Superbowl Big Movie Teaser Wrap-Up: Cap, Thor, Cowboys, Transformers

In case you missed them, here are the 2 new Marvel movie spots that premiered during the Superbowl, the Cowboys & Aliens clip (because we love Favreau and everyone IN this film), and Transformers: Dark of the Moon, just because it has hints of awesome. I’m actually of a mind to NOT want to see more Cowboys & Aliens footage, only because I want to be surprised by what the movie will hopefully give us. On the other hand, we need a full Captain America: the First Avenger trailer NOW! This tease just wasn’t enough (did you catch a glimpse of Dum Dum Dugan and the other Howling Commandos, minus Nick Fury?). And while I hate trailers that show too much of the plot, that aspect really can’t be spoiled for me too much. I’m expecting some surprises, but I know the gist of the Captain America origin story. And I’m liking what I’ve seen so far. As for Thor, I’m ready for May to be here already. Don’t need more commercials or trailers. I’ve seen what I need to see to prepare me, especially after last year’s Comic-Con. For those of you who weren’t there, I have to say that I really love how closely the Cap and Thor films are intertwined, even in ways that old school Marvelites wouldn’t expect. They’re carving out a really fun Marvel movie universe and I’m ready to dive back in.

When it comes to the Transformers movie, the original teaser with the moon landing was very cool and gave me hope for the franchise after the last film’s fumble. This tv spot is definitely the right amount of intense with Optimus Prime kicking ass and Shia Labeouf just providing reaction shots and not much more. Yes, they had to throw in the hot new Female Desire Object 2.0 for a second, but thankfully she didn’t speak (but she did stand around like a goon while stuff blew up all around her). We’ve been excellently teased before (gloriously big robots + explosions + hot chick) and we’ve been let down horribly once it hit the theaters. Sure, I’m going to see Transformers 3, but so help me god, if there is one scene with those obnoxious racial cliche bots or some lame attempt at humor involving mom getting stoned and spazzing out, I’m leaving. I always give movies the benefit of the doubt and I NEVER leave a theater before it’s over (I once suffered through Simply Irresistible… in the theater!), but I will walk out and I will demand a refund if Bay and company once again assume that his audience is made up of only mentally unstable 5th graders on crack.

One notable omission from the evening… X-Men: First Class. Umm, Fox? The game was on your network. X-Men is produced by your studio. Why in the world don’t we have an X-Men: First Class trailer (or mini Superbowl teaser) by now? Did I miss it or were you thinking that the retro 60s look to the movie just wasn’t a good fit for that audience? I must admit that if Fox wants to pass a superhero movie off as an indie period piece, I’m all for that, however unlikely that is to happen.

Honorable mentions: Kung Fu Panda 2, Rio, Rango, and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

For the record…
Thor opens in theaters May 6th, 2011 (Marvel/Paramount)
Transformers: Dark of the Moon opens in theaters July 1, 2011 (Paramount)
Captain America: the First Avenger opens in theaters July 22, 2011 (while we’re at San Diego Comic-Con?!) (Marvel/Paramount)
Cowboys & Aliens opens in theaters July 29, 2011 (Universal/Dreamworks)

Be sure to watch each of these in HD if you have the capability.

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