Film: Blockbusters are on target for 2012

THE RETURN OF THE A-LIST SUPERHEROES

WHILE the last few years have seen a parade of superhero B, C and D-listers making their big screen debuts, 2012 sees the return of the A-listers – those iconic comic book characters whose origins don’t need to be tirelessly explained to the non-geek masses. That’s the theory, anyway.

In practice, The Amazing Spider-Man (4 July) has chosen to revitalise the creatively flagging franchise by delving once more into Peter Parker’s web-slinging beginnings, with Brit actor Andrew Garfield slipping on the Spandex for a “grittier” take on Spidey’s school years.

Before that we’ll see the return of the Incredible Hulk – this time played by a motion-captured Mark Ruffalo – in Marvel’s ambitious, multi-hero blockbuster initiative The Avengers (27 April). No superhero’s return is more feverishly anticipated, however, than Batman’s in The Dark Knight Rises (23 July). Set eight years after Christopher Nolan’s all-conquering The Dark Knight (2008), this third and final film will bring his genre- redefining series to a close. With the trailer already hinting at plenty of real-world resonances, a new Catwoman in the form of Anne Hathaway and the rasping, muzzle-sporting Bane (Tom Hardy) set to pose a serious physical threat to Batman as well as a terrorist threat to Gotham City, expect jaws to drop come summer.

NATURAL STAR POWER

“SHE’S a natural beauty, and she beats people to a pulp in a cage. Why wouldn’t you want to build a movie around her?” Steven Soderbergh there, explaining why he decided to create a movie for mixed martial arts star Gina Carano. Watch Haywire (18 January) and it’s not hard to see what appealed to the prolific director: the first-time actor’s preternatural ability to authentically kick, punch and maim anyone who gets in her way as she goes on the run from a variety of shady government spooks – Michael Fassbender, Ewan McGregor and Channing Tatum among them – is as breathtaking as it is brutal. She’s pretty adept at the dramatic stuff too. Move over Angelina.

IT’S TIME TO GET THINGS STARTED...

WILL The Muppets (February 10) be the most sensational, inspirational, celebrational Muppet movie yet? American reviews suggest “yes”, and with confirmed Muppet aficionado Jason Segal starring and co-writing, Flight of the Conchords’ Bret Mackenzie overseeing the music and the basic overwhelming appeal of Kermit and co, you’d have to be Statler, Waldorf or a right-wing conspiracy nut not to be excited. Fans should also look out for Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey, a charming documentary portrait of Kevin Clash, the man behind Sesame Street’s most-beloved character. It receives its Scottish premiere – along with The Muppets – at this year’s excellent-looking Glasgow Youth Film Festival (5-15 February).

PREQUELS THAT AREN’T PREQUELS

WHEN is a prequel not a prequel? When it shares DNA with the original film but develops its own mythology. That, at least, is the line Ridley Scott began using when his new sci-fi film Prometheus (6 June) morphed from being a direct prequel to Alien into an epic about the origins of humanity.

Any pretence that the film was not going to be a prequel, however, was obliterated the moment the brilliantly orchestrated trailer campaign debuted online. With the title graphics, the sound effects and the brief-snatches of action – the “Derelict” space craft from Alien; the giant “Space Jockey”; the helmet-melting face-hugger – all echoing Scott’s 1979 genre classic in tantalising ways, Scott’s coy attempt to distance the film from the prequel tag does actually seem like a genuine effort to focus attention on Prometheus’s potential as a big summer blockbuster bursting with bold new ideas.

Here’s hoping. And here’s hoping the same can be said for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (14 December). A prequel by virtue of the fact that Peter Jackson adapted its sequels first, there’s a neat bit of synchronicity to the way The Lord of the Rings director has returned to Middle Earth – stepping in only after a much-delayed start forced the departure of original director Guillermo Del Toro. Martin Freeman plays the young Bilbo Baggins, joined by Rings stars Ian McKellen, Cate Blanchett, Andy Serkis and Elijah Wood, ensuring this two-part prequel has – in spirit at least – a bit of a sequel vibe too.

PIXAR DISCOVERS GIRLS – AND TARTAN

IT’S taken 12 films, but the world’s most consistently brilliant animation studio has finally made a movie with a strong female protagonist. In Brave (August 17), a Brothers Grimm-style fairytale set in the Scottish Highlands, Kelly Macdonald supplies the voice for Merida, a flame-haired, archery-obsessed girl whose determination to challenge tradition and make her own path through the world results in a mettle-testing quest. Billy Connolly, Craig Ferguson and Emma Thompson round out the voice cast and, providing it doesn’t come loaded with groan-inducing Braveheart gags, this should be as charming as the trailer suggests.

THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY

WHEN Skyfall opens in the UK on 26 October it will be 50 years (give or take a few weeks) since the release of Doctor No – making this something of a banner year for James Bond. The 23rd official release sees Daniel Craig returning for more globetrotting spy thrills, this time facing off against Javier Bardem. Further plot details remain scarce, but Judi Dench is back as M, and there’s a return for Q in the shape of Ben Wishaw.

More enticing, though, is the question of just who new cast members Ralph Fiennes and Naomi Harris are playing, with the latter’s character, Eve, inspiring plenty of speculation about whether or not her surname will turn out to be Moneypenny. It’s perhaps fitting, too, that on its 50th anniversary, a new Bond film should be a more enticing prospect than a new Bourne movie.

Yes, the upstart spy saga is also making a return this year, sans Matt Damon, via The Bourne Legacy (August 17). According to new star Jeremy Renner – who plays a multiple-identity sporting agent called Aaron Cross – it’s set in the same universe but features all-new agents. Though way too early to tell if that will cut it for fans, Daniel Craig, for one, is unlikely to be rooting against it: it co-stars his wife, Rachel Weisz.