Trailer Trashin’: San Diego Comic-Con Movie Trailer Roundup

Hello again, dear readers. This week sees the release of Suicide Squad, the latest DC Comics film adaptation. In the meantime, the latest Trailer Trashin’ is my quick take on some of the major movie trailers to come out of the recent San Diego Comic-Con.

Doctor Strange

Premise: After Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), the world’s top neurosurgeon, is injured in a car accident that ruins his career, he sets out on a journey of healing, where he encounters the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton), who becomes Strange’s mentor in the mystic arts.

My take: After the huge superhero brawl of Captain America: Civil War earlier this summer, the next film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe takes things in a very different direction. This is an exposition-heavy trailer, laying out the basics of who Doctor Strange is and the nature of his powers to help general audiences get on-board with a character they probably haven’t heard of before. The visuals are impressive, with buildings twisting around and the city folding in on itself, which I can’t wait to see incorporated into the action scenes. As borderline cheesy as it is, the joke at the end did make me chuckle. And how about that spiffy new Marvel Studios logo we see at the beginning of the trailer? All in all, I’m really jazzed for this one.

Wonder Woman

Premise: Diana (Gal Gadot), princess of the Amazons, was raised on a sheltered island and trained to be an unconquerable warrior. After American pilot Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) crashes on the island and tells her about a world war that is happening, Diana leaves her home to try to stop the war.

My take: Full disclosure: I still haven’t seen Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The trailers already had me feeling iffy about it, and the mixed-to-negative reviews sealed my decision. That said, I am trying to be optimistic about the forthcoming films of the DC Extended Universe. And this first trailer for Wonder Woman has me excited. While the period setting does remind one of Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), World War I is a very different setting from World War II. Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman, who many reviews of Batman v Superman said was the best thing about that movie, looks great in action. And I just love the images of the Amazons fighting Imperial German soldiers. Definitely one to keep an eye on next year.

Justice League

Premise: Months after the events of Batman v Superman, Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) and Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) assemble a team of meta-humans to face the catastrophic threat of Steppenwolf and his army of Parademons, who are on the hunt for three Mother Boxes on Earth.

My take: This is not a real trailer, but instead a special presentation of footage made for Comic-Con, because Justice League is still in the middle of filming right now. My faith in Zack Snyder as a storyteller is really shaky, but at least this doesn’t seem as overwhelmingly grim as Batman v Superman. Ezra Miller as the Flash looks like a lot of fun, giving this franchise a much-needed dose of levity, but I’m not crazy about the look of his costume. The brief glimpse of Cyborg (Ray Fisher) looks pretty good, considering he’s a mostly CGI character and this film only started shooting in April. Jason Momoa is a good choice for Aquaman, but the character seems a little too generic barbarian so far. The “I hear you can talk to fish” line is amusing, but it feels like a joke that’s missing a punchline; if they reuse it in a later trailer, I hope it then cuts to Aquaman summoning a giant shark or something. I really want this one to turn out well, but we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.

Kong: Skull Island

Premise: In the 1970s, a diverse team of explorers is brought together to venture deep into an uncharted island in the Pacific – as beautiful as it is treacherous – unaware that they are crossing into the domain of the mythical giant gorilla known as Kong.

My take: Now this, I am straight-up pumped for. I love giant monster movies, and we don’t get them nearly often enough. Setting this during the Vietnam War immediately sets this film apart from previous versions of King Kong, and it’s an era that isn’t used a lot for these kind of movies. The brief glimpses we get of Kong himself are cool, showing that he is much larger than in previous films. And judging from the huge dinosaur bones and what looks like a giant spider at the 50 second mark, Kong clearly isn’t the only big beast on the island. I will definitely be seeing this when it opens next March.

The Lego Batman Movie

Premise: Batman (voice of Will Arnett) goes on a personal journey to find himself and learn the importance of teamwork in hopes to save Gotham City from The Joker’s (voice of Zach Galifianakis) hostile takeover.

My take: Now here’s a DC Comics film I can get on board with without hesitation. The Lego Movie (2014) was awesome, and this looks like a great follow-up. I can listen to Will Arnett as Batman all day, and the rest of the voice cast sounds good so far. If the entire movie can maintain this level of humor and fun, we’re in for a real treat. I love the look and fell, and frankly any version of Batman that’s something other than dark and gritty is a nice change of pace right now. This is going on my must-see list for early next year.