Last night I shot over to a midnight screening of Iron Man 2 so I could catch the trailer for the super secret J.J. Abrams project Super 8. I had to know what the fuss was about… right?
Well, the trailer was included as the last one in a series of trailers prior to the start of the film, but before I get to Super 8, let me set the mood a bit.
The crowd was quite rowdy. They were obviously excited for Iron Man 2, which is good considering Iron Man 2 is more of a blockbuster crowd pleaser with a saggy midsection rather than the nuanced feature more seasoned filmgoers may be looking for. The excitement could also be felt with each trailer, each one getting their own specific reaction.
The first of the batch was Touchstone’s Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, which received a generous welcoming though there were definitely some snickers and then an overall laughter followed the title shot. Things picked up BIG TIME when the trailer for The A-Team played with general overall excitement and cheers throughout, which then bled into the Last Airbender trailer, which quickly turned to impatience and a few boos when writer/director/producer M. Night Shyamalan’s name popped up.
Truly, the real treat of the evening was the new theatrical trailer for Inception, which looked fantastic, though I’m not sure I would have even gone had I known it was going to be playing because I now know the plot, but at the same time it doesn’t seem like it will ruin the experience one bit. However, more interesting was the tepid response the trailer received. Christopher Nolan’s name received some applause, but the rest of the trailer basically played to a quiet crowd. This could be interpreted as stunned silence or confusion. I would say it was a mixture of both, but at the same time it leads me to believe Inception will most certainly be a word of mouth film, and won’t have a giant blockbuster opening. Its theatrical legs will depend on how good it is and how much people are talking about it once they leave the theaters, and considering it appears to be a smarter film I wonder how many repeat viewings it will get. I can’t wait to see it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if general audiences will be a little more patient.
Finally, the trailer for Super 8 played after Inception and it played to hardly a peep. Based on what was on screen here is the plot synopsis I have written up:
Written and directed by J.J. Abrams and produced by Steven Spielberg and Amblin Entertainment, Super 8 is set in 1979, and the U.S. Air Force has closed a section of Area 51 and ordered all materials be transported to a secure facility in Ohio when an accident causes the train transporting the materials to crash and an unidentified creature escaped.
It’s not a great trailer, and it is pretty much yet another example of Internet hype more than anything else, but it could be a cool movie.
The film is due next summer and Paramount has already launched the official site. I am sure if you browse around the Internet you will easily find the bootleg version of the Super 8 trailer as well as the Inception trailer. I’ll feature the official versions once they are released.
Now, based on everything you read and the reception I was witness to last night, I am curious, of the following five films, which one are you most excited to see? Vote in the poll and leave your thoughts in the comments below.
