Deadpool 2, and Bullet Train. None of those four are great. None have the same caliber of action as Leitch’s original John Wick movie, which was codirected by partner Chad Stayhelski. Instead, Leitch’s movies tend to be pretentious and full of themselves, and to generally think they are much more funny than they actually are. Take Bullet Train, for example, with all of the endless conversations about the two hitman brothers, Lemon and Tangerine, and their names being what they are, and the use of Thomas the Tank Engine Stickers and references. And that movie both looked and sounded like it would be so cool (you can’t get a much better title, for starters.)
So hearing that Leitch is now working with Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, in a movie about a stuntman who must go off and find the kidnapped star of the movie he’s working on, doesn’t sound like it will be anything great. For Gosling, it’s his second time playing a movie stuntman driver (his first being in the movie called Drive,) which was incredibly dark and great, in the risks that it took. Something tells me The Fall Guy won’t be as gutsy in terms of taking chances, as that movie was.
This one is sure to be a big hit. But the last Gosling movie that looked like it was destined to be a surefire action hit was The Gray Man, directed by the Russo Brothers, and that one somehow turned out to be kind of lousy. So definitely keeping my fingers crossed with this one, but hoping for the best.
IF (May 17th)
Of the first four movies on this list so far, If definitely looks like it has a chance of being the best. First off, I’m not expecting much from The Fall Guy, or Ghostbusters 2. And secondly Argyle, despite its amazingly talented director, still feels very familiar. So what is If, and what makes it so special? It’s the new entry in filming by writer / director John Krasinski. And Krasinski is hungry. He’s out to prove himself. Yes, he had great success with his two A Quiet Place movies, and now he needs to prove that those two weren’t just catching lightning in a bottle, and that he can expand to other genres as well.
If is about Imaginary Friends. It’s about creatures that may or may not come to life. Think of it a little bit like a live action Monsters Inc. The idea definitely sounds intriguing. And with Ryan Reynolds as the star, you know it will be funny, and probably pretty smart. This one definitely has potential and has a high place on the list of movies that might actually be pretty good
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (May 24th)
Ballerina (June 7th)
Deadpool 3 (July 26th)
Beetlejuice 2 (Sept 16th)
Wolfs (Sept 20th)
Joker: Folie A Deaux (Oct 4th)
Venom 3 (Nov 8th)