Monday Morning Poll: Summer's Most Disappointing Blockbuster?
Filed under: Action, Comedy, RumorMonger, Fandom, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels
Last year at this same time, I wrote a Monday Morning Poll that attempted to reveal which summer blockbuster would turn out the biggest unsatisfactory performance. Though I'm far from a negative guy (I really do hope all of this year's blockbusters provide highly entertaining moviegoing experiences), sometimes it's fun to try to pick out which film won't please the fans. Back in 2006, prior to the season's official start, I chose Superman Returns to be that film. And, from a personal standpoint, I was right. Not only did the film not live up to my expectations, but Singer's Superman just wasn't believable. He looked more suited to save the day during a fashion catastrophe than a national crisis. But that's me. That's how I felt.
This year, it's a whole different story. The majority of blockbusters are sequels, and all of them look pretty damn awesome. While Michael Bay is always an easy target, his Transformers has the words "visual orgasm" written all over it. Tacky special effects aside, it's hard for me to sit here and say anything bad about Live Free or Die Hard when the franchise has been nothing but kind to the fanboy inside me. Though early reviews are mixed, I'm certain Spider-Man 3 will win over everyone in the end. Shrek the Third, Surf's Up and Ratatouille will all cancel each other out. Regardless of the bad vibe I've been feeling, the legions of Johnny Depp fans will keep Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End from sinking. And, as much as I feel it won't be the best installment in the series, Harry Potter is Harry Potter -- the boy can't can do no wrong.
So, where does that leave us? Well, this year I'm going to drop down a tier and include films like The Simpsons Movie and Rush Hour 3. Yup, these are my picks for most disappointing blockbuster(s) this summer. Yes, The Simpsons fans (including me) have been waiting a long time for this film, but I feel it's too little, too late. The magic has passed, and it's about time we start realizing that. As far as Rush Hour 3 goes, c'mon -- Chris Tucker hasn't acted in six years, Brett Ratner can't do anything without pissing off a few hundred thousand people and, face it, Jackie Chan's shtick has gotten a little old. But that's me.
So, what do you think: Which summer blockbuster do you feel will turn out the most disappointing?
Note: Don't worry, to combat the negative, next week we'll take a look at summer surprises. So start thinking ...
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
5-15-2007 @ 5:49AM
Ian said...
From a financial standpoint, I suspect SHREK THE THIRD will not meet expectations, largely because of its release date -- two weeks after SPIDER-MAN 3 and one week before PIRATES 3. I just don't see room enough for all three of these sequels in one month, and I'm predicting SHREK will come out on the bottom.
As a DIE HARD fan, the movie I'm worried about is LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD. I want it to be good, but so far I have no reason to believe it will be. Fingers crossed, I guess...
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4-23-2007 @ 11:02AM
vacelts said...
I don't think that Surf's Up is going to fill the shoes of it's predecessors -- The March of the Penguins and Happy Feet.
http://redlightnaps.wordpress.com/2007/04/07/summer-movies-for-the-family/
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4-23-2007 @ 11:46AM
marcel said...
"the boy can't do no wrong"
sorry to point this out, but that's a double-negative. you've said, essentially, 'the boy can do wrong.'
...but, maybe you wanted to?
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4-23-2007 @ 11:49AM
Erik Davis said...
no Marcel, you are correct. When you write fast, things like that happen. Thanks for pointing it out.
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4-23-2007 @ 1:35PM
Sam said...
Rush Hour 3 is going to sink like a stone.
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4-23-2007 @ 11:54PM
John said...
Transformers can suck to high heaven and every 30 year old man will still go see it. (myself included...twice.)
Spidey 3 is a lock.
I'd say Shrek the third, because it just wont be able to hang with the boys this year.
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4-23-2007 @ 9:02PM
Don M said...
I'm not sure from which perspective you are putting The Simpsons Movie into this category. If you are truly a fan, then you are well aware of the excellent "leaks" that are coming out about the script. Also, from the trailers that have been released, I think you are mistaken. Simpsons fans have kept the show on the air for 20 years, so why would they not flock to see the movie. I believe The Simpsons series has earned about the same about for Fox as the first two Spiderman movies combined. The Simpsons has something going for it that few movies do, the quality of its writers. Many of them are highly educated and The Simpsons is well written on so many levels that, if the movie does not generate high box office numbers, it may be due to a low population of intelligent movie goers. Unfortunately, we have resorted to calling a movie a success by the amount of dollars that it generates. The Simpsons has fans from pre-teen age to baby boomer adult (of which I am one). Not many of the other movies that you mentioned have that type of demographic behind it. I hope that you are wrong. I don't think the creators of The Simpsons waited too long, I think that they waited for the pieces to fall into place and waited for a quality script. This is something that is also divergent from the typical film. Of course, I could be wrong, but I'll be going to see it, so who cares!
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4-23-2007 @ 3:26PM
Erik Davis said...
Don, when I say "disappointing," I'm not talking box office. I'm talking about which film will disappoint the fans the most. And while I am a huge Simpsons fan, I'm just getting bad vibes from the film. But like I sad, that's me. A feature-length version of a TV cartoon is always scary territory; for me, the Family Guy flick and the South Park flick both ran out of steam about a half hour in. I feel like our minds are programmed to enjoy these cartoons for only a half hour, as that's how long we're used to seeing them on screen.
They're also throwing a ton of writers at this film, which could be a good thing or a bad thing. Trust me, I really hope I'm wrong. We'll see...
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4-23-2007 @ 4:26PM
Steve said...
This reviewer has left out 1 very important film - Bourne Ultimatum.
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4-23-2007 @ 5:58PM
Jack said...
OK,I have no idea why you would put The Simpsons Movie as "diappointing blockbuster". Why don't you read some of the test screening reviews. They are both extremely positive.
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/32357
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4-23-2007 @ 6:44PM
joe said...
transformers will be the new 'godzilla'
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4-25-2007 @ 12:13PM
Crazy Mary said...
What bad vibes are you getting about Pirates 3?
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4-24-2007 @ 1:52PM
dan said...
I really hope I'm wrong, but I think the Simpson's will be the biggest dissappointment.
Rush Hour 3 won't be because no one expects it to be good anyway, so it will likely perform just as expected.
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5-01-2007 @ 8:01AM
gabrielsol27 said...
bourne identity i really like is the sequal coming out?
if someone could answer me that would be awesome
thanks
spider man shrek
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5-01-2007 @ 8:02AM
gabrielsol27 said...
bourne supremacy is really good
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5-01-2007 @ 8:36AM
Brandi said...
You seriously think this Harry Potter wont be the best installment yet? Have you seen the trailer? Most Harry Potter fans agree this will be the best one yet, especially because Order of the Phoenix is one of the most action-packed book of the series to date.
I think HP, Pirates, Shrek, and Spiderman will do the best. I'm pretty excited to see The Simpsons movie, too, but I'm not sure how well that will do in general.
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5-01-2007 @ 9:19AM
Lola said...
So, I'm looking over the movies ya'll are discussing and I realize something. Transformers: based on an old cartoon, The Simpsons Movie: based on an old cartoon, Live Free or Die Hard: Sequel (I'm sorry, I don't know what the correct word is for the fourth movie in a series), Spiderman 3: sequel ("three-quel"?- based on a comic), Shrek the Third: three-quel, Pirates 3: three-quel, Rush Hour 3: three-quel and of course (from last summer) Superman Returns: "Do over"(?). Is it too much of a risk anymore for Hollywood to make an original movie? Maybe it's just a safer bet to go with charectors we already know than to come up with new charectors and stories. As far as which of these movies will pop and which will flop, Hollywood doesn't care what we think of the movie after opening weekend anyway...just as long as there's a ready-made fanbase in line and ready to pay. I am disgusted. I sincerely hope there really are some surprises to talk about next week.
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5-01-2007 @ 4:16PM
JacobKerr said...
I think if you thought superman was no good last year you do not know what your talking about...
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5-01-2007 @ 11:16AM
theyrecomingtotakemeaway.haha said...
I agree with the first user who said that Shrek might not do as well financially as hoped, but there those of us out there who are sick of the horrible acting that comes with the great special effects of Spiderman. Granted, the second one was far better than the first, but again they should have gotten different people as stars.
As for Rush Hour 3, I agree it came too late, but I really like the first two, and now it has Vinnie Jones in it, and I've always really loved Vinnie Jones. I think that movie will do decent.
Finally, my thought about the Simpsons movie is that, well, it's the Simpsons, and everyone watches the Simpsons, so I believe it will do better than expected.
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5-01-2007 @ 12:01PM
tenor1blueboy said...
I've have only seen the trailers for some of these movies like Pirates of the Carrabian and The Simpsons and I know they are going to be some of the best movies all year. For Rush Hour 3 i'm not saying it's going to be a bad movie I just want to get my $7.50's worth at the movies.
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