Movie trailers can be cruel mistresses. Sometimes, they can be incredibly enticing and hit all of the right notes, but the actual product arrives and it's not nearly as good as the advertising.
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It's especially baffling because naturally, one would think, the filmmakers that made a good mini film in a trailer made a good actual feature-length film based on the events in that trailer. Sadly, the shiny wrapper doesn't always mean the thing inside is just as shiny, too. Here are 10 superhero film trailers that promised gold and delivered bronze (maybe silver).
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Surely, when the trailer came out, the claws looked a little fake because it was just a trailer, right? Nope, the claws in the trailer were indeed the final version. That being said, everything else in the trailer looked pretty solid. After the mediocre X-Men 3, the idea to make a Wolverine-focused film seemed pretty safe and badass. And sure enough, the trailer looked like a cool solo ride filled with testosterone to the adamantium-covered bone. Instead, it was a pretty neutered PG-13 Wolverine outing with the most bottom of the barrel characters possible. And even though it managed to nab Deadpool, a non-bottom barrel character, it butchered him horribly. The mysterious past Wolverine couldn't in the original X-Men trilogy was best left forgotten.
Iron Man 2
The trailer for Iron Man 2 slaps. It's everything people loved from the first film: Tony Stark being a bad boy, AC/DC playing, and that glorious suit. It also promised new things; Nick Fury popping up in a larger role, the War Machine suit, a cool new Russian baddie, and Black Widow. But when the movie came out, it was just...fine. It was mostly Sam Rockwell screaming at Mickey Rourke, Robert Downey Jr. and Don Cheadle getting petty with one another, and Gweneth Paltrow playing the normal person amongst the wacky antics.
Watchmen
The Watchmen trailer is downright spellbinding. In fact, the trailer almost makes up for the beautiful, albeit somewhat lackluster film. The trailer for Watchmen might actually be one of the best trailers ever made. The aesthetic, the use of music, and the carefully selected scenes made it look like a sleek and pristine product.
While the film couldn't live up to the reputation and thematic relevance of the original comic, and at times missed critical points, the moments it nailed were undeniable, and choosing to put those strengths in the trailer was a good move.
Superman Returns
Though with hindsight, the decision to make a movie like Superman Returns seems strange, the trailer put such anxieties to rest...for a time. Brandon Routh was a great choice to follow up the legacy of Christopher Reeve's performance, and Kevin Spacey was a great follow up to Gene Hackman. The film's use of the original iconic John Williams score and voiceover from Marlon Brando made it seem like a great return. Sadly, the film was a complete snore and managed to learn nothing after literal decades to plan following Superman II (or any of the other Reeves sequels).
The Dark Knight Rises
The trailer for The Dark Knight.
Batman v. Superman
The movie that began the slaughter of the DC Extended Universe came out of nowhere. The hype of seeing the two most iconic comic book characters finally share the screen was unchartable. Despite a few problems, Man of Steel was a pretty solid movie for many fans and seeing Henry Cavill back as Superman was exciting. Jesse Eisenberg was a great casting choice for Lex Luthor after his performance in The Social Network. Ben Affleck beefed up and looked incredible in the best batsuit put to screen. Jeremy Iron's tidbits as Alfred were perfect. Then the film came out, and it was simply horrendous. The warning signs were there; the trailer has a little too much pretentious on-the-nose religious imagery. But the actual film was even worse; the handling of characters was clunky, and any "smart" ideas were about as subtle as a napalm enema in an already overstuffed product.
Thor: The Dark World
Thor: The Dark World, or better titled as "Bore: The Dark World" is in the bottom tier of MCU movies. It's barren, it's virtually inconsequential, and it's not memorable. Had it not been for Loki, the film would be unbearable (more than it already is). The film squeezes in the limited number of action scenes in the film into the trailer, has a cool voice-over from Anthony Hopkins' Odin, and even managed to make Jane Foster look sort of cool. It even kept the antagonist, Malekith, hidden pretty well. It's a shame the film was a complete waste and felt dreadfully long-winded despite having the (thankfully) shortest run-time of any film in the MCU.
Suicide Squad
The Suicide Squad trailer looked like fun. Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" played over the madness and chaos of the DC scoundrels being gathered together. Both Margot Robbie and Will Smith's charisma was used to the trailer's full advantage. Little did the poor unsuspecting audiences know that the questionable Jared Leto Joker scenes in the trailer compromised 50% of his screentime. Along with the fact that the film's attempt at "cool" style would taint what might have been fun if it wasn't so concerned with trying to look like it was fun. In short, the film was not as nuts or exciting as the trailer by any means.
Avengers: Age Of Ultron
The Age of Ultron trailer promised a darker and more brooding film, with a legitimate threat from one of the Avengers' greatest foes in the comic. In fact, before Thanos became a household name following Infinity War, Ultron was generally the more common arch-enemy of the Avengers.
However, while the trailer promised a terrifying Ultron, the film delivered a quippy Ultron, and the film's tone, while darker than its predecessor, still wasn't the grittier film promised in the trailer.
Iron Man 3
The Avengers. Tony would be dealing with PTSD, his comic book arch enemy, and the loss/destruction of his home and suits. And while the film delivered that on the most technical , the actual results were far more underwhelming and mediocre. The film might be vilified further than it needs to be because the excellent trailer lied tremendously to audiences; perhaps it's better to avoid trailers and expectations entirely in some cases?
