Summer 2011 Movie Season Retrospective

The First Year of the Superhero. Oh, and these guys above.

August is now very nearly upon us, and with it comes the end of this summer's movie season. Sure, this upcoming month has a few films that could be considered "tentpoles", but the best of this season is behind us. And as I said in the above caption, this, in forthcoming years, will probably be considered the first of two Years of the Superhero. And these superheroes are where I will begin the retrospective, before moving on to the guys in the picture above.

Son, my mission to you is to forever kill the terminally rude.

Way back in May, Thor kicked off the season, and it was arguably the best offering by Marvel Studios since 2008's Iron Man. A fun, action-packed film with plenty of epic scope due to the deft hand of director Kenneth Branagh, as well as a strong performance by perfectly cast Chris Hemsworth, it was a worthy beginning, if a little uneven due to some dull Earth scenes and a rather unfocused job from Natalie Portman.

The X-Men are fully dedicated to protecting humanity from the hippies.

Though the aforementioned Thor was a good superhero film, the next one is the one that would go on to be the best one of the year, and that was X-Men: First Class. Featuring an ensemble cast that included James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Kevin Bacon, Rose Byrne, January Jones, Jennifer Lawrence, and even a glorious cameo from Hugh Jackman, the film benefited from the ambition to weave the story into history, and explained many of the "cause" that led to the "effect" in the earlier X-films. One of the best films of the year in general, and easily the best superhero flick.

Killin' Nazis. And setting up some good ol' Avenging.

I'll abstain from commenting on DC's only offering, Green Lantern, as I chose to stay away, but as most people, I have not heard good things. I also reviewed Captain America: The First Avenger just last week, so I won't comment on that either, but suffice it to say that Cap is third on the superhero list for the year (though not by much). Now, on to all the non-superhero blockbusters. I should note here that I will not comment on Fast Five, Cars 2, or Kung Fu Panda 2. 

Do we really need anymore? Seriously, it's like the Terminator all over again.

Though it was the highest grossing film of the year at one time, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides continues the decline of the franchise. Everybody, including first-time franchise director Rob Marshall, felt like they were going through the motions, and the script felt generally uninspired. Only some of Johnny Depp's antics managed to give the film life, and Ian McShane's Blackbeard paled in comparison to Geoffrey Rush's Barbossa, while Penélope Cruz, despite all her sex appeal, was a nothing character. One of the weaker films of this year, save for one film doomed to be at the bottom.

Spock in robot form, but he might be from the mirror universe.

 Dark of the Moon was a mixed bag, leaning toward bad, but it's the worst movie I saw this year. Already reviewed it, so not going to again.

This was scarier than the freakin' Exorcist.

I made my (somewhat childhood boner gushing) views on the final Harry Potter installment last month, so I won't do so again. But it was AWESOME, and may be the first film in the series to mount the Oscar hill. As for Cowboys & Aliens, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and the earlier Hangover 2, all enjoyable, but flawed in execution, particularly the recycled comedy. Summer 2011 was an fairly good summer year, chock full of movies worth seeing, but it looks like a dwarf compared to the summer to come, which has some potential Oscar masterpieces hidden in the rough. One in particular, unsurprisingly, has me MASSIVELY PUMPED:

You know what it is.

Goodbye summer 2011, and GET HERE ALREADY, summer 2012.