Summer of sequels

DANIEL NEMAN / Media General News Service
Published: May 1, 2007

The summer films are coming. You may want to duck.

A lot of big films - huge films - are headed our way this summer (with summer somehow beginning in early May). This means big things for studios, big things for theater owners, big things for popcorn companies and big things for us.

But only if we like sequels. Lots of sequels. And most of them are sequels of sequels.

Not a lot of originality will be able to squeeze its way into the theaters this summer, but the hope is that audiences are looking for a comforting dose of familiarity. And in the movie world, familiarity breeds only enormous takes at the box office.

Remembering that opening dates are always subject to change, here are some of the big sequels of the summer. And even a couple of flicks that aren't sequels. The sequels usually laugh at those films and make fun of them:

"Spider-Man 3" - Tobey Maguire is back as Peter Parker, who wants to pop the question to the bedimpled Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst). But he is overtaken by a sinister black substance that gives him extra Spider Power but also makes him kind of evil-ish. Meanwhile, James Franco is back to accuse him once again of killing his father. This Friday.

"Shrek the Third" - To the surprise of pretty much everyone, the lovable animated ogre Shrek is about to become king, a job he neither wants nor is qualified for. So he tries to hand the job off to a youthful prince, Artie (Justin Timberlake). But Prince Charming is looking to stage a coup. With the voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and all the others. May 18.

"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" - Hoping to make up for "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," Johnny Depp and the gang are back for a third time. This time, they sail beyond the reach of all maps to fight the fearsome but legendary Davy Jones. They saw his face, and now they're believers. May 25.

"Knocked Up" - A one-night stand between two generally incompatible people ends with them having to think about making a commitment for life when the woman finds herself pregnant. Prim Katherine Heigl and slob Seth Rogan star in this comedy. June 1.

"Ocean's Thirteen" - It's a bad idea to double-cross one of Danny Ocean's friends. Casino owner Al Pacino does that to Elliott Gould, so Ocean (George Clooney) and his buddies (pretty much everyone) try to get even with him by cleverly stealing from his casino. June 8.

"Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" - Enough people liked the first "Fantastic Four" movie to make a second one- Really- Wow. This time, the four superheroes gang up to fight a single supervillain, which doesn't seem fair. June 15.

"Evan Almighty" - Crozet, and to a smaller extent, Richmond, were the locations for this sequel to the Jim Carrey comedy "Bruce Almighty." This time, Carrey isn't in the film, but Steve Carell reprises his role as a congressman (née weatherman) who is told by God (Morgan Freeman) to build an ark. June 22.

"Live Free or Die Hard" - The fourth "Die Hard" flick returns Bruce Willis to one of his most popular roles, supercop John McClane. This time the action is more cartoonish ("You killed a helicopter with a car!" "I was out of bullets") as McClane and the guy who plays the Mac computer on those commercials (Justin Long) take on a terrorist intent on shutting down all computers. Even Macs. June 27.

"Ratatouille" - From Pixar comes this computer-animated story of a rat who lives in a French restaurant and wants to be a chef. No one else can see him in the job, but he gets together with a less-talented human chef and the two make culinary history. Written and directed by Brad Bird, who wrote and directed "The Incredibles." June 29.

"Transformers" - It's a movie based on a toy. Technically, it's a movie based on a movie based on a cartoon based on a toy. And it's directed by Michael Bay. Apparently, it depicts the final battle between one type of alien robot and another type of alien robot. Both robot forces are now on sale at a store near you. July 4.

"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" - For everyone who always thought his principal or headmistress was a witch, this fifth film in the Harry P. series has a new witch running Hogwarts School. This new regime tries to discredit Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) while possibly making room for the evil Voldemort. July 13.

"Hairspray" - The movie that became a Broadway musical is a movie again, albeit with a much bigger budget. Newcomer Nikki Blonski stars as 1962 teen Tracy, who dances on an "American Bandstand" type of show and decides to integrate it. John Travolta plays her mother. That's right, her mother. July 20.

"I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" - Firefighters Adam Sandler and Kevin James pretend to be gay to receive the benefits given to couples. It's not a sequel (unless you consider it came from "Three's Company" and "Bosom Buddies"), but it is a remake of an Australian comedy, "Strange Bedfellows." July 20.

"The Simpsons Movie" - The trailer, which makes fun of other trailers as well as serving up a large portion of "Simpsons" humor, looks hilarious. Lovable oaf Homer does some unspecified thing that is terribly wrong and has to go through no end of trouble to right it. Among the large cast of voices is Erin Brockovich playing herself. July 27.

"No Reservations" - In this remake of the wonderful German film "Mostly Martha," Catherine Zeta-Jones stars as the career-oriented chef who slowly turns her life around when she becomes the guardian of her niece, played by Abigail Breslin (the girl in "Little Miss Sunshine"). July 27.

"The Bourne Ultimatum" - After two movies, there are some things about his past that Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) still does not know. His efforts to learn more lead him to Russia, among other places, with government agents close on his heels. Directed by Paul Greenglass who, after directing "The Bourne Supremacy," made "United 93." Aug. 3.

"Rush Hour 3" - In the first "Rush Hour," Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker were in America, where no one could understand Chan. In the second, they were in Hong Kong, where no one could understand Tucker. Now they're in Paris, where no one can understand anyone. With Roman Polanski as a French police inspector. "Clouseauuuuu!" Aug. 10.

"The Invasion" - The latest remake of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" stars Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig as the only two people who realize a mysterious new virus is actually an alien invasion, turning humans into alien pod people. Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel, the German director who made the superlative "The Downfall." Aug. 17.

Contact staff writer Daniel Neman at or (804) 649-6408.