Summer 2016 Preview: Potential Busts

Continuing to look at the movies coming out this summer, let’s look at some potential busts.  When I say busts, I’m talking about movies that people are excited for that will disappoint, whether financially, or in terms of quality.  Some of these movies are going to make a ton of money, but that doesn’t mean they’re good movies.  So here are five movies you should be cautious about seeing this summer.

5 – Suicide Squad (David Ayer, August 5)

A lot of people are excited for this one, I have my doubts.  The idea of this movie sounds awesome: a group of bad guys, including The Joker (Jared Leto) and Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) are sent on black ops missions by the government in exchange for clemency.  Cool, right?  And it has an appearance from Batman (Ben Affleck), which only makes it better.  But, the trailers are tonally all over the place, Leto sounds like he’s doing his best Heath Ledger impression, and there have been rumors of reshoots, which is never a good thing.  Plus, DC shit the bed earlier this year with the awful Batman v. Superman and that has me worried about the entire DC Cinematic Universe.  I’m hoping this movie is good, but I will watch it with caution.

4 – Alice Through the Looking Glass (James Bobin, May 27)

The live action remake of Alice and Wonderland (2010) made a billion dollars world wide at the box office.  Literally, a billion.  And with great money, comes sequels.  The first Alice film was a decent, entertaining film, but not one that deserved a billion dollars and not one the deserved a sequel.  The whole cast is back, with the addition of the extremely talented Sacha Baron Cohen and I’m sure this will be a visually appealing film, with bright colors and wild sets.  But the fact that Tim Burton isn’t back to direct and it’s been six years since the first one, it’s really hard to get excited.

3 – Ben-Hur (Timur Bekmambetov, August 19)

I almost didn’t put this one on the list because I don’t think anyone is excited for it.  Whoever’s idea it was at Paramount to remake this 1959 Best Picture winning classic should be fired immediately and never be allowed to work in Hollywood again.  And, it’s directed by the guy who made Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012).  Who made that choice?  The trailer wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t good either.  It looks like a heavily CGI-ed, bastardized version of Gladiator (2000).  I’ll probably end up seeing this because, as a critic, it is my job to see bad movies so you don’t have to.  But I urge you to not give this movie any of your time and watch the original instead.

2 – Independence Day: Resurgence (Roland Emmerich, June 24)

I absolutely love Independence Day (1996).  It is one of my favorite sci-fi action films of all-time and a movie I watch every Fourth of July.  The movie is perfect in every way, so why in the world do they feel the need to taint it with a sequel that’s 20 years too late?  Independence Day: Resurgence just looks dumb and will probably end up being a rehash of the original.  And the worst part, Will Smith isn’t in this one.  How can anyone enjoy another Independence Day without Captain Steven Hiller?  The only way this movie is going to work is if the aliens blow up earth.  It won’t happen, but it would a ballsy move and the right move.

1 – Star Trek Beyond (Justin Lin, July 22)

I loved the first Star Trek (2009) and thought the sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), was really entertaining and fun.  The fact that there is no buzz for Star Trek Beyond worries me.  For a franchise that’s pretty beloved by fans, there hasn’t been a lot of marketing for the film is troublesome.  I mean, we’ve only gotten one trailer.  For a big budget blockbuster coming out in the next few months, you would think we would have a couple by now.  It also lost J.J. Abrams as its director and brought in a director known for his work in the Fast & Furious franchise.  Even the plot for the film is still unknown.  There are a lot of red flags on this film and this is the one film I hope I’m wrong about.

So there you go, those are the potential busts of this summer.  Hopefully I’m wrong because I don’t like seeing bad movies, but these have me worried.  What movies do you think are potential busts?  Comment below or hit me up on Twitter @kevflix or on Facebook at Kevflix.

And continue to follow the Summer 2016 Preview to check out all the movies you should see this summer.