As 2015 met its conclusion, the month of December provided us with one final look at what is to come in the year ahead of us. What a year that will be, as one of Marvel's greatest crossover events is brought to the big screen, Warner Brothers launches the DC Extended Universe and Fox concludes the trilogy of
X-Men prequels that began in 2011. Out of the several comic book movie trailers that were released in December, this is my definitive ranking.
THE LIST
5. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows
As a fan of the Ninja Turtles, I was considerably hyped for the 2014 reboot. Considering the film's impressive promotional campaign, why shouldn't I have been? Little did I know that it would turn out to be the worst comic book film of that year. Judging by the trailer, the 2016 sequel will be even worse. The trailer is loaded with typical Michael Bay cliches, the same alien invasion we have seen over and over, poor CGI and cringe worthy cartoonishness (and the iconic cartoon from the late 1980s is not an excuse). Although the film looks to have some redeeming qualities, such as a more fleshed out Shredder, a re-cast Karai, and Stephen Amell's perfect casting as Casey Jones, the film as a whole looks like a train wreck. Even the live action debuts of Bebop and Rocksteady are undermined due to the characters' laughable computer generated effects. Not to mention that Baxter Stockman looks and acts like a character from a bad Eddie Murphy comedy. Over all,
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows is a film I will likely be skipping (at least in its theatrical run).
4. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Click here for my full review of the trailer
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is meant to launch the DC Extended Universe as it showcases the first meeting of the Dark Knight and the Man of Steel, as well as the formation of the Trinity. From the looks of the trailer,
Batman v Superman seems to find a perfect blend of grounded realism and comic book style, without one outweighing the other. However, my biggest problem lies in the villain department. While I understand that the film is trying to take Lex Luthor back to his mad scientist roots, Jesse Eisenberg acts nothing like Luthor at all (and no, Eisenberg isn't playing Lex Luthor's son). I also do not appreciate that Doomsday is created from the corpse of General Zod in a silly, Frankenstein-like transformation.
3. X-Men: Apocalypse
Click here for my full review of the trailer
X-Men: Apocalypse looks epic. If this trailer tells us anything, it's that Fox is closing their trilogy of
X-Men prequels on the largest scale we've ever seen. I love the religious aspects of the trailer. In a universe of mutants, it's an interesting concept to think that the gods of extinct religions are really just ancient mutants. The look and setting of the film is appropriately reminiscent of
X-Men: The Animated Series and Apocalypse is a villain unlike any previously used for the franchise. I'm glad that they are finally mining other villains instead of using Magneto and William Stryker in every single film.
2. Deadpool
The
Deadpool trailer was perfect. The costume design was brilliant, the comedy was hilarious, Colossus actually has an accent this go-around, and the over all attitude of the film seems to be "Oh, I'm sorry. Did you think this was going to be censored?" Everything you would expect from a mature-rated
Deadpool film is in this fourth wall-smashing trailer. I just hope that the film is as entertaining as the marketing campaign.
1. Captain America: Civil War
Click here for my full review of the trailer
Out of all of the December 2015 trailers, I can say without a doubt that
Captain America: Civil War is the best. Adapted from one of my favourite comic crossovers and sequel to the stellar
Captain America: The Winter Soldier,
Civil War is an idealistic battle in which both sides have the moral high ground. And although this may be a battle of ideologies, that doesn't mean things won't get personal. The trailer is action packed, emotional and exciting, perfectly setting up the premise to an unsuspecting general audience. I must also compliment the costume designs, as Black Panther and Crossbones both have designs that are so impeccable, I actually think that the characters look even better in the film than they do in the comics.
2016 is shaping up to be one of the best years we have ever seen for comic book movies, with great trailers to match. With such high expectations, we can only hope that the films succeed to meet those expectations. Feel free to leave your own list in the comment section below.