CinemaNerdz

The Preview Reel: The Commuter, Proud Mary, and Paddington 2

Scott Davis
The Preview Reel

Last week saw the reign of Star Wars: The Last Jedi come to an end as not one, but two movies placed above the mega blockbuster. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and Insidious: The Last Key look to keep their box-office winning streak alive, but will have to deal with three different wide-release films this weekend. We have another Liam Neeson action-thriller in The Commuter, the family-friendly sequel Paddington 2, and Taraji P. Henson’s action flick Proud Mary.

 

The Commuter

What we are excited about: The trailers seem to offer up an intriguing premise, which isn’t typical of most January releases. Along with star Liam Neeson, the movie boasts a great cast including Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Sam Neill, and Jonathan Banks. Add the director of the fun thriller The Shallows (2016), and this could be a fun distraction of a movie.

What we are worried about: There’s been Taken (2008) on a plane (Non-Stop [2014]), Taken in the wilderness (The Grey [2011]), Taken with amnesia (Unknown [2011]), and now we have what looks like Taken on a train. It might be a little unfair to label each Neeson action film “Taken on a [insert place here]” but if you look at the trailers, or have seen the movies, that’s what they pretty much are. His movies are incredibly formulaic and seem to have been going down in quality with each passing movie. Maybe The Commuter will be different (but we highly doubt it).

The Buzz: Most of the movie community is focusing on award films, but there has been a little buzz surrounding The Commuter. The movie screened a while ago for critics and has garnered slightly above average reviews. It sits at 58% on RottenTomatoes and 57 on MetaCritic, which shouldn’t terribly hurt its box office prospects. With a crowded marketplace, look for an opening around $15 million.

Final Thoughts: With mediocre reviews and Liam Neeson’s umpteenth Taken-like action movie, this movie might be better served as a rental.

 

Paddington 2

What we are excited about: While this writer has not seen it, there has been nothing but great things said about the first Paddington film. That’s not a sly joke either; it sits at 98% on RottenTomatoes and earned a lot of buzz back in 2015. The beloved children’s character seems to have found its place in the 21st century and the trailers for the sequel seem to promise fans of the material more of the same.

What we are worried about: Although we thought this when the first one came out, this movie looks squarely aimed at children. The cast is loaded, but the star is Paddington and we’re not the intended audience for his character. There’s nothing wrong with that, but the trailers seem to be more aimed at kids than for our liking.

The Buzz: Just like the first installment, this movie is getting incredible reviews. It sits at 100% on RottenTomatoes and 88 on MetaCritic. That’s great for this type of movie and should give parents the confidence to take their families to see this movie. Look for an opening around $20 million.

Final Thoughts: Not aimed at us, which is fine, but should be a great time at the theater for families.

 

Proud Mary

What we are excited about: Honestly, not much. Taraji P. Henson usually gives a great performance, and the rest of the cast looks solid, but that can only do so much. Maybe it will have some decent action scenes, but we aren’t expecting much from this movie.

What we are worried about: The movie is 77 minutes long. There are many Game of Thrones episodes longer than that. This just feels like the studio dumping a sub-par action movie in January hoping that some people will check it out. Maybe the short run time will be a good thing for audiences, but it doesn’t speak volumes to the quality of the movie.

The Buzz: There is little to no buzz on this movie, which tends to happen with some January releases. It feels like it is six months too late as Atomic Blonde (2017) took the crown for a female John Wick (2014), so we’ll see if audiences show up.

Taraji P. Henson has her fans from her work on Empire and was nominated for last year’s Hidden Figures (2016), so she is a box office draw. Look for an opening around $15 million.

Final Thoughts: We don’t have high hopes for this action thriller as it feels too familiar and the short runtime concerns us.

Scott Davis

Scott Davis is a recent graduate of Oakland University where he earned a degree in journalism. He worked for the student newspaper on campus, The Oakland Post, where he became the paper's managing editor. He also earned a minor in Cinema Studies at OU. Scott enjoys all things film and TV related, especially the blockbuster kind. He might be the biggest Christopher Nolan fan you know.
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