“That’s a bad idea, but I’m all about bad ideas.” -Hound (played by John Goodman) in Transformers: Age of Extinction
Yes, this really is a line from Michael Bay’s most recent 3-D explosion show (can you even call it a movie if it doesn’t have a plot?) But Hound’s one-liner also speaks volumes about the state of today’s film industry. Lynda Obst, author of the 2013 film business textbook slash memoir Sleepless in Hollywood, defines the modern blockbuster as hinging on three crucial components: Audiences have heard the title before, Potential to sell overseas, Potential for franchise or sequel. Missing from this list, of course, are only the small matters of creativity, intellectual acuity, and innovation. In short, blockbusters today are going from bad to worse. As industry giants forecast the impending death of cinema, the dearth of quality films this summer and record lows in box office revenue don’t provide cinephiles with much hope.
Worst Summer Blockbusters
- Transformers: Age of Extinction
- The Expendables 3
- Hercules
Honorable Mention: A Million Ways to Die in the West
Created with the more profitable Asian markets in mind, these blockbusters sacrifice quality for cross-cultural coherence, i.e. favor detonations over dialogue. Transformers even added two Chinese supporting characters and a lot of Chinese product placement to this fourth series edition in a special effort to cater to their overseas target audience. Definitely “expendable” from Netflix queues. Despite these disappointments, we should not fret cinema’s “age of extinction” just yet. There were a few summer 2014 blockbusters that’ll be worth the $4.99 iTunes rental as you search for ways to avoid starting that first problem set of the year.
Best Summer Blockbusters
- 22 Jump Street
- Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
- Edge of Tomorrow
Honorable mention: Guardians of the Galaxy
22 Jump Street came in strong as one of the only comedies that hit this summer’s sweet spot, welcoming high ratings and a high gross profit. Apes and aliens surprised critics and audiences alike as Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and Edge of Tomorrow combined wit and thrills with originality, imagination, and deeper themes of war and prejudice.
So what can we learn from this summer’s lineup? As Transformers’ Hound aptly remarks, Hollywood these days is “all about bad ideas.” But even though many modern blockbusters are taking a turn for the worse, both critically and lucratively, don’t write off all the big studio productions just yet; a few good ideas tend to slip through the cracks.