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| Olivia Munn in X-Men: Apocalypse |
Welcome to the weekly column Trailing Off in which I take a look at a trailer from the past week and analyze its potential. This will be done using an obnoxious amount of analyzing and personal thoughts on the cast and crew as well as expectations. Coming every Sunday (it's called Trailing Off for a reason), I will attempt to highlight films ranging from new blockbusters to lesser known indies and give them their due. Partially to spread awareness, I do believe that there is an art to the sell and will do my best to highlight why these trailers matter or don't with approval (trove) or disapproval (trash). So please stop by, recommend some trailers, and I will see you next time.
Ladies and gentlemen, it's time once again for Trailing Off's annual look at this year's Super Bowl trailers. I will be commenting on all 10 of the trailers, including picking which one looks the most promising of the bunch. Please enjoy and feel free to join me in the comments by sharing your opinions on each and every title. I will try to judge on trailer and not just on my personal biases that are already established.
Gods of Egypt
Does this movie exist because some third rate studio thought that Exodus: Gods and Kings was going to popularize the swords and sandals epic genre? That is the vibe that I get, and I frankly don't see where else it could possibly come from (even Game of Thrones seems like a stretch). Still, the trailer looks to have a lot of big spectacle from a third rate studio for a film that looks like nobody is interested in. It's okay with all that said, but it's still not a good looking movie.
Trove or Trash: Trash
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Out of the Shadows
Well, that was... something. I will admit that I didn't even care to see the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from a few years back. I didn't hear great things, and I don't know that I have much to say here. What does Beastie Boys' "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" have to do with anything? The madcap antics are okay, but there's no tonal consistency and the whole thing feels like a mess for reasons other than telling us "Hey, this movie is coming out in June." On a positive note (I guess), I had someone tell me following the trailer's premiere on TV that at least the turtles actually looked like turtles this time. Okay, then.
Trove or Trash: Trash
The Secret Life of Pets
I should give it points for being entertaining, but the major parts that work for the trailer is already stuff that we've seen in the far superior trailer that premiered midway through last year. Yes, the film still looks really interesting, but I don't know that it is enough to get me excited in ways that I wasn't already looking forward to it with. It's okay if you haven't seen the aforementioned trailer, but I assure you that it does a far better job of selling it than this. In fairness, the additional stuff is kind of good.
Trove or Trash: Trash
Captain America: Civil War
It's a trailer that feels like it exists solely to promote pound signs and for people to pick a "team" to be on. I get that there will be a rivalry between Captain America and Iron Man, but it's something that we have already known for months. Even the original trailer has been played to death. If nothing else, this one wins points for being least essential trailer of the bunch, solely because it doesn't offer anything worthwhile between vague images that tell us "Hey, these two superheroes are fighting each other." There has to be a more effective way to launch a pound sign campaign.
X-Men: Apocalypse
It kind of sucks that these franchises are so successful that they don't have to work on making compelling trailers anymore. All this did was show a whole lot of spectacle and a sense of peril, which has already been seen before. I guess that we get to see new characters and Oscar Isaac choke out Jennifer Lawrence. Otherwise, there's not much for me to say. This at least is better than the other Marvel trailer, so points to that. However, there's still not much to take away from this that you already didn't have if you were a fan for random superhero movie genre as the X-Men have always been.
Independence Day: Resurgence
And the winner for the sequel I wanted the least goes to... this looks beyond awful in every way.
Trove or Trash: Trash
Jason Bourne
Well, I can honestly say that this year's output is a little disappointing. To be fair, this is the first one so far that I have shown a modicum of interest in. Even then, it's not really giving us much beyond Matt Damon punching people and telling us that this movie exists. What is the big selling point other than that we are not going to have to deal with Jeremy Renner again? I want to know. It's a lot of quick images that amount to very little other than the announcement of a Jason Bourne sequel. While I am looking forward to that, the trailer does little to elevate my interest.
Trove or Trash: Trash
10 Cloverfield Lane
This is a toughie, because I do honestly feel like it's a good trailer. However, it's not as good as the original one that covered similar ground far more effectively. I do admit that I like the choice to have John Goodman provide narration and continue to show hints at what's to come. If anything, J.J. Abrams and Bad Robot deserve some credit for marketing. I don't know that this is amazing, but considering how weak this year's line-up has been, I may just have to give it a pass simply because it manages to keep my interest consistent.
Trove or Trash: Trove
The Jungle Book
How about that. An actual trailer. While 2016 looks to be the year of the talking animals, I have to admit that there's some weird charm that Disney has put into their latest entry into adapting their old classics to live action. I think that it looks like a lot of fun, even if I do feel like the score relies a little too heavily on the "Bear Necessities" rhythm to get things across. Still, there's a lot of parts that work, and as the only trailer to give me an idea of what's going on, I am happy to say that this does the trick of actually selling me a movie as opposed to assuming that I already know what's going on.
Trove or Trash: Trove
Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice (1)
While I am not looking forward to the new superhero movie of which it advertises, it at least deserves some credit of being inventive with these trailers. I like this one a bit as a fake advertisement for the movie. It is a spot on parody that manages to also be playful in inventing new marketing for a film that most people already know a lot about. I'm not saying that Marvel should invent a fake airline to get people interested, but this move of marketing at least suggests that maybe DC wins the Super Bowl's trailers on sheer enjoyment.
Trove or Trash: Trove
Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice (2)
I don't like it as much as the first, but again I think that DC has outdone Marvel in sheer inventiveness for Super Bowl ads.
Trove or Trash: Trove
Best: The Jungle Book
Worst: Independence Day:: Resurgence
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