STACK July 2016 Issue 141

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ALSO SCREENING
IN JULY
The new Trek movie promises to be a fast and
furious affair, with F&F’s longtime director
Justin Lin driving this third installment in the
rebooted franchise, after J.J. Abrams defected
to a galaxy far, far away. Resembling a cross
between Guardians of the Galaxyand Galaxy
Quest, this looks to be a more fun-filled
installment in the spirit of the original series,
unlike Into Darkness. Beam us up on July 21.
STAR TREK BEYOND
Who you gonna call? This time it's Melissa
McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie
Jones who ain't afraid of no ghost. Will Paul Feig's
girl power redux of the '80s classic be a hit or a
bust? We'll find out on July 14.
GHOSTBUSTERS
Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass
return to the spying game for this sequel/reboot,
after the average Jeremy Renner-led spin-off
failed to leave much of a legacy. And it has
Alicia Vikander, too. Re-Bourne on July 28.
JASON BOURNE
Looking less boring than 1984's Greystoke, this
lavish reimagination also has an eye-candy cast in its
favour, with Alexander Skarsgård as the buff Lord of
the Jungle, and Margot Robbie as Jane. July 7.
THE LEGEND OF TARZAN
ARoland Emmerich film is like a super-
sized serving of your favourite junk
food, with ample lashings of corn and
cheese. It goes down a treat and you feel
guilty about how much you enjoyed it.
This follow-up to his 1996 alien invasion epic
doesn’t disappoint, because it delivers exactly
what you expect. It also satisfies the criteria
for a good sequel – repurposing what was
great about the first film to serve a new story,
and setting up a franchise in the process. And
yes, there is a gag involving the White House.
In the decades since the “war of ‘96”, global
peace has prevailed and the aliens’ technology
used to strengthen Earth's defences. But
all that counts for nought when a 3,000-
mile wide mothership answers the original
invaders' distress call and proceeds to suck
up entire cities with its own gravity field,
dropping them on top of other cities. It's going
to take more than Jeff Goldblum uploading
malware to defeat them this time – could a
mysterious alien orb be the key to saving the
planet?
Most of the first film's surviving characters
are back, sans Will Smith (which is perhaps
a good thing). Liam Hemsworth fills the role
of hotshot flyboy nicely, while Goldblum, Bill
Pullman, Judd Hirsch and Brent Spiner (who
somehow survived being choked by a tentacle)
pick up where they left off. The now grown-up
kids of the Smith and Pullman characters –
Jesse T. Usher and Maika Monroe, respectively
– also join the fight, but they ultimately fail to
register amongst the original gang.
Independence Day was essentially a
disaster movie, but Resurgence is Emmerich's
Aliens – an action-heavy sci-fi sequel with
bigger FX and even more characters and
creatures, including a giant pissed-off alien
queen.
Sci-fi fans are obliged to check out this
huge, ridiculous, and ridiculously entertaining
popcorn blockbuster. And everyone else
should, too. Go on, you know you want to.
Scott Hocking
FURTHER VIEWING: The Day After Tomorrow
A sequel that doesn’t disappoint, because it delivers exactly what you expect.
INDEPENDENCE DAY:
RESURGENCE
RELEASED: Now Showing
DIRECTOR: Roland Emmerich
CAST: Liam Hemsworth,
Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman
RATING: M
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22 JULY 2016
CINEMA