The film scene—and, by extension, the trailer scene—is ramping up for the holidays and the new year. We’ve got a bunch of franchise films, standalones, and odd ducks coming soon. But, before the movies properly arrive, let’s look at the trailers for three of them.
I’ll admit to a mild Marvel burnout, but mostly because I didn’t have enough time to keep pace with the releases. I’ve yet to see Black Widow or Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and that makes the whole thing feel rather unbalanced. Fortunately, Hawkeye seems self-contained. It’s also a comedy Marvel property, apparently, and that seems where the franchise shines nowadays. The goofy camp of comics makes for a lot of great comedy insanity. The other theme that’s refreshing about it is—as far as I know—Hawkeye is the first holiday-centric Marvel release. It’s made for around Christmastime and I’m excited to see how that plays into its plot. It also opens the door for future Halloween and maybe Fourth of July-centric movies. Even better, because the series is also expanding into other cultures, we might get things like a Cinco de Mayo-themed Marvel release written/directed by a Mexican creator. The fluidity of the Marvel brand is one of its greatest strengths, after all.
Ah, Roland Emmerich is back at it again. The man seems to have only one type of movie he interacts with, but credit where it’s due, it has been a while since the premise of a disaster movie seemed this fresh. I do expect Moonfall to have a fair bit of broad stereotyping—though maybe he’s toned down on that since Independence Day—and the trailer already promises an obsession with some fringe conspiracy or another. On the positive side, the special effects will probably be wild. The trailer alone showcases what modern technology can do with wide destruction and screen-filling explosions. By this point, most people know what to expect with a disaster movie. If you want more of that, then this will probably fit the mold. I don’t think I will watch it for the same reason.
Frankly, it’s amazing this movie took so long for someone to make. There already was an animated series based on the same idea back in 2000. There’s just so much inherent lore baked into the character, even from the first Toy Story. However, a lot of that colorful cartoony nature seems scrubbed away. Instead of that old tone, Lightyear will probably be a darker nostalgia trip full of Easter eggs and callbacks stitched with a standard “exploring a new world” plot and maybe some light comedy. I could be wrong, though. This is Pixar we’re talking about, so it could be deep and emotionally resonating with the child within us all. The bigger problem, however, isn’t this movie specifically. I’m not thrilled with the precedent this sets. Toy Story didn’t need to keep going past the third one (I haven’t even seen four) and it feels like they’re gearing up to milk things further. If Zurg doesn’t show up in Lightyear, then there’ll be a sequel. And if Lightyear makes as much money as I expect it will, then a lot of background characters from Pixar movies will see spin-offs soon. They already did it for Monsters, Inc. and Disney is doing it for Baymax. If Mr. Potato Head gets a movie, then things are truly lost.
And those are three movies coming out soon. There are so many more, and in every genre imaginable. If you’re not already having regular movie nights, now might be the time to consider it.
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