Stop me if you’ve heard this one: a hot muscular guy is held hostage by a group of terrorists at the top of an extremely tall building. The terrorists are also threatening his family and the other people in the building.
No, it’s not “Die Hard;” it’s the upcoming (and quite unoriginal) Dwayne Johnson action flick “Skyscraper.” “Skyscraper” was one of several major summer blockbusters teased during Super Bowl 52 this past Sunday. Some looked good; some looked bad; some just looked like a huge waste of money.
Overall, there were five — yes, five — trailers for films that fall under the sequel or prequel category during the big game. It seems that most movie companies today are somewhat lazy; rather than creating a fresh new idea for thousands of people to enjoy, they just decide to continue to make sequels of movies that really don’t need to begin with.
Take “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” for example. The original “Jurassic Park” trilogy, directed by Steven Spielberg, was a massive box office success. Bringing Michael Crichton’s novel of the same name to life, “Jurassic Park” became so popular that thousands of incoming college freshmen in 1993 majored in paleontology. With such popular critical acclaim, revamping “Jurassic Park” sounds like a great idea, right?
In short, 2015’s “Jurassic World” brought in new director Colin Trevorrow, who failed to give audiences a consistent story and instead relied on over-the-top special effects to keep the people excited. It was messy, there was little to no character development, and it just didn’t have the wonder of the original movies.
The upcoming “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom,” has yet another new director, J.A. Bayona. It will feature only two actors from the previous film, the lackluster lovebirds Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Pratt. Original cast member Jeff Goldblum is slated to make a cameo, but that won’t make the film any less underwhelming than it looks already.
Another movie cashing in on a franchise reboot is “Solo: A Star Wars Story.” Like “Jurassic Park” and “Star Wars” was also revamped in 2015. “The Force Awakens” was pretty good in having a consistent plot—with the exception of killing off one of the main characters, a very bold move. In 2017, “The Last Jedi” was mildly successful, albeit somewhat loosely tied up.
It would be reasonable to assume “Solo: A Star Wars Story” is trying to come off as an apology card to lifelong fans of the series. And it doesn’t look as horrendous as “Fallen Kingdom.” Director Ron Howard made a solid casting choice with Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian, and the set designs look nothing short of incredible. While Alden Ehrenreich is clearly as attractive as Harrison Ford is (Yes, I think he aged nicely), he still has some pretty big shoes to fill. Will he be able to capture Solo’s sarcasm and wit? Let’s hope so.
Let’s also hope that the Marvel Cinematic Universe finishes on a high note with the forthcoming “Infinity War.” Bringing together all of the superheroes and villains from Marvel’s ten-year run with smash hit films, “Infinity War” is the crossover event we’re all waiting for.
While Marvel has had greater success than DC Comics in terms of movies in recent years, “Infinity War” needs to amp up its game after the previous “Avengers” flick, “Age of Ultron.” That movie shouldn’t have opened right in the middle of a battle scene, and there were many plot points that went unexplained (Since when are Natasha Romanoff and Bruce Banner a thing?). If “Infinity War” avoids these mistakes, it should do all right with fans and critics alike.
Except for Jurassic World, of course. That just looks awful.
Athos • Feb 17, 2018 at 3:48 am
I for one AM more excited about Jurassic World 2 over Infinity War and the very drab and dull looking Han Solo film; J. A. Bayona is a masterful director, and if the last trailer is any indication his horror direction will make for a more suspenseful film than JW.