Sequels and reboots. Two words guaranteed to strike fear into the fans of a decent movie, so it may come as a surprise to learn that several sequels and reboots that come out soon might actually be worth watching when they hit the big screen.
For those who just want the titles they are Dredd, Expendables 2, Man of steel, RoboCop, Total Recall, Die Hard 5, Resident Evil : Retribution, Taken 2, Iron Man 3, The Dark Knight Rises, Skyfall and Star Trek 2. There are of course also a number of sequels currently in the planning or pre production stages including a sequel to eighties hit Twins, the return of Bill and Ted, the sequel to X-Men First Class and Ryan Reynolds taking over as the Highlander. A warning in advance, there are a lot of action films in here....
Dredd - this certificate 18 (r rated) reboot of Judge Dredd promises plenty of dark action when released in September as Dredd (Karl Urban) takes on the evil Madrigal (Lena Headey) responsible for a new drug called slo-mo that alters reality itself.The plot sounds interesting but as long there is lots of action and Dredd utters that classic line "I AM the law" no doubt fans of the comic will enjoy it and as befits a film based on a violent heavy handed hero it will be released with a rating that ensures it won't, as many modern movies are, be heavily cut in order to reach a family friendly audience.
Adults only rating, Karl Urban, Lena Headey, lots of violence, big budget scif fi action and (apparently) true to the comic book....this should be fun.
The Expendables 2 - this sequel sees pretty much every action hero you can imagine (Jason Statham, Chuck Norris, Jet Li, Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, Jean Claude Van Damme, Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwartzenneger) in a plot that sees one of the heroes being murdered and the expendables going all out for revenge while trapped in enemy territory.
The original was fun, if not quite up to the hype, but the addition of Van Damme and Chuck Norris almost guarantees that anyone who grew up with eighties action films is going to go out and see this. Will it be worth the wait? It has what the best action movies need to have, lots of great action stars, lots of action, a plot that gives the heroes an excuse to blow things up, good one liners and of course a big budget for all those explosions and stunts.
Will it be great? Probably not, but will it be a fun two hours? For action fans that's pretty much guaranteed.
Total Recall - the remake of the Schwartzenneger hit stars Colin Farrell as Quaid along with Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel and Bill Nighy. It hits cinemas in August and while the trailer which can be seen here looks a little too over the top the original wasn't exactly oscar material and it does promise a rollercoaster ride.
Farrell does have what it takes to be the action hero and though it's likely die hard fans of the original will be a little dissapointed in the remake it could work. Here's hoping his performance is better than in the not so good Fright Night remake.
A good day to die hard (Die Hard 5) - with Die Hard 4 surprising people by being a pretty good sequel hopes are high for the latest installment which hits the big screen in February. Bruce Willis and Patrick Stewart are the big names headlining the action in which McClane and his son take on Russian terrorists.
Man of steel - this Superman reboot sees Kevin Costner and Russell Crowe play Supermans respective fathers (Costner plays Jonathan Kent while Crowe plays Jor El) with British actor Henry Cavill donning the iconic suit in a film that hits the big screen next June.Director Zack Snyders previous work (including Sucker Punch, Watchmen and 300) show he handles stylised action well and suggests a more traditional rather than, as seems to be common recently, gritty reworking of the Superman story focusing on the story but packing in some memorable action sequences along the way. Star Henry Caville seemed a surprising choice but looks the part and judging from publicity photos will undoubtedly be popular with female fans, the big budget and addition of more well known stars along with a good director should ensure that the film is watchable, and likely a big hit when it comes out.
RoboCop - the Robocop reboot, scheduled for release next year, stars Samuel L Jackson and Gary Oldman with Joel Kinnaman playing the title role of Robocop. The hundred million dollar budget should guarantee some impressive big budget action scenes and the acting talent of Jackson and Oldman suggest the film will be more serious than the original which while great fun had a deliberately cheesey comedic element running through it. More in the style of the rebooted batman franchise, this will be more dark and gritty than the original but likely still manage a PG-13 rating to make sure it reaches the widest possible audience. No word yet on the new look robocop outfit but hopefully they won't change the appearance too much from the original which was pretty near perfect.
The Dark Knight Rises - Christopher Nolans final installment in the new look Batman series sees Batman taking on a new enemy eight years after being blamed for the crimes committed by Two Face the Dark Knight returns to protect Gotham. Now seen as the enemy Batman faces his greatest challenge as he tries to save the city from Bane. Dark and gritty (sequels seem to use that description a lot in recent years) the film sees Christian Bale and Michael Caine back for one last outing as Bruce Wayne / The caped crusader and Alfred in what promises to be a strong finish for the series.
Taken 2 - Liam Neeson returns in a sequel to the impressive Taken that hits UK screens in October. Here he takes on associates of the men he killed in the first film but the fact that his daughter is enlisted to help him suggests that this may end up being more a by the numbers sequel. Still it's one to keep an eye on if you enjoyed the original and if it can live up to the original it will likely be another hit, and possibly the start of a new franchise.
Iron Man 3 - the month of May next year sees Robert Downey Junior return as Iron Man battling amongst others the villainous Mandarin (played by Ben Kingsley), though despite being a major character in the comics and cartoon series Mandarin will apparently not be the main opposition in this sequel presumably instead returning as main villain in a future installment of the franchise.
Guy Pearce, Paul Bettany and Hong Kong legend Andy Lau round up the cast with of course Don Cheadle as War Machine and Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper in what promises to be a better sequel than its slightly lacklustre predecessor. Written and directed by Shane Black the man who wrote action films Lethal Weapon and The Last Boy Scout his scripting talent coupled with an impressive supporting cast should make this a sequel well worth watching.
Skyfall - the new James Bond sequel hits UK cinemas this October. Bonds loyalties are tested as the past of M (Judi Dench) comes back to haunt her when MI6 is attacked and Bond (Daniel Craig) must find and stop the threat no matter what the personal cost. Ralph Fiennes and Javier Bardem head up the main cast in what should be a more traditional action filled excursion for Bond with a richer plot than the more recent Bond films have provided.
Star Trek 2 - hitting the big screen in May next year this sequel to the popular reboot stars among others the star of British tv series Sherlock, Benedict Cumberpatch, as the villain Khan and will also feature (allegedly) Section 31, the "secret police" of Starfleet who appeared as the enemy nine times in episodes of the tv series Enterprise and Deep Space Nine where they were the evil side of starfleet, willing to do anything (even committing genocide) to protect its interests.The same cast return including Chris Pine as Kirk and Karl Urban as Bones, and J J Abrams sequel looks set to surpass its predecessor with a reworking of traditional trek villains and a story that delves deeper into the trek universe. And no this is not the official poster for the movie but the poster for the reboot.
Future sequels and reboots that aren't in production yet but are in final stages of development include the reboot of Highlander with Ryan Reynolds in final talks to take the lead role (something he would be well suited for), Harrison Ford is in talks to star in Ridley Scotts sequel to Blade Runner, the sequel to X-Men first class has a cast and begins filming next year for a 2014 release, Mad Max: Fury Road is a Mad Max reboot filming later this year starring Charlize Theron with Tom Hardy playing Mad Max rather than Mel Gibson, Chris Evans returns as Captain America in Captain America 2 to be released in 2014 and on a more tentative note Keannu Reeves and Alex Winter have agreed to star in a third Bill and Ted movie if studios accept the recently finished script which sees the pair travel through time again in what would surely be a popular sequel.
And last but not least Triplets - the sequel to eighties comedy hit Twins will pair up original stars Arnold Shwartzenneger and Dany DeVito with Eddie Murphy. The three actors have already agreed to star but as Universal are currently looking for writers to script it this one won't hit the big screen until at least 2014 although Schwartzenneger has already indicated the plot will be that the brothers find they have a third brother, Murphy, and are in fact triplets. Fans of the original would no doubt enjoy seeing the twins return and it could be the vehicle Eddie Murphy needs to resurrect his career after a string of not so great movies.
