Welcome to the summer of sequels, in which just about every other movie has had a previous installment, if not two or three or six. Unlike the serials of classic Hollywood, modern-day continuing sagas don’t start off with a recap to help you get your bearings, so here’s some quick prep on a few of the franchises, in order of complexity.
‘Cars’
(2006; “Cars 2” opens June 24)
Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) is the hotshot who learns to appreciate small-town values and triumphs. In “Cars 2,” Lightning, again with his friend Mater the tow truck (voiced by Larry the Cable Guy), heads to the Grand Prix, all the better to take in the glittering capitals of Europe and Japan. Expect many more toy merchandising possibilities.
‘Transformers’
(2007; “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” 2009; “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” opens June 29)
Trying to impress the school’s Numero Uno Hot Babe, Mikaela (Megan Fox), shy teenager Sam (Shia LaBeouf) gets sidetracked when giant Autobots (robots from outer space disguised as vehicles and whatnot) show up looking for their energy source and help the humans fend off evil robot doppelgangers, the Decepticons. “Fallen” amplified the violence and the volume, leading to this new edition, in which the Autobots find out about a spacecraft containing valuable secrets on the moon and race against the Decepticons to discover them. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley steps in as LaBeouf’s new love interest. Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, et al., return for bigger battles.
‘Spy Kids’
(2001; “Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams,” 2002; “Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over,” 2003; “Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World” opens Aug. 19)
Carmen (Alexa Vega) and Juni (Daryl Sabara) are the offspring of retired spies. When mom and dad are called back into action and get captured, the kids go into training. In “Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams” (2002), the siblings compete with two other pint-size crime-busters. Everyone ends up on the title island trying to protect or destroy something called a transmooker. In “Spy Kids 3-D,” Juni and Carmen try to stop a baddie inventor (Sylvester Stallone) whose video game hooks its young users (imagine that!). Eight years later, the siblings mentor two new spy kids (Rowan Blanchard and Mason Cook), who are in league with their stepmother/semi-retired spy (Jessica Alba) against the resident evildoer (Jeremy Piven).
‘X-Men’
(2000; “X2,” 2003; “X-Men: The Last Stand,” 2006; “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” 2009; “X-Men: First Class” opens June 3)
The comic book’s driving forces — mutants (led by kindly Professor Charles Xavier and followers Wolverine, Storm, etc.) who want to live in peace with humans, and mutants who don’t (Magneto and his tribe) — are set up in the first movie, which centers on the school for teenage mutants presided over by Professor X. Magneto attempts to mutate world leaders, but Xavier and the others stop him. In the next chapter, mad Col. Stryker uses Magneto to help him locate all mutants with the hopes of destroying them. The two warring factions are forced to unite to prevent the end of their kind. In “X-Men: The Last Stand,” the human war on mutants continues, thanks to an antidote to the mutant gene developed by a pharmaceutical company. Not surprisingly, Magneto and his camp ain’t volunteering to try it. In “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” Hugh Jackman returns in the series’ first prequel, explaining how lone wolf Logan unwillingly becomes Wolverine. And in “X-Men: First Class,” James McAvoy is cast as the young Charles Xavier and Michael Fassbender as the future Magneto, exploring the rupture in their friendship and introducing several characters.
‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’
(2001; “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,” 2002; “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,” 2004; “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” 2005; “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” 2007; “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” 2009; “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I,” 2010; “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II” opens July 15)
The end of the world’s most financially successful film franchise is finally at hand. It all begins with young Harry, the budding boy wizard (Daniel Radcliffe) who survived the attack by the infamous Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) that killed his parents. En route to Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry meets, Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) who become his two best friends. The first film, “Sorcerer’s Stone,” introduced the majority of the key settings and cast a spell over audiences with its impeccable casting (Maggie Smith, Richard Harris, Robbie Coltrane, Alan Rickman) and attention to detail (from set design to John Williams’ memorable theme to the thrilling game of Quidditch, which is played on flying brooms). In the second film, the trio of friends and their schoolmates are shaken to find a monster unleashed at Hogwarts and discover that Harry can communicate with snakes (a rare talent that will become useful later).
In the third, Harry discovers a powerful ally and a lot more about his past. The movie introduced the terrifying Dementors and found Michael Gambon stepping into the role of Professor Dumbledore after Harris’ death. In the fourth outing, a decathlon for wizards and witches forms most of the plot for a cast that includes future “Twilight” heartthrob Robert Pattinson. By this fourth year at Hogwarts, the hormones of Harry, Ron and Hermione are starting to rage, and Harry gets his first kiss. In “Order of the Phoenix,” the Ministry of Magic installs Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton), a dragon lady sadist in a pink suit, as the new head of Hogwarts. Harry and friends decide to secretly train themselves for the war between good and evil they’re convinced is coming. “Half-Blood Prince” finds the buildup to war with Voldemort and his devilish minions, the Death Eaters, continuing, and Harry being privately tutored by Dumbledore on how to combat him. Draco Malfoy, Harry’s longtime school nemesis, plays a large role in the climax of the film. In the first part of the last installment, the infiltration of the Ministry by the Death Eaters leads the trio away from Hogwarts on a perilous quest to locate and destroy the horcruxes, keys to the dark lord’s immortality. For the finale, Voldemort, in possession of the all-powerful Elder Wand, will launch an attack on Hogwarts in his final grab for power. Expect Harry and Voldemort to go mano a mano.
