Superheroes Coming Soon - part 1

Hollywood is betting lots and lots of money on the superhero genre this summer. At least four big budget movies based on classic comic book series are scheduled to hit the theatres this summer. That can be good news or bad, depending on your taste in movies. Personally, I'm a big superhero fan having grown up reading comic books. I've liked some of the big screen adaptations, while others have greatly dissapointed me. For the most part, I still get excited when I hear that one of my boyhood favorites is finally being made into a movie in this day and age when anything seems possible in movies.

Will this new crop reach the bar set high by Sam Rami's Spiderman and Christopher Nolan's Batman? Or, will they fall flat like Daredevil, Catwoman and both attempts at The Incredible Hulk. An even bigger question for this article to ponder is whether or not these new heroes will dabble in the dark side of humanity like The Dark Knight, the biggest superhero movie of all time. I'll try to give you some heads up on these questions so you'll be ready when they come out this summer and your kids are suddenly begging you to let them go see them.

THOR - May 6th

Summary - A Norse god is cast out of the heavenlies because of his arrogance. On earth, he tries to adjust to the strange ways of humans. With god-like strength and a powerful hammer, Thor ends up defending earth from evil forces.
My Take - I was a fan of Thor as a youngster and I have to say, I'm a little bit nervous about seeing what they'll have to do to him to make him relatable on the screen. He's not your average guy who ends up with super powers like most heroes. He's a Norse god for goodness sake. However, concessions will be made I'm sure and it will probably be a good thing. I say that, because if Thor is to be a success on film it will surely be because the movie will contain rich, well rounded characters. The trailer hints at this with Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Natalie Portman as the pretty human who takes an interest in him. The characters look interesting and well acted. There seems to be some chemistry between the two leads, at least in the trailer. The special effects also look great, but you can bet that if the effects are the star of this movie, it won't last 3 weeks before it ends up in the $5 bin at Walmart.
FOR THE KIDS? - I don't see any hint of the Dark Knight here. It looks as if the worst problem Thor has is a bad attitude toward the beginning and even worse manners. Let's hope this movie is as clean and noble as it comes across on the trailer.