Colombiana
Starring: Zoe Saldana, Lennie James, Michael Vartan, Marshall Warren, Callum Blue
Director: Olivier Megaton
Release Date: 2 September 2011

A woman grows up to be a stone-cold assassin after witnessing her parents’ murder as a child in Bogota. During the day she works as a hitman for her uncle, but her personal time is spent engaging in vigilante murders to lead to her ultimate target – the drug lord responsible for her parents’ death. From the director of Transporter 3. Whoever decided Zoe Saldana could carry a $40m action movie on her own is going to be rewarded with a flop.

Real Steel
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Evangeline Lilly, Dakota Goyo, Kevin Durand, Anthony Mackie
Director: Shawn Levy
Release Date: 7 October 2011

Set in a world of next-generation boxing, a washed-up fighter (Jackman), who lost his chance at a title when 8-foot-tall steel robots took over the ring, reluctantly teams up with his estranged son to build and train a championship contender. It’s inspired by Richard Matheson’s (I Am Legend) short story ‘Steel’, which was once adapted into an episode of The Twilight Zone in ’63. Sugar Ray Leonard serves as an adviser here for the robotic boxing sequences. It’s from the director of Night at the Museum and Date Night, naturally.

Warrior
Starring: Tom Hardy, Nick Nolte, Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Morrison
Director: Gavin O’Connor
Release Date: 7 October 2011

Rising star Tom Hardy (excellent in Bronson, and recently cast in The Dark Knight Rises) plays the son of an alcoholic former boxer (Nolte) being trained by his father for a mixed martial arts tournament. The competition will put him on a collision course with his older brother (Edgerton). Action-drama that sounds like Karate Kid for grown-ups. Hardy should be the reason to see this.

The Three Musketeers
Starring: Logan Lerman, Ray Stevenson, Luke Evans, Matthew MacFadyen, Christoph Waltz
Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
Release Date: 14 October 2011

Logan ‘Percy Jackson’ Lerman is the hot-headed D’Artagnan, teaming with the three legendary but now down on their luck Musketeers (Luke Evans, Matthew Macfadyen, and Ray Stevenson) to prevent a beautiful double agent (Milla Jovovich) and her villainous employer (Christoph Waltz) from seizing the French throne and engulfing Europe in war. The movie will be sold heavily on the fact it’s being filmed in 3D. That’s because director Paul W.S. Anderson (Alien vs. Predator, Resident Evil) won’t bring anything fresh, deep, real or exciting to the well-worn material.

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