So, I have made this "The Sunday Scramble."
This is the one day of complete "anything goes" when it comes to the blog.
Do you realize there are FOUR major comic-based films coming out this summer? In May, we have the one I'm looking forward to the most - Iron Man. In June, we have the sequel to Hellboy and the rebooting of the Hulk franchise with The Incredible Hulk. In July, we have the juggernaut of a sequel to Batman Begins, The Dark Knight.
It just hit me this last week that they all come out this summer.
Honestly, I can give or take Hellboy... the first film was fine, nothing I was overly thrilled with, but I'll probably see the sequel eventually.
As much publicity as the Batman film is getting, I have a hard time getting excited about it.
I won't deny it looks like it will be good, and I know I'll see it while it is in the theaters, but I can't help having a feeling of "been there, done that" with the film. It all revolves around the use of the Joker as the main villain. Yes, I know it is a completely different take on the role than Jack Nicholson had back in the first modern Batman film, but Batman has a huge rogues gallery, and I would've liked to have seen someone we haven't seen before. Just my personal opinion.
With Iron Man, I gotta say, I haven't been this excited about a movie in a long, long time. Thus, I'm ensuring my disappointment as it fails to live up to the standards of the pedestal on which I have placed it. Still, I can't help it. If I see no other film this year, I will see Iron Man.
I hated the first Hulk film. A lot. So, when they announced that the new Hulk film was basically going to ignore that one, I was thrilled. I like the cast choices for this film (Ed Norton as Bruce Banner, Tim Roth as Emil Blonsky), and I also like the direction toward more action and less mind-numbing plodding (as seen in the previous film).
I think, if I were ranking these four releases, that I'd actually be looking forward to seeing the Hulk film second only to Iron Man. And, it isn't just for the reasons I've already talked about. There is another reason.
I'm very interested in how this Hulk film works out for what it will mean to Superman. Let me explain.
The Hulk film from a few years back was badly panned, and deservedly so. When they decided to make another film, instead of trying to build on that mistake, they opted to go with a completely new sorta film, not contradicting the other, but also not dependent on it. It is a risky kinda move, so soon after the other film (only four years later - the Batman franchise cooled for eight between the horrible Batman and Robin and Batman Begins), and it will be interesting to see if people are willing to overlook that other film when it comes to this one.
Rumors have been flying about the future of the Superman franchise after the mistake (yeah, I'm saying it) of Superman Returns. In just the last couple of weeks, there have been reports that both the director (Brian Singer) and the star (Brandon Routh) are unlikely to be a part of any sequel. Rumors, all, but given the less that expected success of the most recent film, I wouldn't be surprised if these turned out to be true.
Now, if Warner Bros. sees that the new Hulk film does well, it might give them the confidence they need to follow that example, and reboot the Superman franchise, not with an origin film (we all know where Superman came from) and not a continuation of the previous films, but a new film using the known characters that doesn't carry all the baggage from the previous mistakes. Just a good film, action packed, with Superman battling someone else besides Lex Luthor. (Hey, how about a good Brainiac or Bizarro movie?)
Sure, I want to see an awesome Hulk film... but I also wouldn't mind if it led to a revival of the Superman films as well. Why can't I have both?
Type at you later.
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