SFFWorld Review of the Year, 2012
So here we are again: our usual review of the year. (This is something like our tenth!)
For the uninitiated, Part Three is usually where Rob Bedford and Mark try to pull together what we see as key genre movies and television from the previous twelve months. I should really point out before we start that there is always some slippage here, genre as films and TV get released in different places around the world at different times – though not as much as with the printed genre!
At the end, Rob and Mark usually try and mention our year’s favourites.
Right: with that over, let’s get started.
Part 3 : Film & TV
One of the most anticipated years for genre movies, and especially superheroes. The year’s releases were a bit of a mixed bag, with some great movies and some that were expected to be great having a less favourable reception.
Of the good and great: Avengers Assemble, The Dark Knight Rises, The Amazing Superman, Chronicle, Cabin in the Woods, Looper, Dredd 3D, Hunger Games, ParaNorman, Skyfall, John Carter, Brave, The Hobbit.
So-so: Prometheus, Wrath of the Titans, Cloud Atlas, Men in Black 3, Twilight: Breaking Dawn, Part 2.
Oh dear: Dark Shadows, Bourne Legacy, The Watch, Snow White and the Huntsman, Mirror, Mirror, Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, Battleship, Paranormal Activity 4.
On balance, that list probably shows more hits than misses, though it must be said that not all were critical, nor financial, successes.
A few surprises there. John Carter, though far from perfect, didn’t deserve the slating it got, although part of that negativity seems to be corporate reshuffling and a bad publicity campaign. Dredd was generally seen as superior to the Stallone flick, though sadly another one seems unlikely due to its muted reception in the States. Of the pixel movies, Brave, though not seen as one of the best Pixar, was fairly well received. ParaNorman was inventive and funny. Skyfall was universally regarded as the best Bond in years (and shows you what can happen if your franchise takes a break), although some were disappointed by its downplaying of the gadget side of things – technology-wise, the star actually seems to have been the return of a 40-year old car!
Of the superheroes all three of the main were pretty good, with Spider-Man reimagining the franchise for a new audience, whilst older filmgoers were rather bemused why a new version was needed in the first place. (Suspect there will be a similar reaction to Man of Steel next year.) The Dark Knight Returnswas generally seen as a fitting end to the trilogy, though it was far from perfect. Bane was always a weak villain to Mark’s mind but Tom Hardy did a good job with a bad voice, and the ensemble cast was very good generally. Rob was wrapped up in the movie whilst watching The Dark Knight Rises but felt the film really falters upon deeper thought. It had some good emotional moments, but as a cohesive film and a capper to the Nolan-helmed bat films, it is (in Rob’s opinion) ultimately a failure. The fact that Batman was inactive for the seven years between The Dark Knight and Rises after being active for only a couple of years just falls apart.
Similarly, Avengers Assemble seems to have been the critical box office hit of the near, becoming one of the most profitable movies ever and generally regarded for its team player approach, Mark Ruffalo as a new Hulk, Whedon-dialogue and Robert Downey Jr as Tony (not-Ned) Stark. Though he did enjoy it overall, Mark was disappointed by the poor bad guys (Loki excepted) and the rather all-too-easy ending, but was impressed at the old Anglo-Saxon expletive that got through the censors. Rob thought Avengers was a much more successful film than Dark Knight, in terms of narrative and cohesiveness. That Joss Whedon kid is going to go places.
Speaking of Joss Whedon…Rob’s favourite genre film of the year is Cabin in the Woods. It seems to have been a film you either love or hate, with its post-modernism take on horror. It really broke down the horror tropes and while not as scary as a typical horror film, it might have been the smartest film of the year, from a genre standpoint. Conversely, what Rob thought to be the best film of the year overall was a non-genre one – Spielberg’s Lincoln, with the ever brilliant Daniel Day Lewis in the titular role. Though it could have ended on a certain scene rather than continue for ten more minutes, it was a brilliantly acted film.
Back to genre, and Looper came out of nowhere and got rave reviews, with SFX Magazine salivating over it as ‘It’s the most ambitious, inventive, downright invigorating film you’re likely to see all year.’ It then ruined it by comparing it to The Matrix (its not.) but Mark agreed that it was good to see an intelligent and original film (though jokingly put out as a remake) do quite well.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, despite complaints about the 48-speed High Frame Rate and being only being one third of the original book, was a welcome, if rather long, return to the world of Peter Jackson’s Middle Earth (with the help of some Tolkien bloke.) Lots of returning LotR characters, some parts added, some built up bigger than in the book, lots of back story to fill out the tale and make it more epic. Generally a reserved success, one review summed it upas “It’s not as bad as you feared, not as good as you hoped.” Rob just saw The Hobbit the day before this was written and was very impressed, though going in with tempered expectations helped a great deal. A bit overlong in places (did we need to see all the extended sweeping overhead shots and extended running scenes? Maybe a map shot like in the Indiana Jones films may have worked better). What was very effective was the last shot/ending of the movie, perhaps the best ending Jackson’s yet done.
To the not-so-good. Prometheus divided critics, with many commenting on plot holes, illogicalities and the fact that it wasn’t really an Alien movie. Visually it was one of the most stunning movies of the year and clearly born for IMAX (but in 2D). Mark was waiting for the inevitable Directors Cut that will make greater sense. The general response to Men in Black 3 was that ‘it’s not as bad as MIB 2, but it’s not great.’ Wrath of the Titans seemed to draw a similar response: Why did we get a sequel to an already so-so remake? although the similar Immortals fared much worse. Cloud Atlas seems to have been a brave attempt at a difficult-to-film book, though UK filmgoers were left frustrated at the 3-month delay in the film’s release compared with the US (due out late February.) Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2 finished the franchise and was generally reacted to with glee by fans, and bemusement by everyone else. Expect Stephenie Meyer’s ‘other’ book,The Host, as film next year.
Of the bad: Dark Shadows as a campy comedy was a major misstep, though it reunited Tim Burton and Johnny Depp again; Vampire Hunter looked great on the trailer but failed to hold its premise over a full movie. Not quite a failure, but not one of the better films of the year. Entertaining, at best. Battleshipwas the latest toy-to-movie franchise and failed miserably, hopefully putting paid to that ‘let’s make a movie to sell toys!’ idea (though the re-emergence of theDisney/Lucasfilm super-combo-franchise next year may put paid to that.) The Watch wasn’t funny, a major problem for a comedy that tried too hard to be a Simon Pegg film. Paranormal Activity 4 retreaded an already tired franchise by bringing in some very spurious links to the other films in the series. So too The Bourne Legacy, an attempt to rebrand the franchise now that Matt Damon has moved on. Whilst the intention was good, it just didn’t work.Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol (at the end of last year) and Bond this year did it so much better, having learned from each other’s previous mistakes. Snow White and the Huntsman seemed to be more about the shenanigans around the production rather than the film itself, although there will be a sequel. The film would have been improved a great deal if Kristen Stewart was not in the lead role, her lack of acting ability brought down what could have been a decent but flawed film.
TV: Once upon a Time, True Blood, Vampire Diaries, Walking Dead, American Horror Story, Grimm, Arrow, Alphas, Fringe. Doctor Who. Secret of Crickley Hall. Misfits, Being Human, Sinbad, Merlin. Primeval. Almighty Johnsons. Game of Thrones, Season Two.
The ones that didn’t make it: Alcatraz, Last Resort, 666 Park Avenue, Terra Nova.
In TV, many of the series already established carried over: Walking Dead, American Horror Story, Grimm, Alphas, Fringe, Doctor Who, Misfits, Being Human. In the UK Merlin finished, and Doctor Who saw major changes, although Mark had found it pretty unwatchable by this point. Misfits and Being Human seemed to survive major cast changes, although some viewers were unhappy with the differences. The BBC attempted a new apocalyptic horror series, The Fades, which was critically well received (and won the BAFTA award for best drama series in 2012) but was cancelled after one series, seemingly in order to make more mainstream (and cheaper) TV. The BBC TV version of James Herbert’s Crickley Hall was a rare event – a haunted house story on mainstream TV – but, like the novel, conformed to stereotype and did little to push the boundaries.
In the US, American Horror Story seemed to ramp up the weirdness and the violence in Season Two, which confused some viewers. After a lacklustre Season Two, Season Three of The Walking Dead was seen as a major improvement, many feeling it was the best the show’s been so far. The producers very clearly heard the fans complain about the lack of zombie killings and seemingly quadrupled the amount of walkers who saw their second deaths in the season. Seeing the Governor (one of the early Big Bads in the comics) come to the screen was…different. He’s a more nuanced character on TV, but still very effective.
Terra Nova was interesting and ambitious, but was clearly missing that something to bring it over the edge into a show that attracted enough viewers to continue. It started well but died a death from dullness, so too Last Resort. Alcatraz had potential but didn’t make it to a second season. Rob continued with the Disney fairy-tales in the ‘real world’ theme in Once Upon a Time, it sagged a bit, but overall the writers are taking the story into some interesting places. Hitting some of the same fantastical beats was Grimm, the police procedural with monsters thrown into the mix. Lots of fun, good character development, and a mythology that doesn’t overtake the show too much. In many ways, Rob thinks this is what The Dresden Files should have been like when it leapt to the small screen a few years back. Rob also gave up on True Blood, after continued focus away from main characters, and the main characters becoming more annoying.
For Mark, the two ‘must-sees’ were Game of Thrones, a generally well received season which saw more Fantasy taken into the mainstream, and Fringe, which edged its way towards a final ending in Season Five at the beginning of 2013. Though there were some missteps along the way, this was the series Mark looked forward to most. All the cast excelled, though Mark is still mystified as to why John Noble in particular has not received more awards for his portrayal of Walter Bishop.
Rob became addicted to Breaking Bad this past year. Though not specifically a genre show, the chronicling of Walter White’s transformation from meek Chemistry teacher to Evil Overlord / Supervillain…excuse me, Drug Lord.. is considered by many to be the best television drama ever produced. Rob finds difficulty in arguing the point. Of course Game of Thrones was very good even if it was a bit oversexed, but that’s what you get with HBO.
