Trailer 1 — Hunters (2020)
Chetan: At first, I thought I clicked on the wrong link when I opened this trailer because it didn’t even seem like a TV trailer—it felt more like some sort of summertime Old Navy commercial set in a backyard barbecue party. But the sudden shock when the lady points at a man and yells “Nazi” led me to pay more attention to a trailer I probably wouldn’t have been interested in. It’s nice to see Hollywood legend Al Pacino starring in an Amazon Studios-produced TV show, which might entice people to watch it. It’s not my type of show, and it seems pretty similar to Prime Video’s show from last summer The Boys, which is also centered around a ragtag group of people out to serve vigilante justice, but since it’s on Prime I may watch an episode.
Bella: Although the trailer itself was pretty short, I can’t help but be intrigued. Not only is cinema legend Al Pacino a part of the mix, but he has a thick accent to boot. Also, who doesn’t love a band of people coming together to do some badasserie for a good cause, especially when that cause is taking down a bunch of Nazis who seem to be headed by the very creepy Dylan Baker. You also can’t review this trailer without mentioning the shockingly bright color scheme at the beginning, which could be a good indicator of some killer set design. Although I’m not a prolific watcher of Amazon Prime shows, this one has certainly peaked my interest.
Inès: I think this looks pretty good. The concept is wild, and yet it says it’s based on real events: a bunch of people united by a cause to kill Nazis because no one seems to be doing it. I like the mix of bright and colorful aesthetics but the gritty subject and violence. It seems like a project that is on-brand for Jordan Peele, yet still new, and I’m here for that. Chetan mentioned The Boys, also produced by Amazon, which is a good show. I like that Amazon has these far out of left field concepts, like Man in High Castle and Good Omens and even things like The Tick, which must have just been wild elevator pitches but turn out generally well because of the talent put behind the project.
Trailer 2 — Fast & Furious 9 (2020)
Chetan: I’ve been waiting years for the next installment in the Fast and Furious franchise (Hobbs and Shaw (2019) doesn’t count) and specifically for Mia (Jordana Brewster) to return to the series after Furious 7 (2015) seemed to set up the end of her character arc. Also, is Han (Sung Kang) actually back from the dead? The way the franchise manipulates its fans’ feelings through its absurd plot twists makes it feel more like a soap opera than an action series. All of Dom’s (Vin Diesel) talk of family, along with all of the obscure family members who have joined over the course of the series also add to this feeling. But regardless of how many issues the franchise has, I am definitely watching this movie this May. No other movie franchise has made me yell, cry, and cheer in the same way as the Fast saga and I doubt that this one will disappoint.
Bella: As someone with little to no attachment to this series as a whole, I can’t say I’m that excited for yet another Fast & Furious movie. From the looks of the trailer, it doesn’t seem like we’ll be getting anything new in terms of tone or character development, but I’m not entirely sure that’s the point of these movies. The one thing going for the trailer is the genius use of Kanye and Kid Cudi’s “Feel the Love,” which is probably one of my favorite songs from 2018. Other than that, it seems like the same “let’s get together to fight the buff bad guy” routine that every other Fast & Furious movie has done. A possible silver lining could be Ludacris’ strange comedy snippets that usually wake me from the daze these movies put me in.
Inès: So I’ve seen maybe four movies from the Fast and Furious franchise, and I don’t like them. I don’t hate them, but they’re kind of just a reason to turn your brain off for two hours, watch some overly-muscled men do stunts and fights that, if you think even a little bit about, drive you crazy with the inaccuracies of just basic physics (the scene with the airplane taking off in the sixth one? Is this a 100-mile air strip???). This movie will not be any different from the others. John Cena is in it, sure why not, but why on earth are Charlize Theron and Helen Mirren stooping to this level? Somehow nine movies deep they’re still using the same themes of family and friendship and outrunning your demons and… sigh. “Maybe this is the end, but we gon’ go out together” sums up what the vibe is for two—TWO—decades. It’s fine, somehow this franchise has managed to sustain writing nine basically identical movies, why not.
Trailer 3 — Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back (2020)
Chetan: So many memories from my childhood that didn’t need to come back just did after watching this trailer. Pokémon was such a big part of my childhood growing up as it was one of the first video games I played. I personally think that all of the Pokémon movies and TV shows paled in comparison to the DS games, but I know that a lot of people loved watching them on Cartoon Network while growing up. One thing I noticed right away was that the quality of the animation is so much better compared to the previous anime. I’m most likely not going to watch this movie because it doesn’t seem geared towards young adults, but I have no doubt that other Pokémon fans will enjoy it.
Bella: I always loved the concept of being a Pokémon trainer as a kid, though I never really played the video game. I was more of a Lego Batman & Star Wars person myself. That being said, I do remember watching the TV show and very quickly falling in love with the cutesie pokémon, especially Mew (though I can’t remember exactly where I first saw him). I feel like this movie will deliver what fans of the game loved as kids. Not only are the characters pretty loyally represented, but the movie even seems to have a video game like feel to it. The only negative I see is that the animation is a little too standard to be that interesting.
Inès: I apologize, but Pokémon has no emotional value to me. Don’t hate me. I didn’t watch the TV show when I was a kid, it just wasn’t on my television I guess, and I never had a console or DS to play video games with. I can tell that this trailer is supposed to be striking a melancholy nerve with me, or exciting me because I am a kid, but neither is true so I am just not the target audience at all. I saw Detective Pikachu (2019), so I have a basic understanding of what Mewtwo is, but I just feel like this is a show for children who know what’s going on. Would I show this to an eight-year-old cousin or something? Sure, but I’ll probably be doing something else in the background.
