Vladimir Rakhmanin
Staff Writer
We all need a break sometimes. Occasionally, we have to watch films that are loud, fast-paced and contain either superheroes, CGI aliens, or giant robots; preferably a mixture of the three. This is why I have prepared for you a list of large scale blockbusters to look forward to in the coming year, to help you retreat into a world of fantasy in the best way possible.
John Carter
John Carter is actually coming out quite soon, at the end of March, so expect a proper review of it later this month. This sci-fi adventure is Disney’s live-action adaptation of a hugely influential series of novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs. I recently had a look through the first one, and it’s amazing how many tropes Burroughs had established for the genre, including ones that later appeared in such classics as Star Wars and Avatar. I also got a chance to take a look at a 10-minute preview while I was at the cinema, and I can confirm that the 3D actually looks quite nice, unlike the usual garbage Disney presents us with. Expect this to be a classic fun-filled sci-fi adventure – while I don’t think it will become the new Avatar, I do think that it will be sufficiently entertaining.
Prometheus
Another sci-fi film. Due to the viral nature of Prometheus’ marketing, many people still aren’t aware that this is a prequel to the Alien quadrilogy. It’s no secret that I love the first two Alien films very much (I placed the original on the No. 4 spot in my Top 10 Horror Films list), so I am extremely excited to see what Ridley Scott has to offer in his new instalment. Very little is known about the plot of the new film, and only two cryptic trailers have been released, which promise similarly terrifying and high-budget action sequences as we would have found in the originals. Sounds very promising indeed, look out for this one.
The Dark Knight Rises
I don’t think this one needs any explaining. The final part in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, this is a follow-up to the unbelievably successful The Dark Knight, which was a smash hit with critics and comic-book fans alike. Audiences were thrilled with the gritty, realistic version of Gotham City, and praised Heath Ledger’s unforgettable performance as Batman’s nemesis, the Joker. So what does the conclusion of the epic story have to offer us? Once again, not a lot of information has been released, but we do know of two characters who will definitely appear – Catwoman and Bane. It will be interesting to see such over-the-top characters in a realistic setting, and I’m sure that Christopher Nolan will not disappoint us with his interpretation. The trailer also showed street thugs taking over Gotham, a scene which will be instantly familiar to those who played last year’s excellent Arkham City. My only concern with this film is that it may collapse under the weight of its own hype – with two excellent predecessors, it will be difficult to top what has come before. Still, I have high hopes for Rises, and hope it will be a fitting conclusion to the trilogy.
The Avengers
Normally, I’m not really a fan of sequels, and particularly sequels to superhero films. What makes The Avengers different, however, is that it had been planned for several years, with clues about it being dropped casually into every single Marvel film since the 2006 The Incredible Hulk. Iron Man, Thor, Captain America – all these films are actually linked together, and are set to be concluded in The Avengers. With such a hit cast of characters, I find it very difficult to imagine that the films could be anything but outrageous fun. I can only see two things that could go wrong – the first is that the film had 3D added to it, meaning that we could get the terrible depth effects that we got in Thor; the second is that it looks like Loki could end up being the main villain – I don’t see him as a particularly strong character, which could end up hurting the film. I’ll still watch it though, just for the possibility of seeing Iron Man fight alongside the Hulk.
The Amazing Spider-Man
Thank God they decided to reboot it. Spider-Man 3 left me with feelings of uncontrollable rage – Venom, one of the best villains in the franchise, appeared for about fifteen minutes of the entire film, there was almost no humour to speak of, and don’t even get me started on the dancing scene. It appears that, for once, the producers decided to listen to the fans and completely change the tone of the series. From the trailers and previews that I’ve seen, the plot line stays very true to the comic books, Spider-Man is actually funny (which is such a key feature of his personality that I don’t know why they decided to take it out in the previous film), the love interest is Gwen Stacy instead of Mary-Jane (if you’re familiar with the lore, you know that that could lead to some interesting drama towards the end of the film) and the inclusion of the Lizard, a classic villain, makes the film feel like it’s a true love letter to the fans. While it won’t raise the bar for dramatic ‘mature’ superhero films like The Dark Knight, I feel like this could be an excellent addition to Marvel’s roster of big-screen adaptations.
Men in Black 3
Can you believe it’s been ten years since the last Men in Black film? That makes me feel really old. A bigger concern, though, is if the new one will be just another repeat of the first one, like the sequel was, or if it can provide a fresh experience. To be honest, I think the franchise can feel new again, due to the inclusion of a new plot element – time travel. Yes, in this instalment, K goes missing, and J has to go to the past to speak with the younger version of K in order to figure out where he has disappeared to. Confused yet? While the plot is definitely something we haven’t seen before, what I think will be even more interesting is the comedy provided both by the ‘fish-out-of-water’ situation of J in another time period, and from the glimpse we will get of K as a young man. Things could still go very wrong in terms of plot, but at least the premise is promising.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
What can I possibly say? It’s a prequel to The Lord of the Rings, one of the most popular franchises both in film and literature. It’s going to be split into two parts. The screenplay was partly written by Guillermo Del Toro. Are you hyped yet? Because you should be. This is one of the most exciting things to happen in the fantasy genre since the conclusion of the Harry Potter franchise last year. Many people are joking about how happy they are that the release date is before December 21st 2012 (the supposed date of the apocalypse), but they are partly right. You would definitely want to see The Hobbit before doomsday. The book itself has more of a fairy-tale feel to it than the epic high-fantasy novels that follow it, allowing for a simpler story, and a more magical experience. And if that’s not enough, we’ll also get to see Gollum again, who is one of the greatest characters in any medium. Let the wait begin.
