PG-13, 2:18, action/adventure
A summer surprise back in 2014, “Guardians of the Galaxy” had, as they said in the old days, plenty of pep and, for once, a lot of jokes. For the sequel, James Gunn has returned as director and writer. Let’s be honest: This one’s a step down from the original. The testy banter between Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) and Gamora (Zoe Saldana) comes with a here-we-go-again quality. Also, that ending! The universe is about to be destroyed, again. Two guys are beating the spit out of each other for minutes on end, again. I double-dare Gunn to get the third “Galaxy” picture down to the two-hour mark or less. —
R, 1:37, comedy
“Snatched” is Amy Schumer’s second big movie and co-stars Goldie Hawn in her first major screen role since “The Banger Sisters” 15 years ago. Mother. Daughter. Kidnapped by Ecuadorean ransom-seekers while on vacation. They get stuffed in a car trunk; they harpoon a bad guy; they dance; they learn to take it easy on each other. The film, more about victimhood than women running their own show, is funny here and there, but in ways that make the bulk of the formulaic material all the more frustrating. —
PG-13, 2:06, action/adventure
Director Guy Ritchie’s soccer hooligan edition of King Arthur stars Charlie Hunnam as the rightful heir to the throne stolen by Jude Law’s ruthless Vortigern. Arthur yanks Excalibur out of the stone, but he’s not ready for the murderous yet righteous force of it. He must grow into his destiny and the killing machine he hath pluck’d from its craggy resting place. Elsewhere in “King Arthur,” there are enormous snakes, ridiculously oversized elephants and a general “Lord of the Rings”/“Game of Thrones” air of anything’s possible. The movie is a grim and stupid thing, from one of the world’s most successful mediocre filmmakers. —
PG-13, 2:16, action/adventure
“The Fate of the Furious” illustrates the limits and hazards of multigenre blockbuster engineering. For an hour, director F. Gary Gray’s pileup of gravity-free drag racing, supercool cyberterrorism, vehicular Ice Capades and World War III prevention program stays on the side of the good (or good enough) stupid. But the second hour gets to be a real drag — and not the racing kind. Dom (Vin Diesel) runs afoul of Cipher (Charlize Theron), the blackmailing witch who forces Dom to turn against his gang. The climax feels approximately 50 years long, and it makes the audience long for a simple scene back in a garage somewhere. —
PG, 1:37, animated
“The Boss Baby” derives its premise from the notion that when new babies arrive in the household, they render parents into slavishly devoted employees with their demands and fits. Babies are like bosses, but more satirically, bosses are like babies, right? That metaphor is explored in Marla Frazee’s children’s book, with a boss baby outfitted in a suit, and now that’s been transported to the screen with Alec Baldwin voicing the titular boss. In theory, the idea seems about as interesting as “Baby Geniuses,” but in execution the film is surprisingly fun and clever. Written by Michael McCullers, it’s almost too clever for its own good; only adults are going to appreciate the nuances of the jokes and wordplay about corporate middle-management culture. —
PREVIOUS ARTICLE
