By Chris Kavan - 07/26/18 at 06:46 AM CT
I have no problem saying that this weekend marks the official end of the summer movie season. Looking ahead (for several months, in fact) nothing looks to have the impact that Mission: Impossible - Fallout will have this weekend. It looks to be the last of the summer blockbusters and should end July on a high note. Besides Ethan Hunt and his team, we also get a new animated film featuring the Teen Titans - which looks to play on plenty of super-hero tropes in a kind of kid-friendly Deadpool kind of way. Early on I didn't think twice about this film having much of an impact, but if it is as fun and subversive as it seems, maybe I'll change my mind.
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - FALLOUT The Mission: Impossible franchise has grown on me. While the first one or two were rather standard action films that tried to throw in some twists, the franchise has grown in both scope and cast - both for the better. By going global, and hiring some big names to co-star, this has become one of my more anticipated action franchises. Plus, it always keeps things interesting without going to over-the-top (Fast and Furious, anyone?). This time around Hunt (Tom Cruise) finds himself battling a slippery criminal, Solomon Lane (Sean Harris, apparently the first villain to return) while also finding himself pitted against the good guy - including his mirror CIA operative August Walker (Henry Cavill) and Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson). Hunt isn't alone, however, with old friends Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) and Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) still on his side. The trailers make this look like it has some of the best stunts yet in this series - semi trucks, helicopters, motorcycles, throw-down fights - everything you know and love, cranked up to 11. All I know is that this is probably going to be the last film I watch in theaters until late fall, so I hope it's as good as advertised.
In a summer filled with animated giants (The Incredibls 2, Hotel Transylvania 3) it's hard to image Teen Titans Go! to the Movies hanging with big dogs. Yet the more I hear about the film, the more intrigued I am to see how it all plays out. I haven't watched Teen Titans since the original series that ran from 2003-2006, but from what I gather the Go! series is much more comedic and light-hearted in tone, essentially the antithesis to the dark and gritty route so many superhero movies have taken. And the movie is more than happy to skewer the superhero tropes, be it DC, Marvel or even Deadpool. In fact, according to several people on the internets, Go! to the Movies is essentially Deadpool for the PG crowd - subversive without the ultra violence and naughty language. And the supporting cast looks great - Nicolas Cage as Superman (a nod to the fact Cage at one time was going to actually play the Man of Steel), Jimmy Kimmel as Batman, Halsey as Wonder Woman, Lil Yachty as Green Lantern and even Stan Lee as uh... Stan Lee. It's obvious the film is going to be a lot of fun - for adults as much as their children - but it remains to be seen if it can attract a wide enough audience to be successful.
Those are the two big films coming out this weekend. I'm going to say Mission: Impossible will have no problem topping the box office while Teen Titans should have a decent showing as well. I'll be back on Sunday with the full breakdown.
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