The new year is here, and that means we're about to get a heck of a lot of new movie trailers headed our way. And not just for the summer! Thanks to Deadpool, we'll be seeing big-blockbuster releases pretty early in the year. March alone has three movies that might be worth checking out. That's pretty awesome! And I can't wait...well, if it weren't for 2016, and it how it wasn't the kindest year to big franchise movies
There were exceptions, of course. Dr. Strange and Deadpool were excellent character debuts, while Captain America: Civil War showed us how far the Marvel Universe had come in terms of scale (not storytelling). While I wasn't the biggest fan of the movie, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story displayed what could be done to older "Star Wars" concepts and ideas with modern effects.
But for every Deadpool there was a Suicide Squad. "Civil War" did what "Dawn of Justice" couldn't, and let's not get into the abomination that was Independence Day: Resurgence.
It seems like reboots or long-awaited sequels have finally found their time and are going to pounce on us, with 2017 not being an exception to that at all. We're getting the fifth Pirates of the Carribean movie that nobody really wanted. There's another King Kong film and then Transformers: The Last Knight. The Mummy looks like another generic action movie, even down to Tom Cruise being involved with the film. Each time I go to the movies with someone, it seems like they lean over and ask, "They're remaking THAT?"
Remakes are nothing new, but it's clear that these are just poor attempts at sucking up moviegoers money each time they're brought to light. The Mummy is supposed to start a franchise, and the new "Transformers" is totally gonna revitalize that sunken ship.
It's not like the super-hero genre has escaped this, either. There's promise with Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 but history has shown that Spider-Man doesn't translate to film well (1/5 isn't the best record, kids). DC's universe is on very thin ice right now.
So, are we looking at another dud year for franchise films? It doesn't look so, but don't keep your hopes all that high about some movies.
LEGO: Batman is probably the superhero movie I'm looking forward to the most next year just barely behind Justice League (if only because the Justice League is my favorite super-hero team). Why? Because it's not taking itself seriously at all. You could argue that with Spider-Man: Homecoming and how goofy that is, but those bits of comedy seem a bit forced. Guardians of the Galaxy worked in 2014 because of how stupid it was. It wasn't trying to be the next great super-hero movie, it was trying to be a good comedy, and it worked. LEGO: Batman falls under that category.
Not to mention how phoned in so many of the franchise movies feel. The super-hero genre needs a bit of a rewrite that I'm not sure any of the slated movies can provide. "Civil War" didn't grip me because the story, while personal at parts, deviated from where the heart was: Steve, Sam, Bucky. Hopefully something like Thor: Ragnarok doesn't do the same. Transformers: The Last Knight really doesn't look all that different from the first movie except that Optimus Prime is maybe evil. But come on, you really think they'd make him evil? After he's been built up as Robo-Jesus for the last ten years?
I've never understood why so many people feel the need for new sequels when it's very rare that they succeed. The fifth "Pirates" movie falls under that category for me. Not many people like Johnny Depp's acting anymore because he hasn't stopped playing Jack Sparrow, so what's his next big thing? Jack Sparrow! Of course!...? Then of course there's the Blade Runner sequel that was randomly announced, Cars 3, Bad Boys 3. Like...what?
There are two movies coming up, pretty soon, that I'm dreading and excited for respectively: Power Rangers and Ghost in the Shell. I'm a HUGE fan of "Power Rangers" and was fairly excited when I heard they would make a movie about the first series. The trailer wasn't all that gripping because I've already seen The Breakfast Club and yeah. Hopefully it's just a fun, dumb movie (like the show was) that I can kick back and enjoy for a couple hours. Power Rangers doesn't need to be some big epic just yet. Settle into the idea of teenagers with superpowers. When the Green Ranger gets introduced is the best time to get a little more dramatic. Regarding Ghost in the Shell, yeah, they probably should've cast an Asian actress (there are a ton to choose from that would fit the role), I'm looking forward to how they adapt the excellent anime film of the same name. It's one of the best science-fiction films I've ever seen and if they can dive more into how that world operates, perhaps even throw in some more action for the hell of it, I'm so down for this film.
This is also the first year where I'm legitimately excited to see a Disney live-action remake: Beauty and the Beast. So far the promotional material and casting looks excellent, and it's pretty hard to mess up what is arguably Disney's best animated feature.
Another big movie coming out this year: Episode VIII. I liked "The Force Awakens" enough but I've had a sinking feeling that VIII can be even better, rivaling the quality of the Original Trilogy, even. The story is set up to make an exponential increase in scale and really add to the epic nature of the "Star Wars" legacy.
2016 had a ton of hype around it. After last year, 2017 feels now more like the "please be good" year so that we can head into larger films promised for 2018. Sadly, the way the franchises work, we're already supposed to be looking forward to the next big thing. Everyone wants Infinity War before we've even gotten a teaser for Thor: Ragnarok. I do hope we get good films this year, but so far, based off of early trailers and promotional material, very few of the big franchise brands have impressed me or made me really want to go into their movies. I'm most looking forward to Logan, Beauty and the Beast, LEGO: Batman, Justice League, Thor: Ragnarok, and Episode VIII.
AND PACIFIC RIM 2 DUH.
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