A few months ago I really geeked out over the Star Wars trailer. I still think it is one of the most solid teaser trailers I’ve ever seen. It did what it was supposed to do- it teased us and made the fans excited. Yesterday the Avengers 2: Age of Ultron trailer came out and I watched it with the same eagerness and my response was more mixed.
Avengers is my favorite super hero movie ever. I know, I know most of you would pick the Dark Knight but not me. What I liked about the first Avengers is that it was fun without being stupid. It reminded me of Spiderman 2 (from 2000s). Some humor mixed with great visuals and a terrific villain in Loki. I give the credit to director Joss Whedon who is so good at finding that balance- whether it be in his TV shows like Buffy that have a cheeky self-awareness to them or Cabin in the Woods that both embraced and laughed at horror movie tropes.
What worries me about the Avengers 2: Age of Ultron trailer is it has a Man of Steel feel about it and for me that is a very bad thing. The music is ominous, speeches are deep and profound, backdrops and settings look very CGI’ish. I hated Man of Steel. I thought it was ponderous, preachy, violent, ugly, muddled, and confusing. It had its director Zach Snyder written all over it. He loves making CG grim ponderous movies.
Especially for Superman shouldn’t it be a little bit fun? We don’t have to stoop to Superman 3 levels (or certainly Superman 4) but a smile every now and then? Is that too much to ask? There wasn’t even a convincing romance in Man of Steel. The product placement was also incredibly obnoxious in Man of Steel. Just all of it I hated. (I realize some of you love it and that is great! I’m glad when anyone enjoys a movie).
A lot of the things in the trailer feel Man of Steelish to me and that has me worried. But Joss Whedon hasn’t let me down yet, so if anyone can pull it off it is him. Fingers crossed!
What did you guys think of the Avengers 2: Age of Ultron trailer? Would love to hear your thoughts.
I had the opposite reaction. I thought that the Star Wars trailer was very generic, but then, to be fair, I was never big on Star Wars. I love the Avengers trailors, especially the creepy music. I don’t mind it getting a little bit serious, because it is time to raise the stakes a little bit. That doesn’t mean that it will end downright depressing, at least not long term. Winter Soldier was kind of dark, too, but it ended on a note of hope. And I think that’s exactly what will happen in the MCU, too. It might delve into the darkness, but I will not sink in it. The problem with the DC movies is not that they are dark, it’s that there is nothing but brooding in it. I am confident that Marvel will find the right mix.
Solid points. That is true about Capt 2 and I really enjoyed that movie. Marvel has done such a good job of late, so I’m still very excited. Maybe I was being a little sensitive to the Man of Steel elements in the trailer.
Fingers crossed they will find that balance. Joss hasn’t let me down so I’m very hopeful
I agree that the tone seems quite different from the first film, which could be because the filmmakers wanted to avoid doing something that was too much like the first film. But I don’t think it’s going to be a totally dark and brooding movie – hopefully there will still be some light-hearted scenes that just didn’t get included in the trailer.
I’m sure you are right. The differences just made me a little nervous