Last night at the Super Bowl, some football was played between the rollout of a whole bunch of new, shiny, expensive advertisements. Among those advertisements: lots and lots of movie trailers. Twelve films bought time during the big game. Some introduced new footage (J.J. Abram’s Super 8, Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon), some repackaged old (Thor, Battle: LA), some were funny (Kung Fu Panda), and some were hoping to get a new, better kind of attention (Cowboys & Aliens, Limitless). We’ve put them all together in one place: Which of these ads did the best job selling their film? Which of these movies are you now most excited to see?
Cowboys and Aliens: The long trailer for Jon Favreau’s summer blockbuster kept getting laughed at, even though this Harrison Ford–Daniel Craig two-hander about cowboys, aliens in the old West is, somehow, supposed to be serious. Does this spot do a better job of convincing otherwise? It’s less ridiculous, but there’s still an incidental Men in Black vibe, created by that insectlike spaceship.
Limitless: This is the movie in this group we least expected to have a Super Bowl ad (it’s not a blockbuster), but the play worked: We are taking this movie more seriously than we were before, though, to be fair, we hadn’t been taking it seriously at all, and are now intrigued someone would throw down this kind of cash on a Bradley Cooper film.
Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon: Well, the chick who’s not Megan Fox appears. And we wonder, is it easier, generally speaking, to blow things up while you’re doing a perpetual spin move, or does it just look cooler?
Limitless: This is the movie in this group we least expected to have a Super Bowl ad (it’s not a blockbuster), but the play worked: We are taking this movie more seriously than we were before, though, to be fair, we hadn’t been taking it seriously at all, and are now intrigued someone would throw down this kind of cash on a Bradley Cooper film.
Fast Five: Well, if you’re inclined to see the fifth movie in the Fast and the Furious franchise, this spot probably had all you were looking for, plus Paul Walker and Vin Diesel finally paying their respects to Thelma & Louise.
Thor: Lots of quick cuts, muscleman Thor in the rain, and the now-bankable Natalie Portman. A blur.
Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon: Well, the chick who’s not Megan Fox appears. And we wonder, is it easier, generally speaking, to blow things up while you’re doing a perpetual spin move, or does it just look cooler?
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides: The Jack Sparrow Show, now with more Penélope Cruz, less Keira Knightley. An upgrade, no?
Just Go With It: Tagline, “Tell Your Girlfriend It’s a Romantic Comedy,” just one with slow-mo boob shots, Adam Sandler getting hit in the balls, and Rachel Dratch and a wandering eyebrow.
I Am Number 4: For the Super Bowl, the action movie based on a YA book about a super-powered alien being hunted down gets turned into a dramatic romance, complete with an Adele backing track.
Super 8: The original, very mysterious trailer for J.J. Abrams’s top secret Spielberg homage showed us almost nothing: This 30-second ad showed us just enough to make us want to go watch all of Spielberg’s older films and to totally renew our faith in the hype. Also, Coach Taylor!
Battle: Los Angeles: This spot has nothing new over the longer trailers, but it still looks pretty okay.
Rio: A nerdy bird who can”t fly (Jesse Eisenberg) learns to “feel it in here” in Rio. Looks like a movie-length version of The Little Mermaid’s “Kiss the Girl” routine.
