In 2012, Hollywood recorded the highest box office revenue ever at $10 billion. This is the year when movies like The Dark Night Rises ($1.08 billion), Skyfall ($1.1 billion), and The Avengers ($1.5 billion) came out. It was also a historic year when theaters shifted from presenting 35 mm movies to all- digital movie projection. Even though the shift caused the closure of seasonal and small-town theaters because of the $50,000 price tag on the digital equipment, tickets sold rose to 1.36 billion for the first time in three years. To remind ourselves of this historic year, let’s look at some movies that are currently a decade old.
9 The Amazing Spider-Man
One of the best actors to wear the Spider-Man costume is Andrew Garfield. During the shoot of The Amazing Spider-Man, director Marc Webb was impressed by the fantastic chemistry between Garfield and Emma Stone. The new iteration of the Spider-Man franchise tells a story of how Peter (Andrew Garfield) collides with Dr. Curt Connors’ alter ego, The Lizard. This film is an exciting tale of how Peter makes life-altering decisions as he goes through heartbreaking experiences to become a superhero.
8 Taken 2
Taken 2 is a revamped sequel to the 2008 Taken film that stars Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen, and Liam Neeson. You don’t need to watch the first movie to understand the plot of this film. Taken 2 is a professional action movie written and produced by the master of thriller films, Luc Besson. When Liam Neeson returned in Taken 2, he became an action star who could take on heavyweight roles like Zeus in Wrath of the Titans.
7 Wrath of the Titans
Unlike Clash of the Titans, Wrath of Titans was a spectacle for titans. However, the beautifully designed monsters and the well-choreographed action sequences delivered a far better product than the previous installment. A decade after killing the Kraken, trouble is brewing among the gods on Mt. Olympus. The lack of humanity’s devotion to prayer is weakening the gods, and they are becoming ill-powered to control Kronos and the Titans, who are prisoners at Tartarus. When Ares and Hades betray Zeus and chain him up in the underworld, Perseus and his team embark on a rescue mission to save humankind from the Titans.
6 Battleship
If you have ever played the board game Battleship, you should know that it inspired the movie Battleship. If Transformers was too subtle, then Battleship is the movie you want to watch. It is a noisy film that features an endless gargle of groaning engines and extra-terrestrial-like weapons that make the aliens a bully, compared to the forces that Navy captain Liam Neeson has to use to defend the world. Universal almost canceled the movie during pre-production, but they would not lose $30 million. Although the production cost was high at $200 million, and settling on a location was challenging, the result was a great watch.
5 The Bourne Legacy
In the thrilling Bourne franchise, The Bourne Legacy is the fourth installment that does not star Matt Damon; who has been the face of the franchise; most people thought this installment would bring Damon and Renner together. But Jeremy Renner is the only one who plays the rouge operative. This film provides an exhilarating story with a weighty backstory and several layers of deception. The movie's attraction in the summer of 2012 contributed to total worldwide revenue of $276.1 million.
4 Jack Reacher
In an ordinary town, five seemingly random people are shot dead, and all evidence is traced back to an ex-military sniper who does not collaborate during the interrogation. Except, he gives out one statement, "Get Jack Reacher," who is played by Tom Cruise. Jack Reacher is a wild card who doesn't know the locked-up sniper but agrees to defend him. Reacher is a highly decorated ex-Army investigator who is an untraceable and feared man who strikes fear in anyone who reads his file or tries to bully him. One of the most enjoyable scenes is when Reacher is challenged by bullies outside a bar in five-to-one combat. Although five bad guys are matched against him, he corrects them by saying it's three against one because the last two men standing always run away.
3 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
The first movie in The Hobbit series is The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which lasts 3 hours and 2 minutes. Peter Jackson, the director, also directed The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. When The Hobbit came out, it was a smashing success. Although Lord of the Rings movies take viewers on a great, emotional, and charming tale of Middle-earth, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey still delivers and makes its mark, especially for those who were introduced to the book when they were kids. It is lighter compared to the dark and apocalyptic nature of the Lord of the Rings franchise.
2 The Dark Knight Rises
The finale to The Dark Knight trilogy by Christopher Nolan was highly anticipated, especially after the release of The Dark Knight in 2008, which was still fresh in the minds of movie fans. The success of this film pre-dates the domination of the Marvel films. The Dark Knight Rises is a film that develops a powerful story around the Bruce Wayne character. On the other side of the ring, we have Bane, a ruthless villain with a famous line that is now used as a popular culture reference to intimidate someone, and it goes like this, “Oh, you think darkness is your ally. But you merely adopted the dark; I was born in it, molded by it.” The performances by Christian Bale, arguably the best Batman ever, and Tom Hardy as Bane were exceptional. The scenes where hundreds of cop cars chase Batman while he is in the Batpod never gets old. If you love Batman, this movie is golden.
1 The Avengers
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The Avengers is arguably the best superhero movie of all time. The star-spangled film features A-list actors like Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Chris Evans (Captain America), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Samuel L. Jackson (), and others. It is hard to imagine how Marvel pulled off packing effects, fantasy, mayhem, amazing visual effects, and action sequences in one movie. Nevertheless, director Joss Whedon delivered a masterpiece that balanced out the appearances and performances of each superstar character. We have seen several movies about saving the world, but Whedon and his team managed to pull together a cocktail of ingredients and personalities that produced an irresistible story.
In the movie, Earth's mightiest heroes face internal battles. For example, Captain America (Chris Evans) is a conflicted hero trying to understand the new world. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is a god with Asgardian bravado and sibling issues, and Bruce Banner (Mark Buffalo) merges his new-found sweetness and raging smashing strength. Robert Downey Jr is the charismatic Tony Stark with clever comic undercutting. Whedon's love for strong and intelligent female characters shines through Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and we can see her friendship with Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) put to the test, mainly because he edges on the darker side of the plot. All these heroes deserve a worthy villain, and Loki, the devious, malicious, and devilish brother to Thor, fits the bill. The fight to secure the Tesseract is an entertaining journey from start to finish.