The movies of summer

I am thrilled to see the next two comic book movies this summer, Hell Boy 2 and The Dark Knight. WBut before I get to see those I want to take a second and express my nerddome by discussing the two marvel flicks this summer. First off Iorn Man was fantastic. Anyone who hasn't seen it should do so... right now. Before it's off the big screen. My favorite super hero however is the HULK. The Hulk is damn near impossible to translate to the big screen, it looks rediculous and the over arching goal of the character is that both Bruce Banner, and the Hulk just want to find a place to be left alone. This split personality Jekyll and Hyde story is the main point, not his fight with some super villain or crazy general. Well I think Marvell kind of pulled it off, and I can't wait to see the extended cut we didn't see in theaters. But where this really gets interesting is Marvel's build up to a gigantic cross over project.

So Marvel plans Iorn Man 2 and Thor for 2010. They have Ant Man in development. Then in 2011 Captain America the first Avenger (set in WW2 probably) and then later that summer the Avengers (Which will probably include Iorn Man, Captain America, Thor, Ant Man, and a couple new ones (Wasp, Hawkeye?)). They set up the end of the Hulk briliantly with that meniacal smile from Ed Norton, setting up the villian that the Avengers will likely face (the Hulk) with some hope that there is another threat for which the Hulk can join the Avengers. All of this sounds fantastic for geeks.. but there is one big problem.

They took 3 years to make the Hulk and Iorn Man. They cast serious actors in the parts, the kind of actors that like to have careers. The question is can Marvel make 5 movies over the next 3 years with the same care they took with the last two. Will actors such as Robert Downey Jr. and Ed Norton agree to reprise their roles (with Robert Downey having to perform in 2 movies in the same year... along with whomever plays captain america, Thor, and Ant Man.). It's like with any new product (and Marvel making their own movies is a new product) at first you gain a reputation for quality then as you clientèle become convinced you are quality you lower that quality. This is a recipe for disaster. Give me a good movie once a year and you will get my money for life, make 4 crappy movies really fast and you'll ruin your chance to put a strangle hold on the industry.