What Did I Miss During The Super Bowl: Movie Trailer Edition
Maria Millage ’17 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer
One of the best parts of the biggest football game of the year is the commercials. Though you can always count on Budweiser to throw in a commercial with a Clydesdale, the big game is also prime advertising space for Hollywood’s studios to showcase their most anticipated flicks. Here’s a (somewhat biased) ranking of this year’s trailers from worst to best.
11. Draft Day (April 11)
The Super Bowl was clearly a good option for advertising a movie about the NFL draft (as evidenced by the title), but the concept itself seems a lot less than interesting. It’s going to take a strong script and good directing to make this movie compelling, but those elements seem to be lacking in the trailer.
10. Need for Speed (March 14)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAQJj12wpV8
This film got an extended preview after the game (when time slots weren’t quite so expensive), but unfortunately, it didn’t do enough to sell being a particularly awesome movie. It introduces a solid conflict, a potential love interest, and (naturally) a lot of fast cars, but after six movies, the Fast and the Furious franchise has serious dibs on the racing subgenre, and it’ll take a lot to break that.
9. 3 Days to Kill (February 21)
The trailer makes this particular flick look just too much like every action movie ever to really take any appreciation in it, earning it a low spot on this list. That said, it does do a nice job of summarizing the film’s (probably) entire plot in about 15 seconds, but it’s hard to say if that’s a reflection on the trailer or the movie itself.
8. Pompeii (February 21)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZVUfv_DakA
It probably is not going to be the most enthralling and captivating of movies released this year, but there is one thing Pompeii is probably going to have: stunning visuals. The trailer featured jaw-dropping cinematography, and it’s almost entirely worth watching just for the shot of Vesuvius erupting.
7. RoboCop (February 12)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKKB1-9wouU
While the previously released trailers for RoboCop were astonishingly enthralling, they definitely threw down the gauntlet for the big game trailer. All in all, the thirty-two second preview didn’t reveal much, if any, new footage, but it was still pretty darn good.
6. Noah (March 28)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h10LEFcV6d0
Russell Crowe’s acting kind of carries this trailer, and it’s expected that’s also going to be the case with the movie itself (though it’s also starring Jennifer Connelly, Emma Watson, and Logan Lerman, all remarkable talents). The trailer also features what looks like some pretty spectacular shots and CGI, and the background music is pretty intense.
5. Muppets Most Wanted (March 21)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emFA9HBMByo
This trailer was the most surprising of the bunch. Though the movie concept itself might not be too interesting to a general audience, the trailer was actually kind of entertaining and incorporated some good humor.
4. Transformers: Age of Extinction (June 27)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pmvkR3NbGM
It was shocking to learn that director Michael Bay was able to get Mark Wahlberg into the franchise. It was also shocking to learn that this might actually be a good movie. Bay seems to have ditched Shia LaBeouf, who starred in the previous three Transformers movies, which was probably a good call, and the trailer highlights what moviegoers want out of a Transformers movie: action, robots with guns, things being destroyed, and a hot chick.
3. The Monuments Men (February 7)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFQl2Os2AVA
Here are five reasons to be excited for this film which the trailer only highlights further: Matt Damon, George Clooney, Bill Murray, John Goodman, and Cate Blanchett. From the previous theatrical-length trailer, audiences already know about the film’s premise. The intent of the big game feature seemed to be more a refresher of that and the star-studded cast.
2. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (May 2)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmaI1nInDOs
If you were one of those people who was really not impressed by the first film in Marvel’s reboot of good ol’ Spidey, it looks like they have definitely upped their game with its sequel. Judging from the extended preview released after the game itself, this film looks awesome, keeping with Marvel’s recent track record.
1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (April 4)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8o9PnbiB6KU
Even though it’s hard to get used to the fact that good guy Bucky Barnes from the first film is now evil, there’s no denying that this trailer looks absolutely fantastic. The extended version that was posted later in the day seems to have just the right amount of action and dialogue, and you can’t argue with the fact that the most recent movies released by Marvel’s studios have just been getting better and better (for proof, see Iron Man 3).