CIN AND REDEMPTION THE TONE FOR THIS SUMMER'S FILMS IS GUARDED OPTIMISM.

Byline: Bob Strauss Film Writer

The long, hot summer movie season is upon us, and starting earlier than ever. But while the 2002 edition can be expected to bring us its traditional high percentage of expensive, mind-numbing cinematic mediocrity, we're facing the next four months with a very nonsummery mood of optimism.

Last year, there was a total of maybe four major releases in the months of May, June, July and August with anything resembling a serious thought or artistic ambition to them - and one of those turned out to be ``Pearl Harbor''?

This year, there are at least a dozen pictures scheduled for wide release that intelligent adults can conceivably appreciate. And that's not even counting potentially smart genre titles like the spy thriller ``The Bourne Identity,'' John Woo's World War II drama ``Windtalkers'' and Woody Allen's latest comedy, ``Hollywood Ending.''

We may be deluding ourselves by looking forward to ``Unfaithful,'' infidelity specialist Adrian Lyne's reported return to ``Fatal Attraction'' form; Steven Spielberg's sci-fi psychological thriller ``Minority Report,'' starring Tom Cruise and adapted from a story by the always interesting Philip K. Dick; and ``About a Boy,'' the well-buzzed but cutesy sounding Hugh Grant film of Nick Hornby's fine novel.

But anticipation certainly seems appropriate for ``The Road to Perdition,'' a period gangster drama starring Tom Hanks and directed by ``American Beauty's'' Sam Mendes; Steven Soderbergh's star-studded (Julia Roberts, David Duchovny) return to his provocative indie film roots, ``Full Frontal''; and ``Insomnia,'' which is ``Memento'' director Christopher Nolan's first big-studio effort, a murder mystery starring Al Pacino and Robin Williams.

Those and more should help keep brain cells functioning amid the summer onslaught of formulaic franchise pictures. These will include lots of big-screen cartoons, both original (``Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron,'' Disney's ``Lilo & Stitch'') and TV-derived (``Hey Arnold,'' ``Powerpuff Girls,'' a live-action ``Scooby-Doo'' with a computer animated Great Dane). There are also sequels aplenty, ranging from new adventures we actually want to see (``Men in Black II'' ``Austin Powers in Goldmember,'' ``Spy Kids 2'') to ones that could be interesting (``The Sum of All Fears,'' with Ben Affleck as a younger-skewing Jack Ryan, ``Stuart Little 2''), and then there's ``Halloween: Resurrection.''

The season's biggest sequel, George Lucas' latest ``Star Wars'' entry, has nowhere to go but up from the last installment. Which makes it part of another positive trend this summer. Many of the mass-audience tent-pole pictures appear to have more going for them than the ``Lara Croft: Tomb Raiders'' of last year mustered.

``Spider-Man,'' remains true to the character integrity that made the comic books so special. Harrison Ford as a troubled Russian submarine captain in ``K-19: The Widowmaker'' - we're there. And M. Night Shyamalan (``The Sixth Sense'') tackling the mysteries of crop circles with Mel Gibson and a sense of humor sounds like a phenomenon worth watching.

Of course, we can't guarantee that any of these movies will live up to even modest expectations - it is summer, after all. Nor can we assure you that the following list of titles and release dates will not change appreciably as the weeks wear on.

But for now, we can have hope. Isn't that what moviegoing is all about?

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Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) 2002 sumer movie preview

(2 -- 3) Tom Cruise, top, supports Samantha Morton in ``Minority Report,''opening June 21. Above, Paul Newman, left, and Tom Hanks follow the ``Road to Perdition,'' July 12.