Summer Movie Season 2013: Winners and Losers

With Labor Day weekend coming to a close, the summer movie season has officially ended. It's been a long four months, with several anticipated sequels and projects finally making their way to the big screen. But what genres were the winners and losers? What movies were surprise successes, and which were major flops? And what takes the crown as the best summer movie of 2013? Today, join Movie Critic's Club in taking a look back at this summer on the silver screen.

Here are my choices for this year's winners and losers:

Best Genre: Animation- Part of the reason the summer movie season is so commercially successful is because students have off school. In their boredom (and sometimes need to get out of the house), parents take their children to the movie theater, where there are usually an abundance of kid's flicks waiting to be seen. However, unlike year's past, nearly every family-friendly animated adventure this summer was amazing. Stunningly animated, breathtakingly funny, and full of heart, this was the genre that continually stood above the rest. This may end up being one of the tightest races of this year's Oscars. Five out of five stars.

Includes: Epic, Monster's University, Despicable Me 2, Turbo, Planes

Worst Genre: Thriller- As the name suggests, a thriller should get the heart pumping and skin crawling. Unfortunately, no movie managed that feat. The theme of this summer must be taking really interesting, high-profile premises and wrecking them with sloppy technique and poor filmmaking, because this happened at least a handful of times. I have never felt more bored at thrillers than I have this summer. Out of remorse for the premises alone, one out of five stars.

Includes: After Earth, White House Down, Getaway, Kick-Ass 2, The Purge, Paranoia, Getaway


Biggest Surprise: Comedy- To those who are familiar with me personally or with this blog, this winner may come as bit of a surprise. I am not a huge fan of modern comedies, and with only a few exceptions, find the current treatment of the genre to be disgusting. Simply put, I do not think that they are funny. However, to my shock and awe, comedy was arguably the best genre of this summer. I have never laughed so hard at a movie theater in my entire life as I did this year, and I couldn't be happier about it. Ignore the distasteful Grown Ups 2, and focus on classy The Heat. Four out of five stars.

Includes: This is the End, The Heat, We're the Millers, The World's End

Biggest Disappointment: One-Man Hero- Some of the most anticipated pictures of 2013 featured a one-man army saving the planet. Clearly, people, the days of Die Hard and Rambo are over. Every now and then, these pictures work and are somewhat decent. But this year, stupidity hit a low point. Do not get me wrong, I love a good, old-fashioned action picture as much as the next guy, but they need at least a resemblance of a plot to make me believe them. I did enjoy the work done with heroes like Iron Man and Captain Kirk, but the mythologies of Superman and The Lone Ranger were too gravely disrespected to ignore. Two out of five stars.

Includes: Man of Steel, White House Down, The Lone Ranger, World War Z, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, Elysium, After Earth

Winner: Actors Having a Lot of Fun in Their Roles Despite Being in (Mostly) Terrible Pictures- Movies made for the general audiences, for the most part, are purely intended as escapism. They give people a chance to escape their boring lives and live through the characters on screen. Sometimes, actors need that too, as evidenced by a great many high-profile performers giving their all into an awful film. In fact, sometimes the actor's energies were so infectious that they made us forget that the movie sucked- at least for a while. Bruce Willis, Jeff Bridges, and Vin Diesel are settled enough into their careers where they don't really need to win an Oscar for everything. So why not have a little fun with it? Four out of five stars.

Includes: RED 2, Fast & Furious 6, R.I.P.D., 2 Guns, The Lone Ranger

Loser: (Not So) Inventive, (Not So) Original Science Fiction- Science fiction, at it's best, is an allegory for a certain moral crisis at the time of release. It teaches the world the dangers of racism, war, and revenge by pitting starships against intergalactic threats. Sometimes, all it takes is fast-forwarding to Earth in 20 years, showing how disparate the classes are. Science fiction got off to a high note with Star Trek Into Darkness; however, that movie also foretold a series of futuristic busts that contained no originality or inventiveness whatsoever. Into Darkness, while really fun and entertaining, was virtually identical to it's predecessors in terms of plot and design. While this worked and made Star Trek Into Darkness an early summer blast, it nevertheless led the way for more sci-fi blockbusters to take what has already been done and put a new spin on a cliche theme. Two and a half out of five stars.

Includes: After Earth, The Purge, Man of Steel, Pacific Rim, R.I.P.D., Elysium

Winner: Surprisingly Good Sequels- Summer blockbusters are bound to include a majority of sequels; their obvious successes in the first installment makes studios confident that the sequel will generate equal or increased revenue in the heat of summer. While some sequels got a lot of flack when first announced, the cast and crew nonetheless generated a worthy successor to the original, making them as equal and entertaining as before. Five out of five stars.

Includes: Iron Man 3, Star Trek Into Darkness, Fast & Furious 6, RED 2, Before Midnight, The Wolverine, Monsters University, Despicable Me 2, The World's End

Loser: Not Surprisingly Horrible Sequels- On the other hand, some sequels were just doomed from the start. Some were insulting to the original glory, others were sequels to movies that sucked in the first place. Often, however, they're sequels we just didn't need. One out of five stars.

Includes: Grown Ups 2, Kick-Ass 2, The Hangover: Part III, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, The Smurfs 2

And finally, drumroll please, my choice for the best movie of the 2013 Summer Movie Season is...

Iron Man 3- Summer 2013 got off to a bang that was never quite replicated. Out of all the movies I've seen this summer, this one easily takes the crown. It felt just as fresh as the other Iron Man pictures, but still worthily followed up The Avengers- no small feat, mind you. Robert Downey, Jr. still amazes as Tony Stark, and all the supporting characters provided excellent performances amongst a highly entertaining picture. Plus, perhaps biggest of all, Iron Man 3 genuinely surprised me at times. I did not see several of the plot twists coming, and having that almost never happen anymore, this was the biggest gift a film could give me. Popcorn entertainiment, thought-provoking themes, and a heck of a fun ride, Iron Man 3 is clearly the best film of Summer 2013.

Honorable Mentions: Star Trek Into Darkness, Monsters University, The Wolverine, The Heat

Hope you've enjoyed reading this 2013 Summer Movie Season Review! I would love to know what winners and losers stood out to you from May-August. Now, within the next month, Oscar season will begin, and Movie Critic's Club will once again be following it every step of the way. Stay tuned next week for the return of Flashback Friday, where we'll be taking a look back at a very special film I watched again this summer. Enjoy your viewing time, and I'll see you at the movies!