The summer is far from over, but the biggest blockbusters have already hit the cineplex.
Does anyone believe “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” will be the next mega-movie franchise?
So calling the Summer ‘09 movie season a major disappointment hardly seems premature – or incorrect.
Maybe last year spoiled us. “The Dark Knight” and “Iron Man” provided the kind of one-two action punch few summers could match.
This season, “Star Trek” delivered on the hype — and that’s about it. “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” proved all sound and fury and not an ounce more. “Drag Me to Hell” underwhelmed, no matter what Sam Raimi-besotted critics claimed.
“Terminator Salvation” made us long for the days when Ah-nuld ruled Hollywood, and the less said about the stupefying success of “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” the better.
And the hits kept on … missing.
“Bruno” proved Sacha Baron Cohen’s “Borat” was even more special, and singular in its greatness, than we suspected. And “Public Enemies” reminded us director Michael Mann may be a technical whiz, but like the Tin Man his movies lack heart.
Thank goodness for “The Hangover,” the kind of out-of-left-field smash that relied on great visual gags and hearty word of mouth to give us a reason to smile this summer.
NOTE: This critic still, inexplicably, hasn’t seen “Up.” Hope to amend this post as soon as I do so.
(Photo: “The Hangover” provided summer movies fans with the best laughs of the season./Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.)
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{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Well, I haven’t seen the commando hamster movie yet, but so far this summer has been a major disappointment. Nevertheless, the studios made big big bucks, which means we’ll likely be seeing a repeat of the “Mega-hype simulated sequel block buster” routine next year.
Well, I haven’t seen the commando hamster movie yet, but so far this summer has been a major disappointment.
That sentence says it all.
The Hangover was the only movie that I was actually anticipating seeing. And thankfully, I was not disappointed. But that was it for me. I still have hopes for District 9 and Inglourious Basterds. The fall/winter look promising with The Road, The Book of Eli, Sherlock Holmes and even Zombieland. All in all, a dismal summer movie season.
I know, in my heart, that G.I. Joe will be terrible. I know it. I knew that Transformers 2 would be terrible, and Christian’s review persuaded me to stay away and resist inflicting it upon my 7-year-0ld. But… I think we’ll see G.I. Joe. It has one thing that, as far as I know, Transformers 2 did not:
Ninjas.
Snake Eyes was and always will be awesome.
Speaking of commando rodents, G-Force has nothing on these guys.
And Sienna Miller ain’t too hard on the eyes, Ben.
Why would anybody pay attention to Sienna Miller when Rachel Nichols is in the same movie?
Miss Nichols is not on my radar … but now she is. Thanks!
One mention, “Up” was the highlight of the summer for me. “The Hangover” was close, but Pixar’s magic machine keeps cranking them out.
Strictly speaking, they’re commando lagomorphs.
The Unit with rabbits? Looks interesting. But somebody should send the artist a boonie hat so he can draw one properly. The spotter rabbit look like he should be fishing.
Toto,
You didn’t mention UP!
UP was a sheer delight.
HANGOVER was Hilarious!
WOLVERINE was just a fun action film (not a great one, just a fun one -but not memorable)
STAR TREK was Fun.
Overall, only UP and HANGOVER were that memorable.
The one summer movie of note I still! have not seen is Up.
(I’m adding that caveat to the story above …)
Up is a masterpiece. I think it’s the best Pixar movie ever made, but most disagree with me on that. Nevertheless, any film with a talking golden retriever is at least three and a half stars from .e
Yes, I need to see “Up” too, but I hear you on the rest of the summer, Christian! There have been more disappointments, flops, and films damned with faint praise (like “Public Enemies”) than really great stuff; we really were spoiled by Summer 2008’s “Dark Knight,” “Iron Man,” and “Tropic Thunder.”
On the plus side for this summer, though, besides”Star Trek” there is the terrific little sci fi gem “Moon” with a remarkable turn by Sam Rockwell. It’s completely the anti-”Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.”
And “Moon” is doing nicely by indie standards — more than $3.4 million so far on a smattering of film screens. Every time of year has good movies … you sometimes have to hunt them down.