The SciFi-Guy.com Science Fiction Summer Movie Previews
Summer is officially right around the corner, and with it comes a few new releases certain to appeal to the science fiction lover in all of us. So what does this summer have in store for SciFi’ers?
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Short & Sweet: The comic book foursome, altered by space radiation, returns to face the Silver Surfer (who, in at least this one, plays a villian).
SciFi-Guy.com Prediction: I’m just not convinced that the Fantastic Four have the staying power of the X-Men. The first movie was lame, and I’m not expecting this to be a step above that. If anything will save this movie, it’ll be some great effects courtesy of the ‘surfer.
Transfomers
Short & Sweet: These cartoon and toys from the 80′s decide they’d rather face off on the big screen in an age when computer animation can actually keep up with them.
SciFi-Guy.com Prediction: I’ll admit it. I’m a child of the 80′s, and the Transformers were part of that childhood. Same with about 50 million other movie-going age potential viewers. From the trailers & visual effects that I’ve seen previewed so far, this should be an absolute summer blockbuster. Don’t expect anything from the storyline, but Michael Bay will certainly give this movie his classic all-in visual style. Expect huge box office numbers and an entertaining couple hours.
The Invasion
The Short & Sweet: A sorta-Invasion of the Body Snatchers centered around a mom trying to protect her kid.
The SciFi-Guy.com Prediction: It sounds like there’s an interesting story to tell here, but they’re keeping it pretty tight-lipped. Not even a trailer to boot yet. The cast includes Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, so at least there’s a little strength in character. This should be an emerging hit, but not an all-out invasion.
Resident Evil: Extinction
The Short & Sweet: Milla Jovovich returns to the Resident Evil sequence with an escape-from-the-bad-zombies tale spanning the country.
The SciFi-Guy.com Prediction: How did this get budgeted? How do these things make it past the opening meeting when smart people with a lot of money are sitting around keeping their money to themselves? I don’t get it. Resident Evil 1 and 2 were miserable. Video games don’t translate well to screen, and these are no exception. I’m not even going to rent this on DVD, I’ll wait for the SciFi Channel premier 3 years from now.
Beyond those few titles, there’s not much hitting the big screen for science fiction fan (and I’ve poured through the coming soon sheets that I can find). My personal prediction though, is that Transformers will be the overall blockbuster of the summer, proving once again that if theaters want to fill up in summertime, it better be a huge Science Fiction hit.