‘Bad Boys 4,’ ‘Furiosa,’ ‘Garfield’ and more summer must-see films
USA TODAY film critic Brian Truitt releases his list of summer’s must-see films, including “Deadpool & Wolverine,” “Bad Boys 4” and more.
Last summer, we all went to the Barbie party. Now it’s time to let Deadpool cook.
From “Deadpool & Wolverine” to the “Bad Boys” crew of Will Smith and Martin Lawrence to a “Mad Max” prequel, rampant f-bombs and violence are on tap with a host of R-rated potential blockbusters in the coming months. Sure, families will have “Inside Out 2” and “Despicable Me 4” as counterprogramming, but adults are going to have more high-profile options than usual in terms of action flicks, sci-fi horror films and an adventure with two A-list Marvel superheroes who stab and curse equally well.
Here’s an exclusive peek at the 15 movies coming to theaters that you absolutely, positively must see between now and Labor Day:
‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga’ (May 24)
Charlize Theron’s hot-rod warrior queen from “Mad Max: Fury Road” gets a prequel from the mastermind of the Wasteland, director George Miller. Anya Taylor-Joy stars as a younger Furiosa who’s violently taken from her home by a biker horde and vows vengeance on over-the-top warlord Dementus (Chris Hemsworth).
‘The Garfield Movie’ (May 24)
Chris Pratt brought a video-game plumber back into the cultural zeitgeist, and he’s trying to do it again with the lasagna-loving comic-strip kitty who despises Mondays. The animated comedy takes Garfield (voiced by Pratt) on a misadventure with dog pal Odie when long-lost street cat dad Vic (Samuel L. Jackson) comes back into his life needing help.
‘Bad Boys: Ride or Die’ (June 7)
Miami cops Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) are back on duty in the fourth installment of the buddy action-comedy series. This time around, their old captain is accused of corruption, and in trying to clear his name, the two wind up fugitives on the run from the law.
‘Inside Out 2’ (June 14)
The Pixar animated comedy sequel catches up with the hilarious inner workings of now-teen Riley’s mind. Puberty shakes up the status quo for Joy (voiced by Amy Poehler) and the other emotions as they face an existential threat with the coming of Anxiety (Maya Hawke) and her new crew.
‘The Bikeriders’ (June 21)
Jeff Nichols’ ’60s-set period drama stars Jodie Comer as a woman who falls for a biker (Austin Butler) involved with a Midwestern motorcycle club whose mercurial leader (Tom Hardy) formed it as a group for outsiders. She becomes concerned when it adds new members and turns into more of a criminal gang.
‘Kinds of Kindness’ (June 21)
With a starry cast featuring Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe and Margaret Qualley, “Poor Things” director Yorgos Lanthimos offers up a triptych fable. The tales center on a man trying to take control of his life, a cop reconnecting with his wife after she has been lost at sea, and a woman seeking a prodigal spiritual leader.
‘Horizon: An American Saga’ (June 28 and Aug. 16)
Kevin Costner does love a good Western. The “Dancing With Wolves” filmmaker co-writes, directs and stars as Hayes Ellison, a drifter looking for a home, in this sprawling two-part epic that follows Americans during the Civil War heading west during expansion and the conflict it causes with Indigenous tribes.
‘A Quiet Place: Day One’ (June 28)
While the first two “Quiet Place” thrillers were set more than a year after the deadly invasion of blind alien monsters, this spinoff prequel focuses on the initial arrival and a pair of New Yorkers (Lupita Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn) trying to survive the surprise onslaught.
‘Despicable Me 4’ (July 3)
Alongside the adorable Minions, Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) returns in the latest movie in the popular animated franchise. He tries to win over baby boy Gru Jr., makes a friend in supervillain wannabe Poppy (Joey King), plus faces new nemesis Maxime Le Mal (Will Ferrell) and his femme fatale girlfriend Valentina (Sofia Vergara).
‘MaXXXine’ (July 5)
Director Ti West’s sequel to 1970s-era horror film “X” returns Mia Goth as Maxine Minx, this time placing the adult film star and aspiring actress in Hollywood circa 1985. Still dreaming of being famous, Maxine is finally about to get her big break – while keeping a dark past hidden – as a serial killer has the whole town scared.
‘Twisters’ (July 19)
In the sequel to 1996’s “Twister,” Daisy Edgar-Jones plays a former tornado chaser who returns to central Oklahoma to test a high-tech tracking system. But her science crew and a rowdy bunch led by a social media superstar (Glen Powell) find themselves in the center of multiple deadly storms and weather phenomena.
‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ (July 26)
A dysfunctional dynamic duo makes its Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in this meta comedy adventure. Wisecracking masked mercenary Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) is given a chance to be a bona fide hero, and to save the day this time, he needs to have an epic team-up with a clawed (and crabby) X-Man (Hugh Jackman).
‘Borderlands’ (Aug. 9)
Based on the video game, this sci-fi comedy adventure rocks a “Guardians of the Galaxy” vibe. In it, a group of cosmic misfits – including an infamous bounty hunter, a veteran mercenary (Kevin Hart), a tween explosives expert (Ariana Greenblatt) and a weirdo scientist (Jamie Lee Curtis) – is tasked with finding a missing girl.
‘Trap’ (Aug. 9)
M. Night Shyamalan’s latest twisty thriller follows a father (Josh Hartnett) taking his teen (Ariel Donoghue) to a pop concert, where there’s an excess of law enforcement at the arena, and the girl’s dad – who’s also a serial killer known as “The Butcher” – realizes it’s a trap to catch him.
‘Alien: Romulus’ (Aug. 16)
Director Fede Alvarez (“Don’t Breathe”) crafts the latest chapter of the sci-fi horror franchise, a chiller that stars Cailee Spaeny, Isabela Merced and David Jonsson as space colonizers who come across an abandoned space station and are terrorized by freaky Facehuggers as well as a fearsome Xenomorph.
