Friday, May 4, 2012

Summer Blockbuster Pet Peeve


This weekend, The Avengers officially opens in the United States and North America, marking the start of the summer blockbuster season of 2012. Like any summer blockbuster season, megabudget tent-pole franchise movies will rule the multiplexes. Some of them will be good, a few may be great even but more than a few will be painful to sit through. It's off to a good start since I enjoyed The Avengers immensely (see review below) so I will not earn the ire of the fan boys. One of the things I do not enjoy about summer blockbuster season are fan boys who think you're being a snob if you pan the movies they love. They toss phrases like "it's not supposed to be Citizen Kane" or "you don't like it because it's not an art film or an Oscar film" or "you're supposed to turn your brain off" and crap like that. Now, I'm always up for healthy spirited debates on the merits of a film but if you start using these phrases, I have to say, you're an idiot. Contrary to popular belief, critics DO enjoy popcorn movies. They give the most popular ones great reviews all the time. Critically maligned hit franchises like Transformers and Twilight are actually the exceptions rather than the rules. It's more often that a very popular popcorn film is often also fairly well-reviewed. Film franchises that make lot of money but are critically mixed or panned often also fall short of box-office expectations like Green Lantern. Enjoy the summer blockbusters, by all means but don't let me catch you being a fan boy! ;) 

9 comments:

Outcast said...

I have to agree with you on this one buddy. I hate people who blast great films because they're not popcorn flicks as you call them (it's a seriously great term), in my opinion the Avengers is a true epic but that doesn't mean that it can compare to some of the wonderful, "artsy," films I've watched in the past. Honestly comparing the Avengers with films like that is like comparing apples to oranges, they're different beauties and it wouldn't be fair to compare, great post.

On a side note, was this written a while ago or what? I'm just asking because of it saying at the top about how the Avengers was to be released this weekend.

The Angry Lurker said...

Not a chance sir!

Mark said...

I really don't like people who say things like that either. Then again I don't really watch movies that make people say things like that to haters. I'm not fond of popcorn movies myself. So I rarely encounter them :) What's worse are the people who think that their popcorn movie IS a Citizen Kane.

Tony Van Helsing said...

Movies serve different purposes, sometimes I want a big wow spectacle.

Unknown said...

I totally agree with you. Fanboys like that are completely idiots. I can sit through 12 Angry Men and totally enjoy it and then see The Spirit as well and have a great time.

Thomas Duder, Author of the Things said...

HOW DARE YOU!

YOU OBVIOUSLY CANNOT FATHOM THE SHEER AWESOMENESS OF (insert brand X title here) BECAUSE YOU'RE A HIGHBROW MOVIE REVIEWER.

YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO STUFF POPCORN IN YOUR FACE AND TURN YOUR BRAIN OFF, NOT ANALYZE EVERY PART OF (insert brand X title here)!

IT'S NOT HYPE, IT'S HOPE! (insert brand X title here) WILL TOTALLY LIVE UP TO THE PROMISES THE EXECUTIVES MADE IN ALL THE COMMERCIALS AND THE SLURPEE CUPS LIMITED RELEASE BEFORE THE MOVIE ONLY PROVES IT!

MRanthrope said...

I agree with you, it's just that Michael Bay type shit has dominated the multiplex for sooooo long, it kind of makes you cringe when summer movie season approaches. Welp, saw Avengers. Faith in humanity restored!

Bart said...

saw it yesterday, was awesome.

i_love_weed said...

is it really that good?

i was expecting a big-explosion-superhero-movie a la micheal bay...

but everybody is saying its great... guess ill have to DL it and see for myself :D