FROM Pirates Of The Caribbean to Harry Potter, the summer film season is upon us. KATE WHITING asked film critic DAMON SMITH for his views on how the six major blockbusters will fare over the coming months

FROM Easter onwards, film studios clamber over each other to pull in family audiences with their big-budget movies.

This year the season started with Thor, a comic book adaptation directed by Kenneth Branagh. Then Pixar have another sequel ready to race with Cars 2 but chirpy little race car Lightning McQueen will also have to take on the might of Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates Of The Caribbean 4, not to mention Harry Potter and Co in their final outing.

Sitting in a darkened cinema might not be everyone’s idea of making the most of the warm weather, but studios will no doubt still do a great job of enticing us onto those popcorn-strewn seats.

Remember Toy Story 3 last year? It opened on July 19, grabbed the biggest box office weekend takings of the year and went on to make more than $1bn worldwide. To infinity and beyond...

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES

Release date: May 18.

Key cast: Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz and Ian McShane as Blackbeard.

In a nutshell: Eight years after we first met them, Captain Jack Sparrow (Depp) and Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) are on a mission to find the fountain of youth - so are Blackbeard and his daughter.

Smith’s verdict: The film I’m most worried about this summer. I don’t think they should have made a fourth instalment because it ran aground on the third one. I love Johnny Depp in that role, so I’m hoping it’s going to be good, but I’m suspecting it to be the big disappointment of the summer.

Smith’s Prediction: HH

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS

Release date: May 30.

Key cast: James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender.

In a nutshell: This reboot of the X-Men franchise goes back to 1963 where Professor Xavier (McAvoy) is setting up a school for superhumans with his friend, who will eventually become his arch-enemy Magneto.

Smith’s verdict: There’s a huge amount riding on this movie, as 2006’s The Last Stand brought the original series to a close with a whimper. Here you’ve got two heavyweight actors but how much will they be allowed to act compared to how many special effects we’re blitzkrieged with. If it’s done well, it could be a wow and set up a whole new franchise.

Smith’s Prediction: HHHH

TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON

Release date: July 1.

Key cast: Shia LaBoeuf and newcomer Rosie Huntingdon-Whiteley replacing Megan Fox.

In a nutshell: In their third big screen outing, the Autobots race against the Decepticons to reach a Cybertronian spacecraft hidden on the moon, which could impact on the Transformers’ final battle.

Smith’s verdict: The fate of Transformers rests entirely on this film as the second one didn’t do as well as they were hoping. It will need a bit more characterisation for me, but it’s tough when half your cast are metal. Fortunately, they’ve got rid of the walking lipstick: you need more than hot pants and lip gloss to make a movie. I expect it to be just OK.

Smith’s Prediction: HHH

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2

Release date: July 15.

Key cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, plus a who’s who of British talent.

In a nutshell: Harry, Ron and Hermione go back to Hogwarts to find the final Horcruxes to bring down the evil Lord Voldemort in one last bloody battle.

Smith’s verdict: Harry Potter is going to be the biggest film of the summer by far, everyone’s going to come out for it, and it’s in 3D, so it’s going to make more money. Part two is going to be big action sequences and will look great in 3D. The only problem is that Daniel Radcliffe can’t act, but it should be the most successful of the Harry Potters.

Smith’s Prediction: HHHH

CARS 2

Release date: July 22.

Key voice cast: Owen Wilson and Michael Caine.

In a nutshell: Racecar Lightning McQueen (Wilson) teams up with tow truck Mater and they head overseas to compete in the World Grand Prix and get tangled up in international espionage.

Smith’s verdict: I think it’s going to be the biggest surprise. I’m a huge Pixar fan and there’s a lot riding on Cars 2 because Pixar haven’t had a single dud film. Toy Story 3 was the first animated film ever to break $1bn at the box office. Though it’s many people’s least favourite because they’re not flesh and blood characters, director John Lasseter has this magic formula where you fall in love with whatever’s on screen, so I’m hoping it’s a winner.

Smith’s Prediction: HHHH

COWBOYS AND ALIENS

Release date: August 19.

Key cast: Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford.

In a nutshell: James Bond and Indiana Jones team up for the first time on screen as a criminal and a colonel in 1873 Arizona, joining forces to take on invading aliens.

Smith’s verdict: The idea is really peculiar - alien technology versus cowboys with little pistols. How can the cowboys win? Daniel Craig doesn’t have to act, he swaggers through the Wild West and blasts a few things. If the movie’s too big, he and Harrison will just become window dressing. I’ll be kind and say it might just work.

Smith’s Prediction: HHH