Summer 2012 was a, shall we say, interesting season for sci-fi titles where reaction ranged from a collective “meh” (the Total Recall remake) to a collective “what the hell was that?!?!” (Prometheus).
Summer 2013 brings us a slew of sci-fi titles from directors who are known for excelling at the genre. Of course, the highest profile entry has already been covered in my sequels preview, the J.J. Abrams directed Star Trek Into Darkness, the follow-up to the blockbuster 2009 original.
Who would’ve thought that when we knew him best for comical rap songs and clowning with Uncle Phil and Aunt Viv that Will Smith would turn into the premiere sci-fi star in the world? That’s what happened though and all we need to do is look at the evidence: Independence Day ($306M), Men in Black ($250M), Men in Black II ($190M), I, Robot ($144M), I Am Legend ($256M), and Men in Black 3 ($179M).
And even though that sterling track record shows Smith’s near infallibility in the genre, his new pic After Earth (June 7) may be a real test of his box office muscle. For starters, there was a time when the name M. Night Shyamalan got audiences into the theater. Lately though, the director’s films have been met with critical scorn and audience ambivalence, from 2006’s Lady in the Water to 2008’s The Happening to 2010’s The Last Airbender.
After Earth stars Smith and his real-life son Jaden star in this post-apocalyptic thriller that apparently gives Shyamalan a plot without his signature twists and turns. With a $130 million price tag, the film will need robust business domestically and overseas. I find the trailer to be pretty underwhelming and filled with the stilted dialogue delivery that has unfortunately become an M. Night staple. We’ll see if the Smith/Shyamalan combo is a winning one, but After Earth is a likely candidate for disappointing box office results.
World War Z (June 21) stars Brad Pitt and involves a worldwide zombie takeover. The pic, from Quantum of Solace director Marc Forster, has reportedly been a troubled production and the budget allegedly bloomed to nearly $200 million. The trailers are decent, but a legitimate question is whether audience will flock to see zombies taking over Earth when they get that on a certain beloved AMC TV show. Originally scheduled to be released last December, World War Z underwent reshoots last fall. I’m certainly curious to see it, but its box office forecast is a bit of a mystery at press time.
Guillermo del Toro is one of the most accomplished science fiction directors working today, having made the Hellboy flicks and Pan’s Labyrinth. On July 12, del Toro helms Pacific Rim, which involves giant frickin robots fighting giant fricking monsters. They had me at del Toro… Pacific Rim may not reach Transformers level numbers, but I’m willing to bet it’s a lot better. I’m in!
Director Neill Blomkamp burst onto the sci-fi scene with the great District 9 in the summer of 2009. It even managed to earn a Best Picture nomination. The futuristic thriller Elysium starring Matt Damon and Jodie Foster is his very eagerly awaited follow-up. It’s out August 9th. I was a huge admirer of District 9 and Elysium is one of my most anticipated pictures of the season.
Combining sci-fi with comedy, R.I.P.D. (July 19) teams Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds as members of the Rest In Peace Department, officers killed in the line of duty who come back to fight crime. On paper, this sounded pretty interesting until I saw the trailer this week. Frankly, it looks like a low-rent Men in Black knock off and if this is the best they could do with the trailer, I’m skeptical.
Finally, August 23rd’s The Colony casts Laurence Fishburne and Bill Paxton in an ice age thriller that looks like it could be an effective little B movie… or totally forgettable.
And there’s your sci-fi fix for this upcoming summer season! The 2013 Summer Movie Preview will continue with the action/adventure genre and titles from Ryan Gosling, Channing Tatum, and Denzel Washington.
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