Sunday 29 July 2012

Cloud Atlas Trailer Review

Cloud Atlas extended trailer starring : Tom Hanks, Halle Berry and Hugh Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWnAqFyaQ5s

Based on the best- selling novel, Cloud Atlas explores how the actions of individual lives, impact one another in the past, present and future... wait I'm going to have to read that again...already I'm slightly confused! Ever since Christopher Nolan changed  the steriotypical conventions of a  blockbuster , back in 2010 with his psychological epic 'Inception', movie studios and subsequently directors are becoming less concerned about confusing audiences with a complicated plot. Finally movie studios are beginning to realize that there films are playing worldwide to educated audiences, and not to a population of mindless chickens that are willing to constantly pay to watch whatever they carelessly chuck out of there're studio.

Which brings me onto the October release of Cloud Atlas. From the mind's that bought us the magnificent action thriller 'The Matrix' and unfortunately the dull sequels which followed, as well as the relatively unknown director of 'Run Lola Run' Tom Tykwer. Before I'd even begun to watch the overlong 5 minute trailer, I couldn't help thinking this would be a classic case of 'too many cooks spoil the broth', and by the end of the trailer my concerns were confirmed. This trailer is all over the place, mainly due to it's ridiculous time-span of exactly 5:42, an unheard of length for a debut trailer , which SHOULD simply showcase the films main plot and characters aswell as showing off with some visually stunning set pieces. The trailer does all these points but in overwhelming detail. We are presented with a simple initial story of a man trying to find the second half of a journal that he has become enticed by, simple enough. As the trailer progresses things just start to get increasingly preposterous, a new handful of new characters are produced every minute expanding this trailer's complexity. These characters are then transformed into 3,4 or 5  unique versions of themselves,  it was so utterly nonsensical and incoherent, I simply gave up on attempting to comprehend the films story. Furthermore all these unique variations of each character are presented in a new setting, whether it be an ancient civilization, a 'technological wonderland' in the distant future or simply the present day, this trailer is completely excessive and over indulgent. The sheer extent of  information that this trailer dictates to you is completely overwhelming, and is never truly fully explained, I know this is only the trailer, but if the trailer makes no sense then I don't have high hopes for the film.

However the fact that this trailer is so excessive, so ridiculous and so utterly incomprehensible, inadvertently makes it a beautiful spectacle which pushes the boundaries of cinema. Although there may be a complete 'setting overload', the destinations that are displayed look absolutely awe inspiring. This trailer's almost inconceivable set pieces are the only things that really caught my attention, the worlds they creating had aesthetic beauty and intrigue, instantly dragging me in. While we are being introduced to a plethora of different settings, a perfectly fitting piece of music is introduced around the 3:30 mark which labels the tone of the film brilliantly. Subsequent to that comes the slightly pretentious yet ever so essential main message of the film which really ties the whole trailer together, injecting as much sense as possible into the previous 5 minutes.

 Despite the film's utter ridiculousness and complexity, I can safely admit that I'm looking forward to this film, the set pieces and general scope of this film looks astounding, completely winning me over. This is a momentous spectacle beyond words, and due to this extended trailer, it looks as though it's going to be a lengthy one!


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