Yesterday in this spot, we bemoaned the state of the summer blockbuster, and explored why the blockbuster-season films coming up in May and June might finally help kill off the blockbuster concept. (Or save it, but how likely is that?) Today, in true summer-movie style: the inevitable sequel.
Hancock (July 2)
Plot: In what looks like a clever twist on his good-guy persona, Will Smith plays a depressed, alcoholic superhero pariah who hires a publicist (Jason Bateman) to help improve his image, then begins an affair with the flack's foxy wife (Charlize Theron).
Why it'll help kill blockbusters: With its promising premise and solid cast, this looks to be one of the summer's few bright spots, creatively and commercially. If it tanks with audiences or critics, however, the summer will begin to look awfully grim. Also, we're getting a faint but discernible My Super Ex-Girlfriend vibe from the trailer.
Why it might help save them: Special-effects-driven summer blockbusters tend to be bland and inoffensive by design, but this looks like the rare blockbuster with a bracingly dark undercurrent.
The Dark Knight (July 11)
Plot: Having survived the multi-front assault of Scarecrow and Ra's Al Ghul in Batman Begins, the caped crusader Batman (played once again by Christian Bale) now has to protect Gotham City from a new threat: a pasty-faced freak who calls himself The Joker.
Why it'll help kill blockbusters: It's going to be impossible to promote The Dark Knight without playing up the untimely death of star Heath Ledger, which will either turn potential audiences off or, more disturbingly, bring them in.
Why it might help save them: Batman Begins was a solid adventure flick, and director Christopher Nolan is a mainstream filmmaker with a rare command of craft and storytelling. In a summer of superheroes, The Dark Knight may be the super-est.
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (July 11)
Plot: Mike Mignola's demonic troubleshooter and his supernaturally talented friends return to save the world from a spirit-world attack.
Why it'll help kill blockbusters: The first Hellboy movie didn't even make its production costs back in theaters, let alone pay for its marketing and distribution. Churning out another one—with a bigger budget, yet—seems like someone's concentrated effort to help kill the blockbuster concept. Are there any blockbuster-hating supervillains out there?
Why it might help save them: Writer-director Guillermo del Toro, who also helmed the first Hellboy, is still riding high on the success of his last film, Pan's Labyrinth. And at least this particular comic-book adaptation is in the hands of someone who seems to authentically love his source material.
Meet Dave (July 11)
Plot: Eddie Murphy teams up again with Norbit director Brian Robbins for another multi-Murphy comedy, this time about miniature aliens who inhabit a Murphy-shaped spaceship.
Why it'll help kill blockbusters: The thought of filmmakers trying to capture Norbit's lightning in a bottle once more is chilling enough to consider, but if they pull it off, summer entertainment in the future may be targeted exclusively to single-celled organisms. Excellent news for Protococcus algae, which currently can't get enough of Deal Or No Deal.
Why it might help save them: The only chance Meet Dave has of saving anything is by failing horribly. Otherwise, humanity is doomed.
Mamma Mia! (July 18)
Plot: Based on the hit Abba musical, this featherweight romantic trifle stars Meryl Streep as the single proprietor of a hotel on an idyllic Greek island and Amanda Seyfried as her soon-to-be-married daughter, who has plans to reunite with her long-lost father and find her mother a new man.
Why it'll help kill blockbusters: The road from Broadway to Hollywood has been a lucrative one, as last summer's sleeper hit Hairspray testifies. But a musical structured around Abba songs sounds awfully flimsy. Can an adaptation of the Legally Blonde musical be far behind?
Why it might help save them: Why shouldn't summer be a time for sun-dappled frivolity in the Greek isles? People saw Hairspray because it was bright, entertaining, and relatively light-footed next to the usual clanking blockbusters. Perhaps the season is well-served by a little airiness.
The Longshots (July 25)
Plot: Ice Cube stars in the true story of an 11-year-old girl who fights for her right to play Pop Warner football. (Sadly, Ice Cube does not play the 11-year-old girl.)
Why it'll help kill blockbusters: Four words: "Directed by Fred Durst."
Why it might help save them: It probably won't do much for blockbusters, but any project that keeps Limp Bizkit frontman (and amateur porn star) Durst off the streets is a net gain for the culture at large.
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