The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
UNEQUALED IN SEQUELS?
With more ‘Star Wars,’ ‘Furious,’ ‘Pitch Perfect’ and myriad superhero flicks, maybe it just feels like Hollywood’s never more stuck with what’s worked
You can go back again. And again. At least Hollywood thinks so. ¶ This looks to be another year the movies will be dominated by sequels, remakes, reboots and adaptations. (There’s probably a prequel or two coming, too, but nothing jumped right out.) ¶ January is really too early to forecast what films will be jockeying at year’s end for industry awards — heck, the nominees for the upcoming Academy Awards were only just announced this week — but we can look at one possible contender before getting into the world of superheroes and Jedis.
Visionary director Christopher Nolan (the “Dark Knight” trilogy, “Inception,” “Interstellar”) will step away from Gotham City and mind-bending twists to bring his incredible talent for visuals to a World War II drama. “Dunkirk” (July 21) tells the story of Allied soldiers being surrounded on the beaches in the Dunkirk area of northern France and needing to be evacuated. The appealing cast includes Tom Hardy — a Nolan staple — Cillian Murphy, Kenneth Branagh and Mark Rylance. The first trailer looks great, and if you’ve seen “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” in IMAX 3D, hopefully you soaked in the five-minute prologue for “Dunkirk” shown ahead of the movie. Fantastic stuff.
Speaking of a galaxy far, far away, it’s time to talk “Star Wars” — specifically about the eighth episode (Dec. 15) of the main saga, the freshly titled “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.” OK, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” was solid — better than some of us expected. But it’s time to get back to the adventures of Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega), Poe (Oscar Isaac) and, last but not least, Luke Skywalker. We don’t know much about the story, but expect a mentor-pupil journey with Rey and Luke after they’re chased off that island where we left them at the end of 2015’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” by baddie Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). Rumors suggest Luke and Rey visit a casino run by a not-so-trustworthy fella played by Benicio Del Toro, but we’ll see. What we do know is the film is written and directed by Rian Johnson, the very gifted filmmaker at the helm for “Looper” (2012) and some of the best episodes of “Breaking Bad.” We have a title — finally -- but when will we see a trailer? Late winter/ early spring sounds like the time frame.
We don’t need another hero
As has been the case the last several years, there will be no shortage of superheroes in 2017.
While it likely won’t be a critical fave, “Justice League” (Nov. 17) is still the headline grabber. Superman (Henry Cavill), Batman (Ben Affleck), Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) and Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) are set to return from last year’s “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” — as, unfortunately, is director Zack Snyder. This is DC Comics’ and Warner Bros’ Pictures’ answer to Marvel Studios’ “The Avengers” movies, and joining the fray will be heroes Aquaman (Jason Momoa), The Flash (Ezra Miller) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher) and baddie Steppenwolf (Ciaran Hinds).
Before you experience that much justice, Princess Diana of the island Themyscira finally gets her own film in “Wonder Woman” (June 2). Taking place roughly a century before “Justice League,” Gadot’s Diana meets a military pilot (Chris Pine of the new “Star Trek” movies) and may need to leave home for the sake of humanity. Patty Jenkins (“Monster”) directs.
Marvel Studios won’t exactly sit the year out. If you had to place a bet on the most fun movie, you’d lay money on “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” (May 5). Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper (voice) and the rest of the gang are back, as is director James Gunn from the blast of smash from 2014. Kurt Russell comes onboard for this one and looks to be playing a major character. Check out the really fun teaser trailer if you haven’t (or even if you have).
For business reasons, the webslinger finally comes home to Marvel — Sony is still a producer, however — in “Spider-Man: Homecoming” (July 7). In yet another reboot for the character, Tom Holland (“The Impossible”) plays a young version of the wallcrawler, who was introduced in last year’s “Captain America: Civil War.” The advanced footage looks good, but director Jon Watts has no experience akin to helming a big-budget superhero movie like this.
Thor (Chris Hemsworth) will throw the hammer down again in “Thor: Ragnarok” (Nov. 3). For reasons that are at best complicated and at worst nonsensical, the god of thunder will battle Avengers buddy The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). Also said to appear are familiar faces Anthony Hopkins, Tom Hiddleston and Benedict Cumberbatch, the latter making at least a cameo as Doctor Strange. The director is Taika Waititi, who made the enjoyable faux vampire documentary “What We Do in the Shadows,” so hopefully this will be a bit more fun than its lousy 2013 predecessor, “Thor: The Dark World.”
Allegedly, “Logan” (March 3) will mark Hugh Jackman’s final portrayal of fast-healing mutant Wolverine after myriad “X-Men” and solo films from Twentieth Century Fox. Set in a near future and said to be based on the “Old Man Logan” storyline from the comics. Logan is caring for an ailing Professor X (Patrick Stewart). The talented James Mangold (“Walk the Line,” “The Wolverine”) is in the director’s chair.
Big, beastly and otherworldly
Let’s return to some fantastical stuff not superherorelated. While “Kong: Skull Island” (March 10) reboots the King Kong franchise, it is tied to 2014’s “Godzilla,” the franchise leading toward a monster showdown at some point. The non-giant-ape cast features Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L Jackson, Brie Larson and other recognizable names. It’s hard to see how directing 2013 coming-of-age tale “The Kings of Summer” — shot around Northeast Ohio — would have prepared Jordan Vogt-Roberts for making this beast.
Speaking of tough monkeys, “War for the Planet of the Apes” (July 14) continues the story of ape Caesar (Andy Serkis, doing his motion-capture-performance thing) in the surprisingly enjoyable reboot franchise. Woody Harrelson appears to be playing the human heavy in this one, made by Matt Reeves, who also directed its predecessor, 2014’s “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.”
Based on the good-looking trailer, you should prepare yourself for a stressful experience in “Alien: Covenant” (May 19). Director Ridley Scott and actor Michael Fassbender are back from 2012’s “Prometheus” for what should be fullfledged Alien-generated havoc this time.
Stephen King fans will finally get a movie related to the author’s “The Dark Tower” series, which various Hollywood heavyweights have been trying to make a reality for years. However, “The Dark Tower” (July 28) is said to be less adaptation and more sequel to the books. The great Idris Elba portrays the series’ central figure, Roland Deschain, while Matthew McConaughey is deceptive sorcerer Randall Flagg.