Charlie's Angels Brings The Franchise To A New Era With A Strong Dose Of Feminism

       Its been Sixteen years since audience last saw the angels on the big screen with their roles being played by Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, and Cameron Diaz. While the first Charlie's​ Angels movie worked as being hip and having fun with its concept at the time, the second film was a complete mess that turned out less of a profit than the originals gross and got far worse reviews. While the 2000 Charlie's​ Angels movie was nothing to write home about, it was self-aware in how it mixed an attractive cast with tongue-in-cheek humor while blending glossy yet impressive action sequences. It was a slick film and ultimately fun to watch despite the lack of originality. Bring the franchise up to modern times in a post 9/11 era as well as a post Me Too generation, the Angels are back and ready for another chance to dominate the big screen. Here we have Elizabeth Banks from 2017's Power Rangers as well as that film and Aladdin's Naomi Scott teaming up with Twilight's Kirsten Stewart in hopes of rebooting the franchise for today's audiences. The new Charlie's​ Angels trailer not only looks appealing with the main female stars, but also seems to capitalize on the strong push for feminism as well as delivering the middle finger towards sexism and misogny. These Angels have a mission to complete and aren't letting anyone and anything get in the way. The trailer is jam-packed full of action and appealing side actors such as Blood Diamond's Djimon Honsou and Star Trek and X-Men's Patrick Stewart are used to help draw the audience interest in the reboot. So far its working.

Trailer Description:

      The trailer opens up with Kirsten Stewart's character Sabina Wilson declaring in a conversation she's having with a character she's intercepting that women can do anything much to the disapproval of the other character who declares just because women can do anything doesn't mean they should. Stewart's character is left with no choice but to play along by laughing at his response and using her sex appeal to not only distract the person shes intercepting but his bodyguards as well. When she manages to restrain the person in question, he asks who she is to which she replies she's just the decoy with the other Angels swooping in to take out the guards. Once they finish they are greeted by Patrick Stewart's character Bosley (One of three, Djimon Honsou plays the other Bosley) who declares they did an outstanding job. Kirsten Stewart's character removes her wig signifying that her mission is complete before the trailer cuts to the Columbia Pictures logo. Stewart's character is then informed by the second Bosley played by Honsou that she has a new client with the trailer introducing Naomi Scott's character Elena. Elena tells Sabina that she can't sleep at night and that she's a lead programmer on a product that can revolutionize the power industry. As she tells Sabina this, Sabina and another angel are shown taking pictures and spying on an individual at a bookstore while disguised as a waitress. Elena warns the second Bosley that there is a strong possibility that the product can be weaponized. Bosley stops her immediately and says they must leave as the female waitress reaches for a gun and attempts to shoot the man with the suitcase who fights back instantly. The trailer then cuts to a car chase in which Elena questions the woman disguised as a waitress who reveals to her that shes not a waitress, her name is Jane. Jane then takes out a huge gun and fires back at the car pursuing them with the opposite car pulling out a larger gun with Elena screaming for dear life in the background.

      The trailer then cuts to Elizabeth Bank's character who reveals to Elena character when asked who she is that she's Bosley (Confusing right?). Banks introduces Elena's character to the Angels team citing that the reason they exist is because local law enforcement can't keep up with them. Intercutting with moments of action, a nervous Elena asks the angels if they are female spies in a comedic tone saying lady spies to which Banks Bosley shows her badge. The angels are then shown in action knocking someone out and stealing their security clearance while dressing up in white suits wearing wigs. Banks Bosley tells the girls that they must get the weapon before it becomes a bad guys new toy with the Angels bringing Elaine to their closet of disguises with Bosley in the background declaring that the Angels need weapons and wigs. The trailer intercuts these moments of dialogue with shots of the Angels in action with Patrick Stewart's Bosley getting a kick out of the girls kicking ass citing them as being feisty. The girls are shown to be going through their first closet of disguises before the reveal of a second closet that essentially looks like a weapons armony much to the shock of Elena's character. The trailer capitalizes on the goofiness as well as the innocence of Scott's character by having her reach for a box of mints only to have them knocked out of her hand by the weapons caretaker who warns her that some of the things in the closet can explode. The trailer then reveals quick cuts showing the angels in disguises at a party intercutting with them fighting and having fun goofing around with each other. The action is intensified in the latter part of the trailer with a jeep exploding, the girls shown to be parachuting out of a jet, them singing in a jeep, and Banks character loading a gun. Elena's character is shown to be the one angel that progresses in the trailer from being bumbling and completely oblivious to the angels operation to her participating in the action with her admitting that kicking someones ass feels nice. The trailer closes out with Bank's Bosley in a car chase with Sabina, Jane, and Elena standing together in the famous Charlies Angels pose with the logo coming right afterwards. The trailer ends with the familiar voice of Charlie appearing on the radio greeting the angels to which they reply back with excitement.

General Thoughts

      The trailer for the new Charlie's Angels successfully makes the case that the audience should give the new brand of girls a chance with emphasis being placed on the fact that the era has changed from the last time the girls were shown with the cheesiness factor still being intact. What separates this film from the previous Charlie's Angels movies outside of the fact that its a whole new cast and filmmakers, is that the new film goes out of its way to show how the new team assembles with the girls coming together through the events shown in the trailer and ultimately forming their team. From the looks of the clips, the movie almost plays off like an origin story for the angels. The trailer plays off almost like a checklist for what's needed in order to make a successful Charlie's Angels flick with a trio of beautiful women combined with explosions, car chases, appealing side characters played by strong actors to themes regarding feminism and girl power being proudly stated throughout the trailer. The opening dialogue between Stewart's character and the guy she's distracting almost feels like a wink at the Me Too movement along with being a current slam on misogyny. One thing that's certain from watching the new trailer is that this film is not meant for everyone. It has a specific audience that its aiming for which are not just fans of the old 1970's show and the 2000's movies but the younger female generation of today who have yet to experience watching the Angels on the big screen. This movie was made for them with the trailer showing the same style of tongue-in cheek humor from the original movie, the main actresses sex appeal and talent being utilized, and slick action remaining intact. Much like the 2000 film, the new Charlie's Angels knows exactly what kind of film it wants to be and doesn't try to shy away from it nor be anything more than just a fun ride full of beautiful women kicking ass and explosions. The trailer also shows the team behind the new films paying homage to the 2000 movie with the girls flying out of the jet that will remind fans of that films opening scene. If Elizabeth Banks and Columbia are hoping that this film will relaunch the franchise and become a fresh start for a new series of Charlie's Angels films, they certainly are off to an interesting yet promising start as they have the right actresses in the leads with Naomi Scott in particular being a rising star coming off Disney's live-action Aladdin along with a strong supporting cast. The film from the looks of it has all the essential ingredients needed to make for a successful Charlie's Angels movie, its just a question of whether audiences feel motivated enough to become invested in this series again despite there not be much substance beyond the look of it. Charlie's Angels opens in theaters November 17, 2019

Here is a link to watch the trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSUq4VfWfjE

   

Top Gun: Maverick Desires To Once Again Make Audiences Feel The Need For Speed

      Thirty-three years after the release of the first Top Gun which has gone onto become one of the most iconic blockbusters of all time, Tom Cruise returns to the role that put him on the map as a movie star and delivers the long awaited sequel to Top Gun with Top Gun: Maverick. The original film was made for only $15 million and grossed $356 million worldwide despite mixed reviews from critics yet total adoration from fans. The film also took a rising young actor at the time (Cruise) and cemented his status as a movie star. The sequel takes place thirty years after the events of the first film with Cruise's character Pete Maverick​ Mitchell mentoring a new generation of U.S Navy fighter pilots. The trailer for Maverick aims to remind audiences of the nostalgia they felt upon watching the first Top Gun film with key moments such as the money shots of the fighter jet flying to powerful nostalgic moments including Maverick putting on his jacket, his shades, and riding his motorcycle giving the film the 1980's feel the original had. The question that fans of the original have on their minds going into the new film is whether Cruise and Paramount can retain the spirit and 80's style of the original film in order for the sequel to be a success as well as live up to the legacy of the first film. Having seen the new teasar trailer, the answer appears to lean towards an assured yes, the film appears to have much of the elements that made the original so iconic with the familiar guitar soundtrack of the first film making its return here with impressive visuals and action, making the trailer come across as being an adrenaline rush.

Trailer Description:

      The trailer opens up with a shot of the desert with a fighter jet flying above the ground with its shadow reflecting on the surface. The trailer then shows a pair of hands struggling to hold the controls as thejet moves at a quick speed throughout the desert before being pulled upwards. The next shots are those of fighter jets being raised on a platform to the surface of a carrier. While this is happening the audience hears the voice of Ed Harris character, an unnamed admiral, lecturing Maverick regarding his living on the edge lifestyle citing his 30-year record and pointing out that he should be an admiral by now but instead settles for Captain with a defiant and reckless attitude. When asked why he never moved up, Maverick replies by saying "Its one of life's mysteries sir." With the character of Maverick, audiences see that the character is almost exactly the same as audiences left him with the first except older now and no longer with Kelly McGillis character Charlie. The trailer then packs the nostalgia hard with the audience not just with showing Maverick, but with shots of an engine to a jet powering up with Maverick taking off a carrier with an epic shot inside the cockpit. The music from the original film kicks in with upgraded instruments followed by money shots that reek of 80's nostalgia such as a sun setting over the aircraft base, Maverick putting on his iconic jacket, grabbing his shades, pulling off a sheet to reveal his iconic motorcycle with the next shot showing him flying down a runway with a jet taking off in the distance. Other money shots are those of an endless line of fighter jet planes all lined up, a shirtless beach scene that mirrors the iconic one from the first film, a shot of Jennifer Connolly being hinted as the new love interest for Maverick, a shot of Goose's son played by Miles Teller playing the piano which mirrors Goose from the first movie. The trailer also hints at another major characters death in the film with Maverick saluting over their coffin with the hint being its Gooses son following in his fathers footsteps. The last several shots of the trailer show intense aeriel combat sequences including one which shows Maverick flying upside down followed by a shot of him looking at the ocean from the deck of a carrier. The trailer ends with Maverick being told that aircraft pilots are heading for extinction giving fuel to the rumored subplot involving the pushing of drones into the mix with him responding "Maybe so, sir, but not today."

General Thoughts
      The teasar trailer for Top Gun: Maverick is good, very good. It does an effective job of getting the audience interested in the sequel through the use of powerful moments of nostalgia such as the moments where the main character dons the jacket, the glasses, and rides the motorcycle. The films aeriel sequences are the trailers big selling points action-wise with Cruise being shown to perform his own stunts of taking off the aircraft carrier. The film also seems to keep the cheesy spirit of the original film with a second shirtless beach scene, the main characters huddled over a piano drinking beers and singing, orange lighting in shots that make the cinematography look not just like the original, but also gives viewers flashback to the occasional Michael Bay movie. What the trailer is missing is the lack of return for Val Kilmer's character Iceman as well as giving audiences a clue as to what his character is up to in this film or if his role is a large or minimal one. The teasar introduces newer characters such as John Hamm, Miles Teller playing Goose's son, and Ed Harris as a no-named superior to Maverick, who claims that Maverick is heading for extinction as he struggles to keep his job with the presence of drones replacing pilots rises. With all the push to make audiences feel the nostalgia of the original, the teasar reveals that the new film carries within the action and fun an emotional core to its story and is about trying to stick around in a field that's becoming more increasingly obsolete. In a way, its a refreshing twist to see that Maverick wasn't promoted to a desk job, but is still the same guy doing what he loves to do and is content with it. Its been a long time coming for a sequel to Top Gun to finally arrive on the big screen but its finally here and judging from the early footage, it appears to have everything that fans have wanted and desired for a sequel to the 1986 box office smash. With reactions to the new trailer, it looks as if audiences have once again feel the need, the need for speed. Top Gun: Maverick arrives in theaters June 26, 2020 and features a cast that includes Tom Cruise, Jennifer Connolly, Ed Harris, Miles Teller, and John Hamm.

Here is a link to watch the trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSqVVswa420

Terminator: Dark Fate Hopes To Be The Reboot That Revitalizes The Franchise

      The Terminator franchise has had its series of ups and downs with most fans feeling that the series best days are behind it as no post Terminator 2: Judgment Day sequel, has managed to live up to the standard set by the first two films in both cinema and science-fiction film history. Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines works best as a Saturday afternoon Arnold Schwarzenegger pic rather than a third installment to the series, as it comes nowhere close to the cinematic heights of its predecessors. Terminator Salvation had potential to take the series to new ground and give audiences the future war they've been waiting to see as the first two films gave brief glimpses into whats essentially a post-apocalyptic nightmare. Not only did it fail as a reboot and sequel to the previous three films, it lacked the heart and intelligence of the first two Terminators that made them so powerful to watch along with being exciting and groundbreaking. A second attempt at rebooting the franchise happened with 2015's Terminator Genisys. While that film was an improvement over the third and fourth movies, it only added more confusion to the timeline and in an desperate attempt to erase the mess done to the franchise, completely erases all the previous Terminator films including Cameron's first two masterpieces. Despite the latters endorsement of Genisys much to his disapproval of the third and fourth movies, Genisys still received negative reviews from critics and flopped domestically despite a strong enough performance overseas showing that there's still interest in the series. For fans of the franchise, it seemed as if it would never recover and be put back on the map again like its glory days. That all changed when news broke in Jan 2017 when it was confirmed that both James Cameron and Deadpool director Tim Miller obtained the rights to Terminator with Cameron set as both producer/co-writer with Tim Miller as director. That small moment of optimism and hope was further cemented with the news of Linda Hamilton returning to her iconic role of playing Sarah Connor and the most recent news from 2019's Comic Con that Edward Furlong who played John Connor in T2, is returning to reprise his role once more. What seemed like another hopeless attempt to revitalize a dying franchise suddenly feels as if the third attempt to reboot the series just might be the one to pull it off. The films first theatrical trailer tries to make the case that the franchise is not yet dead and that fans should be optimistic about this one. From what is shown so far, one can't disagree.

Trailer Description

      The trailer for Terminator: Dark Fate opens up with a shot of the highway in the desert in broad daylight that's reminiscent of the shot of the yellow strip of highway shown in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The voice that speaks to the audience is that of an older Sarah Connor saying "Two days ago, I had this nice simple life. And now its a nightmare." This shot is accompanied by a quick shot of three main characters in a small truck that's speeding through the street with the audience focused on the main Hispanic girl in the middle as she looks worried and scared. The trailer then shows a giant plow truck smashing through a concrete wall chasing after them with what appears to be a younger Terminator model pursuing them played by Gabriel Luna. The giant truck smashes into cars coming at it from the opposite direction forcing some to flip over. The driver of the smaller truck hops out of the car and performs a unique back flip (One of the trailers most impressive moments) landing on the bed of the truck as she throws a metal stick at Gabriel Luna's Terminator in the giant truck. To the shock of audiences, the driver morphs into a newer design of the Terminator with some of his liquid fluids flowing through the stick onto the hood of the truck creating another Terminator, that morphs into the same human form he had moments ago. The shots that follow are that of the young blonde woman played by Blade Runner 2049's Mackenzie Davis, on the bed of the truck hopping out with the young woman she appears to be protecting and lands on the road as the truck crashes into another car creating an explosion. The new Terminator played by Agents Of Shield's Gabriel Luna appears to look like a mixture of the old T-800 model mixed with the morphing capabilities of the T-1000 to create another advanced prototype sent to kill other individuals connected to Skynet besides John Connor. While he almost achieves his goal, in comes Sarah Connor entering the picture to save the day, looking much older yet retaining the same level of awesomeness her character had possessed in Judgment Day. She uses powerful weapons to take out the Terminator while being questioned about who she is by the main characters, particularly the blonde character with short hair and a white tank top played by Davis. The trailer uses three key figures to generate audiences excitement in the franchise again with the first reveal being the return of Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor. The second reveal is the trailer announcing the return of series creator James Cameron as producer. The third reveal is also the return of Arnold Schwarzenegger as an older bearded T-800 model living in a cabin. His role is hinted at being a smaller one than what fans have been accustomed to with the previous movies but still effective. The trailer also reveals that the young blonde woman played by Mackenzie Davis, is a female Terminator model confirmed by Sarah Connor in the teasar, who remarks that she hasn't seen a version of her model before. Though revealed to be a machine, she declares that shes human despite a shot of her tossing a police officer aside using powerful blunt force. The trailer also capitalizes on Tim Millers involvement labeling him as the director of Deadpool. The trailer reveals that Sarah Connor is protecting the young brunette girl played by Natalia Reyes, because as she declares she was once the girl being chased by Terminators much in the way Reyes character is being pursued. The rest of the trailer consists of explosions and shots of the main characters in scenes of peril followed by an aeriel shot of two planes crashing into each other mid-air followed by shots of Davis character fighting Lunas cyborg. The trailer ends with the song playing in the background declaring "I'm going hunting."

General Thoughts
      From the looks of it, both Cameron and Miller are setting this one up to look like a Logan style reboot for the Terminator franchise, that's evident by the way Sarah Connor is shown along with Arnold's character being secluded in a cabin in a vein similar to Professor X in Logan. The trailer showed audiences that all the key ingredients needed to make this sequel successful are present with the return of Hamilton, Cameron as producer, and Arnold's return feeling appropriate as there is no proper Terminator sequel without him involved. With the returning faces, the trailer also presents new ones with Mackenzie Davis Terminator shown to be fighting Gabriel Luna's model over the life of a young woman, which directly parallels Sarah's predicament in the first Terminator. The formula of the first two films also remains present with the new story placing its protagonists on the run from opponents shown to be more powerful and deadlier than previously shown before with the stakes being even higher this time. The theme of Cameron's films also remains with the main characters in the trailer declaring that the best way for them to win is to survive. The trailer ultimately feels like the true sequel to Terminator 2: Judgment Day, that fans have been waiting for decades as well as being like a Force Awakens style reboot for the franchise as the desire to rejuvenate the series for a brand new trilogy is obvious though will depend on the success of this film. As far as the films prospects of success look, it looks more hopeful that this can be the reboot to revamp the franchise as it has all the ingredients to make it a hit with Hamilton's character returning being a huge plus as well as Cameron's role as producer. Given how well Alita: Battle Angel was received with Cameron being producer and co-writer with Robert Rodriguez handling directing duties, it just might be that having Cameron involved in a producing role while offering supervision over the project with a younger energetic filmmaker handling the directorial duties, is the key to making this Terminator film a success. If it happens, it will directly mirror last years Halloween 2018 which turned out to be a huge success while making its franchise prominent again thanks to the return of John Carpenter as producer and David Gordon Green as director. Time will tell if Cameron's involvement has any effect on whether the Terminator franchise can save itself and live to tell more stories with its dark post-apocalyptic tales. So far, the filmmakers make a successful case with the films first trailer on why fans as well as general audiences should ignore the previous post T2 sequels and give this one a chance. So far, its hitting all the right notes in whats needed to restore what was once one of the most influential franchises in science-fiction. Terminator: Dark Fate opens in theaters November 1st starring Linda Hamilton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mackenzie Davis, Natalia Reyes, Gabriel Luna, and Edward Furlong.

Here is a link to the trailer so you can watch it,      

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCyEX6u-Yhs

The Rise Of Skywalker Aims To End The Skywalker Saga On A High Note

      

      The Star Wars franchise has experienced its series of ups and downs since Disney successfully rebooted the franchise in 2015 with The Force Awakens. While that film was a tremendous success in regards to bringing life back into the Star Wars franchise, some fans complained about the films strong similarities to A New Hope, particularly in the films second half which almost felt like it was copied and pasted to make the film feel more safe. Despite that criticism, the film succeeded in bringing the series back to its glory days while establishing newer characters and energy for a sequel trilogy to the originals. Rogue One though not as big as The Force Awakens proved that the Star Wars franchise can survive and continue to grow outside of the Skywalker arc despite criticisms that the film outside of its iconic Darth Vader scene is slow-paced with characters that are underdeveloped. With The Last Jedi, audiences were finally excited and looking forward to the next chapter in the sequel trilogy, that wouldn't feel like it was leaning too much on the original trilogy for comfort. With Rian Johnson stepping into the shoes of J.J. Abrams as director and writer, fans were confident that they were going to get a film that took the newer trilogy out further while giving them answers to questions brought up in The Force Awakens such as the identity of Rey's parents as well as her connection to the force. The end result was a film that not only made significantly less than the previous episode, it split the Star Wars fan base down the middle and failed to give satisfying answers to Rey's parentage nor a Luke Skywalker, that remained consistent with the one from the original trilogy. The backlash that The Last Jedi spawned was so big that it was one of the main factors that led to the surprise flop of Ron Howard's Solo: A Star Wars Story, though that one had more to do with the fact that the film came out five months after The Last Jedi, where the wounds were still fresh with audiences disappointed by that one and didn't bother to see the new film. Add to that the uneasiness audiences felt for watching someone else other than Harrison Ford play the part of Han Solo, even if the role required a younger actor. What began as a great starting point for Disney to not only rejuvinate the franchise but also create their own Marvel style universe with it, the franchise has burnt out once again with all eyes on The Rise Of Skywalker, to see if it can restore balance to the fan base while ending the Skywalker saga on a high note. With J.J. Abrams returning as director, the chances of that happening are high as the trailer shows that great care is being taken to repair the damage done by The Last Jedi as well as providing a great deal of fan service.

Trailer Description
      The trailer opens up with Rey panting as she stares at a Tie Fighter approaching her with Luke Skywalker's voice narrating in the background saying "We've passed on all we know." The audience isn't sure whether he's a ghost in this one or resurrected again due to the power of the force. He continues by saying "A thousand generations live in you now. But this is your fight." The trailer then shows Rey powering up her lightsaber and hurls over the Tie Fighter performing a Matrix-style backflip. The words "Every Generation Has A Legend" appears on the screen followed by an announcement citing the release date being for this Christmas. The rest of the trailer consists of shots of all the key characters from the previous films returning with an epic shot of Kylo Ren striking down someone with his red lightsaber followed by the construction of a new Ren helmet. The trailer then shows the return of Finn played by John Boyega followed by shots of BB-8 with a minimalist droid introduced as his friend and the Millennium Falcon going into hyperspeed. The trailers first big reveal followed by another major one at the end is the return of Lando Calrissian (Played By Billy Dee Williams) piloting the Millennium Falcon with Chewbacca as his co-pilot. The Trailer then follows with the words "The Saga Comes To An End" which is preceded with shots of explosions in the desert as the characters of Poe, Finn, and C-3P0 are being chased by imperial forces on speeders. The trailer then continues with shots of a hand running a Medallion followed by General Leia (Surprise! Carrie Fisher is back) embracing Rey in an emotional hug. The trailer also shows a major landscape shot of the main characters encountering a giant piece of the Death Star, which has crash landed on a planet full of crashing waves. The trailer then closes out with two final big reveals for the audience, the first being the new title for the film being revealed as The Rise Of Skywalker in between the enlarged Star Wars words, and the final twist being a mysterious yet evil laugh that instantly draws audiences to the revelation that Emperor Palpatine is alive and well.

General Thoughts
      The trailer for The Rise Of Skywalker most definately goes to extreme lengths in hopes of getting audiences excited again for the franchise, as they showcase numerous callbacks to the previous films (Especially the Original Trilogy) in hopes of reassuring audiences that the next installment will be better than the previous and less divisive in terms of reception. The return of Calrissian and Palpatine also help with rounding out the three main trilogies as a whole, but at the same time can also can feel like Abrams is pulling the nostalgia card once again in a similar way he did with The Force Awakens signifying that he's once again playing it safe. Whereas The Last Jedi felt like Rian Johnson giving Abrams the middle finger by throwing out much of his ideas and subplots he was building up with this film (Captain Phasma and Snoke are prime examples of characters that had tremendous potential but were ultimately wasted), and taking the story in a different direction which left large portions of fans unhappy. Disney is well aware of the divide in the fan base and is hoping to make amends with audiences which is evident by the return of JJ Abrams in the directors chair. Abrams clearly knows what the audience want to see and is going to extreme lengths to please as many fans as possible. As much as he claims in interviews that he isn't undoing the work completed by Rian Johnson with The Last Jedi, the trailers appear to show otherwise and that Rey will have a shocking revelation regarding her parents backstory in this one as well as a questionable role for Luke Skywalker.  Perhaps it can be said that the new Disney era of Star Wars fans were never going to escape the shadows of the original films and will always be compared to them. However there's still hope that The Rise Of Skywalker can not only bring a satisfying ending to the sequel trilogy, but close out the Skywalker Saga in a way that's both honorable and epic. Whereas Rian Johnson took the more radical approach with his controversial creative decisions with The Last Jedi such as the reveal of Rey's parents and the killing off of Luke Skywalker, Abrams approach with The Rise Of Skywalker appears to be a restoration of his original path for the sequel trilogy as well as an attempt to correct the mistakes of The Last Jedi. Time will tell if Abrams will deliver the grand finale that fans are waiting for anxiously. The Rise Of Skywalker opens in theaters December 20th 2019.

Check out the trailer here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adzYW5DZoWs

With Disney's Mulan, Fans Are Hoping The Live-Action Remake Will Bring Honor To Us All

      

      Disney's trend of turning their most beloved animated classics into live-action form continues once again with the release of the teasar trailer for the much anticipated live-action adaptation of Mulan. The plot for the original animated film centered around a young Chinese maiden disguising herself as a male warrior in order to save her father. Up until the release of this trailer, Disney has been on a hot streak with turning some of their most iconic animated classics into live-action form with Cinderella, The Jungle Book, and Beauty And The Beast all receiving box office and critical acclaim from audiences. Despite the unquestionable successes of those films, 2019 has been a more challenging year for live-action adaptation of classic Disney films with Tim Burton's Dumbo opening to mixed reviews and failing to make back its budget domestically despite the end result being a much stronger film than anything Burtons directed in over a decade. Follow that up with Guy Ritchie's Aladdin which received a 57 percent critical score from Rotten Tomatoes in contrast to its 94 percent audience percentage and $800 million plus worldwide box office total, the question that Disney must be pondering outside of being pleased with the films box office performances is whether audiences are growing tired of watching these live-action versions of the iconic stories. Further proof that drives home that theory is Jon Favreau's The Lion King due in theaters on July 19th is barely fresh with a 60 percent critic rating on the Rotten Tomatoes score so far. While that film is expected to perform enormous at the box office and become the second biggest movie of the year behind Avengers: Endgame, the question that has to be on audiences mind as well as the studio is whether live-action Disney fatigue is finally kicking in which brings us to the release of the teasar trailer for Mulan. Anticipation for this one is huge with the trailer reportedly churning out 175 million views within the first 24 hours of its premiere leaving fans of the Disney classic blown away by the early glimpses of the film while also being left scratching their heads over a few major issues the trailer presents such as the the character of Mushu (A small red dragon) from the original as well as the lack of musical numbers from the original film, most notably the iconic cue "I'll Make A Man Out Of You" sung by General Shang (Voiced by B.D Wong) in the original and his army. Both main issues drive home the general consensus that the first trailer while impressive for the most part is also a missed opportunity at elaborating on those issues.

Trailer Description:

      The teasar opens up with an epic shot that's visually stunning of a grassy field with a person riding a horse from a distance traveling across the screen with the shots zooming in on the village. The traveler approaching the village is revealed at the end of the shot to be Mulan. The trailer then cuts to Mulan's mother announcing to her daughter as well as the audience that the matchmaker has found a perfect match for Mulan to be married to which is followed by a disappointing look on Mulans face. The mothers news is reinforced by her father who says the decision is final and wants Mulan to embrace it for which she declares she will bring honor to her family (A line with stays true to one of the main themes and concepts of the original animated film in which the hope of Mulan's family was that she would become a proper woman who could be married off to someone wealthy and bring honor to the family or as the films line "You'll bring honor to us all"). In kicks the red Disney Logo with emphasizes the reddish aspect of the culture depicted in the film followed by visually striking shots of elegant matchmaking women dressed up as they attempt to transform Mulan into being a proper lady with key shots of them placing a comb on her hair and demanding she be quiet. These shots are later accompanied by those of Mulan practicing her fighting skills at night with her being painted to look like one of the richer and proper women she is being groomed to become. These shots are accompanied by the voice of the matchmaker instructing her on being proper saying key lines such as "Compost, graceful, disciplined. These are the qualities we see in a good wife. These are the qualities we see in Mulan."

      The trailer then takes a shift to another stage of the film in which the music shifts from being sweet to empowering as Mulan is shown to be apart of the Chinese army taking part in a standard exercise along with the rest of the men lined up, The emphasis here is that Mulan has abandoned the teachings on how to become a proper lady and has transformed herself into becoming a soldier with the rest of the men. The shots that follow up afterwards are those of her pointing a sword at one of the soldiers in the army, shots of them pointing arrows in the air, an army marching towards the audience on horses that's matched with a shot of Mulan wearing a helmet yelling what can only be summed up as an order to charge before her army storms at the opposing side. The trailer then shows her in a red robe with her hair let loose shooting an arrow at the audience, followed by one with her doing a back flip, and another with an avalanche of snow heading towards the army with Mulan riding towards it on her horse. The trailer ends with the shots becoming more rampant with quick cuts of the action intensifying with the invading army throwing flames at Mulan's army, Mulan ducking what looks like a bird flying over her that's accompanied by shots of her running on rooftops and jumping from one roof to the next. The final shots of the trailer show the antagonists covered in dark lighting shadows standing on top of their horses as they charge towards the audience intercutting with Mulan fighting them on the field and swinging around to lay a key blow with her sword to the person she's challenging. The trailer ends with her swinging her sword around in an effort to intimidate the soldiers on the enemy side that's surrounded her with the final closing words being Mulan's voice speaking to the audience saying "It is my duty to fight." The trailer then ends with the Disney logo hovering above the title as it enlarges with the Spring 2020 announcement appearing on the screen.

General Thoughts:

      Overall the look of the trailer is very promising and presents the character of Mulan in a light that's both empowering as well as inspirational. The casting for the character is spot on as Liu Yifei is the perfect choice to play the role, demonstrating the fighting skills as well as the emotional talent to pull the role off. Physically she even resembles Mulan from the cartoon. The films visual style is one that's breathtaking with Art-Set Decoration and Costume Designs that are sure to secure Oscar nominations long after the film is released as well as its breathtaking Cinematography. On a technical aspect, the movie looks perfect from the teasar. With the films casting choice for Mulan being given its proper praise as well as the visual look of the film, the trailer leaves a lot of confusion towards audiences such as the whereabouts of the character of Mushu from the animated film. Mushu was such a driving force in getting Mulan motivated to succeed in the army that one wonders what her motivation will be in the film if he is truly absent altogether. Another issue is the lack of General Shang (Voiced by B.D Wong in the animated film) in the trailer which has also been confirmed that his character is not in the film as well. One is left wondering who will fill in for his place as his character played two roles in the original, both as a commander to Mulan as well as a romantic love interest. The audience also isn't sure about the reason Mulan joins the army in this version of the tale as the animated film showed she did do in order to keep her ailing father (Who was drafted by the government) from going to fight. Is she doing it for the same reasons here or does she do it because she wants to bring honor to her family in another way rather than being an obedient housewife. That part of the story isn't made very clear from the teasar other than her families wishes are to see her become a proper woman. As for the role of Mulans mother, it would've been even more impressive and special if they brought back the original Mulan voice actress Ming-Na-Wen in the role, making it a great torch passing moment from the generation who grew up watching the original one to the new who are certain to flood the theaters next spring to see the classic story in stunning live action form. Its still very early in the marketing department as Disney has just begun to roll out their marketing strategy but one thing that the next trailer should and needs to clarify is how the story will unfold in this version if the rumors are true that the character of Mushu has been deleted as well as the musical numbers. There's been a lot of conflicting news regarding the production of this film along with uncertainty if some of the same characters from the original will return or what kind of tone this film will have. At the moment, the audience isn't quite sure if this is a musical like the animated one or more of a serious drama which could explain the studios reasoning for cutting out the fantastical elements. If that's the case and they intend to be more accurate with the story then they need to do an improved job of clarifying that for fans as audiences after viewing the first trailer are either blown away or left confused by the direction this film is heading along with certain character absences. For now, the early glimpses that audiences are getting of the live-action Mulan movie are not bad and dare one says even looks exciting. However more needs to be done to answer the questions that fans have after watching the first trailer. Mulan opens in theaters 27, 2020 and stars Liu Yifei, Donnie Yen, Jet Li, Gong Li, Yoson An, and Jason Scott Lee.

Here is a link to watch the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01ON04GCwKs