Thoughts on recent movie trailers...

So, this week seems to be the week for movie trailers. Star Wars, Jurassic World, Batman vs. Superman, Fantastic 4 - it's like all the potential blockbusters of the year released a new trailer within the last 4 days.

Some trailers upped my excitement.

Some did not.

Here's the breakdown.

Star Wars:

Disclaimer: I love Star Wars. I love it to the point that I turned a blind eye to the problems with the prequels, until I learned how to analyze a story and discuss it intelligently. Star Wars was the staple of my teenage years, and the story that set me in the path of sci-fi and fantasy forever.

So, my thoughts on the trailer?

Honestly, from the start I've been cautiously optimistic. The high production-value Disney offers as a studio is promising, but those same people also produced the sequels to Pirate of the Caribbean, as well as several other crappy movies. It could go either way. The effects will be top notch, the cinematography will be amazing... but without a good script, those are utterly useless.

The new trailer still gave no hint of a plot. It was all, "Yay! Explosions!" "Yay! Dead Star Destroyer!" "Yay! Rolly-polly droid!" and, of course, "OMGOMGOMG!!! HAN AND CHEWIE!!! Holy crap, what happened to Han's face?"

So, the jury is still out on Star Wars. But, the trailer didn't kill my excitement for the movie, which is a good sign. I will say I am still cautiously optimistic, and maybe a little more excited than I was before.

Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice:

I'm sorry.

Can I just facepalm and leave it at that?

So, we are manufacturing an out-of-nowhere god-complex for Superman so that Batman can have some justification for fighting him, because there can't actually be a legitimate reason for two good guys to duke it out. And, of course, I'm sure it will turn out that all the "god" stuff is just people, and Superman is really actually pretty embarrassed by it all, because he's such a nice guy, but since Batman is all "darkness" and "I am the night" and stuff, Superman will assume he's evil, but he's really just misunderstood, and the whole thing is just a big misunderstanding.

Really. The plot looks so contrived. They need to dig deeper and find a better conflict than "People are worshiping Superman and Batman is jealous." That's not enough for two good guys to try to kill each other.

Anyway, maybe the movie itself will be better than the trailer made it look, but I am very much not hopeful about this movie.

Jurassic World:

This was the movie I wanted the very most.

And with every reveal - every trailer, every clip - I get less and less excited.

I think a line from the trailer summed up the movie producers' attitudes perfectly: "They're dinosaurs. Wow enough."

No.

No, that's not enough.

Yes, the dinosaurs are awesome, but the movie needs more. It needs plot points that aren't worn out and/or totally forced.

Examples:

Horrified gasp: "She's killing for sport!"

Yes, like every other monster that ever there was.

"The dinosaurs are communicating!"

We saw that in Jurassic Park III, and it was super hokey then too.

"They're just animals!"

Ah, yes. Man misunderstands nature yet again. You'd think, after the first movie, they'd have figured out that "life finds a way" and "lack of humility in the face of nature," and basically every single thing Ian Malcom warned against was a bad idea. They got the park off the ground successfully. How are they still not getting this concept?

And finally, in the clip released last week, we saw "Owen," Chris Pratt's character, in action, and he's basically just Star Lord in board shorts. The trailers present him as a very different character - someone attuned with nature and a bit more serious, maybe with a touch of country charm. But in the clip - yep. Womanizing and irresponsible goof bucket. Basically Star Lord. That was a tad disappointing. I liked Star Lord, but I was hoping for, you know, some variety?

Fantastic 4:

I wonder if they're going to explain the family history between the very blonde Sue Storm and her very black father. Adoption? Step parentage? We're obviously not talking biological here, unless we're following the BBC's example that frequently makes casting decisions that make absolutely no genetic sense. (Anyone who has seen Merlin should have noticed that a Polynesian man fathered a black son. There is such a thing as being too blind to color. Genetics, people. Don't ignore science.)

Anyway, the trailer got an A+ in my opinion. I still think Reid Richards' super power is weird, but the trailer didn't even feature it, meaning the movie creators recognize that, and that is quite promising.

I like that the characters are younger - they look like high school seniors or maybe college freshmen, as opposed to somewhere in their 30's and set in careers. It makes them more vulnerable and immediately raises the empathy level when they're set against a world so much bigger than they are.

And the interdemensional travel is definitely a fresh take on how they got their super powers. I like when characters create their own problems, rather than just getting hit with some magical anomaly. And the trailer makes it clear they definitely got themselves into that mess.

So, Fantastic 4 just went from, "Yay. Another reboot," to, "Yep. That's one movie I am definitely seeing this year."

Anyway, 4 trailers later, I'd say it should be a decently good year for movies, and that's not even counting the Avengers. I have total faith in the MCU, so I'm not watching those trailers too closely. I'd rather be surprised in the theater. 

Happy movie watching!