'Blockbuster Fatigue' Hits Hard

This summer has seen several enormous hits, but moviegoers are nevertheless suffering from “blockbuster fatigue,” Stephanie Zacharek writes in Salon. "The whole point of going to the movies in the first place is to be overwhelmed," the critic acknowledges, pondering what draws us to a blockbuster in the first place, and how an entire season of them can leave viewers in a cinematic daze.

“The most important element of summer-blockbuster culture isn't the selling of movies; it's the selling of anticipation,” Zacharek explains. Fatigue builds when we’re subjected to previews of grating action sequences before your movie even begins. Flicks like The Mummy 3 only exacerbate the fatigue, attempting to ape the grandeur of features like The Dark Knight but providing only generic bombast. (More The Dark Knight stories.)