Trailer Roundup: Comic-Con 2010

Hollywood's annual hypefest, Comic-Con (which, by the way, does still have comic books, as it was originally intended for), has provided us with several new trailers for the upcoming films that everyone will be talking about. Here's a sampling of what's to come.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

I honestly have a lot against this movie. I was indeed a fan of the original trilogy, loving the first one, being a little disappointed in the second, and enjoying the improvement of the third even though it never lived up to the first. I thought Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow was one of the most remarkable cinematic creations of the past decade, perhaps the finest original film character created in a long time. And though Orlando Bloom and Kiera Knightley were serviceable at best (per usual), the rest of the cast was obviously having a good time in these unique movies (notice how no one, not even Disney themselves, have managed to successfully recreate the winning formula). That being said, by the third film it was time to put this franchise to rest, and let it be. Of course, this being Hollywood, that's not an option, and so here we have the fourth installment in the series. Working for it is the addition of Penelope Cruz and Ian McShane and the subtraction of Knightley and Bloom, and in this trailer, the fact that Depp's charisma in this role has not diminished with time. On the other hand, this trailer does very little to give us a feel of what we'll actually be seeing, and since the film is due in less than a year, I find it a little troubling that there's no actual footage from the film. I'm also concerned about the replacement of the original trilogy's director, Gore Verbinski, with Rob Marshall, who is best known for directing musicals Chicago and Nine. Is he really a good fit for the swashbuckling action of Pirates? Of course, me being me, I'll be there next summer to see it, but I'm still very concerned about it.

Tron: Legacy

The first Tron, way back in 1982, was a major milestone in the development of digital effects. And now, with '80s nostalgia in full swing, the apparent need for a sequel has brought us this film. Honestly, it looks like fun. The effects are no longer breakthrough, though they are quite stylish, and it seems to have enough cyberspace action to merit attention. But the real draw for me here is Jeff Bridges circa 1982 vs. Jeff Bridges circa 2010. I'll see this just for that.

Machete

Undeterred by the financial failure of the hugely underrated Grindhouse, Robert Rodriguez has moved forward and developed a feature length movie based on his fake trailer from Grindhouse, which itself is based on a recurring character in his films (seriously, this character is in the Spy Kids movies!). Rodriguez can be a rather infuriating director, inconsistently turning out great films and cinematic spastic seizures. Machete seems to aspire for B-movie greatness, and even if its terrible, it could become a so-bad-its-good cult classic. I'm interested, mostly because of the eclectic cast and fondness of Grindhouse, but its one of those films that I may wait to see when it comes to the dollar theater.

Drive Angry

Nicolas Cage! With crazy hair! IN 3D! ACTION! No. Just, no.