film trailer

TRAILER REACTION: F9: The Fast Saga

If you’ve been around my blog for a while, or if you even follow me on Twitter, you’ll probably know that I bloomin’ love the Fast & Furious franchise. They are a series of films that have gotten bigger, bolder, and more gravity and physics-defying with each instalment. They have evolved from petty criminals and street races to unlikely international crime fighters and the odd street race. And in this unlikeliest of film franchises, the core theme of them is family and it has my favourite trope – the family of choice.

Last night the first trailer for Fast & Furious 9 (which has continued the franchises trend of having odd and inconsistent names and is actually supposed to be called F9: The Fast Saga) dropped and I couldn’t stop thinking about it for the rest of the night. So, here are my probably out of order and very excited thoughts and predictions about what is definitely my most anticipated film of 2020.

First of all, this trailer is very rude for starting off with the piano bit from “See You Again”. Does it want to make me cry in less than 30 seconds?! But it is really cute seeing Dom, Letty and kid Brian being a happy family. Side note: #JusticeForElena

There’s so much I love about this trailer. I love how the song choices are edited to the action and there’s so many great sound beats. Those big dramatic pauses like when Letty reveals that John Cena is Dom’s (and also presumably Mia’s) brother! And I really love the shots of Mia and Letty taking down bad guys together and then Letty going out of a window.

I think it’s great that Mia’s back. I just hope that Mia and Brian are still together with their kids. I’m sure they will be as I can’t imagine them killing Brian off screen but it’s still a small worry. I want Brian to be looking after Jack and their other child and kid Brian while Mia goes to help Dom. I can imagine kid Brian being sent to adult Brian’s because I doubt there’s anyone else Dom would trust to look out for his son while the gang save the day.

I also love that Helen Mirren is back as Magdalene Shaw. I just love that she’s in these films in general, never mind that she’s the matriarch of this crime family – although only one of them really is into crime, one was an MI6 agent and the other was in the army before they were framed and then turned to the life of crime. Who knew I could end up having almost as many emotions about the Shaw family as I do about the Toretto family?

And Charlize Theron is back as Cipher too! I love a female villain (even though she has a terrible haircut) and I’m interested in seeing her join forces with Jacob, and how their plan will come down in flames.

This trailer has everything I could want from a Fast and Furious trailer. The stunts defy physics, it looks so much fun, and it’s got so many of the old favourites back again to fight for their family. Vin Diesel is brooding, Tyresse Gibson is screaming, and Letty and Dom are being #couplegoals. It’s Fast and Furious and I love it.

Just when it looks like this trailer can’t get any better and I can’t get any more hyped – the ending happens. Han’s back from the dead! I legit flailed and had the biggest grin on my face, I couldn’t believe they’d kept it a secret and it was such a great surprise. And I love how the tag line is “Justice is Coming” when there was a whole #JusticeForHan twitter campaign after Deckard Shaw kinda joined the Toretto family by the end of Fast and Furious 8.

Yes, then there’s the whole thing of “How’s Han not dead when Jason Statham killed him?” Side note: I’m forever impressed at how they edited Jason Statham so seamlessly into Tokyo Drift so it could be revealed that Han’s car accident wasn’t an accident and Deckard Shaw was the one that caused it. But this franchise has brought characters back from the dead before! Letty was killed in Fast & Furious (number 4) only to have it revealed at the end of Fast Five that she was apparently back from the dead, and then in Fast & Furious 6 it was really her and she’d survived her car exploding but she had amnesia. I’m sure they can just as seamlessly do another edit of Tokyo Drift showing that Han had managed to get out of the car before it caught fire. Plus, Owen Shaw didn’t even die after he got thrown from a moving plane and Dom didn’t die after a whole multi-storey carpark fell on him, so the laws of nature don’t apply to these films as well.

Sure, all of that kind of means the stakes are lessened as we know our heroes are going to make it out alive (maybe not in this film, but in another one surely) but I don’t really care, because the characters don’t know that and for all the action and spectacle, what makes me come back to these films again and again is the characters and their relationships.

An argument that could be made is that the marketing team shouldn’t have put the Han reveal in the trailer, that seeing Han return when watching the film for the first time without out any prior knowledge would’ve had more of an impact. I can agree with that, but how many people would be tweeting “OMG Han’s back!” as soon as they get out of the cinema on opening day, spoiling it for everyone else? I think from a marketing point of view, having Han in the trailer gives another aspect to the publicity surrounding the film, and the filmmakers can somewhat control spoilers from the outset. I’m pretty sure Sung Kang hasn’t gone to any of the premiers for Fast and Furious films he wasn’t in, so seeing him there might’ve tipped some people off as well, so maybe it’s better to get the reveal out there and go from there.

Apparently the tenth Fast and Furious film is going to be the last one, and to continue the theme of people not staying dead, it’d be great if at the end of F9 it was revealed that Gisele was still alive and then she can join the family for one last ride. That would also mean that Han and Gisele could drive off into the sunset together which would be amazing.

I just love these films so much and will never get tired of their ridiculousness. I think the reasons these films work so well, even with all the retcons they’ve had over the past nine films (ten if you include Hobbs & Shaw), is that they just go for it wholeheartedly and embrace the ridiculousness. The rules do not apply to the world of the Fast and Furious and that is OK.

Have you watched the F9: The Fast Saga trailer as many times as I have? What do you make of it? I will be there opening day and it will be glorious.

TRAILER REACTION: Black Widow

The first trailer for the long-awaited Black Widow movie was released yesterday and I liked what I saw.

Now let’s get what will obviously be big talking points about this movie out of the way – the fact that this movie exists after certain events and that it probably should’ve happened a lot sooner. Also, that’s a spoiler warning for Avengers: Endgame.

Yes, Black Widow is a film that probably should’ve happened a long time ago, when Natasha Romanoff was the only female hero we had in the MCU and really had space to shine in amongst all the male heroes. Post-The Avengers was probably when it was the height of her popularity and would’ve made sense to have a solo movie. Nowadays it’s a bit odd we’re getting a Black Widow movie considering the fact Natasha dies during the events of Endgame but, it is a prequel. When it’s exactly set I’m not sure (because you know me, I don’t like to know too much about MCU films going into them) but it would make sense if it was post-Captain America: Civil War as that’s when the Avengers broke up, Natasha made her escape before the rest of Team Cap were arrested and we don’t really know what she was up to in the years between Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War.

So in short, it kinda sucks we’ve had to wait this long for a Black Widow movie, and for a film that may not have lasting consequences for the overarching MCU and its characters as it’s a prequel, but it’s here now so let’s sit back and enjoy it.

Though Natasha’s voiceover quote is from Endgame and can obviously be applied to the whole Avengers team, I’m happy that Clint and Fury are the one’s singled out when it comes to her family. Clint was sent to kill her but made a different call and it was probably down to Fury (and maybe Coulson) that Natasha was allowed to prove herself and be a part of SHIELD. I’m a big fan of the OG SHIELD squad being a family.

Speaking of family, it looks like the family of choice trope is going to be alive and well here which I’m always happy to see. I won’t lie, I know very little about the characters who are in this movie. I know Florence Pugh plays Yelena Belova and I’m pretty sure I’ve read some Black Widow comics where she’s featured so I have a rough idea of who she is, but who Rachel Weisz and David Harbour play? I have no idea and even just seeing their characters names on IMDb doesn’t jog my memory at all but I’m OK with that. I’m liking the very brief look into what the dynamic between these four characters/actors could be like because as I said, the found family/family of choice trope is my jam.

I really liked the fight between Natasha and Yelena. I thought that was a great way to introduce this new character and set up her relationship with Natasha and show she’s just as good (if not better) as Nat. I also like the general vibe of the trailer. It feels like an espionage thriller but with added superpowers in the same way Captain America: The Winter Soldier did and as The Winter Soldier is one of my favourite MCU films, that works for me!

Black Widow is going to be the first film in Phase 4 of the MCU so even though it’s a prequel, the world is kind of its oyster. We have no idea who or what could be the overarching Big Bad for this phase of the MCU, or even if they’ll start dropping heavy-handed hints for it yet. Plus, with Florence Pugh becoming a bit of a rising star this year with Midsommar, Fighting with My Family and Little Women, the powers that be may be setting her up to return in future MCU movies as the new Black Widow or have her own new superhero name. I’m just guessing here.

Have you seen the Black Widow trailer? What did you think of it? I’m sure May 2020 is going to come around much faster than we expect.

TRAILER REACTION: Avengers: Endgame

There’s me thinking, “Oh dear I haven’t got a post for blogmas planned for today, will have to write something when I get home from work.” And what do you know, the first trailer for the next Avengers film was released earlier today and I have a lot to say about it.

First of all, beware spoilers for Avengers: Infinity War and Ant-Man and the Wasp and my thoughts and predictions on what might happen in Endgame – which probably won’t be in any real order and I’ll have probably forgotten some stuff. I loved this trailer, and to be honest I think it’s going to be the only trailer for the film I watch. I want to know as little as possible before seeing this film.

I loved the way it started with Tony seemingly alone in space (I say seemingly as he’s going to be with Nebula and my hopes that they will bond in space and become besties haven’t been dashed yet) leaving a farewell message for Pepper. His message makes me so sad, he’s one of my favourite characters and he’s been through so much. He had nightmares and suffers from PTSD from his first trip into space, and now he’s stuck floating through space, running out of oxygen. There’s a sort of symmetry with the trailer starting with Tony as he is the character that started the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe.

I predict either Carol, aka Captain Marvel, will find and save Tony and Nebula as she’s on her way to Earth to answer Fury’s message, or Pepper is going to come to Tony’s rescue. I think it could be Pepper mainly because of Tony’s use of the word “Rescue” as that’s the name of the armour Pepper has worn in the comics.

I love that Clint is shown in the trailer, especially as I spent so long trying to spot him in the Infinity Ware trailer and he was never there! It looks like he’s taken up the role of Ronin which means that his family has almost certainly turned to dust. I predict a very different Clint Barton to what we’ve seen before, and I’m looking forward to seeing how he fits in with the rest of the Avengers that are left.

When Bruce looked at the wall of missing heroes, aka people who may have turned to dust, Shuri was on there! That was a surprise and then leaves me wondering if she has turned to dust, or is generally MIA, who’s now leading Wakanda. Okoye and M’Baku both survived Infinity War so maybe between them they’re trying to keep the country together?

Also, because none of the heroes on Earth know what happen to Tony, does that mean his face is going to be on that wall of missing people? Because if it is I’ll probably cry. But then it makes me think about how all those who are still alive, Thor, Steve, Natasha, Bruce and Rhodey, will react when Tony does get back to Earth presumably with Nebula and Carol in tow.

Then there’s the ending with Scott! I have so many questions right now about him. How the hell did he get out of the quantum realm if everyone who knew where he was turned to dust? Does he know what’s happened to the rest of the world? Because he’s quite cheerful if he does! What about his daughter?

I really liked the vibe this trailer gave off. Here’s a bunch of heroes, the original Avengers, all at their lowest point, but they’re still going to try and find a way to fight. I love that it doesn’t show that much, mainly just shots of the characters, and that there’s no real scenes of action. I don’t need that. I know I’m going to see Endgame as soon as it’s out and I know there’s a good chance I’m going to love it. These characters have been a part of my life for 10 years now. I’ve written two dissertations on Marvel Studios. My love for these characters and this whole universe is a big part of me. And while I know there’s a good chance that some of these characters will die – the most likely of them being Steve and/or Tony – I don’t want them to. Even if at the same time I think that narratively speaking it might be kind of poetic if they do die, especially Tony because as I said, he started it all.

There’re rumours that there’s going to be a trailer for Spider-Man: Far From Home released soon, but I’m not going to watch it and do my best to avoid everything to do with it. Like, I know that everyone who turned to dust is going to come back somehow, so it’s the how that’s interesting to me, but I still don’t want to see a trailer of Peter Parker swinging around all OK.

If you’ve watched the trailer for Avengers: End Game, do let me know what you think. I definitely feel the MCU won’t be the same after this film. After this, it’ll be the start of a new roster of “Avengers” and the older ones take a step back, in whatever shape or form that may be.

TRAILER REACTION: Black Panther

The first teaser trailer for Black Panther was released overnight and it was the first thing I watched this morning.

I LOVED IT! It’s a teaser so you don’t get it explicitly explained who each of the many characters you see snapshots of are or what the conflict in this film will be but that’s more than fine. I love seeing so many awesome women fighting, Michael B. Jordan looks cool and kind of hot and scary at the same time and Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa still looks super regal and amazing.

I love the conversation at the start of the trailer between Klaw (Andy Serkis) and Everett Ross (Martin Freeman), how Klaw says that Wakanda is this all powerful and advanced country and the front they put out to the rest of the world is exactly that, a front. It’s great world building of this fictional country, a country which should (and by the look of this teaser I think it does) be just as much a character to the story of T’Challa and his people as any other character.

Wakanda looks beautiful. It’s an African nation of the future, today. I love the mixture of technology and skyscrapers with the African landscape. It all looks amazing.

This trailer is all about setting up the look and the feel of this movie and I couldn’t be more excited. All the characters with their costumes and weapons look amazing, everything is so bright and colourful and when there is a quick shot of a fight scene featuring Black Panther it’s exciting. The final shot of T’Challa jumping from one flipping car to another was kind of jaw-dropping.

I like the voiceover talking to (I presume) T’Challa, saying how he is a good person but it’s hard for a good person to be a King. I really hope the film explores the political difficulties of a country’s King being its superhero protector, and this line makes me think it will. T’Challa is such a different character compared to the other heroes in the MCU (and in superhero movies in general), he won the mantel of Black Panther and is a king, he isn’t an average guy who got his abilities in an accident like so many of the other heroes we see. Yes, Thor is a prince but he does not have the same level of responsibility that T’Challa has.

I love the feel of this film and everyone involved. The director is brilliant, the entire cast are great in just about everything they’ve ever been in and I’m so excited to see this new chapter of the MCU. I feel like Black Panther along with Thor: Ragnarok are going to bring something unique and vibrant to the MCU and I’m so looking forward to it. Black Panther has been my most anticipated superhero film ever since it was announced a few years ago. Seeing Boseman as T’Challa in Captain America: Civil War made me even more excited because he brought the regal gravitas as well as a bit of impulsiveness to the role. Black Panther has been one of my favourite superhero characters ever since I watched the Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes cartoon (great series, definitely recommend it) and I can’t wait to see him leading his own film.

Only eight months to wait!

TRAILER REACTION: Thor: Ragnarok

It has been literally years since I’ve done a trailer reaction post on my blog – probably that’s because I’ve been busy or because there’s not been much more I wanted to say about a trailer that wouldn’t fit in a couple of tweets.

Then today the first Thor: Ragnarok trailer was released and it is the single best trailer I’ve seen in ages.

I love the music choice (I’m not a huge Led Zeppelin fan but I do love Immigrant Song) and while some might say it’s trying to be like Guardians of the Galaxy, I don’t feel that way. Yeah, the trailer has got a great song and some jokes in it but it’s got a different sort of feel to it compare to Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor: Ragnarok is still its own thing. Or at least that’s what I took from it.

I love how colourful everything is in this and the character designs – just wow! Cate Blanchett as Hela looks amazing and a suitably scary and formidable villain while Tessa Thompson looks like a badass and I can’t wait to learn more about her character.

Then there’s Heimdall who always looks cool and Loki makes an appearance as well. I’m intrigued to see whose side he’s on and if he’s really been pretending to be Odin for however long. One of my favourite things about Loki is that he can be a bit of a wild card, those are my favourite type of characters and I do love his relationship with Thor.

Of course, I can’t forget to mention the main man himself – I’m loving Thor and he’s short hair! Ever since I saw the new Ghostbusters film, I’ve been waiting for Chris Hemsworth to do more comedy but I never thought it’s be in a Thor film. Yes, he’s had funny lines as Thor in previous MCU films but this whole film feels like another level. Thor’s reaction to seeing the Hulk and the “We know each other, he’s a friend from work!” line is brilliant and Hemsworth’s delivery is just perfection.

I know I shouldn’t really be surprised by the colours, costume design and style of humour Thor: Ragnarok seems to be going for when Taika Waititi is directing it. He’s the man behind films like What We Do in the Shadows, which I liked, and Hunt for the Wilderpeople which I absolutely adored. I can’t wait to see what Thor: Ragnarok ends up being like and after that trailer it’s now my most anticipated MCU film of the year.

TRAILER REACTION: Captain America: Civil War

civil war poster elenasquareeyesIt’s been ages since I’ve done a trailer reaction – probably since the last Marvel trailer came out to be honest – but when I watched the first Civil War trailer, it got me so excited for the film that I had to just word vomit my thoughts.

I shall preface this by saying when it was first announced that the next Captain America film would be about Civil War I wasn’t that happy/a bit apprehensive because I’ve read the comic of Civil War and that as much more far-reaching than a Marvel Cinematic Universe film could be because it has all the superheroes, not just the ones that Marvel/Disney own. Also the shift to Tony Stark siding with the government after all his mistrust of SHIELD and authority in general seemed a bit strange to me plus I didn’t necessarily want Iron Man taking over a film that’s supposed to be Captain America’s.

But! After watching the first trailer I have to say pretty much all my fears have been put to rest and I’m now loving the look of this film and I can’t wait till May.

Captain America: Civil War looks like a deeply personal film for Steve Rogers as really all he cares about is his best friend Bucky and wanting to protect him now that Bucky is starting to remember who he really is. Captain America: Civil War still has the feel of The Winter Solider, it still feels like a political thriller but with superheroes and this great friendship at the heart of it. It feels gritty and real without being too depressing and the final wide-shot of Bucky and Cap beating the hell out of Iron Man was both an incredibly shot and actually kinda sad – things I didn’t think I’d get from watching this trailer, feeling sorry for Tony Stark. (more…)

TRAILER REACTION: The Fantastic Four

88440The first teaser trailer for The Fantastic Four has been released and it certainly teases.

There’s been many rumours about the state of the films production and this has mainly come about due to the high-level of secrecy around the film. There’s been no official images until this week and the cast and crew hadn’t said much either. To keep a big-budget superhero film this quiet is quite an achievement and something to be admired in today’s internet and social media age. I’ll admit, I was one of those people who were a bit hesitant about The Fantastic Four because we were getting no information and what we were getting sounded a bit odd – like Dr Doom being a blogger. But I really liked this trailer.

It walks the fine line of dark and gritty without being too serious, it has emotive beats, and some cool shots of the action. Most of all it feels atmospheric, especially with the voiceover which I think must be by Reg E. Cathey. This teaser trailer reminded me a lot of the first few Interstellar trailers – especially with the voiceover talking about human nature and our future. Yes, some people may have wanted more big set pieces but this does the right amount of teasing in my opinion.

It is going to be very different to the previous Fantastic Four films (I kinda still like them even though everyone says they’re terrible) but that’s a good way to make this reboot stand out.

I was indifferent towards The Fantastic Four before this trailer. Even though I like the cast – Jamie Bell and Michael B. Jordan especially – and I liked Chronicle which was made by the same director, I just wasn’t sure what to expect so had no expectations. Now I am tentatively looking forward to this film. We shall see how it turns out when it’s released in August.

TRAILER REACTION: Ant-Man

First-Marvel-Ant-Man-PosterThe first proper teaser trailer for Marvel’s Ant-Man has been released and it’s all a bit bland really isn’t it?

Now I won’t lie, I’m a bit apathetic towards the Ant-Man movie as a whole for a while now for a few reasons.
1. I don’t like Hank Pym as a character – he is an abusive idiot and he’s the one that creates Ultron and that mess so I’m annoyed that in the Marvel Cinematic Universe the blame for that’s going on Tony Stark (he has enough stupid mistakes of his own). But when I heard that the focus was going to be more on Scott Lang as Ant-Man I was like OK, I can get behind that.
2. One of the main/only things I was looking forward to about Ant-Man was that it meant that’d we’d get Janet Van Dyne aka Wasp. Janet is an awesome character and superhero, one of the founding members of the Avengers and is another female superhero to add to the franchise! But wait, then there was the news that she’d be killed off in the film just as its getting started. I was seriously not impressed.
3. The whole production nightmare the film has seemed to have gone through – any film that has a director dropping out after working on the film for so long is bound to cause problems. It’s not an encouraging thought.

But let’s forget about that and focus on the trailer. I thought the promo stuff for Ant-Man has been pretty cool so far with the “ant-sized” teaser trailer and the minimalist poster, but now it was time to see some footage.

The synopsis of Ant-Man makes it sound like a heist movie (and I love heist movies a ridiculous amount) but by watching the trailer you don’t really get that vibe at all. It doesn’t seem to know what sort of tone it’s going for. It’s super serious with Hank Pym’s (Michael Douglas) voice over explaining why Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is special and how he must take up the mantle of Ant-Man but then there’s a couple of jokes thrown in that really don’t fit and fall flat.

The trailer also doesn’t give much information as to what the power of Ant-Man is (my mum watched the trailer and finished it being none the wiser as to who the character really is) and there’s no sign of the major villain.

I liked the glimpses of Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) being a badass and I am intrigued about her (maybe she’ll be Wasp? Can you tell how much I want Wasp in this stupid movie?!) I also liked the very brief appearance of Michael Pena because I like him and didn’t know he was going to be in Ant-Man.

I get it’s a teaser trailer, but a teaser is supposed to interest you and leave you wanting more and I didn’t get that feeling from Ant-Man at all. That being said, Marvel hasn’t really let the fans or general movie-going audiences down yet so have a bit of hope for Ant-Man and I’m ready and willing for Marvel to change my mind about a character I so far don’t really like. We shall see what happens when Ant-Man’s released in July.

TRAILER REACTION: Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens

Unless you are living under a rock you will have heard that the first trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens has been released today. Twitter’s gone mad, there’s trailer breakdowns (for all 88 seconds of it) and it’s probably going to be one of the most watched trailers of the year.

After watching the trailer I felt compelled to talk about it even though I’m not a die-hard Star Wars fan. I didn’t grow up watching Star Wars like many people who were born in the nineties – I grew up watching films like Ghost and Robocop. It was an odd childhood film-wise to be honest. I didn’t watch the original Star Wars trilogy until two of my friends from University made me marathon them with them – I was twenty. I really did find them enjoyable. Obviously a lot of the big plot twists I knew because of the osmosis of the internet and general pop culture but I liked the characters a lot. Han Solo is my favourite type of character, a chancer with a good heart and good looks, Leia is pretty damn awesome and I liked Luke’s character arc. I also loved Lando and am continuing to keep my fingers crossed that Billy Dee Williams will make an appearance in The Force Awakens.

I didn’t get round to watching the prequel trilogy until I was 22 – I actually watched them on this year’s Star Wars Day (May 4th). Again I’d heard they were terrible and while I’ll admit they are not amazing films, there were some bits I liked and I didn’t feel as betrayed by them or as strongly about them because Star Wars wasn’t a huge love of mine.

So now we’ve got the new trilogy on its way. I tweeted a lot about the casting news because I was stoked about John Boyega getting the lead role (check him out in Attack the Block and Half of a Yellow Sun if you haven’t already) and also because Lupita Nyong’o, Andy Serkis and Domhnall Gleeson were cast and I like all of them too.

Today was trailer day. I’m sure it was because I was in a film PR office but there was such a huge buzz of excitement when the trailer appeared online that I couldn’t help getting swept up in it all even though I don’t really have an invested interest in the franchise. So now onto my actual thoughts on the trailer.

It’s a teaser trailer so you get no plot (which I kind of love) and just some amazing shots of the new cast. I loved the fact that John Boyega was the first character you see and the other characters you see are also the new cast – Daisy Ridley and Oscar Isaac. That being said a lot of the shots and technology on show feel older and like the original trilogy. The only shot that felt JJ Abrams-esque (ie shiny and lens-flare-y) was the one of the Stormtroopers, everything else felt gritty and lived in. The final shot with the Millennium Falcon and that music blaring out gave me goosebumps and I’m not even a huge fan of the franchise – it’s such iconic music that I couldn’t help but smile to myself. The whole thing felt new and exciting but at the same time it feels like it has respect and nostalgia for the original films – which is a great balance to have when you’re rebooting or continuing a much loved franchise.

I’m surprised at how excited I got about the trailer launch, but I’m all for John Boyega leading a big movie and Harrison Ford stepping back into Han Solo’s shoes. It felt like proper teaser trailer and some other film makers could definitely take note of JJ Abram’s super secretive-ness. I look forward to seeing more footage of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and I am sure I’ll be going to see it opening weekend next December.

Are Trailers Ruining Films?

I love films. I love hearing about them and seeing an exciting trailer that really makes me want to see the film. However, nowadays films studios seem to be flooding potential viewers with footage and trailers to such an extent that you know (or at least can make an educated guess) all the main plot points of the film.

A recent example of this is The Amazing Spider-Man 2. There were so many trailers, clips and TV spots that you could put together the whole story of the film. The character of Gwen Stacey is famous in the comics because of her death, but even if you didn’t know this looking at the many trailers you do end up thinking she’s going to be in mortal peril/there’s a high chance in injury/death. I mean, there’s many shots of her falling and screaming or hanging from Spider-Man’s web and then there’s a shot of Andrew Garfield looking traumatised and sobbing/screaming his heart out – so what I’m saying is, you can put these things together and have an idea about what’s going to happen with Gwen Stacy. There were other characters that were in the trailer that would have been really cool to be a surprise i.e. Rhino and the Green Goblin. Green Goblin for instance, the majority of people know that Harry Osborn ends up as the Green Goblin – this is in part to the Sam Raimi’s first Spider-Man film being just over a decade old with Spider-Man 3 being 7 years old – but did you really need him in the trailer?! By all means have Dane DeHann as Harry Osborne talking to Peter, showing their friendship and have hints that there might be something sinister afoot, but to have full body-shots and close-ups of DeHann in the Green Goblin make up in the trailer – just no.

Another film I’m having a problem with its trailer(s) is X-Men: Days of Future Past. I’m looking forward to this film, I’m a big X-Men fan and I’m intrigued as to how the original cast will come together with their younger versions, but the trailers are showing way too much. I’m the kind of person that on average goes to the cinema once a week so on the run up to a big release film like X-Men: Days of Future Past the trailer for that film is in front of every single film – even a film like Locke which you wouldn’t think a superhero film trailer would be attached to.

Last week I saw Godzilla, when I realised that the X-Men trailer was starting I covered my eyes and I’m glad I did as one of the friends I was with actually said that there was even more new footage of various battles that she hadn’t seen before. I’m seeing X-Men: Days of Future Past tomorrow and part of me is excited for the film itself, the other part is excited because then I’ll no longer be in fear of trailers. I adored the first X-Men: Days of Future Past trailer – I was quite happy to just see that and nothing else before seeing the film. In fact when the second trailer was released I’d already decided I wasn’t going to watch it, so what happened when I went to see The Amazing Spider-Man 2? The new X-Men: Days of Future Past trailer was before it! And then there was the random clip from X-Men as the post credits scene (which made no sense and again I got annoyed because film studios were showing me far more than I wanted them to)

I think studios have forgotten the saying less is more. While I do understand they want people to go see their films but it’s always nice to have a surprise when seeing the film and it not just be the trailer footage strung together. Recent trailers that I’ve liked have been Godzilla, Interstella, and the new Dawn of the Planet of the Apes trailer – I think that one especially gives just the right amount of plot. Even the new Guardians of the Galaxy trailer – it had more action scenes and different footage in it compared to the first trailer but the actual plot and characters (from just seeing the trailers) basically boils down to “group of misfits must come together and save the galaxy” and I am 100% happy with just knowing that before seeing the film on July 31st.

As I’m at University I don’t see the trailers on TV and I can make sure I don’t click on trailers or clips on YouTube/Facebook/Twitter. The cinema is the one place that I have no control over what I’m about to see so it is incredibly frustrating seeing a film trailer with so much footage in it.

This post was in part inspired by Chris Stuckman’s video as well as my general rage at trailers.