Summer Blockbusters: They May Be Bad, but We Still Love Them
Filed under: Action, Animation, Comedy, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Thrillers, Paramount, Box Office, Family Films, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels, Games and Game Movies
Over on Deadline Hollywood Daily, Nikki Finke has a piece up about the anticipated weekend box office for Transformers that pretty much sums up why Hollywood's summer blockbusters (with some exceptions scattered here and there) tend to be so darn bad: because no matter how bad they are, and no matter how many critics write scathing reviews warning people how bad they are, audiences still flock to see them.Transformers is a case in point: Finke notes that pretty much everyone on the planet expects the film to gross $125 million this weekend -- now stop a moment and ponder how many butts you have to put in seats to gross $125 million -- except for Paramount, which, according to Finke has back-pedaled to predicting a mere $100-125 million take.
That's a whole lot of moolah for a film about robots that disguise themselves as cars. To be fair, in spite of the fact that Cinematical's James Rocchi and Scott Weinberg thought the film was utterly wretched, it is sitting relatively pretty with a 60% fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes (a surprising 69% from the Cream of the Crop), which isn't going to hurt the film's box office any, especially for those folks who are inclined to actually take a look at what critics are saying about a film before plunking down their cash for a $10 movie ticket and some snacks.
But really, when it comes to summer popcorn fare, audiences' expectations are already pretty low, and who cares what a critic thinks about a film about robot cars anyhow, as long as it has hot-actor-du-jour Shia LeBouf and plenty of explosions and nifty special effects? Someone could probably cobble together 90 minutes of NASCAR races with lots of crash scenes and a few exploding gas tanks, weave in a "plot" involving a guy who likes a girl he can't get, whose father thinks he's a loser until he becomes a hero by winning the big race and saving the girl's family business with the money he wins, thereby proving the girl's father wrong and winning his lady love -- all while foiling the nefarious plot to stop him by a generic bad guy -- and rake in $100 million.
To be fair, if you actually read the full reviews, not all the "fresh" reviews of Transformers are completely positive, but for the most part, the gist, even among critics, seems to be: sure, it's silly and campy, but hey, it's a summer movie, what do you expect? It's a film designed to appeal to the kid in us (or at least, the kid in all those now-adult guys like my brother who fondly remember collecting and playing with their Transformers toys in the glory days of their youth -- well, that and the appeal of the obligatory scantily-clad hot chick). And as James Rocchi noted in his review, a film like Transformers isn't just about making money at the box office, it's about raking in bucks at the toy store cash register as well, as kids harass their parents mercilessly for action figures so they can reenact Michael Bay's action sequences in their own homes.
In another piece a couple days before this one, Finke pointed out that six summer movies have already topped $100 million at the box office (she also notes that this doesn't necessarily equate to profitability). The big six are Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Shrek 3, Spider-Man 3, Ocean's Thirteen, Knocked Up, and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer -- and the latest Harry Potter hasn't even opened yet. All of these except Knocked Up were pretty much no-brainers, especially as summer releases; Apatow's success with 40-Year-Old Virgin could have been a fluke, and everyone was waiting to see if his follow-up effort would show he really has the stuff to be a consistent performer (seems like he does, so far).
It seems like just yesterday that Hollywood was moaning and wailing about how no one was going to the theaters anymore, but that sure doesn't seem to be true this summer. What is it about summer that lower's expectations of what we expect at the multiplex? Whenever a critic blasts a summer film like Transformers, it's a given that there will be a slew of comments along the lines of "Dude, lighten up, it's a summer popcorn flick."
Maybe we need the cooler weather of fall and winter to want our brain cells stimulated, or maybe it's just so hot in the summer that for the relief of chilling for a couple hours in a nicely air-conditioned, pleasantly dark movie theater, we'll watch anything they give us. Do you really prefer mindless, fun, action-packed films for your own summer moviegoing? Or do you just go to see what's there no matter how bad it might be, because there's nothing better being offered ... and hey, it's only summer, right?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-04-2007 @ 5:27PM
adrian said...
bad summer movies we love well knocked up and ratatouille were not bad but blockbuster they are.
change the headline to I AM TIRED OF SEEING SUPERBAD TRAILERS.
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7-04-2007 @ 6:03PM
Kyle said...
Oh, please. I have not once gone into a theater with the intent to stimulate my brain cells, and I'm sure that's not what the majority of the moviegoing public is wanting, either. We want to be entertained, and summer movies are bred for entertainment. Yes, a movie can be well-crafted and entertaining too. I'll admit that. Examples are plentiful, but I won't bother with listing them right now. I just wanted to point out the entertainment thing. Your artcile seemed to ignore that idea completely, and assumed we were a country of film critics.
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7-04-2007 @ 10:59PM
Ed said...
I have to agree that 98% of the time I go to the theater is to be entertained. The real heavy groundbreaking stuff I save for rentals.
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7-04-2007 @ 11:00PM
AJ said...
Make that 59 for the general critics and 73 for the cream...
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7-04-2007 @ 11:05PM
Tim said...
I think it is blatantly obvious that James and Scott are nothing more than film snobs.
Sure the movie is a 2 hour and 20 minute GM car / robot Toy commercial, but is it entirely entertaining? Absolutely.
What more do you want from a movie? It's funny. The action is top notch. Shia is definitely a young man with a lot of potential. Megan Fox is smoking hot. There's romance. ILM nailed the Transformers in every aspect. Sure the acting isn't like anything from "Gone with the Wind," but it is accessible and believable, with the exception of Jon Voight who phones this one in.
You know, I generally consider myself a movie lover, or film lover. And that's because I love movies. I love to be entertained by them and taken to other worlds. Sometimes I wonder if professional reviewers have forgotten how to enjoy movies, or feel the peer pressure to pan movies that the collective thinks should be panned.
Transformers was great; so great that I saw it twice yesterday. I think it is some of Bay's, a director that I really don't think gets enough credit for doing well what he does, best work.
Try taking off the critic cap and enjoying a damn movie once and a while.
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7-05-2007 @ 12:32AM
DS said...
i know this doesnt apply to everyone, but im sure there are those of us who go to see these dumb action movies in theaters just to get that Big Screen experience. movies like Transformers and Live Free or Die Hard are sometimes most enjoyable when youre in a huge theater with a loud sound system and tons of people around you. i know i wouldnt have gotten the same movie-viewing experience for Transformers had i waited to rent it so i could watch it on my 20" TV. even though i know its going to be a "bad" movie with a stupid plot and no character development, i also know its going to have big explosions and cool action sequences. those are always more fun on the big screen. and sometimes the "good" movies are better at home where you can pause/rewind and really take in the whole movie in the quiet of your own home.
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7-05-2007 @ 4:03AM
SEV said...
Interesting about that NASCAR story you talk about.. its the story (essentially) of a Bollywood blockbuster - Tara Rum Pum. With a kid angle thrown in for good measure.
It flopped, and with good reason.
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7-05-2007 @ 4:03AM
xlweapons said...
From Tim:
------
Sometimes I wonder if professional reviewers have forgotten how to enjoy movies, or feel the peer pressure to pan movies that the collective thinks should be panned --------
AMEN my friend. I personally sick of the overplayed snobby elitist movie critic rant. The reviews on Transformers have really exposed how much garbage the critics try to feed us, and I certainly hope the general public starts to call them out on it.
What the critics failed to realize was that for most of us, this Transformers movie was simply there to entertain and feed the child soul in those that loved the legacy so much. That's right critics... to the fan following... this was about DOING THE LEGACY JUSTICE. This wasn't about good film / bad film.
Thank you for helping expose how flat and irrelevant your opinions are. The negative critics totally missed the bus on this one, and I think the general public is going to pick up on it.
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7-05-2007 @ 4:14AM
ross said...
I, am not going to this movie for the actors or the hot chick , since i have been a fan of Transformers that is exactly why i am going , and for those who want a plot just rent the transformers series.
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7-05-2007 @ 10:41AM
Ryan said...
I think the whole "this movie exists to sell cars and toys" angle is not entirely accurate. If they were selling, say, cars that turned into robots, it'd be a different story. I think the movie exists more because people who were in the target demo in the 80s now have families of their own. It's more about capitalizing on nostalgia than anything.
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7-05-2007 @ 11:24AM
Rulother said...
I would rather ignore Jame's and Scott's reviews from here on as I thought Transformers was an amazing movie. It seems that 99% of the rest of the crowd seem to agree as well, if you check out the comments on Scott's review of the movie I rarely see any bad comments towards the movie, the rest were nothing short of amazing.
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7-05-2007 @ 2:36PM
DSR7997 said...
Here is the problem with most reviewers and reviews. If you go to a Godzilla movie expecting anything more than a giant Iguana destroying a city, then you are expecting too much. It's not that I don't enjoy movies that are the "feel good movie of the year", I just prefer to see stuff get blown up when I actually go to a theater. I get enough "realism" every other day of the year, I don't need my movies to be "ripped from todays headlines".
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7-05-2007 @ 8:31PM
The 13th said...
Wasn't it always like this?
Summer is the time for action/adventure titles.
November/December is the time for the dramas and Oscar contenders.
January/February is the time for horror movies.
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