The National Football League; the premier sports-league in
the United States, and the movie industry have evolved into a mutually
beneficial relationship over the years. The NFL often uses cinematic themes and
borrows from popular films to sell its product with all the drama and fun it
can find, and the movie industry is more than happy to spend a few million
promoting their films during and at games. There is arguably no other event in
sports that is bigger than the Super Bowl, and the film industry always capitalizes
on the opportunity to catch the attention of people it might not otherwise get.
This year, at the 50th Super Bowl, there was, once again, plenty of
Good, Bad, and Glorious efforts. Here’s how they broke down:
THE GOOD
JASON BOURNE – If you’re going to debut a new trailer at the
Super Bowl, you might as well show something new. The fifth entry in this
action-spy franchise used the opportunity to not only debut new footage, but
for the first time, give up the title of the film; JASON BOURNE. High marks for
taking full advantage of the night.
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: OUT OF THE SHADOWS – Looked exactly
like you’d expect a movie to look like involving mutated turtles and rhinos
running around fighting each other. Plus it gave us the first look at a
fan-favorite villain for the first time.
10 CLOVERFIELD LANE – Actually ran before the game started,
but this quick spot for the CLOVERFIELD sequel created a lot of tension without
giving away the farm.
DEADPOOL – The latest, and perhaps one of the last trailers
for the much-anticipated comic-book flick was full of laughs and action. If
someone isn’t sold on this character by now, they never will be.
THE BAD
INDEPENDENCE DAY: RESURGENCE – Started off strong with
aliens attacking a formation of military jets doing a flyover at a football
game (nice tie-in), but then regressed into an unfocused mess of CGI overload.
No semblance of story or character to care about. And while we’re at it…the
film feels like it’s taking itself way too seriously. The first INDEPENDENCE
DAY film was all about fun.
X-MEN: APOCALYPSE – Fans of this long-running superhero
franchise were thrilled to get a good look at fan-favorite Psylocke (Olivia
Munn), but the rest of it was another unfocused headache of CGI overkill. No
hint of a story to care about.
GODS OF EGYPT – Just more CGI fuckery with Gerard Butler
yelling really loud.
THE NO-SHOWS – You get negative points for not showing up. The
new GHOSTBUSTERS film has been met with vile from long-time fans, and a good
Super Bowl spot would have been a great time to try and turn the tide. They
didn’t bother, so they’re still ice-skating uphill. There were also noticeable absences
from big releases such as WARCRAFT, NOW YOU SEE ME 2, THE HUNTSMAN: WINTER’S
WAR, LONDON HAS FALLEN, and Pixar’s FINDING DORY.
THE GLORIOUS
THE JUNGLE BOOK – This brilliant trailer was presented under
the guise of a widescreen format (with black bars on the top and bottom of the
screen), only to have the various animals leap out of that frame in a great
effect that was better than any goddamn 3D. And as a bonus, we finally got to
hear Bill Murray as Baloo the Bear.
EDDIE THE EAGLE – This trailer for the film about Britain’s
first Olympic ski-jumper was packed with real-life NFL players. It was a nice
tie-in and a natural fit.
CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR – United we stand, divided we fall! That was the chilling chant which
kicked off the new trailer from the third CAPTAIN AMERICA solo film and the
next chapter in Marvel’s series of connected films. Lots of new footage was
shown in this epic showdown of super-friends battling each other.
HULK VS. ANT-MAN – Not really a trailer, but a commercial
for Coca-Cola (cross-promotions are becoming more and more of a thing), had
Marvel’s biggest hero (the Hulk) and their smallest (Ant-Man) fighting over a
can of Coke. It was funny, it was fun, and a pleasant surprise.
BATMAN V. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE – Again, not really a
trailer, but a commercial for Turkish Air which came in two versions. The first spot
promoting this highly anticipated film of rock-em-sock-em superheroes actually aired
before the game, and was set up as tourism commercial for Gotham City…complete
with Ben Affleck in character as Bruce Wayne. It was short and sweet, and
looked legitimate enough to fool anyone in the first few seconds, and it gave
us a first real look and feel for Affleck’s take on the character. This was followed
up by a similar tourism commercial for (ahem) rival city Metropolis; complete
with a few quick flybys by the Man of Steel, and Jesse Eisenberg in character
as Lex Luthor. Both spots ended with a nice standoff between The Batman and
Superman. Very well done.
*
Watch all of the trailers HERE
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