2012: A Reflection in the Year of Film

2012 has been the best film year in recent memory. I can say that with absolute certainty and with no regret. Although each year sees the release of successes and failures, no other year has managed to seem so strongly successful, with virtually little to no true abysmal failures and an abundance of great movies. Movie theater ticket sales are higher than ever. Oscar season is as close as it ever has been. And the top directors in the world today, including Steven Spielberg, Quentin Tarantino, Tim Burton, Ridley Scott, George Lucas, Woody Allen, Robert Zemeckis, and Christopher Nolan, have all released top-notch, blockbuster films. 2012 has been a year for the ages.

Even January and February, considered "Dead Months" in the Cinematic Calendar, saw the release of movies that surprised both critics and audiences. By the time March came around, family-friendly tales such as The Lorax and fun comedies like 21 Jump Street raked in a decent amount of the box office drawings. But no other film in the first four months of the year even compared with the phenomenal success of The Hunger Games, based on the hugely popular first book in the trilogy by Suzanne Collins. The movie shot actress Jennifer Lawrence to stardom, and held the number one spot at the box office for four weeks. Lawrence plays a young girl suddenly thrust into a deadly game of cat-and-mouse for the amusement of others, armed only with a bow and arrow for protection. The Hunger Games broke many records at the time of its release, and managed to remain in the top ten highest grossing movies of the year with $686.5 million, an impressive feat for any movie, much less one that was released during the "Dead Months" of the year.

Small time movies, like The Cabin in the Woods, impressed critics throughout the first third of 2012. By the time May came around, The Avengers largely surpassed both critical and box office expectations, starting off the summer movie season with a bang. The Avengers, which has been baiting moviegoers since the closing credits of 2008's Iron Man, is the crossover story between Marvel's finest superheroes (namely Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Nick Fury) facing Earth's most dire enemy, Loki, who plans to send an alien army to invade the planet. With strong approval ratings from both critics and audiences, and $1.5 billion in its pocket, the movie took the top box office receipt of the year.

Summer continued to see multiple success stories, from big names such as The Amazing Spider-Man and Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, to smaller critical successes like The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Prometheus. Easily the most anticipated movie of the year, The Dark Knight Rises is the epic conclusion to Christopher Nolan's famous Dark Knight trilogy that began with 2005's Batman Begins and 2008's The Dark Knight. Set eight years after the traumatic events of The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises sees Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) having to face off against two anarchistic new enemies: the manipulative cat burglar Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway) and the brutal Bane (Tom Hardy). Despite the tragedy at Aurora, Colorado, which disturbed Hollywood in unimaginable ways, people rallied in pride around The Dark Knight Rises, which saw positive critical reception and the second-highest gross of the year with $1.08 billion.


Though August saw critical duds like The Bourne Legacy and the remake of Total Recall, by the end of September, 2012 was back on track with the highly imaginative Looper and the kids flick Hotel Transylvania. And October began Oscar season with Argo, masterfully directed by Ben Affleck. Based on a true story, Ben Affleck plays a CIA agent who is tasked with rescuing a group of Americans from the Canadian embassy in Iran, and ingeniously comes up with the idea to fake a film production to get them out. The result is a thrilling suspense tale, with intrigue and just the right amount of comic relief. Argo already has critic's groups hailing it as one of the year's best films, and remains a frontrunner for the Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Director.


Oscar season continued throughout October and November, with December finishing off the year on a high note with movies like Django Unchained, Les Miserables, and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The Hobbit, a prequel to The Lord of the Rings series, was shot at a higher rate of 48 frames per second (fps), instead of the usual 24 fps, giving the film a more realistic feel. Theater goers, though initially skeptical of the higher film rate, are still attending the movie in waves, already landing The Hobbit in the top ten highest grossing films of the year with $686.7 million and counting. Les Miserables is based on the Tony-winning musical of the same name, and finally saw a release after almost twenty years in stalled development. The wait has been worth it; the film has received strong critical reception and is considered to be a leader in the Oscar race.

2012 saw several highly anticipated sequels, prequels, and long awaited movies. The Avengers, built up since 2008, finally saw a release date. Men in Black 3 exited development hell and was produced after almost ten years. The Snow White studio battle finally came to a head with Mirror, Mirror and Snow White and the Huntsman, though both ultimately failed to impress. Alien series prequel Prometheus saw the return of original director Ridley Scott. The Dark Knight Rises ended Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy. The Bourne series continued without Matt Damon. The Taken sequel was released (with laughable results). Spielberg's ten-year baby Lincoln was finally released, with Daniel Day-Lewis (who plays Abraham Lincoln) as the frontrunner for Best Actor in Oscar season. The Twilight saga ended. The "unfilmable" Life of Pi was indeed filmed by Danny Boyle, to fantastic approval. The Hobbit and Les Miserables saw the light of day after years of stalled production schedules. These are all only a hint of the highly anticipated films that finally saw fruition in 2012.

However, 2012 does not only mark the release of a multitude of successful movies. It also cements the legacy of several films from cinematic history. 2012 showed the 15th Anniversary of action film Air Force One, the 20th Anniversaries of Quentin Tarantino's first film Reservoir Dogs and courtroom drama A Few Good Men, the 30th Anniversaries of science fiction family flick E.T. and biopic Gandhi, the 40th Anniversary of gangster picture The Godfather, the 50th Anniversary of desert epic Lawrence of Arabia, and the 70th Anniversary of the romantic war film Casablanca.

But no other anniversary special rivaled the 50th Anniversary of James Bond 007, celebrating five decades of the British spy since the release of Dr. No in 1962. A Blu Ray release of the complete franchise, museum openings, and television and book specials marked the anniversary throughout the year, cumulating in James Bond Day on October 5th. The most prominent celebration of 007, however, was the global theatrical release of Skyfall, the twenty-third movie in the franchise. In Skyfall, Daniel Craig returns as James Bond, this time facing off against Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem), a brutal hacker who is striking against the heart of MI6 and its leader, M (Judi Dench). Clinching the number three spot on the top ten highest grossing films of the year with $1 billion, Skyfall was critically praised and proved that James Bond 007 was still relevant in the modern age.

Overall, I loved 2012 in film. It has been the best year of movies in recent memory, with dozens of highly successful films and franchises reaching a height of success previously unheard of. A year of superheroes, spies, and Oscar-worthy movies, it will be hard to match such a successful twelve months. 2012, you will be missed.

Happy New Year!