The Trailer Park: Shrinking Expectations

Viewers who sat through the premiere of ‘Agent Carter‘ on Tuesday were also treated to a first look at the teaser trailer for Marvel’s upcoming ‘Ant-Man’ feature. Aside from the fact that it’s based on one of Marvel’s lesser-known comic properties, the movie has also been eyed cautiously by fans due to the production’s behind-the-scenes turmoil. Now that the trailer is finally here, how do you think it looks?

If you follow entertainment news at all, you’re no doubt aware that original director Edgar Wright (‘Shaun of the Dead’), the man who convinced Marvel that Ant-Man was a viable character to make a movie about in the first place, left the project last year just prior to shooting due to “creative differences” with the studio. Those creative differences are widely assumed to be about making the movie less idiosyncratic and molding it to blend better with the rest of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe. After a widely publicized search for a replacement, Peyton Reed (‘Down with Love’) was eventually selected to take over directing responsibilities.

I have nothing against Peyton Reed. I quite enjoy his cheerleader comedy ‘Bring It On’, and I think he might have been a fine choice to develop a property like this had he been involved from the beginning. However, as a last-minute substitute, it seems unlikely that he’ll have much opportunity to impose his own voice on it. More likely, he’s just there to enact the will of the studio.

As for the trailer… well, aside from the joke at the end about changing the name, it looks surprisingly dour and serious and self-important. I expected something more light-hearted and comical and fun like ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’. I can’t say this does much to excite me, but it is just a teaser trailer after all, and perhaps it’s giving off the wrong tone.

What Do You Think of the 'Ant-Man' Trailer?

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12 comments

  1. I’m firmly on board with whatever Marvel does, I’ll be there opening night for as long as they keep making movies. That said, this teaser is really underwhelming. I was only able to enjoy it because I knew a lot about the movie, characters and comics going in, the average viewer who may be wondering why they are making this movie in the first place isn’t likely to change their mind based on this. In comparison the first GOTG trailer had people frothing at the mouth.

  2. I’m going to wait until Blu Ray for this one. I understand the character’s importance and significance in the Marvel universe, but a solo movie on him is not interesting to me. After watching the trailer it just cemented my lack of interest in seeing this. I hope it does well in the theater because I’d hate to see the Marvel movies lose some steam.

  3. David C.

    Marvel has an unblemished record when it comes to doing origin stories, even though their track record with sequels thus far has been kinda 50-50. I don’t see any reason to fear that Ant-Man will buck the origin story trend; I think the skepticism towards comes from the hasty Edgar Wright departure, which I’m not sure this film will ever be able to live down. I hope when the film releases that people review what Ant-Man IS, not what it could have been with Wright.

  4. cardpetree

    I’m able to admit that I’m a sucker for these Marvel movies and Marvel has me succesfully whipped. I’ll be watching this and every other Marvel movie at the theater no matter how awesome or underwhelming these trailers are.

  5. Scott K

    I was quite pleasantly surprised by the trailer. All of Marvel’s movies are basically comedies now, and I’d honestly like the movie to be as serious as its trailer. Like almost all of their movies, though, I’m sure it’ll still have about 40% – 50% more comedy than it should.

  6. C.C. 95

    The Marvel downturn has to begin somewhere…
    (If you press your friends, you will find that at least a few, will begrudgingly admit that the Marvel playbook is now getting pretty tired). I know I’m sick of it.

    • If anyone is a going fan of what Marvel is doing, I cant see anyone saying this really. I have no friends who are fans like myself that arent on board for anything they are doing, especially after how amazing Guardians of the Galaxy was. That is probably my most fun movie of the year, hands down. And its now proven that a group of characters hardly anyone knew with a director that most no one knew can turn into one of the biggest hits of the year, I have all kinds of faith in Ant-Man being good and I’m FAR from being tired of Marvel movies, hell even Big Hero 6 was awesome, Disney and Marvel just cant seem to do anything wrong, a bit off on a few movies (like Iron Man 3 and the first Thor for myself) but nothing that would actually be called BAD.

  7. Robby

    “More likely, he’s just there to enact the will of the studio”.
    Technically, What is wrong with that?
    He’s a hired gun just like everybody else that works a nine to five job.
    Even Joss Whedon had to change his initial script to please Feige.
    Anyway, He & Paul Rudd rewrote the script so the film still may have some of Reed’s sensibilities to it.

    • Josh Zyber
      Author

      Since Reed stepped into the project at the last minute, he’s unlikely to have any leverage or ability to fight for a particular vision. Joss Whedon may have had to report to and compromise with the studio, but he was with the movie from the beginning and was the primary force in guiding its development. By the time Reed was hired, the studio had already decided what it wanted. He’s just there to make sure that gets on the screen the way they tell him to do it.

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