The Uncertain Future

[ProtoChimp]

Wait what the fuck people consider The Rock a movie star... I mean really? Maybe I'm just bitter about him leaving the WWE and only ever using the WWE to boost his twitter profile but I genuinely never see The Rock in any movies at least in the UK. Americans tell me is The Rock, or Duane Johnson whatever, counted as a movie star? Because he is truly awful but despite my opinion is he know as an actor in the common eye?

 

[Kenjitsuka]

Been super excited for Pacific Rim for awhile now, and I bet it's going to be huge.
PLEASE, let it be huge!!!

As for Iron Man 3, come on, Downey Jr. is hot stuff atm and I love the franchise.
Also Go Joe! Sure it's going to entertain me.

As for Supes? Whatever...

 

[Pat Hulse]

What he's never really had is an unqualified mega-success to call his own - at the end of the day, even his popular Hellboy movies were only modest hits.

I dunno, I'd say that "Blade II" qualifies as a pretty major success. $155 million is nothing to sneeze at, particularly when the film itself had a $55 million budget and its predecessor only made $121 million.

Then again, I guess that Pacific Rim will need to do way better than that to justify its $200 million budget, but considering the overwhelmingly positive buzz it got from its trailer and the kind of business that movies about giant robots have been doing lately, I'd say he's got a decent shot.

 

[hermes]

I don't think Iron Man 3 is in any trouble. Lets face it, at that point The Avengers project was mostly a rumor, and the Nick Fury cameo could easily be attributed to a wink to comic book fans. Not only it was hardly an announcement, but this kind of shit has been used a lot, specially in comic book adaptations. Most of the times, it goes nowhere. That catch only work with hindsight, because without it, that first movie works by itself and has 0 references to the Avengers.

Despite all that, and a weak third act attributable to a bad villain, Iron Man 1 was surprisingly good. Coming from a studio that had a lot to prove, not just "can we make this super ambitious, taking years to set up, consistent casting, never before tried project?", but "can we make a movie?"...

About Superman, I think its going to be a disaster. Singer's adaptation was awful, too scared to touch the legacy of the "legendary" Reeve's movie that it lacked even the smallest amount of ambition. It was so close to Donner's version that, if they called it a remake of the original, it would have saved time. Besides... I REALLY don't like Snyder. I don't think he is very good. The "nigh-supernatural skill" you talk about I call "skipping pre-production by using comic book pages as storyboard" which, more often than not, end up in clustered adaptations.

 

[Quiotu]

Wait what the fuck people consider The Rock a movie star... I mean really? Maybe I'm just bitter about him leaving the WWE and only ever using the WWE to boost his twitter profile but I genuinely never see The Rock in any movies at least in the UK. Americans tell me is The Rock, or Duane Johnson whatever, counted as a movie star? Because he is truly awful but despite my opinion is he know as an actor in the common eye?

If there is one thing being in the WWE taught Duane Johnson, it was how to suck all the oxygen out of a room. And if he's playing the role of an over-the-top military/mercenary/police juggernaut, it plays to his strengths. He's like Brian Blessed but not as loud. There's not enough actors out there willing to completely and utterly ham it up like you need to in most cliche action movies.

Enter Channing Tatum... he does NOT know how to do this, which is why he sucks as an action star... which is why his successes are films that aren't about action. His best action role was letting Gina Carano kick the shit outta him in Haywire. This is why Duane and Bruce are fine for a G.I. Joe movie, but Channing really isn't... and that concerns me. I can only hope his extended role in the film is just to let Joe and Roadblock steal his thunder the entire time.

 

[WiseBass]

Besides... I REALLY don't like Snyder. I don't think he is very good. The "nigh-supernatural skill" you talk about I call "skipping pre-production by using comic book pages as storyboard" which, more often than not, end up in clustered adaptations.

Me too. I've seen some Snyder films (and bits of others), and his style is incredibly irritating. He's way too fond of annoying slow-mo scenes.

 

[Penguin_Factory]

If this one hits big, it could change the course of a blockbuster landscape currently dominated by licensed adaptations and sequels

Dear God, I really hope this actually happens. I'm sick of comic adaptations and remakes.

 

[Froggy Slayer]

I swear to God, Pacific Rim better do well. It's the film that I'm most excited about in 2013, and I'm a comic book nerd mainly. I am worried that the subject matter will be too 'silly' for general audiences though, and they'll just lap some generic shootymcmusclesfest that'll come out at the same time.

 

[Ulquiorra4sama]

I saw the trailer for Pacific Rim not too long ago, and actually got really hyped. I'm definitely gonna watch it.

Iron Man 3 is another one i'm pretty stoked about, but for Superman i'll probably wait it out for response before diving into it myself. I've always been lukewarm about Superman as a character.

Ben Kingsley as Mandarin has got to be good... right?

 

[crimson sickle2]

So, Pacific Rim is essentially a live-action version of those old mecha anime like Mazinger Z?

I'm so going to watch that, just to see if it works.

And because giant robots. And because GladOS is in it. Also, giant robots.

I forgot GladOS was in it for a second there, thanks. I just remember the title as: "must watch" and forget about some of the finer details at times.

 

[Drake the Dragonheart]

Pacific Rim to me almost sounds like "X-Com: Terror From the Deep" if the X-com agents piloted take your pick: Battlemechs, primitive gundams, virturoids, battle armor. As frustrating as that game could be at times, my interest is piqued!

I really liked both Hellboy movies. I think I will be seeing this in theaters if I can.

 

[LazyAza]

I really hope Pacific Rim turns out both fantastic and successful as I've been a borderline obsessive fan of giant robots since I was 5.

 

[Nouw]

I'm looking forward to all of these movies, they better be damn good! Also Die Hard 5 >.>.

 

[Lilani]

I think I'll definitely see Iron Man 3 in the theater, won't be hard to get friends to see that one, and I'll see Pacific Rim on my own if I have to. If only for the fact that Del Toro actually talked to Valve and got their permission to use Ellen McLain to do a GLaDOS cameo as the voice of the computers that run the big robots.

 

[PunkRex]

(i.e. there's no built-in "franchise" audience here)

Hang on a sec Bob, isn't this the Monsterpocalypse movie? I know Monsterpocalypse doesn't have that big a fan base but it is there. Not to mention this seems like the sort of thing Comicon goes mad for.

 

[PunkRex]

I think I'll definitely see Iron Man 3 in the theater, won't be hard to get friends to see that one, and I'll see Pacific Rim on my own if I have to. If only for the fact that Del Toro actually talked to Valve and got their permission to use Ellen McLain to do a GLaDOS cameo as the voice of the computers that run the big robots.

That is sick, I knew that was her voice but I didn't know he went out of his way to find her.

 

[daibakuha]

Eh, still VERY evangelion. Just with less whinging, wanking, and mindfuckery.... i hope.

No, it's not. Not even close. Evangelion was a deconstruction of the tropes of the giant robot genre. This is playing most of them completely straight(which isn't a bad thing).

This is like saying Cabin in the Woods is like Friday the 13th.

 

[daibakuha]

(i.e. there's no built-in "franchise" audience here)

Hang on a sec Bob, isn't this the Monsterpocalypse movie? I know Monsterpocalypse doesn't have that big a fan base but it is there. Not to mention this seems like the sort of thing Comicon goes mad for.

Bob said FRANCHISE, not GENRE. Pacific Rim is not an adaptation of previously existing material.

 

[Silverback91]

Eh, still VERY evangelion. Just with less whinging, wanking, and mindfuckery.... i hope.

No, it's not. Not even close. Evangelion was a deconstruction of the tropes of the giant robot genre. This is playing most of them completely straight(which isn't a bad thing).

This is like saying Cabin in the Woods is like Friday the 13th.

You know, i would be more inclined to agree, if the tagline for the file was not "To fight monsters, we created monsters." That line is very reminiscent of some of the themes of Evangelion before the end where..... well.... Shit got weird. If they dive more into that it will be a lot closer to Eva than the trailers may make it seem. And if they include really creative monster fights and a good group dynamic then it will be very reminiscent of episodes about 4-20... or, imo, pretty much when the series was good.

 

[daibakuha]

Eh, still VERY evangelion. Just with less whinging, wanking, and mindfuckery.... i hope.

No, it's not. Not even close. Evangelion was a deconstruction of the tropes of the giant robot genre. This is playing most of them completely straight(which isn't a bad thing).

This is like saying Cabin in the Woods is like Friday the 13th.

You know, i would be more inclined to agree, if the tagline for the file was not "To fight monsters, we created monsters." That line is very reminiscent of some of the themes of Evangelion before the end where..... well.... Shit got weird. If they dive more into that it will be a lot closer to Eva than the trailers may make it seem. And if they include really creative monster fights and a good group dynamic then it will be very reminiscent of episodes about 4-20... or, imo, pretty much when the series was good.

You seem to be conflating theme with plot. Eva and pacific Rim have about as much in common as Eva and any other giant Mecha show. You seem to base this observation on the tagline and what might happen in the movie, have you read the film's synopsis? Because it doesn't sound like Evangelion:

"Giant monsters identified as "Kaiju" arise from a crevice in the Pacific Ocean, resulting in a war which takes millions of lives and quickly consumes humanity's resources. To combat this new threat, a special type of weapon is designed: massive robots, known as Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. As time passes, even the powerful Jaegers prove almost defenseless in the face of a relentless enemy. On its last stand and on the verge of defeat, the remaining defending forces of mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes - a former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi) - who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the early trials of the mechanical titans. Together, they must stand as the human race?s last hope against the mounting apocalypse." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Rim_(film)#Plot)

This is pretty standard mecha fare.