As much as I love anything with Christopher Nolan tied to it and as much as I want Man of Steel to triumph at the box office, I still think that the chance of failure is there. I will continue to force myself to think this way until I actually see the film and the reason is because I am worried about the hype. I’ve seen all the teasers and trailers for the film and I want to scream out, “This is going to be amazing!” As much as I want to preemptively decide this film’s fate, I began to think about the power of a trailer and the hype it builds for a film.
Thinking about Bryan Singer’s 2006 take on Superman with the film Superman Returns, I looked up the trailer. Before reading further I want you to watch the trailer below.
You cannot deny that the trailer for Superman Returns was pretty damn good, I’d even say amazing. Everyone was so hyped up for this film and then it released and disappointment set in. Just as the saying goes, “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” I would say, “Don’t judge a film by its trailer.” While this trailer invoked an intense emotional response for most Superman fans, the film left them with a bad taste in their mouths. The trailer highlighted the best aspects of Superman while showing bits of familiar scenery that had been revamped for modern times. Who would have thought the film would portray Superman as a home wrecker, Lois Lane as a married mother, and an overall storyline that was less than extraordinary.
Now after viewing the trailer for Man Of Steel, which is as equally (if not less) inviting, doesn’t it make you wonder about what this film actually will be? The point of this post is not to make you go into the film expecting it to fail but to rather go into the film expecting nothing at all. Hype can be detrimental in critiquing a film, so when something is overly hyped, the standards can be extremely high. I hope for the best for Man of Steel because I want a good Superman film. I just hope that Zack Snyder has not developed another Sucker Punch or it will be a very long wait for the next Superman film.
