This Summer's Action Heroes Are Several Shades of Gray

This Summer's Action Heroes Are Several Shades of Gray
Actor Robert Downey Jr. participates in "The Judge" photo call and press conference during the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival on Friday, Sept. 5, 2014, in Toronto. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Actor Robert Downey Jr. participates in "The Judge" photo call and press conference during the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival on Friday, Sept. 5, 2014, in Toronto. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Summer is supposed to be the season of youth, when the over-25 quadrant surrenders theaters to wisecracking cartoons, thumb-sucking comedies and action franchises based on toys, comic books, amusement park rides. This is when the big studios make most of their money with Krypton-proof titles like “Transformers: Age of Extinction,” and their year-round obsession with pandering to the kids reaches fever pitch. In the movie world, summer starts the first weekend in May, which this year meant the release of “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” with those youngbloods Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson and — the 50-year-old Robert Downey Jr.

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot