So “Iron Man 3” launches the summer movie season this Friday. Drew flipped for the movie. I…wasn’t so enthused. I loved the Shane Black flourishes and I admire the film’s balls for doing what it does with the Mandarin character (no spoilers). I like the idea of boiling it down to more of a Tony Stark film than an Iron Man film. I enjoyed myself. But I had issues with the central villain (Guy Pearce), I felt like the self-containment missed an opportunity to push the overarching story forward and I thought it danced unsuccessfully with fallout from “The Avengers.” (I am, though, very glad to see the film brought such a huge economic boost to North Carolina.)
Call me mixed, I guess. But that’s my one-off. Nevertheless, it’s a great film to kick off the season, even if it ranked way down at #20 on HitFix’s big countdown. When I look at that list of 25 movies, though, I have to say, it makes me feel really proud to be a part of the site as we’ve been the last nearly two years. The variety is superb, a wonderful cross-section of the team’s taste and sensibilities. It’s just the right mixture of blockbuster and counter-programming fare and I think it’s a great primer for the season ahead.
Last week Guy and I offered up some under-the-radar prospects as an addendum to the big countdown, and today, with the whole thing wrapped up, we have a top five. And that top five is every bit as varied as the whole, which is awesome. The one-two punch of art house and multiplex at the top says it all.
Check out the full list with commentary in the gallery below and please tell us, what summer movie — big or small — are you most looking forward to in 2013? What films will potentially find a head of steam for the upcoming awards season? Which will soar? Which will bomb? Tell us all your thoughts in the comments section and we’ll be back for your thoughts on “Iron Man 3” on Friday.
(Side note: I put this up on Twitter last week but I’ll throw it up here, to: “Captain America: The First Avnger” > “The Avengers” > “Iron Man” > “The Incredible Hulk” > “Iron Man 3” > “Thor” > “Iron Man 2.” I’m a fan of “The Incredible Hulk,” so its placement really says nothing about “Iron Man 3,” so much. The only one I actively dislike, actually, is “Iron Man 2.” We’ll see how “Thor: The Dark World” fits in this fall.)