Whenever I write about movies, a theme develops. This time, the theme is “Movies 
connected to Michael Biehn.” Some of these are no-brainers, others are ones that may interest only me, always on the lookout for the odd movie few have ever heard of. So, check these out this summer, or let me know if there’s any I missed that should be on the list.
Prometheus — Ridley Scott’s guaranteed-to-be-badass prequel to the “Alien trilogy.” I don’t care how many you see that first one, it’s still scary as hell. And the sequel was one of the very few that could be argued is actually better than the original. This one doesn’t have Queen Badass Sigourney Weaver (too bad), but it does have the very easy-on-the-eyes Charlize Theron (too good). And this one may be the best of the bunch. May be. No, Michael Biehn’s not in it, but he was in the second installment of the trilogy, Aliens.
Men in Black III — Of course I’m going to see this one. I saw the first two and loved them both. The Thing To See in this one, of course, is if Josh Brolin can actually pull off playing a young version of Tommy Lee Jones. Rumor is he nails it. Incidentally, Josh Brolin had a part in the Quentin Tarantino/Robert Rodriguez “Grindhouse” double-feature. Brolin played the doctor in Planet Terror, which had a small part for Michael Biehn. Just sayin’.
The Divide — OK, Biehn stars in this one. Saw the trailer while watching another movie this week. A post-apocalpytic survival story, this one looks like it could easily be retitled, “Kyle Reese: The First Chapter.” The verdict on this one is of course still out — it went straight to DVD a few weeks ago. But as a friend said, an R-rating and Rosanna Arquette makes it at least worth a look. ‘Nuff said.
Rampage — This one may be even iffier than The Divide. Found this 1987 Biehn flick while searching for The Divide. He plays a liberal district attorney out to hang the death penalty on a convicted serial killer who escapes from the authorities. Rampage ensues. We’ll see. Not the usual role for Biehn, and it’s probably the softest role he’s had since his debut film, The Lords of Discipline (which was a massive disappointment to anyone who read the book by Pat Conroy).
The Dark Knight Rises — Damn right it’s Batman. That’s all it takes to get my butt in that seat for this one, even though there’s no Joker. There is, however, a new Catwoman, in the form of Anne Hathaway, who starred in a decidedly un-princess-like role in 2005’s Havoc, which also starred … Michael Biehn. This is supposedly the last of this generation of Batman movies and it’s rumored to have a couple of twists in it. Maybe so, but they’ll be hard-pressed to outdo the last one.
The Bourne Legacy — Let’s see … this stars Jeremy Renner, who starred in The Hurt Locker, directed by Kathryn Bigelow, who was once married to James Cameron, who directed The Terminator and Aliens, both starring … Michael Biehn. See what I did there?
Should be a good summer. Come with me if you want to live …
Phillip Thompson 