This has actually been one of the better summer movie seasons in recent memory, though it is a little heavy on the superhero and science fiction genres. This summer saw the release of two of the three biggest opening weekend hits ever with "The Avengers" and "The Dark Knight Rises." Even with these hits, however, there are always a few clunky films holding the season back. Let's take a closer look at some of the winners and losers of this summer:
Losers
"The Watch"
Poor reviews and a disappointing box office showing may give this Ben Stiller/Vince Vaughn vehicle the crown for "worst film of the summer," though I'm not sure anyone is surprised. The biggest complaints have been about the script, which hamstrings its very charismatic actors.
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"Battleship"
First of all, it's truly amazing some of the projects that can be green-lit these days. Whoever thought adapting a board game that involved no strategy, contained no narrative and generally disinterred anyone above the age of twelve got what they deserved when this movie was critically destroyed and was (ahem) sunk by "The Avengers" at the box office. Maybe next year we can move up to an adaptation of "Uno," you know, because that presents about the same likelihood of success.
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"Total Recall"
This ended up being yet another completely forgettable remake in a time where entirely too many exist. "Recall" was unable to unseat "The Dark Knight Rises" at the box office and already seems out of momentum. It's safe to think no one will remember this dud in about three months.
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"The Dictator"
What was hyped for months as Sacha Baron Coen's new raunchy political satire, "The Dictator" ended falling flat because it had so little to say. Beneath a lot of fleshed-out stereotypes, there seemed to be no message other than Coen's idea to embody every stereotype possible. A decent box office haul keeps this movie from being a total flop, but it's still an uninspired comedy all around.
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Winners
"The Amazing Spider-Man"
What "Batman Begins" did for the Batman franchise, this film did for the Spider-Man franchise. After the disappointing "Spider-Man 3" effectively killed all momentum, it was hard to imagine a reboot helping the franchise, but "The Amazing Spider-Man" reinvigorated the series with new energy and a fresh direction. This movie went back to the early comics for inspiration and presented Spider-Man as the hero everyone loves, not the emo dancer of the past film. This movie also got a boost of charisma with stars Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone. With two new movies already announced, it's safe to say we'll have plenty of Spider-Man movies in the future.
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"The Avengers"
There's not a lot to say about this movie other than it's one of the most successful movies ever made in terms of box office gross. It took a lot of effort to pull of a movie that combined the franchises of four different superheroes into one mega-movie. The result, however, was one the most entertaining blockbusters of the summer.
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"Prometheus"
Though it didn't gross as high as expected, "Prometheus" still proved Ridley Scott can direct some seriously good sci-fi fare. Acting as a prequel to the "Alien" films, "Prometheus" was a cerebral and engaging film centering around man's search for his origin in the universe. Also featuring some stunning visuals, "Prometheus" is maybe the best science fiction film since "District 9."
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"Moonrise Kingdom"
Arguably Wes Anderson's best film since "Rushmore," this probably is the summer film with the best Oscar prospects come next spring. This was the perfect nostalgic, whimsical summer film that presented a great vignette of adolescence. "Kingdom" was the most critically lauded movie of the summer and netted a good gross for an indie film. Expect Anderson to be in the running for a Best Director oscar and Bruce Willis and Edward Norton to receive accolades for their performances.
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"The Dark Knight Rises"
It's not easy to end a trilogy of superhero films - see "Spider-Man 3 "and "X-Men The Last Stand" - but "Rises" pulled it off and more. Featuring a great villain in Bane (Tom Hardy), "Rises" ended the best superhero franchise ever with a lot of energy and enthusiasm. The climax alone is worth the price of admission, but the film as a whole presents an appropriate end to the "Dark Knight" trilogy.
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