FANBOY FIVE: ’07 Flicks that Lived up to the Hype

January 15th, 2008 by James Cook | Source: The Moving Picture

Cloverfield is right around the corner, and it’s obvious that this is the first flick of 2008 that has some serious hype behind it. Hype is a funny thing - if a flick lives up to all the press and gossip you’re not usually jumping for joy because you got what you expected. On the other hand, if you get the opposite reaction to a movie that’s been garnering a lot of hype – look out! So before we all head out to see if Cloverfield will or won’t live up to the hype, lets take a look back at some 2007 flicks that lived up to their high expectations.

5. I Am Legend

The hype surrounding I Am Legend was of pure curiosity. When a project has been in development for several years and seen the likes of Michael Bay and Ridley Scott directing and Arnold Schwarzenegger starring one begins to wonder if the movie would ever come out, and if that movie is actually any good. This third telling of the Richard Matheson novel (see The Last Man on Earth and The Omega Man) finally hit the screen in December starring Will Smith and it delivered on it promises. Breathtaking visuals of a desolate New York City, cool action sequences and a great performance form Smith helped I Am Legend live up to the hype.

4. The Mist

Stephen King movies don’t usually get as much hype these days as they use to, but for some reason The Mist started building up strong word of mouth as the next great Stephen King movie. I honestly didn’t know what to expect form this flick and to be honest was a little surprised from the early praise it was receiving. Well, I quickly jumped on The Mist band-wagon about ten minutes in. With such a strong cast and cool story The Mist definitely lived up to the hype.

3. Grindhouse

Obviously if we’re going by box office Grindhouse definitely did not live up to the hype. The studio had different expectations than the typical moviegoer and Grindhouse didn’t meet them. Thankfully we’re going by pure entertainment hype, and the Tarantino/Rodriguez experience had it in spades. It was the most enjoyable experience I had in a theater all year, and with the creative force behind the movie – how could it not be?

2. Superbad

You could essentially substitute any Judd Apatow influenced flick from 2007 here, but Superbad had a lot to live up to. From about the moment Knocked Up ended we we’re treated to red band trailers, clips and too many TV spots to count all proclaiming Superbad as the next great comedy. If that isn’t hype I don’t know what is. Thankfully Superbad delivered and looking back on it now all those clips and commercials don’t even do the movie justice. You’d be hard press to find a better trio than Seth, Evan and of course McLovin!

1. The Bourne Ultimatum

In a summer of really bad threequels, that definitely didn’t live up to the hype (Spider-Man 3, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Shrek the Third), came the third installment in the Bourne series. The biggest challenge that Ultimatum had to overcome was the fact that the first two Bourne flicks were so good. Having two great films that can hold their own wait come before it definitely is a lot to live up to. Thankfully everything clicked with The Bourne Ultimatum and it did what any great threequel should – provide an great fresh story while still being able to tie up some loose ends from the previous films. It had a lot to live up to then most other films released in 2007 and it delivered on everything.