2012: Year of the Heroes! The Biggest Upcoming Super Hero Movies
2012: Year of the Heroes!
The Dark Knight Rises
Let’s get this one out of the way first. Anybody who is anybody already knows pretty much everything there is to know about this sure fire blockbuster smash sequel to The Dark Knight. Of course, as usual with Christopher Nolan, everything there is to know is really not that much. What we do know is that the cast is once again one of the finest you will see assembled on any film of all time. We have Tom Hardy buffing up to play the bald headed monster Bane, and Anne Hathaway making an appearance as Selena Kyle (also known as Catwoman). Joseph Gordon Levitt is even sneaking into the mix as a local police officer. The late Heath Ledger set the bar about as high as possible with his portrayal of the manic Joker, but I have every faith that The Dark Knight will indeed Rise to new heights in July, 2012.
The Amazing Spiderman
So, its “The Amazing Spiderman”. It’s a fancy name for Spiderman 4. Right? Not exactly. What we have here is a complete reboot of the whole Spiderman series, produced by largely the same people. Marc Webb, also known for 500 Days of Summer (a surprise hit) takes over from Sam Raimi as director and Andrew Garfield of The Social Network becomes Peter Parker for this new look attempt at Spidey. If you’re like me you might think, “Hmm, why reboot a successful series that only just ended?” Seems a little strange, and in all honesty, the idea doesn’t appeal to me. However, with a good cast, fresh ideas and a new take on the legend there is a good chance that the movie will be a hit. As sceptical as I am, I hope I build up the courage to check it out. It can’t be much worse than Spiderman 3!!
Dredd
Well folks, another reboot. This one however, may be a little more justified. Those of you who remember the previous “Judge Dredd” movie starring Sylvester Stallone will recall a relatively light hearted, and sometimes humorous effort, that although generally awful was sometimes pretty entertaining. However, many true fans of the Judge Dredd comic books were very disappointed with the fact that it really did not capture the true feeling of the original stories. Judge Dredd was originally written as a heartless character, who knows nothing but the law and follows it to the book, no matter who is effected. He never shows his face and never waivers from the rule of the law. This is the attitude expected to be portrayed by the new Dredd film starring Karl Urban. The film is going to be mean, dark and not for the whole family. Expect a violent and gritty movie here, that will hopefully be a strong surprise addition to the 2012 lineup!
The Avengers
It is safe to say that what we have here is a comic-movie fans dream. Over the past decade there have been some fantastic super hero and comic book movies. The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Thor and Captain America were all excellent efforts (my personal favourite being Iron Man). Now, they all join together on the big screen, along with a few other special guests such as Samuel L Jackson and Scarlett Johansson. Edward Norton is replaced by Mark Ruffalo as Hulk, but other than this we get the same group that played their characters in the original films. It is going to be difficult to go wrong with this one. However, for the negative folk out there, there is plenty to worry about here. How do you get all these big names enough screen time to make their presence felt? How do you create an enemy that is big enough and bad enough to pose a threat the audience can actually conceive as real when placed against all this super hero muscle!? Will the storyline suffer by a lack of background and development, which has been so vital to the success of each hero’s individual film(s). However, if director Joss Whedon is able to really do this right, we could be onto one of the best movies of the year. Fingers crossed!
Honorable Mentions
· John Carter – A Disney effort based on a classic sci-fi novel
· Man of Steel – Zach Snyder’s take on the Superman legend
· Men in Black 3 – Time travel and new tricks try to bring this popular franchise back
With all this ahead of us, 2012 is going to be a big year for fans of the hero!
Check out my list of great movies you probably haven't seen!
