Tina Kakadelis
For some, Super Bowl Sunday is all about what happens on the field. The clash of two teams in the quest for football glory. For others, this particular Sunday in February is about what happens in between the action in the form of advertisements. For the movie lovers, though, it all comes down to the new trailers for summer blockbusters. Last year, we were given a feast with trailers from what would be the biggest movies of 2024 with glimpses of Wicked, Twisters, Deadpool & Wolverine, and more.
If 2024 was a feast, the trailers from the 2025 Super Bowl are more like a meager continental breakfast. Sure, we had a lot to pick from with trailers from Jurassic World Rebirth, Novocaine, the live-action Lilo & Stitch, and more, but movie lovers were left hungry for more. While all movies had a specific trailer for the big game, these are films we’ve already seen clips from. There was no blindsiding offering from one of the year’s potential blockbusters. Nevertheless, Film Obsessive writers still found a few reasons to get excited.
F1
When it comes to any version of auto racing—from red-blooded American NASCAR to the international decadence of Formula One—the roar of the engines is one of the biggest sensory-rich triggers of the sport and surrounding spectacle. The other attention-getter is the head-turning speed those machines and drivers can achieve. For the many films that have glorified racing with movie magic to put audiences behind the wheel, they heavily rely on those artistic and technical draws. That’s why it’s fascinating that the new teaser for F1 premiering during Super Bowl LIX had the ballsy confidence to take one of those away.
Directed by Joseph Kosinski of Oblivion and Top Gun: Maverick and starring Academy Award winner Brad Pitt, F1 is slotted for a flashy worldwide premiere in late June. The film follows Pitt’s retired Formula One driver coaxed out of retirement by a team owner and friend (fellow Oscar winner Javier Bardem) to mentor the next big thing driver played by up-and-coming actor Damson Idris of FX’s Snowfall. Warner Bros. has thrown $300 million into F1 and presumably knows it has a potential summer stud, thanks to the combination of Kosinski’s action virtuoso chops and the ageless appeal of Brad Pitt. They’re so confident that F1 zips its teaser in virtual silence, hiding one of those vital catalysts for audiences and fans.
The footage is a well-edited blend of establishing shots, character clashes, and the close quarters of Formula One’s dangerous open-wheel racing. The kinetic energy is palpable and Kosinski’s bread-and-butter combination of digital polish and practical stunts looks already jaw-dropping in this small dose. However, the memorable trait that helped the F1 teaser stand out among the bunch was showing all that it did with heavily-muted sound effects and only an amplified rising dirge from what is likely Hans Zimmer’s upcoming score for the film. By intentionally robbing that expected auditory thrill, the trailer only makes you want to feel that movie more. On a flashy TV night where loudness sells over and over again, the riveting hush from F1 left you wanting more, which is job of a damn good trailer. — Don Shanahan
Thunderbolts*
After a shaky start to the 2020s, the MCU is back in the mainstream consciousness. With a slate of three films and seven TV shows set to release in 2025, Marvel is seemingly throwing everything at the wall. Some of these projects have been met with excitement (Fantastic Four), while others have been skeptically looked over (Captain America: Brave New World). Marvel’s second film slated for this year, Thunderbolts*, finds itself somewhere in the middle. Nobody has been talking about it, but every piece of marketing has felt fresh and fun. This may sneakily be Marvel’s best release this year. A new trailer accompanied this year’s Superbowl and revealed more about the titular team and what they’re up against.
This trailer gives us a glimpse at this film’s big bad, Sentry. Sentry is a bit of a deep cut that fans of Marvel comics will recognize as a dark twist on a Superman archetype. We don’t see too much of him but what we do see is just enough. From turning dozens of people into shadows to ripping off a beloved character’s iconic metal arm, Sentry appears to be a menacing and formidable foe for Thunderbolts* titular team of antiheroes. Villains are a thing that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has always been hit or miss. They’ve simultaneously produced some of the subgenre’s best and most forgettable antagonists. The execution of Sentry here could make or break the narrative of this film.
The Thunderbolts are a rag-tag group of (mostly) super soldiers who are pulled together against a common threat. This plot thread is nothing new to Marvel. When they execute this trope correctly like in James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy it can be some of their best work. The cast seems to be all in on making this work. Florence Pugh and Wyatt Russell are both visibly having a blast in this just from the trailer. Thunderbolts* has been presenting itself as a kinetic and whacky addition to the MCU. The Super Bowl trailer seems to confirm that this is the case.
2025 feels like an important year not just for Marvel but for superhero films as a whole. DC is resetting its slate with Superman this year and competing with Marvel’s Fantastic Four in July. We’ve been having the ‘superhero fatigue’ conversation for years at this point. The box office this year will tell us how true that is. Thunderbolts* finds itself in the middle of this historic year. It’s the rare entry that doesn’t have too much riding on it. This gave the filmmakers the freedom to let loose and make a fun superhero flick. That might be just what we need right now. — Matthew Percefull
Mission Impossible–The Final Reckoning
The Super Bowl teaser for Joseph Kosinski’s F1 made a conscious choice of technical style. By drastically playing down the revving motors and competitive shouts of dialogue in favor of a focused, steady tone of composed score as the only audio, the sensory overload was wisely cut in half. The visuals were allowed to soak in, and the overall effect was dramatically sharp. The Big Game spot for Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning was the complete opposite of F1.
Director Christopher McQuarrie Paramount Pictures took the “everything but the kitchen sink” approach to their 30-second teaser. Their spot was packed with rapidly-edited visuals growing out of a steadily-widening widescreen aspect ratio. Flickers of the series’ stars, the lavish international production locations, and hints of the franchise’s wild stunt sequences are backed by voiceover dialogue and Lorne Balfe’s percussive and memorable score cues. The words are ominous and vague and the action moves by terrifically quickly. The end result is a double-edged sword of promotion. Against the entire length of the two-hour plus finished film, thirty seconds is not likely going to spoil the majority of the show. Still, there’s a feeling where you’ve been blasted with too much.
While the elated rush is real, less is always more. Show one good stunt instead of twelve. Nonetheless, it’s going to be a hell of a ride to say goodbye to Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt. He deserves all the flourishes of one-upmanship he can pack into this final chapter. Go ahead and blow up every screen you can, Tom. — Don Shanahan
