Superheros at the cinemas

Written by: Ashley Ann
Summertime has always been a favorite of the movie industry’s for the release of action-packed, superhero-filled movies, and this summer is looking like it’s not going to be any exception. Although the reception for the movies as a bulk is mixed, with a few films clearly coming out on top and the rest falling to the wayside as “forgettables,” this year’s line-up looks to be a little more promising. An old favorite, Bruce Banner will be making a return as beloved comic book character in mid-June with the new movie “The Incredible Hulk,” depicting the events of his life after his initial transformation into a green monster, Banner is desperately trying to seek a cure for his condition while being pressured from all sides to use his powers for good or for evil. Sadly, the decision only gets harder to make as an enemy arises that threatens those he loves. Speaking of old favorites, Batman is also making a glorious return to the big screen in mid-July in “The Dark Knight.” Christian Bale will be portraying Bruce Wayne again as the movie picks up where “Batman Begins” left off. The center of mischief in this tale is the Joker, a crazed robber whose crimes grow steadily deadlier in the city of Gotham. Given the warm reception to “Batman Begins” in 2005, critics are predicting that “The Dark Knight” will do well at the box office, which may or may not have anything to do with the shocking and premature death of Heath Ledger, who played the Joker, the main villain in the upcoming movie. Will Smith fans will be delighted to discover that a superhero movie with Smith at the forefront is scheduled for release in early July. “Hancock” is the tale of a once-loved superhero that has fallen from favor of the public. Lazy and destructive, the citizens that surround him have come to detest him. In a last-ditch effort to return to his former glory, he hires a public relations specialist to clean up his image while he meets and begins an affair with said public relations specialist’s wife. Although “The Dark Knight” and “The Incredible Hulk” are, for the most part, serious movies which focus on the internal struggle of the protagonists, there is a light-hearted comedy coming out under the guise of a superhero film. “Kung-Fu Panda” isn’t the typical good-versus-evil movie, but with Jack Black voicing the title role of the animated film, it’s guaranteed to garner some laughs from the audience. The movie is about the story of Po the Panda, a lazy slacker who dreams of being a Kung-Fu master despite working in a low-end noodle shop in ancient China. Picked as the unlikely subject of a prophecy, he joins his Kung-Fu heroes and fights an evil snow leopard, learning lessons along the way. Of course, there’s the renewal of a tried-and-true hero: “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” has arrived in theaters, and although Harrison Ford is getting on in years, it seems he’ll be proving that older men can be heroes too. The new “Indiana Jones” movie calls the famous adventurer back into the thick of things when he gets tangled up in a Soviet plot concerning mysterious artifacts known as the Crystal Skulls. “Iron Man” was released earlier in May, to rave reviews from many critics. The movie is about Tony Stark, an engineering genius who uses his research to make war weapons. While in the Middle East, he’s captured and is told to make a weapon for his Afghani captors. Instead, he creates a mobile suit that he uses to escape and then, eventually, to fight evil. Although it looks as though at least a few of these movies are going to prove themselves to be blockbusters, some potential audience members are decidedly wary of the summer line-up, with Nina Zendejas, a student at BCC, being a prime example of this mindset. Zendejas, 20, mentions that there’s “Usually a sickening amount of CGI (Computer-Generated Imagery), and the storylines are so predictable at this point.” Still, when asked if she was going to forgo the superhero experience, she said, “No way. Stupid or not, explosions and kung-fu is always a good way to spend a night out with friends.”