Welcome to Breaking Geek, a weekly column where uber-geek Nick Doll offers commentary and reactions to the most interesting news of the week, using his expansive knowledge of all things geek!

This week it’s trailer mania here at Breaking Geek! With the release of all the Super Bowl trailers on Sunday night, a full Solo: A Star Wars Story on Monday, a new Deadpool trailer on Wednesday, and a Venom trailer on Thursday, we have a lot of trailers to discuss!

If you hate trailers, never fear, I’ve also written a bit about new Star Wars announcements and the potential casting of Joaquin Pheonix as Joker, as well as a few other actors I think could do the job even better!

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Trailer Restores Faith in Franchise

I watched the first trailer for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (aka Jurassic World 2 aka Jurassic Park 5) with dread in my stomach. The behind-the-scenes video earlier in the week promised scares and practical effects, while the first official teaser trailer seemed to be on an even more ridiculous scale than Jurassic World with even more computer effects than that CG overload! But, I kept my chin up, told everyone, “It doesn’t look great, but it will totally be fun!” Meanwhile, secretly dreading that Fallen Kingdom could be worse than Jurassic Park III, the low-point in the 25-year-old franchise.

But the new trailer that premiered during the Super Bowl… that is the best Jurassic Park footage I’ve seen since 1993!

After an intense scene with a mysterious new carnivorous dinosaur in a child’s room, tapping its foot like a velociraptor, and reaching not only it’s snout, but also its unusually long arms across the bed to grab the little girl.

From there, the first part of the trailer was the same-old “save Dinosaurs from a Volcano, what could go wrong?” with a bit of charm trying to remind audiences what it was like the first time we were shown a dinosaur. And then we get the dumb, CG volcano over-load again, but then… 

The trailer shifts gears to a far more interesting type of Jurassic Park film, one that hearkens back to 1993.

“Jurassic World, the island, all of that is in the past.”

With this line, the mysterious Eli Millis, played by the excellent Rafe Spall (Black Mirror, Prometheus, Hot Fuzz) tells us we are in for a new type of adventure, and wouldn’t you know it, we did see dinosaurs being airlifted off the island earlier in the trailer!

So, mainland (or other island) adventure! The rest of the movie appears to take place at some of InGen compound — or a competitor picking up InGen’s pieces — likely owned by another spectacular British actor that will elevate the 2nd half of the film, James Cromwell as Benjamin Lockwood, a former partner of Dr. John Hammond. We see Tony Jones (another great British actor!) holding an auction between countries for an “Indoraptor” and now we get it…

The meat of this film is a “ghost in the house” movie! Which, doesn’t mean a literal ghost, as this “genre” also refers to the film Alien. Now the claims that the film uses a great deal of practical dinosaurs makes sense. The special effects crew has created a new monster, and it will hunt our heroes in an enclosed space. And it looks amazing!

Did you feel the same way? Or are you still worried about Jurassic World? Let’s discuss in the comments!

Mission: Impossible – Fallout Trailer Looks To Bring More of What Rogue Nation Great

Not as much to say about this one, as the plot is still very vague, and it had no expectations to reverse like the second trailer for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.

Yet, I’ve been waiting eagerly to see the first trailer for Mission: Impossible – Fallout. And it did not disappoint!

The trailer for Fallout basically just confirms the expectations I already had for the film, coming from the same writer/director Christopher McQuarrie (the dude also wrote Edge of Tomorrow). Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation is my second favorite film in the franchise, behind only the untouchable 1996 original classic.

Sean Harris is back, in some capacity, after delivering one of the creepiest M:I villains as Solomon Lane. He gets the meaty and creepy opening monologue, but his role in this one seems akin to Mr. White in Quantum of Solace or Spectre, rather than the main baddie.

Also back is scene-stealer Rebecca Ferguson as Isla Faust, perhaps the strongest addition to the franchise since the original film.

And, of course, we got some of that sweet, sweet Henry Cavill mustache! Boy, oh boy was it worth it. 100% not CGI! Thank the heavens!

I will say the new stunt does not appear to be as impressive as the last two; the tower in Dubai and holding onto the side of an aircraft taking off.  But, if you want to know why it is more badass than it appears in the Super Bowl trailer, watch this behind-the-scenes video released later in the week:

I most certainly chose to accept this mission, as 007 films bounce back and forth as far as quality goes, Kingsman is fun, but Mission: Impossible is the best spy franchise for my money, with each film better than the last, ever since Mission: Impossible 2.

Solo: A Star Wars Trailer Actually Looks Great! But Will Alden Ehrenreich Be?

I’m sure people are fairly split on this one, and it took me a day or two, but now I love the trailer for Solo: A Star Wars Story! Let’s just assume I’m talking about both the Super Bowl spot and Monday’s full trailer as if they are one.

Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian. Spectacular. Absolutely spectacular. A home run!

I love the unique feel of this trailer, compared to any other Star Wars trailer. The unconventional music that only references John Williams’ classic theme when we see the film’s logo. Visuals that have a more atmospheric look akin to Blade Runner 2049 rather than the clean, bright, gleaming Star Wars visuals of Disney’s films. The western/adventure tone that dips into Indiana Jones territory with that amazing fight on top of a sci-fi train. This is all great stuff!

The biggest question is, do we like what Alden Ehrenreich is doing with his portrayal of Han Solo? You obviously don’t want a Harrison Ford impression (Or DO WE?); how awful would JJ’s Star Treks be if Chris Pine was imitating William Shatner?

That being said, is Ehrenreich Han Solo-y enough? I guess I need to see more footage, but my main fear for the movie’s quality lies with whether or not Ehrenreich can even begin to live up to Harrison Ford.

What about you? You hated the trailer, didn’t you? But, why? Again, let’s discuss at the end.

Deadpool 2 Trailer – Can Cable Be Any More Badass?

Josh Brolin is far more badass as Cable than I could have ever expected! And I knew Brolin was a badass already! I mean, Cable looks cooler than Thanos… also played by Josh Brolin…

Deadpool gets to have more fun at DC’s expense. I love it. Pointing out bad effects in DC movies will never get old, and there will always be more to mock (even when DC nails most of the movie, the third act final battle always looks like garbage).

RELATED – Deadpool 2: Our Interview With Deadpool Creator Rob Liefeld

But again, Cable… I’m not sure what is going on with every other quick shot in the trailer, but Cable’s action scene is incredible, and his metal arms makes Bucky’s look like it was made from aluminum foil (an exaggeration, obviously).

Except for the shot of X-Force… oh, boy, was that cool too!

And can I take this last moment to comment on the excellent Toy Story reference? Sure, the shots we get glimpses at from the film are great, but I want more of these unconventional trailers. Because that’s what makes Deadpool unique. He’s the hero we need, and deserve, right now… when it comes to original marketing.

I just hope the official name of the film is Untitled Deadpool Sequel. That would be rad.

And The Venom Trailer Is… Terrible!

Just in case you thought I’d give every trailer this week the Breaking Geek gold seal of approval, rest assured, I think the teaser trailer for Venom sucks. Here is why:

No Venom?

Yes, this is teaser trailer, so I never expected to see a full shot of Venom. That’s something you save for a later trailer. BUT, in a trailer with no suggestion it even is a superhero movie, this trailer needed… something. Anything to remind us we are watching a trailer about Venom. How about Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) partially covered in the symbiote? Maybe just it crawling up his arm? Or just a quick shot of a black figure with glowing eyes hidden in the dark. Give us something besides a one second shot of the symbiote in a can, please!

Two unrelated shots could be intercut, but the trailer does seem to suggest Brock can throw people across the room with his mind. What the what?

Crashed Spacecraft Origin?

Honestly, this is the best way to do the origin without Spider-Man, which is already, before even watching the trailer, the main issue with this film. It NEEDS Spider-Man. But, a crashed spaceship arrival is better than a random meteorite as in Spider-Man 3. But, who knows, Brock’s symbiote may already be on Earth, and this is the arrival of the villainous symbiotes in the film.

Super Generic Action Scenes

Two cars flip as Brock drives a motorcycle. This film looks like a second-rate action film dumped in January or September. Not a superhero blockbuster.

Hospital/Lab Scenes

Reminds me of a trailer for a little film called FANT4STIC. In that case, though, the trailer was better than the film. If that is the case here, then yikes!

Anyway, too early to really form a real opinion about the overall film – as I said, we haven’t even seen Venom yet – but Sony really needed to come out of the gate strong to combat the already negative reaction to the project existing (without Spider-Man). Not only does this trailer not restore confidence in the film, as I felt the Solo trailer did, but it makes me even more worried.

And here’s all they had to do to make it work…

1. Delay Venom just one year. October or even August 2019,
2. Spider-Man gets Black Suit (symbiote) in Avengers 4 in May 2019.
3. Spider-Man uses suit but strips it off in Spider-Man: Homecoming 2 in July 2019.
4. Venom film opens with suit falling on Brock, after we meet him as a regular dude for an act.
5. Then… Venom Vs Spider-Man as the sequel to Venom and Spider-Man: Homecoming 2.
6. Boom!

Did anyone out there like the Venom trailer? I’d love to hear from you.

Star Wars Announcements May Change The Landscape Of Films And TV

Now that we’ve gotten five trailers out of the way, we can talk about all the crazy announcements Disney and Lucasfilm made this week concerning the future of Star Wars.

So, what does that mean? Two movies? A trilogy? More? It is interesting to say a “series” as it could be fun to play around with a two-part adventure and not always be stuck on movies in sets of three or one film “Star Wars Stories.”

The biggest question is, does another “series” of films spell doom for the Star Wars anthologies? Are we done with one-offs? I’m okay with that, but Solo does look a hell of a lot better and more original than Rogue One, so maybe give them a chance?

From a financial standpoint, if you are Disney, it is obvious to see that “series” and trilogy films far out-gross standalone adventures… so… go where the money is, I guess?

Disney was less clear with their other announcement, saying they are developing multiple TV-series, not to be confused with Benioff and D.B. Weiss’s “series” of films, for Disney’s impending streaming service. I hope that includes the long-awaited live-action series, but do expect at least one CG animated series akin to Rebels or Clone Wars.

Disney also announced late in the week that original Marvel series will be featured on the service as well.

I’m going to have to buy another streaming service, huh? Bummer…

Joaquin Phoenix Is In Talks To Play Joker, But These Are  Even Better Choices

It was announced yesterday that Joaquin Phoenix is being eyed to play Joker in his non-DCEU solo movie from Todd Philips. To be honest, that’s not a bad choice, a far better choice for that character than having Jake Gyllenhaal play Batman.

So, even though Phoenix’s casting actually feels right, as is tradition, I will offer several actors I’d like to see play the Joker more than Phoenix.

Walton Goggins

This man was born to play the Joker! Just check him out in American Ultra, Justified, or Vice Principals. See that grin on his face? That’s more or less permanent. Do an image search on Goggins, too many creepy grins. But he’s not just a laughing face, the man can act and always plays someone on the edge.

Willem Dafoe

This man was REALLY born to play the Joker, but his time may have passed, and even though this Joker film is not a part of the DCEU, it may be weird seeing Dafoe in both Aquaman and as Joker. His Green Goblin is still my favorite big-screen superhero villain, and actually a better version Joker than any actual Joker…

Is it because he already played a scary clown in IT? Absolutely, because playing scary clowns is much harder than it looks. I mean, look at how awful Jared Leto is at it and he’s a good actor!

Adrian Brody

The man’s got a nice, long, Joker face. And his other strength is Phoenix’s greatest attribute he would bring to the character; both men can really, really act. Isn’t that enough?

Sam Rockwell

Like with Armie Hammer, I just want to see this guy in more blockbusters, so I feel obligated to throw him on a dream casting list every few months. He is one of the best, but underutilized villains in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Justin Hammer, so why not let him shine as DC’s greatest villain? Again, this dude can act!

What do you think? Are you pleased with news of Joaquin Pheonix? Like one of my choices better? Let’s discuss!

Now, I want to hear from YOU! Agree with my opinions? Think I’m wrong about everything? Let me know! Let’s get some fun discussions and arguments going in the comment section below.

That’s the entire point, so join me, my fellow geeks, and let me know what YOU THINK!

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