Trailer Trashin’: The Great Pre-Star Wars Trailer Roundup!

Hello, dear readers. Sorry it’s been so long, but between work, holiday stuff, and other projects, I’ve been crazy busy during the last month and change. But Trailer Trashin’ is finally back, and what a time to return! The wait is over, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens has arrived. And to celebrate the occasion, I’m going to give you my quick thoughts on the recent trailers for three of next year’s big movies in my great pre-Star Wars trailer roundup!

Captain America: Civil War First Trailer

Premise: After the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron, another international incident involving Captain America (Chris Evans) and the Avengers results in collateral damage, prompting politicians to form a system of accountability and a governing body to determine when to call in the Avengers, which results in the fracturing of the team into two opposing factions – one led by Captain America who wishes to operate without regulation, and one led by Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.) who supports government oversight – while they attempt to protect the world from a new enemy.

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My take: At this point, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is a true juggernaut of the entertainment world, and it shows no signs of slowing down. This trailer does a great job of alleviating the concerns people had that this movie would really be “Avengers 2.5” rather than “Captain America 3.” It’s clear that the focus is very much on Cap, and that his close friendship with Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) is a driving force of the plot, which seems to be Winter Soldier being framed for some kind of attack and Cap refusing to hand his friend over to the authorities. The action looks really good, and I hope that the more supporting heroes like Falcon (Anthony Mackie), War Machine (Don Cheadle), and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) get to show off a bit. The quick glimpses of Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) at 1:51, 1:53, and 1:55 have me chomping at the bit to see more of him. And that final exchange – “But he’s my friend.” “So was I.” – followed by the shot of Iron Man being double-teamed by Cap and Winter Soldier is just heartbreaking. I’ll definitely be checking this out when it opens next May.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Second Official Trailer

Premise: Gotham City-based vigilante Batman (Ben Affleck) travels to Metropolis to preemptively combat Superman (Henry Cavill), fearing what would happen if the latter is kept unchecked, while another threat endangers humankind.

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My take: I really want this movie to be good, but there keep being little things that bug me about what we’ve seen. Yes, the visuals are spectacular and I’m sure the action will be impressive, but there are two big things about this trailer that I have problems with.

First, I do not like what they’ve shown us of Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg). Eisenberg is a good actor, and I understand the desire to do something different with the character, but this just feels so off, especially those cringe-worthy, on-the-nose lines he has to say. Luthor is supposed to be someone who became one of the world’s richest men with nothing but brains and force of personality, but this guy just feels like a dweeb with a giant ego. Second, it feels like they’re showing us way too much. At this point, I feel like I can tell how the major story beats will play out, and unless something’s being kept under wraps, I’m not expecting to be surprised by anything. Back in July, in my column about the film’s Comic-Con trailer, I predicted that Zod’s corpse would be used to create a more monstrous Superman foe, and I specifically mentioned Doomsday. While I feel a small amount of satisfaction about being correct, I would still have rather found out that Doomsday was in the film much closer to release, if not when I actually watched the film. I’m still going to see this film when it comes out in March, but I’m definitely keeping my expectations in the “cautious optimism” range.

X-Men: Apocalypse First Trailer

Premise: Since ancient times the first and most powerful mutant, Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac) – immortal and invincible – has been worshipped as a god. When he awakens after several millennia, Apocalypse is disillusioned with the modern world and recruits a team of mutants to “cleanse” humanity and create a new world order, forcing Professor X (James McAvoy) and Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) to lead a team of young X-Men to save humanity.

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My take: Now this looks pretty cool. First off, how awesome is that first line we hear from Apocalypse himself, about being known as “Ra, Krishna, and Yahweh?” That’s definitely not something you would’ve had in a superhero film a decade ago. Apocalypse has always been one of the greatest X-Men villains, and I think Oscar Isaac is going to do a great job with the part. Was anyone else surprised that Magneto (Michael Fassbender) becomes one of Apocalypse’s horsemen, along with Psylocke (Olivia Munn), Storm (Alexandra Shipp), and Angel (Ben Hardy)? It’s great seeing the young versions of Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), Cyclops (Tye Sheridan), and Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee). I’m also happy that it seems, so far at least, that Wolverine is not part of this, because the other mutants deserve their time to shine. And I love that final shot of Professor X, with us finally getting to see James McAvoy with his head shaved and wearing the classic blue suit. I’ll definitely be seeing this one when the end of May rolls around.