Last week, the writers of Renegade Cinema counted down their most anticipated Summer Movies of 2013. There were similarities on all the lists, including numerous mentions for Iron Man 3, Pacific Rim and The Great Gatsby. However, each writer gave you their unique reasons they wanted to see the specific movie on their list.
It’s my turn.
Before you check out my list, feel free to see what Aidan, Devan, Tony, Jesse and D-Rock had to say. As for me, here are my Top 5 choices for the Summer Movies of 2013
5. Iron Man 3
Wow, this was hard. I had three movies vying for this fifth spot with Fast and Furious 6 and Star Trek Into Darkness losing out to Iron Man 3. Look, I really want to see Fast and Furious 6 because I felt Fast Five was the best movie of the entire series, including the first one. I really want to see where they go from there. I want to see Star Trek Into Darkness because I loved JJ Abrams first movie in the series and feel Benedict Cumberbatch is one of the best actors working today.
But Iron Man 3 wins because of Shane Black. Look, Black is the best screenwriter of his era and, despite the fact that this is not a 100-percent Shane Black script, my mind is not changed. Black got his start in directing with Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, the movie that started Robert Downey Jr.’s comeback after drugs derailed his career. That remains one of Downey’s best movies and just the thought of them reuniting excites the hell out of me. Plus, it’s Iron Man, a movie where the weaker sequel is still better than most action movies.
4. The Wolverine
First off, I am a little disappointed with the trailer they released for this movie. I was expecting this to be a lot more faithful to Chris Claremont’s The Wolverine comic book, where Logan went to Japan, got married, fought his wife’s Yakuza relatives and faced a tragic end. Instead, we get a big fight on top of a speeding train and a lot of ninjas with swords. However, I do like the idea of the story of Wolverine maybe losing his healing factor, Silver Samurai was in the trailer, and I have some faith that this story will be less convoluted than the X-Men: Origins movie with the Canadian hero. I am not as excited as I was before, but it is still a movie I am looking forward to seeing.
3. The World’s End
Edgar Wright could make a movie of Simon Pegg taking a dump and I would watch it. The guy is a perfect 3-for-3 with his movies, including the first two parts of his blood and ice cream trilogy. Basically, Shaun of the Dead was based on strawberry Cornetto ice cream (red for blood), Hot Fuzz was based on the original blue Cornetto (blue for cops), and now The World’s End is based on min-chocolate-chip (green for sci-fi). Of course, he also made Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, which was the best video game movie ever made (until Wreck it Ralph), and it’s not even based on a videogame.
The World’s End brings Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost back together to complete their trilogy, as Pegg and Frost play middle aged guys who rejoin some friends to recreate a legendary pub crawl that ends at the pub known as The World’s End. The title of the movie could refer to the fact that the world is ending during the pub crawl (the sci-fi aspects) and it could also mean the end of the world as Simon Pegg’s disillusioned character knows it. Either way, it is Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, which means it will be great.
2. Pacific Rim
Guillermo Del Toro is one of the most brilliant filmmakers working today. He is almost perfect when it comes to his directorial features in a career that rivals that of men like Quentin Tarantino. From the fantastic horror movie Cronos to the scary ghost movie The Devil’s Backbone to the greatest fairy tale movie ever made in Pan’s Labyrinth, Del Toro has made classic after classic. Add in three of the best comic book movies of all time in Blade II, Hellboy and Hellboy 2 and you have a career most directors would kill for.
Now, Guillermo Del Toro brings the world giant robots fighting giant monsters. Dear Baby Jesus, this might be the greatest geek out movie of all time. Add in actors like Ron Perlman and Charlie Hunnam, and I don’t see how this movie can’t be great.
1. Man of Steel
Too many people don’t like Superman. I don’t get it. Sure, he is a God-like character with almost limitless powers, but the guy is a legend and is arguably the greatest hero of all time (not most popular, but greatest). Now, Zack Snyder gets to re-invent him and I am really excited. Too many people turned on Snyder after Sucker Punch, but it must be easy to forget greatness. The guy made a remake of Dawn of the Dead that rivaled the original for greatness. He made The Watchmen, one of the most faithful and beautiful comic book adaptations of all time (and I don’t care what anyone says, his ending was better than the comics ending). He made 300, a movie that was simply stunning visually. The guy made one lesser movie out of four and people dismiss him (I don’t really count Legends of the Guardian since it was an animated movie. It wasn’t great but it looked amazing).
Anyway, the trailer for Man of Steel has me excited to see where they go. I like the idea that they want to see how the world will react to a man like Superman, which is something the original movies really didn’t attempt to do. Remember, in the comics, Lex Luthor hated Superman because he felt someone with that many powers was dangerous. Batman felt the same. Now, I really hope Zack Snyder creates a world that somewhat fears Superman as he does what he can to save them and win over their love. That would make Superman interesting, and that is what it looks like Snyder has done.
I can’t wait for a Superman movie, and that is a miracle in and of itself. Bring it on.
What are your top upcoming Summer Movies of 2013? Let us know in the comments section below.
