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Captain America Teaser Trailer: Reflections
By Zak Edwards
Feb 7, 2011 - 17:06
I would like to start this reflection on the Captain America teaser trailer off with the fact that, when I first saw it, I thought I was watching a fan-made trailer interspersed with footage from the 1990 Captain America film. Then I realized I wasn’t, things went downhill from here. That being said, I haven’t really had much faith in this project from day one, mostly because I really doubt Hollywood can produce a decent Captain America film which doesn’t devolve into a rally cry for all things Neo-Roman Empire and the American religious experience of being patriotic. When given the choice between using Captain America as a metaphor for the arms race and anxieties of technological advances in the military and as a metaphor for kicking Nazis in the junk while screaming the national anthem, I believe they will go with the latter, especially with Joe Johnston, of Jurassic Park III fame, behind the wheel. Call me a cynic, it’s what I perceive as the truth.
But this, this trailer for the Captain America (2011) is something else, it goes beyond mere patriotic garbage. Like a politician, this teaser trailer gave us just over thirty seconds of absolutely nothing parading around as something significant. We have the process of Steve Rogers becoming Captain America, masculinity and the ideal man at the forefront (without anyone pointing out the irony of a blonde-haired, blue-eyed American fighting Aryan Nazis), followed by some action sequences, the ripping of Red Skull’s Mission: Impossible III mask off, and then a little funny moment with the prototype shield. Roll Credits (or some info revealed with really corny sound effects). What was revealed? Not much really, not even a decent tease, as the name would imply, just some confirmation. So let’s break some of it down.
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There are three parts of dialogue: the first deals with the transformation (“Whatever happens, stay who you are, not just a soldier, but a good man”), the next is the masculinity at the forefront-slash-establishment of a love interest (“How do you feel” (touch chest) “Taller”), and lastly the joke about the shield. What is revealed? Well, there’s a possible internal tension about the transformation process and newly found power and maybe a further internal tension with the effects of war on an individual. This to me, is intriguing, but I feel I’m reading far too much into it, yet I think believing a crazy scientist telling a person they are good people and us all taking that statement seriously is just part of the suspension of disbelief. The “How do you feel” conversation is even less revealing and just establishes a love interest and adds a quick touch of the chest (and the sexual confidence of fulfilling masculine expectation). The shield joke is to further the love interest, not really anything else, Captain America won’t be scared of mere bullets three minutes after this scene takes place in the final cut of the film.
And lastly the costume. A teaser image was released a while ago showing actor Chris Evans in the Captain America costume and I was the first to defend it against my friends, citing the Ultimate Captain America’s slightly more functional (and sans wings) costume as the major influence. The costume people were obviously trying to come to some sort of compromise with the original costume, which wouldn’t work in a film, the Ultimate version, and their own, blending iconography with originality. And with the first poster released, the costume looked amazing. Sure, the film costume is padded and clunky, but so was most of the gear in the Second World War. But after seeing it in ‘action,’ I’ve had to concede. It does look about as dumb as the rest of the film. The colouring of the trailer is strange, with Captain America sticking out significantly but also in jarring and forced ways. I get he’s supposed to draw the eye, be the focal point of the shots he occupies, but this is excessive and strange looking at best. The film looks budget-less at times, or at least as poorly funded and thought out as the 1990 film. Just look at these pictures below, I can’t really tell them apart!
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It seems Marvel films is still in love with using the archetypes rather than messing with them, as most exceptions to the typical superhero movie are coming from either DC (the Batman Films, Watchmen) or outside the major heroes (Kick-Ass, Hancock). Overall, the check list is there: Action sequences, explosions, hyper-masculinity, polarity of good and evil (good luck getting test audiences to sympathize with Nazis), little forced quips, etc. However, the action sequences look plain bad, the costume does too, and any hints at any complexity are overshadowed by what seems to be a very simplistic setup and story, not reinforced by the director Joe Johnston’s previous masterpieces, which include Jumanji, Jurassic Park III, and Hidalgo. My faith has not been restored, but really, not much was there to begin with.
Last Updated: May 16, 2012 - 6:56
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