There have been so many trailers landing of late that you’d forgive us for having fallen behind. It’s easy to tweet the link or share it on facebook but less so to sty on top of every new and sometimes unexpected lead that comes in. But here we are, making up for that: consolidating all the recent gems into one perfect parcel for the week ahead. Comments thrown in for good measure. Enjoy!
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
We are still none the wiser on the plot here. But it has something to do with Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) being reunited with long lost Dad, Ego the Living Planet (Kurt Russell). The whole ‘looking for the Dad’ thing is an old trope and frankly overused since it was so effective back in Indiana Jones (a franchise to which Guardians owes a debt, to the extent that Pratt is rumored to be the next Indy once Harrison Ford retires).
But this is done with such charm, style, color and refreshing energy and warmth that frankly, the plot matters not a jot, and we forgive its reused tropes. These trailers are funny sketches in their own right and they keep up your curiosity for the bigger picture. Its spirit of fun is infectious and one feels energized just watching this brief glimpse. The actual film cannot arrive soon enough.
ALIEN COVENANT
This brings us not just a trailer but also a viral video prologue that gives us a glimpse into the lives of the characters on a ship whose mission is certainly doomed. THE LAST SUPPER is poignant and very much captures the tone and spirit of Ridley Scott’s original ALIEN film, whilst existing as its own thing. The PROMETHEUS connection is maintained, c/o Michael Fassbender’s David, the android, but this looks more like the old cinematic universe: a ‘used future’ with grit and grime and dirt and pistons and blue collar roughneck conquest of space amidst the enhanced gloss of the modern effects.
The Alien has never looked more menacing and organic and feral. And that’s just a glimpse! This stands to be everything we wanted from PROMETHEUS, and more. But of a shame that its dominance in the franchise entirely now rules out the mooted sequel to ALIENS with Sigourney Weaver returning; but then you cannot always get everything you want and this is a LOT better than nothing! Scary. Sexy. Sleek. This deserves to have an epic opening weekend at the very least.
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES
Wow! Just wow! This is simple, elegant, fast, funny and visually stunning. Looks to be a real rebirth, without going the full ‘reboot’. A LOT better than the previous 3 sequels, clearly, though to be fair, their trailers looked good, too so we might be burned again. What seems different here is that the spirit of the first film has come back in the sense of a pantomime at sea?
Also, Javier Bardem is a great villain, as witnessed in his SKYFALL contribution 5 years ago for James Bond: another franchise saver! Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow is returned to the forefront, having been sidelined somewhat (I wonder why that was..ooo..let me think? 😉 ) in previous teasers. This trailer is an entertainment in itself and is thereby suitable for multiple re-watches. Bodes well. Yo ho ho!
STRANGER THINGS 2
Ok this is technically television rather than film. But Netflix IS the new cinema, with an increasing exodus of big screen talent testing products as a binge box set rather than investing in more limited gambles on the big screen. STRANGER THINGS is a great tribute to 1980s cinema and especially of the Spielberg variety. So it made sense that this trailer was as big an event at Super-Bowl as any of its cinematic counterparts.
FATE OF THE FURIOUS /BAYWATCH
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson continues to cement his position as the Go-To-Guy for a solid hit in Hollywood. In the Furious case: it’s balls to wall action as usual, this time with a Vin Diesel character turn shaped riddle, sexy Charlize sized Femme Fatale and an Icelandic landscape worthy of James Bond to navigate on wheels. With BAYWATCH: it seems we are looking at the best action/comedy since the 21/22 JUMP STREET series.
TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST KNIGHT
Ok this is growing on us a little bit. Its tone remains a tad leaden for our liking, given that it amounts ultimately to big robots bashing the metal out of each other to epic music and slo-mo / fast cuts c/o Michael Bay. On the other hand? One would have to laud its ambitions and there is no doubting the visual and special effects innovations that keep this franchise (and its announced spin off: BUMBLEBEE) ticking along.
GHOST IN THE SHELL
Another year..another controversy over ‘white-washing’ (ie why is the lead actress not Oriental?). If you can cast that from your mind, you will see that, despite the safe commercial investment in Scarlett Johansson as the heroine, this is very much an Asian landscape on film and plenty of actors from the region are involved.
Precise details of plot remain sketchy but, given what a visual feast we are seeing here, it is almost an irrelevance? Each frame tells a kind of story here and how those mesh together is the next big reveal once the actual film is released. Sexy. Haunting. Challenging. Of its time, ahead of its time and yet reverential both to source material and the 1980s visions of ‘the future’ that appear to be in vogue again. The future is now.
We will try and watch and review all of these exciting new movies on their release.Â
