Can All This Year’s Superhero Movies Be Hits – And Good?

I’m Portuguese (a country most of you have probably never heard of) and I’m still excited for Captain America – more so than any of the other movies, in fact. I wanted to watch Thor because it seemed good and, especially, because it tied into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is a genius idea and a great marketing ploy, but I was not very excited. Thankfully, it turned out to be a fantastic movie and I really enjoyed it.
Now, truth be told, I’ve become a bit of a comics nerd in the past few years, and I started reading Ed Brubaker’s Captain America series after seeing great reviews. So I’m very interested in the movie because I’m a fan of the character, so I can’t really be seen as the rule. Most people I know won’t be very much interested in a symbol of American patriotism – not that we’re anti-American, mind you, just that it’ll look more like propaganda than a good idea. There’s a great character in Steve Rogers, but he’s clad in a flag, and most people might be put off by that.

Oh, and I’ve also enjoyed Geoff Johns’ Green Lantern run and Martin Campbell is a director I always keep an eye on, but I’m not nearly as interested in the movie as I am in Captain America’s. For one thing, I haven’t seen enough to find it more than a formulaic origins movie, and I don’t really think Ryan Reynolds as cocky pilot Hal Jordan will be as interesting a lead as Chris Evans playing the nuanced and fascinating Steve Rogers. But I’ll probably watch it anyway, so we’ll see.

I wonder if the concern shouldn’t be about this summer’s crop of films, but about the next summer that sees this many super hero films.  I liked both Thor and X-Men and plan on seeing GL and Cap.  But will four super hero films in one summer create that dreaded “super hero fatigue” and hurt next summer, one that sees Avengers, Amazing Spider-Man and isn’t there a lil’ Superman film coming, too?  Certainly next summer has bigger name heroes, but could this summer also over do it for movie goers?

My prediction?  Nope.  Keep making good super hero films and the audience will come.

If I was a gambling man, which I am, I’d bet that audiences will be able to at least say that all four of these movies were at least “good” (and some kind of small success).  Green Lantern might be the biggest gamble.  It’s probably too fantastic for many but Ryan Reynolds just might do the trick.  I’m more confident about Cap considering Marvel Studios has proven that they always do a good job and audiences should eat up the WWII setting.

Next summer is a sure bet.  You can’t tell me that record-holders like Batman and Spider-Man won’t retain their audiences.  Avengers will be the movie to watch but I can’t imagine people won’t want to see Robert Downey Jr. and friends on the big screen.

It’s a language and a demonym. Similar to English when referring to the language and the people of England.

Quit trolling comicfan, the only X-Men movies that have been worth a damn are the ones that Singer has been involved in. 

Only if DC’s 52 first issues all are in the top #1 spot in sales. Wait… that’s impossible.

So far, I liked X-Men: First Class the best. Then Thor, which I liked but felt could’ve been better with some changes and outright omissions from the movie. Green Lantern seems to be getting mixed to bad reviews so far on some sites I’ve seen about the internet searching for them. I have a feeling G.L. will be the one that comic/G.L. fans will like, but maybe still have some issues with in the end, as with Thor in some respects. I have a feeling I’ll really like Captain America. Maybe as much or better than X-Men: First Class.

In any case, whether they sink or swim, I’m hoping that the Hollywood powers that be can not be blinded by the dollar signs (yeah right! ;D ) and pay attention to the stuff that helps AND hinders these movies. So hopefully later on, they can make better ones in the future.

Looks like GL is going to stink.  Darn it.

Regardless of wherever Green Lantern ends up on the review scale, I have an absolutely certainty that the biggest bomb of the four will be Captain America. Joe Johnston is the utter definition of a hack. I think The Wolfman might be the first film I actively booed when the credits rolled. The man has zero panache in his work, so the screenplay needs to be stellar for the film to work…we’ll see.

X-Men was surprisingly entertaining, though I’m certain the six weeks of Bryan Singer reshoots over Matt Vaughn’s work had alot to do with it (as well as cutting down January Jones’ dreadful performance to just a few scenes).

Thor was fine, at least the scenes on Asgard…the earthbound stuff was snooze worthy, but no worse than Iron Man 2.

That’s good to know! At least, if the reasons for having heard of it are good.

Spain-adjacent.  Come on now, think more of us than that.  

I can´t see Green Lantern as a hit, as I could see in trailers, it´s looks good but let´s get it clear, Green Lantern isn´t a popular character aside comics´field. Captain America is different, and it has something on its side, the Avengers movie. Marvel got right when all movies related to Avengers had something, a bridge between the movies to lead to Avengers. What GL has to offer? 

If any of the four will be a terrible let down it will be Green Lantern.  As stated in the article, it looks “day glo dumb”.  And that’s a shame.  There’s absolutely no reason for the green sparklies everywhere.  There’s no reason the entire costume should be CGI.  At the very least there’s no reason it should look so BLATANTLY cgi.  :(

I think Captain America is far more well known than Graeme thinks.  Of any of them, I’d think Cap will do the best.

Actually.. I have no idea how I know of it. Probably high school.

2008: The Dark Knight, Iron Man, Wanted, The Incredible Hulk and Hellboy II: The Golden Army.

Conventional wisdom?

Early Rotten Tomatoes reviews are not looking good for Green Lantern, so except for Nolan’s Batman movies, DC still isn’t getting it right. 

I do think that Captain America will add to the Marvel winning streak this summer along with the very strong Thor and X-Men First Class. 

Out of that list only Iron Man And the Dark Knight were any good. Hulk was meh and Hellboy 2 sucked.

In most cases, like with entertainment, what’s good is a matter of opinion.

Interesting comments. I think that “X-Men: First Class” was considerably better than “Thor”, which I found quite disappointing.

I’m uncertain about “Green Lantern”. I’m not a reader of the comic, so I don’t have much feel for the character. I like Ryan Reynolds, but I actually think that he takes away from the character – he’s known for more comedic roles. That being said, he is a good dramatic actor too, so maybe he will straddle that line.

“Captain America” – I’m not sure what to think here. I don’t think that jingoism is necessarily a problem, particularly if it is addressed in the film. Like many people, I’m not crazy about the USA, but I have a soft spot for Cap, who embodies an ideal, not a reality. That being said, non-comic-buying general publics around the rest of the world may well look at the shield and the flag costume and say “why do we need more American propaganda?”

I wouldn’t be surprised if GL outright bombs at the box office. And not in a so-so barely break even kind of way. I mean in a Jonah Hex stink up the place kind of way. The reviews for it are that bad.

I saw the trailer for GL with Thor and the audience was mostly “whatever” about it.

They’re the aliens from DS9.

strangely i think Cap is a shoo in for many reasons but i think the time is right for him.

Please watch the movie before you negatively judge the movie.

Seen Green Lantern last night, and it was good! As good as Iron Man and also a vibe of Superman the Movie feel. This film being more of an origin story does seem fast paced but all the key characters are there and newbies will “get” them. As for the Green Lantern suit, it does look better than what we see it the trailers.