Movies That Comic Book Lovers Cannot Miss ...
So, here we are. The two biggest and most anticipated movies since Lord of the Rings have come out. There was Captain American Civil War that blew our minds, and Superman Vs Batman that blew it. Nevertheless, the two biggest movies have come and gone, so comic book lovers probably think you have nothing to look forward to, right? Right! You are correct; there is nothing to look forward to right now. There are three to look forwards to this year, and several to look forward to in 2017. The three that are due out this year look pretty terrible, but they may surprise us. After all, we loved a movie with a talking raccoon, and they somehow made a movie about an Ant Man, so maybe we may still be surprised this year.
1. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: out of the Shadows
Release date - June 3rd 2016
The 2014 version featured the mutant turtles lumbering around like steroid-pumped monsters, while making sexual advances to what appeared to be a tiny woman. The newest one improves on the 2014 version, but only slightly. It is bad, but it is not difficult to watch like the first one. Still, the moral, value and attitude messages are not ones you would want your kids to pick up. Seriously though, look at the posters. The turtle's arms look like green stockings with baseballs in them.
2. Suicide Squad
Release date - August 5th 2016
Let's make the bad guys the good guys a la Riddick style. Will Smith is in it, but that is no guarantee of quality since he seems to star in as many terrible movies as he does great movies. Still, at least he is not dragging his talentless son into this one. It will be fun to see if the re-imagining of the Joker is far enough from the Heath Ledger version to take on a life of its own. They couldn't secure Scarlett Johansson for the movie, which may be a bad sign that indicates the script isn't that good.
3. Doctor Strange
Release date - November 4th 2016
Tipped as the Marvel Experiment's first bad movie. It will probably be ably directed and the script will be passable, but this is where people will turn away. Doctor Strange uses magic! In previous Marvel movies, the extraordinary events have had a passable explanation. For example, Thor's Hammer is simply advanced technology, Iron Man's is based on a new reactor, and even Ant Man's technology is based on untenable (but not impossible) physics. However, telling an audience that it is simply u201cmagicu201d may put a lot of people off. Plus, he is so powerful that he pretty much renders every other avenger as pointless.
4. Lego Batman
Release date - February 10th 2017
Remember the Lego movie? You were probably expecting one long soulless ad for Lego. Instead, you got a funny, inventive, sleek, clever and heartfelt movie. The same people have created a new movie called u201cLego Batman.u201d The same style, flavor and intelligence appears to exist in the Batman movie too (judging by the trailers). Buckle up kids and adults; this could be another good one.
5. Untitled Wolverine Sequel (Fox)
Release date - March 3rd 2017
The other Wolverine movies were simply awful, but people cannot get enough of James Hewlett (Logan) as played by Hugh Jackman, which is why he keep cropping up in other movies. Will the third movie put the X-men back on track after the terrible 2015 Apocalypse movie? Only time will tell.
6. Ghost in the Shell (Paramount)
Release date - March 31st 2017
Here is a movie to get excited about. As if a live action version of the cult Ghost in The Shell were not enough, they have also secured a massive budget and Scarlett Johansson for $10 million. She plays a cyborg that seems to exhibit human emotions. She is the head of a taskforce in the future that fights terrorists and hackers. If you were not into Ghost in the Shell before the movie--you will be afterwards.
7. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Release date - May 5th 2017
The first Guardians of the Galaxy was probably the biggest shock to come out of the Marvel studios. It proved that their movie-making method was unstoppable. On paper it is a ridiculous movie about a tree creature, cybernetically altered raccoon, half human, half alien/half cyborg, and another alien teaming up to save the galaxy, but boy did it work. It was a truly amazing and heartfelt movie, and much is expected of the second. Some say they have done too well with the first that they will never make a better sequel, but frankly, if you locked the team in a room and forced them to play poker for two hours, people would probably still watch (though they would probably want a visit from Wolverine at some point).
8. Wonder Woman
Release date - June 2nd 2017
She shouldn't have been in the Superman vs. Batman movie. She was shoehorned in and now that stain will carry over into this movie. They are going to really have to work hard if they don't want this one to kill the franchise.
9. Kingsman: the Golden Circle (Fox)
Release date - June 16th 2017
The first Kingsman movie played a little too hard on the u201cThis is not 007u201d joke. For some people, it was a little unwatchable. If you were able to get past the first 15 minutes without rolling your eyes, then you may like the sequel. Otherwise, you should probably give this one a miss.
10. Spider-Man: Homecoming
Release date - July 7th 2017
If you have seen the two most recent Spider-Man movies, you will probably vomit with rage knowing that Sony is going to create another. The Amazing Spider-Man movies (2012 & 2014) were a slap in the face to anybody that loved Spider-Man and the Sam Raimi Spider-Man movies (2002 & 2004). However, this time, Sony is working with Marvel, which means Tom Holland stars in it. If you didn't see Captain America Civil War, Tom Holland is a fantastic Spider-Man that actually looks like a meek 16yr old boy instead of a Twilight extra (like in the 2012 & 2014 versions). This could be a very good movie.
11. Untitled Fox Marvel Film (Fox)
Release date - October 6th 2017
Nobody knows what this movie is going to be yet, but since Deadpool made more money than any other Marvel movie, there are a lot of people thinking it will be Deadpool 2. There is another untitled date in January 2018, where the Deadpool movie may be released. There are rumors that the October 6th movie will have something to do with the X-Men, but that simply fueled the fires of suspicion that it is a Deadpool. The rumor was that Gambit had been pulled from the untitled movie.
12. Thor: Ragnarok
Release date - November 3rd 2017
Loki sits atop the throne and Thor is somehow responsible for the death or illness of his people. Do not get too excited by this movie since the director said he is going to make it funnier than the previous two. He has been accused of trying to make the Thor version of American Pie. It may be worth giving this one a miss.
13. Justice League, Part 1
Release date - November 17th 2017
DC has a go at making their own Avengers movie. There is really no hope for this movie unless the Wonder Woman does a Batman Dark Knight on the franchise. Otherwise, this one is probably going to bomb like Lex Luthor's fault-line-seeking missile.
14. Bloodshot (Valiant/Sony)
Release date - Unscheduled 2017
This is a comic book series that is very similar to the X-men, especially since some of the X-men appear in it. The movie is to be made by the producers of the Fast and the Furious. We should probably hold our judgment on this one. The studio seems pretty confident about it, as they have scheduled five movies.
15. The Black Panther
Release date - Unscheduled 2017/2018
Captain America Civil War showed us the Black Panther, and then the cut scene---(no spoilers) ---Suffice it to say that the Black Panther movie is now definitely happening and that the Black Panther has entered the Avengers Universe. The movie appears to take place in the jungles of Africa where the local populace is protected by the legendary Black Panther that has claws made of the same metal that Captain America's shield is made from. It will be shown before the Avengers Infinity War movie, but the studio keeps changing the date as to when.