Non-Deadpool Super Bowl Trailers 2024

Deadpool & Wolverine is the one that took the internet by storm – so much so that it’s still trending over 24 hours later – but ten other movies got trailers at this year’s Super Bowl. The lack of reaction to them doesn’t bode well for their box office prospects, but some of them are worth looking at just the same.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

This is the best of the bunch by a wide margin. (In fact, while I’m looking forward to Deadpool & Wolverine, I think this has a better chance of being a good movie.) I’m excited for the next Planet of the Apes movie, and I like the themes suggested in this trailer. There’s talk of evolution, which is something I missed in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, where the evolved apes were essentially created in a lab. The idea from the original 1968 film that mankind’s folly led to humanity losing evolutionary ground and apes becoming the dominant species was a fascinating one, and it looks like Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will get back to that. I’m glad the bad guy appears to be another villain with a legitimate point of view, something this new leg of the franchise has excelled in, especially Dawn and War. The special effects look great once again, and I continue to be fascinated by a series of films I never thought I’d like.

The Fall Guy

Okay, this one could be the best too. I don’t think it will be as thought-provoking as Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, but I’m as sure as can be that The Fall Guy will be another fun action movie from David Leitch. This trailer is perfect, establishing the tone of the film and setting it apart from the rest of the theatrical fare this year. The Fall Guy is promising big action, plenty of laughs, sexiness by the bucketful, men and women who act like people (albeit heightened versions of them) rather than actors in a sexual harassment training video, and a couple of stars ready to entertain. That’s the America I want to live in.

Twisters

I don’t care. I never saw Twister because it didn’t appeal to me at the time, and I’m not enticed by a version where Bill Paxton is replaced by the guy from the new Top Gun who isn’t Tom Cruise. I’m sure that’s not fair, and I liked Glen Powell in Maverick, but they’re working overtime to convince us he’s already a star, and I don’t see it yet. I guess it’s cool that they used the same font as the posters for Twister, but the excessive CGI and lack of anyone you can name without an internet search points to the folly of trying to recreate the 90s blockbuster era today. And it’s going to have plenty of global warming lectures, just in case you thought it might be fun.

Wicked

This doesn’t interest me. I didn’t read the book or see the play, and the story looks like more of the usual “evil lady is secretly a victim of the good guys” post-modern stuff that seemingly everything does today. (Remember when Cruella De Vil was attacked by those evil dalmatians?) The idea of Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard is kind of neat, but not worth it. On a practical level, this also feels like it’s several years too late; Wicked was a craze for a while, but that seems to have mostly died down now.

If

This is not for me, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. It’s a kids’ movie, and that’s fine. But the gag about Randall Park pretending to be John Krasinski doesn’t land, and Ryan Reynolds looks like he’s mugging for the camera more than anything else. “All Right Now” was the best part.

Kung Fu Panda 4

Hold on to your (bao) buns… Jack Black is back! 🐼 Get tickets to see #KungFuPanda 4 only in theaters March 8! https://t.co/lwRrJeTZ0Y pic.twitter.com/M0PBfodo2L

— DreamWorks Animation (@Dreamworks) February 11, 2024

I saw the first two Kung Fu Panda movies; they were fine but nothing to write home about, and I don’t get their popularity. This one looks like more of the same, which I guess is good if you’re a fan. This is just a quick TV spot rather than a full trailer, but it’s cutesy, and any kids who watched the Super Bowl probably liked it.

Inside Out 2

Another TV spot for a kids’ movie, and another one where the song was the most interesting part. I can count the number of Pixar movies I’ve seen on one hand, and nowadays, even diehard fans of the animation company seem to agree that its best days are behind it. But their original stuff doesn’t land much anymore, so they’ve got this ahead of Toy Story 5.

Despicable Me 4

Yep, another TV spot for a cartoon. This one features those Minion things I’m supposed to think are cute or hilarious but just don’t get. Make of it what you will.

A Quiet Place: Day One

Now, we move to the more adult TV spots. I never saw A Quiet Place Part II because I didn’t think A Quiet Place needed a sequel; much like The Matrix, that film ended on the perfect image, telling you everything you needed to know about what would happen next and completing Emily Blunt’s arc. But it was successful, so there was no way they were leaving it alone, and now, we’ve got a prequel to strip the alien monsters of all their mystique. I’m not interested.

Monkey Man

The final movie ad is another 30-second spot. I want to see Monkey Man, but this is mostly reused footage from the longer trailer and a quick glimpse of Dev Patel holding water buckets while exercising. Outside of getting the movie’s name out there, it feels like a waste.

As a bonus, here’s that Dunkin’ Donuts ad everyone is talking about, plus some “behind-the-scenes footage.” It’s okay, more a reminder of how far Super Bowl commercials have fallen in the last decade or so, but a couple of lines are funny.