By Chris Kavan - 06/27/18 at 08:18 PM CT
With a potentially long 4th of July holiday ahead (or at least an extra day or two off for some people) the box office is going relatively quiet. It doesn't help the holiday falls smack dab in the middle of the week but there are just two new offerings: a sequel to a powerful drama focusing on drug cartels and the people who fight them and a basketball comedy based on a popular advertising series (hey, it almost worked for the Geico Caveman). Still, it looks like the weekend will belong to Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom once again, and The Incredibles 2 likely will remain a strong contender as well.
SICARIO: DAY OF THE SOLDADO I won't lie, I am a fan of the original - Sicario was dark, brutal and honest - and the cast, including Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin, Victor Garber and Jon Bernthal, among others, was a knockout. While Blunt's character was essentially taken care of and director Denis Villeneuve is likewise being replaced, Day of the Soldado, with Stefano Sollima at the helm, still looks like it retains all that made the original so good. But the original was not exactly a monster at the box office, earning less than $50 million. But apparently this is going to be a trilogy, audience be damned! Del Toro and Brolin are both back on board, and they are joined by some pretty heavy hitters: Isabela Moner, Jeffrey Donovan, Catherine Keener, Matthew Modine and Shea Whigham are just a few new faces joining the cast. The action still takes place on the Mexican/U.S. border with the cartels now turning to helping terrorists cross over. Brolin plays the (mostly) straight-laced agent to Del Toro's more...shall we say, flexible Alejandro. People will die, lines will be crossed, actions will be taken that cannot be taken back - much like the original, I won't be seeing this in theaters, but I will be than happy to pay for the experience at home.
Usually basing an entire film on the basis of an advertising campaign, no matter how good, would be an introduction to disaster. I mean, can you imagine the Budweiser Frogs or Wassssup! Guys or the Got Milk? or even the Energizer Bunny getting a full-fledged film? But Uncle Drew is in class on its own. Yes, it is based on a series of popular Pepsi commercials, but the star of said commercials is certified NBA legend Kyrie Irving (played an aged-up version of himself). Uncle Drew is a legend himself, and isn't afraid to school street ball punks. But for Dax (Lil Rel Howery) the stakes are real for the upcoming Rucker Classic street ball tournament - as he has just lost his best players to Mookie (Nick Kroll) a fast-talking, trash-talking rival. But when Dax learns of Uncle Drew, he recruits him for one, last wild ride - but Drew will only play if he can bring his own crew. This includes plenty of talented sports stars - Shaquille O'Neal, Chris Webber, Reggie Miller, Nate Robinson and Lisa Leslie, all playing aged versions of themselves as well (with some twists, of course). While at first the team seems to be a little too geriatric for their own good, Uncle Drew has a surprise up his sleeve that will put a new spark into the old team. I'm sure a certain segment of the audience will get a kick out of this, but I'm not going to count myself among them. This looks a bit too ridiculous for me though I have a feeling basketball-minded tweens (and maybe some adults) will appreciate this a lot more than I would.
Those are the new films for the weekend. Both will probably do adequate, but I don't think either have a chance at ousting Fallen Kingdom - and maybe not even Incredibles 2. I'll be back on Sunday (probably - maybe Monday) with the results.
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