An inside look at the Heroes of the Box Office in Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Hancock, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, and The Dark Knight

Special Guest Post by A.A.C. Puryear

For as long as I can remember, I have been the biggest fan of superheroes. I recall moments from my early childhood when I would run home from school to turn on the TV and see the Power Rangers hop in their giant robots called “Zords” to fight whatever aliens had chosen to terrorize the world, or waking up on Saturday mornings to eat a soggy bowl of cereal while cheering on Spider-Man as he saved Mary-Jane yet again and watching the multitude of X-Men stop Magneto from his latest bit of trouble. It had always been a fantasy of mine to don a supernatural ability, take on the forces of evil and save the world, and watching these shows was the closest I could get to this dream becoming a reality. Now as a young adult, I have accepted the fact that I never actually will gain the ability to fly or have super-strength or any other incredible power, but I still enjoy the concept of superheroes in my entertainment, which is probably the biggest reason why I am a fan of the shows such as Heroes or Smallville.

And given the success in the box office, it appears I’m not the only one.
Ever since X-Men hit the theatres in July 2000, we have seen superheroes constantly appear on the big screen making Hollywood a nice pile of money. Whether it be the X-Men, Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the Incredible Hulk, Daredevil, Cat-Woman, Batman, Superman, or even the Incredibles, superhero movies have been providing us with action-packed entertainment of good vs. evil conflicts and perspectives on real-world issues of morality, diversity, and advances in science and technology. In fact, there is a documentary in the works called Comic Books Unbound that plans to enlighten the world just how much these superhuman characters have influenced our culture.

And over the course of this summer, we will have the opportunity to see a whopping total of five superhero movies in the theater. Ironman has been out since May, The Incredible Hulk hit theaters a few weeks ago, Hancock has just opened, and The Dark Knight and Hellboy II: The Golden Army will both see their opening days in the near future. Here’s my outlook on each of them:

Ironman:
Here we follow the story of Tony Stark (played by Robert Downey Jr.), the CEO of a major weapon-manufacturing company who doesn’t quite have the mild-mannered moral compass of Peter Parker and Clark Kent (or the alliterative name). Yet while he may spend his free time gambling and womanizing, he has a noble cause that makes him hero-worthy. He says he makes weapons specifically for the U. S. military to protect American democracy and freedom, and once he discovers that his weapons have been sold to terrorists, he changes his game plan to creating an armored suit for himself that will allow him to fight America’s enemies on his own terms. My review: Easily one of the best movies I’ve seen in a long time. Great plot, great characters, and great acting, this film was one I was glad to see in theaters and one I will certainly be buying when it comes out on DVD. My only critique is that we didn’t get to see as much superhero action as we do in other movies (the Ironman suit only appears in combat twice), but I enjoyed all the comedic moments when Stark was trying to perfect the flight suit of metal. Plus, I loved the Samuel L. Jackson cameo at the end.

The Incredible Hulk:
Bruce Banner (played by Edward Norton) is on the run from the U. S. military, trying to control and cure his little anger problem, which involves turning into a giant green bullet-proof behemoth (or “hulk” if you will) any time he gets a little over-stimulated. Trouble ensues when the military tracks him down to Brazil, and one soldier (played by Tim Roth) decides he wants to have the same gamma-radiated powers Bruce has. Now, he has to be a Hulk to be a hero. My review: Well...this was better than the Hulk movie that was made a few years ago. Edward Norton delivered a decent performance, and I really liked the character that Tim Roth played, but the story wasn’t nearly as strong as Ironman or the many other superhero movies that I have seen in the past. There were also times when I thought the dialogue between Edward Norton and Liv Taylor was barely believable. On the plus side, Tony Stark and his company weapons make notable appearances, clearly showing us that Marvel Studios is planning something big for the future, and this film is just one step towards that.

Hancock:
John Hancock (played by Will Smith) is a bum of a man with super-powers who occasionally will wake up from his drunken stupor to save the day... but only in his own destructive fashion. After he saves a public relations consultant named Ray (played by Jason Bateman) from a train wreck, Ray decides to help Hancock improve his image in the public eye. My review: Turns out this plot summary encompasses only one half of the movie; the other half is engaged by an exciting twist that gives Hancock one of the most original stories I have seen in a movie for a long time. In addition to that, Will Smith does an incredible job; he provides us with a good portion of laugh-out-loud humor while also mixing in powerful blows of drama that really make us root for the outlandish hero. Sylvester Stallon has Rocky, Harrison Ford has Indiana Jones, and Will Smith now has Hancock. That’s right, I’m predicting more movies, because this one was that good.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army:
A legion of creatures from out of this world wage war, invade Earth, and plan to take siege to our green and blue planet. In an attempt for retaliation, the FBI unleashes its secret government operatives including the demon Hellboy (played by Ron Perlman) to fight against these evil forces. My preview: I enjoyed the first Hellboy movie when I saw it years ago, and I liked the premise of demon being raised by the good guys to fight the forces of darkness, plus Hellboy’s unique character adds quite a lot to the movie. However, I have a pet peeve for sequels that have the same general plot as their original (e. g. Meet The Fockers) and from the previews I’ve seen thus far, I am skeptical that this might be the case for Hellboy II. I’ll still probably pay to see it in theaters though.

The Dark Knight:
Bruce Wayne/ Batman (played by Christian Bale) teams up with a couple of other good guys from Gotham to eradicate the infestation of criminals that populate the city. However, trouble ensues when the creepy bank robber known as the Joker (played by Heath Ledger) plans to unite Gotham’s criminals to take down the Dark Knight. The fight against the Joker becomes very personal for Batman as he must challenge the values he has established for himself. My preview: First off, I must applaud the title choice; I was deeply afraid that the sequel to Batman Begins would be named Batman Continues. The Dark Knight meets my approval, as does the return of several actors (Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman) that made the revival of this classic superhero great. Add in the fact that this is Heath Ledger’s final performance (and possibly one of his best according to what I’ve heard), and you have yourself one awesome summer hit. I’m gonna go out on a limb right now and say that this will be the biggest box office hit this summer.

So if you’re looking for a chance to dive into the realm of super-powered action this summer, any of these movies will provide a dose of that fantasy-hero excitement that you crave. As for me, I’ve already seen three of these in theaters and I wouldn’t be surprised if I see the next two in that same fashion.