This past weekend millions of people chose to watch two sports teams duke it out in hopes to take home some jewelry. I personally don’t pay any attention to sports of any kind - although I do wish dodgeball was a national past time - but I do know that the first Sunday in February means it’s time to watch some commercials. Particularly those that are TV spots for upcoming movies. For the first time ever in the history of Geek This, I’m going to be sharing my thoughts on what was shown during the Big Game.

You may not be familiar with my “One Trailer” rule. This is something I personally enacted three or four years ago when I realized that there are literally dozens of trailers and TV spots out there for upcoming movies. My theory is that if you put them all together you’ll end up with at least half of the movie and that ultimately means it’s spoiled for you before you ever set foot in a theater.

That said, I’m going to dive into the trailers from the Big Game!
RED SPARROW
Red Sparrow is based on a best-selling novel by Jason Matthews and this teaser feels a little like something we might see from a Black Widow movie. In this movie, a ballerina by the name of Dominika is recruited by a Russian intelligence service and forced to use her body as a weapon after she witnesses something she wasn’t supposed to. The teaser doesn’t give much and it doesn’t really lead to any kind of anticipation. I think I’ll pass.
JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM
In Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Owen (Chris Pratt) and Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) are trying to rescue the island’s remaining dinosaurs after a volcano becomes active. Also, there’s a giant, genetically-engineered velociraptor on the loose.

Since I was a little kid I have loved Jurassic Park. That was the only film of the franchise I can honestly say I like. And then they release this second trailer for Fallen Kingdom. I was sucked in as soon as it started. The creepy toy piano and the claw? Yes please! I’m always leery, though, when there is a Jurassic Park sequel because none of them have lived up to the magic (for me) of the first one. Fingers are crossed here.
SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY
Solo: A Star Wars Story chronicles an adventure featuring everyone’s favorite scruffy-looking nerf herder. In this teaser, we hear Han registering for the Imperial Navy as a pilot, we get to see Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian, the Millenium Falcon in its youth, and of course, everyone’s favorite Wookiee.

If I were to have a man-crush on a character it could easily be Han Solo. As a kid I was fascinated with him and in many ways tried to emulate him daily. I even read the now non-canon Han Solo Trilogy by AC Crispin and became an even bigger fan. What’s great for me in this teaser is there are nods to that trilogy. The fact that Han is registering to be an Imperial pilot? Check. Possibly telling the story of winning the Falcon? Check? What I’d love to see is Han Solo not being called “Han Solo” for part of the movie. Maybe I’ll have to re-read the books and talk about them in a later episode. I’m really excited for this one.
SKYSCRAPER
Yeah… there was nothing here. It’s simply Dwayne Johnson talking to a group of executives about how they’ve built a 3500 foot tall skyscraper and how it’s probably not safe.

I love The Rock. I’d watch him in almost anything, so there’s a good chance I’ll be seeing this some time. Whether it’s in the theater or at home in my underwear, I haven’t decided yet. Maybe that’s the point: “Can we sell a movie just having Dwayne Johnson talk?” We’ll see.
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - FALLOUT
Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his Impossible Mission Force return to save the world again after a mission gone wrong.