Missing the summer blockbusters
- Brett Hiner: A Work in Progress
- July 12, 2021
- 793
I will admit to missing the summer blockbuster. There is something to be said for walking into a darkened theater and receiving some mindless entertainment for two-plus hours, all the while nibbling on some overpriced/stale popcorn and sipping on a watered-down soda.
That is not to say there is no thinking involved with summer studio tentpole releases, but our expectations walking into a Marvel film as opposed to “The Trial of the Chicago Seven” are decidedly different and probably should be. While both genres are intended to entertain, the thinking level often varies when talking about summer releases.
Ever since “Jaws” in 1975 invented the summer blockbuster, we have been blessed with some truly ginormous and enthralling films, many of them gamechangers in their own right. The late '70s and early '80s were dominated by the "Star Wars" franchise. I think “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial” landed at our local cinema sometime in June of '82 and stayed there for two years.
These films led to us being chased by dinosaurs in the “Jurassic Park” films in the 1990s and, in this century, being moved to tears watching the brilliant Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight,” knowing we would never get to see him perform again.
Occasionally, we are fortunate enough to get both an enthralling story and technical wizardry. “Toy Story 3,” my favorite of the bunch, and “Saving Private Ryan” come to mind, as both are the rare summer blockbusters that ask their audiences to become emotionally invested in their characters and succeed at doing so.
While the summers in which they were released have begun to blend together over time, the experience of seeing these movies in the theater has not.
Case in point, I was stunned upon hearing the other day that “Terminator 2” and “Independence Day” are celebrating their 30th and 25th anniversaries, respectively. While both films may have failed in storytelling, they made up for it with those groundbreaking special effects and memorable one-liners, although I recently caught a bit of “Terminator 2” on television, and it has aged well — “Independence Day” … not so much. Collectively, those two movies alone, with adjusted gross income, raked in over $1.6 billion at the box office.
Make no mistake, the release of summer films is a massive money maker but is now an industry as devastated by COVID-19 as many other art forms.
This almost two-year summer movie reprieve led to my longing and got me to thinking about my favorite summer blockbusters and what might be the best summer blockbuster of all time. Choosing one is a bit like picking a favorite child, which changes based on context, but I knew exactly where my search would begin and likely end.
Anticipation and hype for any movie is often the name of the game, and in the days of pre-internet and social-media spoilers, that anticipation came from the film’s trailer and the deluge of toys, T-shirts, fast food tie-ins, trading cards and other assorted merchandise flooding the marketplace. No movie before, and copied endlessly since, did that marketing as effectively as “Batman.”
Those of us who remember the summer of '89 likely recall the Bat-Mania that took over all aspects of life. From school attire/fashion to the radio airwaves playing the Prince soundtrack, “Batman,” and the film’s logo, were everywhere that summer, and for a kid who grew up obsessed with the comics, reruns of the TV show and Saturday morning Super Friends cartoons, the film was everything I wanted, admittedly, before I even saw it.
Director Tim Burton’s noir tone to the film set the template for the slew of comic-based films that have come along since, and the fact he snagged both Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson to play the leads, following Richard Donner casting Marlon Brando and Gene Hackman in “Superman,” proved that when taking the source material seriously, including casting skilled actors, one can produce a summer blockbuster that is equal parts spectacle and story.
Because so much of the movie got it right including the casting of Keaton, Batman fans were willing to forgive the fact that Nicholson’s Joker kills Bruce Wayne’s parents; this is a major change from the comic, implemented by the filmmakers to tie the origins of good and evil together. It works with Burton’s dark and brooding Bruce Wayne and overall tone of the movie.
“Batman” is certainly not my favorite movie of all time, but when I think of what it means to be a blockbuster and all the nostalgic glory that comes with it, it would rank as my summer favorite.
For me and the millions of folks who remember that summer of '89 and how “Batman” dominated the box office and pop culture universe, a bit of childhood will be relived shortly: Next year Keaton is returning as Bruce Wayne/Batman in “The Flash,” a Warner Brothers release that will likely attempt to connect the many character iterations of various DC Comics films, much like the Flashpoint story line did in the “The Flash” comic book series.
Using that uniquely transportable magic that is film, seeing Keaton back in the cape and cowl, however old he may be, will make me feel like that 16-year-old kid all over again, sitting in the front row, watching a childhood hero unfold so perfectly on the big screen. This time let’s just hope the popcorn tastes better.