A wave of movie trailers has sprung up from obscurity to build hype for this summer.
Artwork By: Hayden Johnson
It’s that time of year again, the time when the temperature rises along with the building hype of the coming summer blockbusters. This month Hollywood unleashed a wave of movie trailers that had movie critics and fans talking for days. Blogs, Viral Campaigns, and preview analysis were all sparked over night as moviegoers finally found something to talk about.
Some of the most notable trailers that have been sneaked in commercial breaks from T.V. shows were Transformers 3, Captain America, the new Pirates of the Caribbean, and the enigmatic Super 8. Previously, very little information on the films had been revealed, so their unexpected emergence from secrecy was especially exciting to see. 30-second teasers always leave audiences salivating for more information. Speculations on what the footage detailed, and the actors starring in the films, filled forums and board posts with rumors and opinions.
Transformers has been by far the reigning summer Hollywood blockbuster since it first came to screens in the summer of 2007. So naturally the third film has been garnering a lot of hype since it was first announced in October of 2009. In the past, this series has broken box-office records and usually leads the pack in summer blockbusters. Audiences who saw the trailer can expect much of the same fantastic special effects and robot action that they loved before. Most of the cast from the previous movies has returned to reprise their roles in another effects-filled adventure. There was one big casting change, however. Megan Fox, the spicy damsel from the previous two films will not be starring in the film as the love interest, Mikaela. She will instead be replaced by English model Rosie Huntington Whiteley, as the new love interest, Carly.
The new Marvel comic book adaption was Captain America: The First Avenger shown during a short TV spot. The teaser trailer was first footage of the film ever shown, and it was spectacular to see. Though the Transformers trailer was unsurprisingly slow motion and explosion based, the Captain America trailer managed to outline plot in its 30-second teaser. Chris Evans stars in this film as Captain America. This comic series has been around since the 1940’s. This World War 2 super hero origin story is sure to be a big contender for the best film of the summer.
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is the fourth film to be released in the Pirates series. In past summers, the series has been a real box office hit, so it only makes sense that the franchise markets its new release appropriately. Although the last film was a commercial and financial success, it was largely received negatively by critics and fans, who believed the series had come to tragic ending. The first two films were lighthearted, but the last one failed due to a convoluted plot that put viewers to sleep. Johnny Depp will reprise his role as the iconic Jack Sparrow but this time without Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley as his swashbuckling cast mates. If the movie is successful, Jerry Bruckheimer the films producer has confirmed that two more Pirates films will go into production successively. The question is, do fans really want to see more of the treasure-thieving pirates on the big screen?
Super 8 seems to be the most promising of the pack. As an original creation, the film has a clear advantage above the rest of the planned releases. This film is a collaborative project by the enigmatic director/producer J.J. Abrams and the critically acclaimed sci-fi guru Steven Speilberg. Previously directed projects by Abrams include Lost, Star Trek, and Cloverfield, all of which were successful in their own way. Despite its extensive viral campaign, reminiscent of Cloverfield, the plot of this project remains a mystery. What we know about this film is…nothing. The trailer shows the deliberate derailing of a train destined for Area 51, and a kid running around in the 1970’s with a Super 8 camera. It looks like a sort of ode to the alien-themed classic, E.T.
By the looks of it, this summer is shaping up to be an exciting season for summers. Audiences will have a lot to look forward to with all the blockbusters being released in the coming months.
