Has the Definition of a Summer Movie Changed?

So the summer movie season is coming to a close, but of course there’s still so much left to get through like Bond, Tarantino, Spielberg and that space project from JJ Abrams, but I forget what that one’s called….

Of course this summer movie season no longer defines just summer anymore. Once upon a time it was May to September, but now it appears to be classified as all movie releases between March and November. In short it seems that the summer movie season defines any movie that comes out not in winter. Even then you’ll find people describing movies as big budget summer blockbusters even if they didn’t come out during the summer. All of this leads me to ask one simple question (well actually it’s not that simple). Is a film classified as a summer movie by design now rather than the time of its release?

Mind you, sometimes films are moved back due to competition, or lack thereof. ‘The Force Awakens’ was (like all ‘Star Wars’ films) set for a release around May, but Disney feared a clash with ‘Age of Ultron’ and moved it right back to December. This move put Tom Cruise and his ‘Mission: Impossible’ instalment at risk from reduced income when put against a ‘Star Wars’ film so it was moved back to July. See the problem? Weirdly though ‘MI5’ seems to be more suited to the summer schedule, it’s fast, exciting and action packed. It’s a movie that you can just sit back and absorb, one that was meant to be viewed with friends or family on a cinema screen.

Then of course you have movies that are so obviously going to be a success that there’s not even any point moving them to be in competition with anything, again we saw that this year with ‘Furious 7’. What studio would release their film against that when it came out in April, none. This not only gave them free reign, but two whole months of free reign rather than staying on top for only a number of weeks at best in a tightly packed summer slot.

Maybe it’s less of the summer being contested and more to do with the fact that studios are only really making blockbusters now? Normally they’ll only stop releasing big budget movies when they get to the awards season when its prestige film time. So between summer season and award season you’ll find some romantic comedies and a couple of low budget horror films, very occasionally something experimental like Matthew Vaughn’s ‘Kingsman’ (though after the success of that the chances are high that whatever Vaughn does next, it will be closer to the summer) and perhaps an early blockbuster, but most of the time that’s because the studio has no faith in it like ‘Jupiter Ascending’. Though of course, 2014’s ‘The LEGO Movie’ was an exception to this so you can never be sure.

But in terms of tone a summer movie can be defined as one that is big budget, easily digestible, but preferably one that also provokes a conversation either about how good it is (‘Jaws’) how it can be interpreted (‘Inception’) or how bad it is (Any Michael bay movie that inexplicably still makes money). A summer movie certainly can’t be defined as merely one that is released during the months of May to September. But each year’s movie season could also be defined by the first particular movie that fit the summer formula, this year it was ‘Furious 7’ in April, last year it was ‘The LEGO Movie in March.

So with that settled (not really) can you get more exact over what a definitive summer movie is? As I said earlier ‘Jaws’ is a good example, as is ‘Star Wars’. But there I feel as if those movies have almost transcended the summer movie brand, being remembered more for their quality than the amount of money they made or when they were released. So movies that prioritise their profits according to the summer schedule could include ‘Independence Day’ a fairly simple movie that is best experienced in the cinema, and openly acknowledges that it takes place during the summer, even stating it in the freaking title.

Then you look at the pace of it, it takes place over just three days, and primarily in the day. The whole idea of light can prove oddly defining to whether or not something is a summer movie. The best film of 2008’s summer season was ‘The Dark Knight’ and yet no one seems to regard it as a summer movie today, maybe because of the dark tones and taking place mostly at night we no longer associate it with summer (plus it’s awesome so that works in its favour to transcend the genre).

The best example of this is possibly the two ‘Terminator’ films (because there are only TWO). The first one has dark elements and takes place mostly at night and has a horror vibe to it, not much of a summer film. ‘Terminator 2’ on the other hand is jam packed with chases, action sequences that are primarily in the day and a broader appeal, great summer movie (and great movie in general, in fact both are, when will you learn that makers of every other ‘Terminator’ film?). Did someone say action packed thrill ride that takes place in the day and has broad appeal? I give you ‘Speed’. There’s action, humour romance and it’s a very simple plot (bomb on bus, if bus slows down and then bomb blows up) and it’s all done so well that you can talk about it forever after watching it, like that scene where he jumps onto the bus from the car, or when they’re fighting on top of the train, or that bridge jumping scene, or the airport chase? I need to watch ‘Speed’ again.

So it appears that while there is a less definitive term to describe a summer movie but there’s definitely a way to pinpoint a moment when you find a really great one and as I said at the start, even though summer season of 2015 is over, the greatness is unlikely to stop there.