In Nolan We Hopefully Trust Again: "Interstellar" Teaser Trailer

It feels like the time when Christopher Nolan was not a source of geek contention is further into the past than it probably is in actuality. Even the months before The Dark Knight Rises were belligerent as geeks engaged in a suddenly more vocal debate between those who deemed the gritty realism of the Dark Knight Trilogy to be either appropriate for the source material or detrimental to the superhero genre. 

Following the divisive response to The Dark Knight Rises, that at the very least was underwhelming compared to the films predecessor, Christopher Nolan became an increasingly contentious figure. Supporting Nolan, even  while admitting any shortcomings, meant one was a delusional and biased fanboy. Conversely, criticizing Nolan was met with vile and even violent reactions. Such was and arguably still is the atmosphere around the internet whenever Nolan's name is brought up.

I do not feel a need to defend or explain myself when it comes to my adoration of Christopher Nolan, but to set the record straight: I absolutely adore The Dark Knight, I love Inception in spite of my criticisms towards the first act of the film, and I find The Dark Knight Rises to be highly entertaining despite unfortunately being Nolan's weakest film. (albeit for reasons no worse than most common blockbusters *goughTheAvengerscough*).

Whatever kind of Nolan fan that makes me, even I was beginning to criticize the filmmaker and found myself yearning for the enthusiasm I once had for him to return. While Man of Steel was a box office success, it was hardly the juggernaut Warner Bros. had been hyping it up to be to say nothing of the mixed-at-best critical reception. Assigning blame between Snyder, Nolan and Goyer for the underwhelming response towards the film seems to remain a unresolved issue among nerds (I personally feel all three individuals were the wrong choice considering the source material). For some time I have been waiting for a new Christopher Nolan film to reinvigorate my support for the director. If the teaser for the 2014 film titled Interstellar is to be believed, I may just get my wish granted.

STAR TREK INTO DARKNIGHT

I'll admit that I was never a Star Trek fan. I didn't hate it, I was just never exposed to it. Even to this day my knowledge on the Star Trek universe and the history of the show(s) is limited to character names, catchphrases, how Wrath of Kahn is supposedly the best film of the series, and anything else that can be learned from a quick wikipedia read-through.

Having said that, I was a fan of J.J. Abrams' reboot of the franchise. The reboot didn't entice me into the world of Star Trek any more than I already was (or wasn't) but the film did do its job as far as I'm concerned. It had great characters, a solid narrative, pathos, and it was an exciting popcorn flick. Now, after an unusual amount of time later, Star Trek Into Darkness is months away and the latest trailer has just made its debut.

There's something about this trailer that feels...ok. I get that this is a teaser and I'll be the first to admit that I complain when people whine about teasers not showing enough material, evidently failing to understand the definition of the word 'tease'. However what IS being presented here is still concrete enough to come to some conclusions. First, there isn't anything presented here that is bad or anywhere near worthy of being hated, in fact the film looks pretty solid and will probably be alright. However there isn't anything remotely noteworthy either.

Perhaps the problem lies in the style of the teaser, which opts for a The Dark Knight-esque vibe involving the villain spewing a monologue questioning the morals, safety, and societal structure of the heroes alongside the quickly getting irritating 'Inception horns'.

Now don't get me wrong, I do not agree AT ALL with this sudden ever growing idea of Christopher Nolan apparently being worst thing to happen not only to film, but just about every other medium as well. However this teasers style ultimately just leaves me with the impression that the film will be just like every other big summer blockbuster. Explosions? Got it. Villain giving ominous speech? Got it. Characters running and screaming in panic as chaos in unleashed amongst the public? Got it.

It also seems weird that with most of the films hype surrounded by the question of who Benedict Cumberbatch will be playing, they don't present him in any way to grab audience interest aside from suggesting he won't be much different than The Joker or Skyfall's Raoul Silva. Granted both aforementioned  characters are great villains, but with so much of this films buzz centered on this mystery, it'll be disappointing if they have little new to offer.

I get that this is a teaser and they may very well simply be going to the old familiar well of promotional techniques to get the average audiences excited for it, but as it stands, for a film that took this long to hit theaters, it doesn't exactly scream 'This is worth the wait!'