disappointments and surprises of summer 2010

This summer has been a rather mediocre summer for movies, especially after such a good spring (How to Train Your Dragon, Shutter Island), and after last summer set a high standard with Inglourious Basterds, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and District 9. The latter wasn't quite to my taste, and 2009 had its own share of sub-parness (G.I. Joe, for instance), but even so, this summer has, in comparison, been something of a letdown.

What follows is sheer personal opinion, my own summing-up of what I felt were the most disappointing movies of the summer, along with the ones I thought were the most surprisingly good. I don't mean the "best" and "worst" movies, because while I may have been more disappointed with, say, Prince of Persia than I was with The Last Airbender, Prince of Persia was still the better movie. Nor am I counting Inception as "surprisingly good." The fact that it was good didn't really come as a surprise to me.

The Disappointments

• Toy Story 3. It was essentially a rehashing of Toy Story 2. The villains were virtually identical: good toys who have gone wrong, succumbing to their own selfish senses of entitlement. 3 spent so much time making nods and clever references to its predecessors that it didn't break any new ground. It had its memorable moments, and it capitalized well on viewer nostalgia, but overall it was disappointing. As of right now, I'm standing behind How to Train Your Dragon for Best Animated Feature.


• Iron Man 2. The original film was a pleasant surprise, but Iron Man 2 was disjointed and unexciting. Robert Downey, Jr., was excellent, as always, but the rest of the cast forgot to show up. Scarlett Johansson's character was as forgettable as the plot.


• Robin Hood. For me, it was the most disappointing film of the summer. I had my expectations too high, probably, but it had none of the emotional gravitas of Gladiator, and it just came off as an oddly bitter film. While well-acted, none of the characters were remotely likable. Several of the plot developments bordered on ludicrous. I'm not attacking the historical accuracy (see my previous post on that topic), but the developments didn't make cohesive, narrative sense in the world the film itself creates. A director's cut that fleshes out some of the characters and smooths the pacing a little would be an improvement, but as a theatrical release, Robin Hood missed the mark.

The Surprises

• The A-Team. From the trailers I expected a mediocre action movie, and I had already endured The Losers, and with The Expendables coming out this month it really does seem like Hollywood has run out of originality. Don't get me wrong; The A-Team is, at its core, a generic action movie, and its third act is a mess. But the beginning and middle are just plain fun, with sharp editing, snappy dialogue, and some outrageous ad-libbing from the excellent cast. Things only fall apart when the paper-thin plot starts trying to carry the film.


• Predators. Again, the third act is the weakest part of the film, but Predators surprised me by tackling some issues that are surprisingly weighty for a dumb summer movie — what is the difference between "living" and "surviving"? Is the latter worth it without the former? The title itself is cleverly ambiguous: who are the real "predators" of the movie? The film was nicely paced, and did a good job of creating suspense for things that the trailers had essentially given away. It also accomplished the unthinkable feat of making Adrien Brody a convincing action star.

However disappointing the summer has been, the fall looks to make up for it: The Town could very well be excellent, as could Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. Tron: Legacy and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows both look epic.