Look, I know I stick it to Mr. Bay for the Transformers movies, but as I've said many times, I'm the guy who enjoys The Rock and weirdly, shamelessly loves Armageddon. (It's partly due to my sorta man-crush on Ben Affleck, which I realize as I type it, in no way makes any of this any less shameful.)
So when word came down that Columbia is developing Bad Boys III, I didn't automatically throw up in my mouth a little. Not that I like either BB I or II all that much, but I do agree with bloggernet filmsters, such as Drew McWeeney at Hitfix, who say Bad Boys II is the perfect expression of "The Michael Bay Thing." The problem with the Transformers flicks is that giant fighting robots is such a cool idea you wish it were better handled with less crassness. But Bad Boys? That's where Bay gets to be Bay; R-rated, obnoxious, crude, sexist, morally empty, blow-em-up/shoot-em-up ugly Bay. (It should be noted that at this point BB III is only in development: a screenplay is underway, but Bay, producer Jerry Bruckhiemer, and stars Will Smith and Martin Lawrence do not yet have threequel deals in place.)
-- Meanwhile, Smith has other potential sequels on the burners. Screenwriters have been hired to come up with a Hancock 2, presumably picking up where last summer's "redeemed alcoholic superhero" movie left off. (Or maybe a prequel?) Hancock didn't make much of a cultural splash last year, lost amidst the rapturous praise for both Iron Man and The Dark Knight, but it did do good box office and as directed by the sometimes uneven Peter Berg, it was a decent enough film. Smith was his usual matinee-grabbing, charming self, and it was only the Charlize Theron business that gunked up an otherwise enjoyable story. Sans Theron's character, a Hancock 2 could be that rare sequel that shakes off the original's weaknesses and soars.
-- Of course, other than Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan, one of the greatest sci-fi sequels is Aliens. And after some pushing and shoving between producer and studio camps, it has been decided that Ridley Scott, director of the original Alien, is on board to direct the prequel announced earlier this year. (See how I did that? Those kinds of smooth segues between topics are why I get paid the big redblog bucks! Now if only I could get them to pay me in U.S. currency instead of "redblog bucks.") You'll recall that originally producer Scott wanted German commercial director Carl Rinsch to helm the prequel--but then it was revealed that Rinsch is dating Scott's daughter and the whole thing took on a nepotistic air. Bottom line, Twentieth Century Fox wanted Scott directing or no go.
-- Think I've run out of smooth segues? Oh ye of little faith! You see, when Scott's original Alien made a gooey splash in 1979, Hollywood rushed to make more gritty outer-space thrillers. One of which was Peter Hyams 's Outland, starring Sean Connery as the sheriff on a mining moon facing off against evil corporate tools in a sort of High Noon in Space. Now Warner Brothers is set to remake the 1981 space flick. Tapped to direct is Michael Davis, director of the almost-so-wacky-it-works Looney-Tunes-esque Shoot Em Up with Clive Owen and Paul Giamatti. I don't hold any special place in my heart for the original Outland, but while I kinda got a sick kick out of Shoot 'Em Up, I have a bad feeling Davis's remake is going to be long on space violence and short on character and story.
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