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With the opening of Iron Man tomorrow, 2008 summer movie season officially begins. What movies will you go see? Will this season be better than last year? Today in Part 1, we take a look at Iron Man, Speed Racer, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Iron Man (May 2)

Another Marvel comic book turned movie is tracking pretty well, especially with critics who were not impressed by last year’s Spider-Man 3. Robert Downey Jr. seems perfectly cast as Tony Stark, a playboy billionaire industrialist that has a change of heart after being captured by terrorists in Afghanistan, and decides to dedicate his life to getting rid of crime.

Thankfully, this isn’t just Iron Man vs. Terrorists movie as the main villain ends up being his second in command who dared to supply Stark’s weapons to both sides of the conflict. Directed by Jon Favreau (the guy that gave us… Daredevil), Iron Man promises a great start of this blockbuster season.

Verdict: go see it

Speed Racer (May 9)

Tis the season for remakes, as the popular Japanese cartoon series Speed Racer becomes a live-action film thanks to the Wachowski brothers in their first directorial since the conclusion of The Matrix series. If trailers are any indication, the movie will bombard your eyeballs with every color imaginable (thank god for computers) and incredibly fast moving vehicles. They are not just regular race cars as they are equipped with defensive and offensive capabilities.

Emile Hirsch stars as the titular character, and the movie features performance by John Goodman, Susan Sarandon (yes, THE Susan Sarandon) and Matthew Fox. We will see how the movie performs at the box office, but one thing is clear: there is no other movie like it this season.

Verdict: go see it

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (May 16)

Isn’t there a fantasy fatigue setting in? Since the beginning of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, moviegoers have had plenty to choose from for child-friendly fantasy pictures including Walden Media’s own Nim’s Island, The Water Horse and Bridge to Terabithia. Second movie in this potentially 7-entry franchise starts 1,300 years after the conclusion of the first movie where the original four must restore Prince Caspian to his rightful throne after his uncle tried to kill him in order to place his own son in charge of the land.

The storyline isn’t really child friendly, and as the series progresses it does become even darker. Harry Potter series has shown that the audience can handle dark twists and turns, but will they want another fantasy movie?

Verdict: wait and watch something else

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of Crystal Skull (May 22)

Another Indiana Jones movie finally lands in theatres this month. Directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by George Lucas, the film stars Harrison Ford reprising the role that catapulted him to stardom. The plot details are still shrouded in secrecy but hopefully it will involve a skull made out of crystal.

There are many factors against the movie, such as the fact that Harrison Ford is too old to play Indiana Jones, last few George Lucas movies weren’t so well received and the script went through so many writes and rewrites which could spell trouble. However hearing that theme music and watch Indy’s adventure on the big screen is well worth the admission price.

Verdict: go see it

Tomorrow: Kung Fu Panda, You Don’t Mess With the Zohan, The Happening, The Incredible Hulk and Get Smart