The Summer Movies of 2008 (So Far)

Iron Man (4/5) - A great start to the summer of 2008. Lots of positive buzz on this, and it was all well deserved. Robert Downey Jr. did a great job as Tony Stark, he put in just the right amount of towering ego/humilty in the movie and really made it a memorable performance. Terrence Howard did a good job too as Stark’s assistant, and Jeff Bridges did a fine turn as the villain. They even made Gwyneth Paltrow appealing as Stark’s girl friday in what could have been a thankless role. Instead, they turned it into an important part of the movie. Of course, with the success comes the inevitable sequel, so we’ll see how people react when it comes out. Hopefully, they’ll get Jon Favreau to direct once again.

Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (3/5) - A good sequel to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, but fantasy movies are tough sells these days. The Spiderwick Chronicles bombed, as did Eragon and even The Golden Compass. Lets face it, the Lord of the Rings spoiled just about any fantasy series that doesn’t have the words Harry Potter in front of it for a long time to come. Regardless, the second Narnia movie is a fun adventure that skews a little darker than the first movie. There’s more at stake here, there seems to be real repercussions to everyone’s actions, and they weren’t exactly glossed over either. The story was tighter, and there was more for the kids to do. Prince Caspian though...he could have used a little bit more manliness to him...he was way too teen-idoled (DiCaprioed?) for my liking.

Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (3.5/5) - A good return of the iconic hero out of the 1980s, but is it too little, too late? I enjoyed the way Harrison Ford just seemed to slide into the role once again, he also made it seem like he was fully aware of the time that had gone by. The story, however, could have definitely used some tightening up, and there were portions of the chase scenes that went on way too long. It was nice that they gave Karen Allen a role, even though she didn’t get to do all that much. And if they were looking to carry the series on after Harrison says goodbye, they probably couldn’t find anyone better than Shia Laboeuf. Lots of action, a return of an old favorite, it turned out much better than I was expecting (especially after that last trailer...horrible editing on that). They might have one more movie in them, but we’d better hope it doesn’t take as long to come back as it did the last time.