It’s the Super Bowl! What does that mean for me – a British 20-year-old who isn’t good at sports and is vastly unsure what the Super Bowl actually is? It means it’s time for some new movie trailers! Every year I wait till midnight to watch these trailers and every year I get disappointed and promise not to do it again the next year, and though this year is no different, at least the 4 adverts we were given ranged from, promising to laughably terrible. On that note, let’s start with the good, shall we?

Deadpool and Wolverine

The MCU has been on a rapid and constant decline for the past few years. It feels like decades ago I was one of their biggest fans, but it feels like since Endgame they haven’t put anything of any real quality out other than Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. I mean has anybody really watched She-Hulk? It was truly awful, and I hope we don’t see anything with that bad of CGI in the near future (I say foreshadowing the end of this article). With all this in mind, Disney is desperate. Desperate enough to buy Fox and make their first R-rated film? It appears so. I’m a big fan of the first 2 Deadpool films and the character in general and it’s shocking to say they may have found a way to put him into their universe that maybe could work! I mean there were convoluted and annoying ways sure, but by breaking the fourth wall, putting him in past films and making him “Marvel Jesus,” they have managed to make this exactly how it should’ve been done. The humour is on point to but that’s a given with most Ryan Reynolds projects. Yes, this trailer does have a severe lack of Hugh Jackman (the biggest selling point of the film), but I’m sure another trailer with his face plastered in it will come out soon enough. Did this trailer give me hope for this film? Yes. Am I confident it will be excellent considering the rubbish they’ve created over the past year? Not even a little bit. But I’m ready to have my heart broken if and when it comes to it.

Excitement – 4/5

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

Am I the only one who’s a little creeped out by these films? I’m not freaked out by the premise of the apocalypse, just the way the monkeys talk, move and look has always terrified me, even in the 1968 version. With that film in mind, it does feel that now the franchise has a new director and direction, the series will quickly divert into remaking the original films. That’s not a certainty but I’ll put a bet on it now if anybody is interested. Anyway, this trailer basically spoils the entire movie. It doesn’t look like the most complex plot but come on!? I could dictate exactly what will happen in this film. I could be wrong, but it looks a little like a mishmash of tired tropes and cliches, but every main character is a monkey. To make up for that the visuals of this film are admittedly gorgeous and even though the monkeys scare me a little, the amount of work going into each one’s CGI and motion capture is impressive. I just hope this film can live up to its graphics and have some real substance, rather than just a lot of characters monkeying around an overplayed script. (I’m not apologising but I will move swiftly on…).

Excitement – 3/5

Twisters

Stupid mass weather films are my jam. I have mentioned a ridiculous amount of times how much I love Sharknado and ever since watching it, I have watched an unhealthy amount of natural disaster films. Yet do you know what can make them unbearable to watch, even for me? When the film takes itself seriously, and that is unfortunately apparent in this sequel to the 1994 film ‘Twister.’ Featuring the guy who was an extremely unlikable (but quite attractive) from this year’s ‘Anyone but You,’ this film looks like it will involve overly cool characters trying to destroy tornados. I can’t be sure, but it does look like they release hundreds of tiny little bombs into the centre of a twister and that may be the dumbest thing I’ve seen in a while. What’s the dumbest thing I’ve heard in a while? Look no further than “You don’t face your fears, you ride them.” I’m so torn because on the one hand, I’m upset at how dreadful this film looks but on the other hand I can’t wait to laugh at every terrible scene in this film.

Excitement – 2/5

Wicked

In this film’s defence, I have never really been a fan of Wicked. I did have a bad experience with it when I saw it live but as someone who likes musical theatre, I think Wicked is too long, filled with forgettable songs and worst of all? I think it’s a bit boring. However, I was willing to give the film a chance… until I saw they had divided the play into two movies, the latter half coming out at the end of 2025. So, if anything, they have made an already too-long musical longer? It is a lazy film-making practice that, though it can be perceived as the studio trying to preserve the magic of the musical, it’s more likely the studio trying to squeeze as much money out of the fanbase as they possibly can. Ok so maybe I don’t like the source material or the people making this film? It could still look pretty? Oh, never mind they’ve made Elphaba (The Wicked Witch of the West) look like the awfully CGI’d She-Hulk. Though the film does have some alright-looking CGI within it, it doesn’t look like a film that can maintain it and I know there will be some goofy-looking shots that will dampen the whole thing. Talking of goofy, I thought I couldn’t cringe more after the Twisters trailer but after witnessing “You’re green” – “I am,” I feel as if I need a lie-down. I know Ariana Grande was an actress before her music career blew up, but I just don’t know if she is strong enough to support this film as much as she will need to. Also, not only does this film look like it will be bringing Michelle Yeoh down with it, but Jeff Goldblum? This cannot be ‘life finding a way!’ This film could defy both me and gravity and turn out to be good, but this trailer is making me feel like I should sit this one out and go rewatch Mamma Mia.

Excitement 1/5