The Super Bowl is, arguably, the best ad space for commercials. Companies have millions of eyes glued to the screens, so why not market their products, be they cars, beers, or movies, to transfixed audiences? This year was no different, but there were clear winners and losers – and we’re just talking about the TV spots for upcoming spring and summer movie releases.
Winners
Without a doubt, my money is on the two upcoming Marvel properties: Captain America: The Winter Soldier and The Amazing Spider-Man 2. I don’t recall seeing a spot for Winter Soldier during the game, though, but it apparently aired and Marvel had the full second trailer online anyway, so I’ll count it anyway.
The second trailer easily improves on the first, giving us more Winter Soldier, more Falcon, and more money-shots, namely the helicarriers and chase/fight scenes. Winter Soldier hits theaters on April 4, 2014.
As for The Amazing Spider-Man 2, the Super Bowl spot is packed with more money-shots, and – like the Winter Soldier spot – it includes a link to a nearly four-minute sizzle reel that sets up Max Dillon/Electro’s (Jamie Foxx) arc. Okay, it basically gives away his arc in the first minute and a half – obsessive hero worship gone bad. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 swings into theaters on May 2, 2014.
Last but not least, there’s the surprisingly decent teaser for Transformers: Age of Extinction, the fourth film in the toy-based franchise, if you can believe such a thing. Why does it look surprisingly decent? Take a look for yourself.
One word: Dinobots. And coherence. I was never really big on Transformers growing up (the action figures or the animated show), but I liked the first film (to an extent), and despite the signature Bay-splosions, the action hero-y Autobots and Dinobots (and excessive destruction) look to carry the fourth film in the series – a reboot of sorts, if you will. Transformers: Age of Extinction roars into theaters on June 27, 2014, and we’ll hopefully have a full trailer by the end of the month at the latest.
Losers
Okay, okay, not necessarily losers, but these Super Bowl spots either didn’t air, or if they did, they didn’t necessarily pique my interest any more than when I saw the initial trailers.
First up is Draft Day, focusing on – what else – the NFL draft. I didn’t see this one during or just after the Super Bowl, but maybe it aired. That’s beyond the point, though. It’s got a good cast (Kevin Costner, Jennifer Garner, Frank Langella, and Denis Leary, among others), but football season is over and while I might be one for inspirational football films, the behind-the-scenes action of football trades doesn’t do it for me. Draft Day hits theaters on April 11, 2014.
Next, we’ve got another Costner flick – this one being 3 Days to Kill – a spy flick directed by McG and co-written by Luc Besson about a dying secret agent completing one last mission to get a miracle cure while spending time with his estranged daughter (Hailee Steinfeld). I actually did see this spot just after the game ended, and while it could be a worthwhile film, I feel that there’s going to be an obvious Macguffin twist and that it won’t screen for critics. 3 Days to Kill comes to the States on February 21, 2014.
After all the Costner business, we’ve got two big disaster flicks – Noah and Pompeii. Needless to say, we already know how both end, and while the talent might make each film somewhat bearable, I’m good without seeing more CGI water and yet another CGI volcano. Noah washes into theaters on March 28, 2014, and Pompeii erupts on screens on February 28, 2014.
As for the Need for Speed spot, I wasn’t really in to it. Yes, you’ve got Aaron Paul breaking out of his Breaking Bad shell and going up against Dominic Cooper in what could be a halfway decent and plausible video game adaptation, but I’ve grown tired of racing movies – and I feel that the Fast & Furious franchise, with its implausible physics-defying stunts, is to blame. Need for Speed revs its engines in theaters on March 14, 2014 (and we have an early review).
Lastly, we’ve got The Monuments Men, the delayed inspired-by-real-life-events film about a troupe of art historians rescuing stolen art from the Nazis during World War II. The cast is enough to draw my attention (Clooney, Murray, Dujardin, Goodman, etc.), but I’m still on the fence about it. Plus, I didn’t even see the spot air. Anyway, The Monuments Men finally sees the light of day on February 7 – this Friday.
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All that aside, which of the Super Bowl spots did you like the most – and which of the movies are you looking forward to the most?
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