Unlike the trailer for Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, which was well done, this trailer is below average. It goes on way too long, exposes too much about the story and lays down atmosphere or intrigue for the audience. This is simply a Cliffs Notes version of the film with titleboards tossed in to remind you it's a trailer.

This trailer also downplays the presence of Gollum in the story. He's in the a couple of times, but as one of the major players and one of the more visually striking ones at that, one would expect for him to be a bigger display in the ads.

Labels: Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Dominic Monaghan, Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, John Rhys-Daves, Liv Tyler, Lord of the Rings, movie trailer, Orlando Bloom, Peter Jackson, Sean Astin, Viggo Mortensen

I find it interesting how much the trailer relies on the heroic archetype to sell the movie. This is a perfect execution of how to sell a story based on the heroic journey. They establish the opening act conflicts

• Open with the normal, fertile world (shown in the opening shot of the trees)
• The conflict (read evil) enters into the clean world - via the ring
• The hero (Frodo) is told of the conflict
• He refuses
• He begins the journey and collects his allies
• End with a montage of conflicts and moments of peril with promises of strange and frightening villains.

Perfect.

Labels: Cate Blanchett, Dominic Monaghan, Elijah Wood, Ian Holm, Ian McKellen, John Rhys-Daves, Lord of the Rings, movie trailer, Orlando Bloom, Peter Jackson, Sean Astin, Sean Bean, Viggo Mortensen

Aging film director James Whale (Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein, The Invisible Man) portrayed by Ian McKellan quietly languishes following a stroke. As his life comes to a close, he is haunted by flashbacks. The homosexual Whale strikes up a strange friendship with his muscled gardener (Brendan Fraser).

The film is a patient character study and gives McKellen amble space to work. He offers a detailed performance and manages to bring Whale to life. Fraser, who is primarily known for this catalog of dimwitted action flicks (The Mummy series, Journey to the Center of the Earth 3-D) reminds us he has talent behind all of that Hollywood glare. In light of McKellen's all consuming charisma on screen, even Fraser tends to meld into the background somewhat, but he does quite well just the same.

Some may be uncomfortable with the homosexual elements of the film. In my opinion, these concerns are unnecessary. This isn't a gay pride parade put to celluloid. This is a great example on how homosexuality should be presented in film. McKellen's character is gay, but the film doesn't cheer him on and treat him with kid gloves. He's gay but he's human first and it is the humanity that McKellen presents that makes this film so facinating.


Related Reviews:
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X-Men (2000)
The Da Vinci Code (2006)


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Labels: Brendan Fraser, film, Ian McKellen, Lynn Redgrave, movie review