Collegiate Times

X-Men Origins: Wolverine - May 1

IN BRIEF: Hugh Jackman returns to the role that made him a star portraying the vengeful and conflicted Wolverine in this "X-Men" prequel. He's on a mission after the death of his sweetheart to take down those who - hold up. Did will.i.am just punch Liev Schreiber in the face? Looks like a hodgepodge of explosions and baddie-bashing.

LOOKS PROMISING: If it can deliver the goods, the film's success will guarantee more "X-Men Origins" chapters. And there's something so satisfying about giant, metal-blade knuckle things cutting through and blowing up a moving Humvee that cannot be properly expressed in words.

NOT SO MUCH: Production values seem relatively low for a summer blockbuster judging by the generic back ally face-offs. Let's hope that cheesy CGI will be tweaked before release.

Star Trek - May 8

IN BRIEF: J.J. Abrams, the mastermind behind "Lost" and "Alias," hopes to reboot the aging franchise (technically it's the eleventh "Trek" flick), making it the summer blockbuster to end all blockbusters. The back-story-heavy script hopes to start from square one, honing and condensing the "Trek" cannon for new fans.

LOOKS PROMISING: Creative casting (Zachary Quinto as Spock, Simon Pegg as Scotty) and a truly epic feel sets this movie apart from the other action films of the season.

NOT SO MUCH: Production delays are never good (the original release date was back in December). Plus, even after "Mission: Impossible III," Abrams has yet to prove he can pull off human tension and high-stakes action at $130 million that he couldn't replicate on a smaller scale with a typical episode of "Alias."

Terminator: Salvation - May 21

IN BRIEF: Nefarious Skylab and its nuclear detonation have doomed the world to a future of tanks, car chases and butt-kicking robots. This time around, would-be savior John Connor is played by Christian Bale and is ready to fight back those pesky machines.

LOOKS PROMISING: Technology is getting to the point where robots are indistinguishable from anyone else and start to think they are, in fact, human. Now there's a philosophical quandary, cloaked in an action movie, wrapped in a moral dilemma.

NOT SO MUCH: ... Helmed by McG, director of the tour de force "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle." And "Battlestar Galactica" has milked that cow dry, turning a story of humans fighting robots who think they're humans into an incisive, existential allegory for race, religion and homosexuality.