By Chris Kavan - 06/14/18 at 06:40 AM CT
It has been a long time since we've had an animated film atop the box office, but it looks like that streak is coming to an end. I, for one, am a huge fan of the original Incredibles, thanks to Brad Bird's direction, the slightly subversive story and the spot-on vocal cast that was assembled. Now we're getting a sequel and I have a feeling it's going to be just as good (if not better) than the first film. We're also getting an update on a blaxploitation classic. Or, if you prefer something a little different, Tag involves a bunch of adults playing a kid game with R-rated consequences. But it does look rather ridiculous.
THE INCREDIBLES 2 Pixar's track record is nearly impeccable (sorry Good Dinosaur and Cars 3) and I have enjoyed many of their films. Up, Wall-E, Wreck-It Ralph - and, of course, the original Incredibles are among my favorites. I would have though that Brad Bird's amazing take on superheroes would get a quick green-light for a sequel, especially with how big the whole Marvel/DC films have become. Yet it has been over a decade since we got to witness the escapes of the Parr family and the alter-super personas. Now the gang is back: Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Samuel L. Jackson, Brad Bird and Eli Fucile are all returning - only Spencer Fox as Dash was re-cast (and only because he essentially aged out of playing a 10-year-old), replaced by Huck Milner. You see, although 14 long years have passed for the audience, this film picks up almost immediately after the original, even the Underminer (John Ratzenberger) returns. The film follows the exploits of Elastigirl aka Helen Parr (Hunter) who become the new face of the movement to bring supers back, thanks to the plan of Winston Deavor (Bob Odenkirk). But a nefarious new villain named Screenslave (Bill Wise) appears, hoping to enslave a city through, wait for it - screens (not actually too hard considering how addicted humanity is to screens anyway). But while Helen is off playing the her, husband Bob aka Mr. Inredible (Nelson) is left home alone to care for the kids, including Jack-Jack, who is still trying to control his abundant powers. The film looks to continue the tradition of turning the superhero genre on its head and actually I'm really looking forward to see what it does with things. It also looks to join the female-empowerment trip with Elastigirl being front-and-center this time around. All told, it has a real shot of setting a new animated opening record, with many indications it will top Finding Dory's $135 million domestic opening. I truly hope it does because, frankly, I was a bit disappointed in Finding Dory (and I never really liked Finding Nemo for that matter - so sue me). This, though, I fully support as the animated champion and I truly hope it captures that record.
Look, I'm all for taking chances with comedies but despite the fact this is (somewhat) based on real game of tag that has been played between friends well into their adult years, this movie just looks kind of dumb. It involves a group of friends (Ed Helms, Jon Hamm, Jake Johnson, Hannibal Buress and Jeremy Renner) who played a one-month game of tag, and they do so every year in May. But one of the group, Jerry (Renner) has never been tagged and when he indicates he might give up the game, it leads to all-out war. The cast looks fine - it also includes Isla Fisher, Rashida Jones, Leslie Bibb, Brian Dennehy and Nora Dunn. I mean, cast-wise it looks strong but the trailers have left me little desire to check this out and even with that R-rating maybe making things a bit exciting, this is definitely a stream-only title for me. It will probably land in the top five, but I don't see it making too many waves with the current competition out there.
SUPERFLY Who says all that's old can't be new again? Remakes tend to fall short of the original, but in the case of the blaxploitation classic Superfly, why can't we update it for the modern age? The plot looks to be essentially the same, a drug dealer, Youngblood Priest (Trevor Jackson) is looking to get out of the game for good and he plots one last big score - and hopes to keep the money to himself and make a life outside of his current life. Of course, the people he currently works won't be too keen on that plan, oh, and don't forget the cops (corrupt or otherwise). Something like this - drama, action and the like would probably serve to look a lot better with a modern update. It's hard to say whether the urban drama is going to draw in a huge crowd, but $1.2 million in its early Wednesday opening is a good start.
Those are the three films to watch out for with Incredibles 2 likely having a huge impact at the box office as Ocean's 8 tries to stay strong with SuperFly on the loose and Tag just trying to show up. I'll be back on Sunday with the results.
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