Bigger isn't always better. Why Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters may represent the future of big-scale studio movies.

I wrote a few weeks ago about how something released this year or perhaps last year might be a signal for the future of the would-be blockbuster, a film whose respective success would spawn a decade or so of like-minded would-be tentpoles. What if I were to tell you that a possible template for future would-be blockbusters had already arrived this very year?  What if I were to tell you that the future of big-scale filmmaking may be none-other than Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters?  Laugh if you wish, but let's take a look at what the film represents.

The Lone Ranger gets a 90-second Super Bowl tease.

I'm not sure 'good enough' is quite what Disney wants to hear in regards to their very pricey summer tentpole, but that pretty much sums it up.  This Gore Verbinski film looks like solid fun, with a nice blend of humor and myth-making.  It's a bit odd to hear what I presumed is the villain (Tom Wilkinson) telling the 'comforting' story of the Lone Ranger, but I can't fault an ad for my own confusion.  The action looks grand and seems to have quite a bit of personality, and I'm partial to an action film that feels like a genuine 'jumping and swinging' adventure.  Will this set the world on fire?  I have no idea, but Disney can always just demand a Pirates of the Caribbean 5 at a reduced rate if this flops.  For those who like the western, this seems like the real deal, a genuine bit of western action-adventure on a modern tentpole scale.  And yes, on that note, it looks a lot better than Wild Wild West.

Scott Mendelson   

The Lone Ranger gets a new poster...

No, I'm not posting a 21-second preview of a 90-second Super Bowl trailer.  But I will post this rather nice new poster, which seems to the be the official theatrical one-sheet.  So yeah, along with Iron Man 3 and Oz: The Great and Powerful, Disney seems to be going full-steam ahead with this Sunday's game.  I know G.I. Joe: Retribution has a preview debuting during the game as well, along with Oblivion, World War Z, and allegedly Star Trek Into Darkness.  But the big teaser debut will be for Universal's sixth Fast and the Furious film.  This clip will be notable both because it's the first footage anyone has seen of the film and because we might finally find out what the title of the fifth sequel is going to be.

Scott Mendelson

The Lone Ranger gets a, um, Lone Ranger-centric trailer.

What's interesting about this second and somewhat more plot-centric trailer is how is seems to follow the 1981 film The Legend of The Lone Ranger pretty closely for at least the first two acts.  I saw that film several years back and noticed how perfectly it fit what is now the standard superhero origin story template, even if it was hobbled by bare-bones production values (at least Christopher Lloyd made a great villain).  Anyway, the other thing of note is how little time Arnie Hammer apparently spends actually in costume.  Obviously he doesn't don the mask for at least the second act, and it appears that he is basically dressed 'normal' during at least one of the major train-centric action sequences.  Aside from those little details, this looks like fun, even if it looks a bit generic thus far.  Perhaps its the absence of specific villainy, as baddie Tom Wilkinson is nowhere to be found this time around (although Helena Bonham Carter shows up and Ruth Wilson seems to be quite imperiled).  I believe in Gore Verbinski, especially when working with Ted Elliott and Terry Russo (cause them f**kers wrote The Mask of Zorro!) so I'm optimistic until I'm given a very good reason not to be.  Anyway, so far, no cause for alarm.  The Lone Ranger opens July 3, 2013.  As always, we'll see.

Scott Mendelson

Gore Verbinski's The Lone Ranger gets a gorgeous and grounded trailer filled with trains and more trains.

Disney certainly isn't selling whatever supernatural elements survived the temporary shutdown from late last year.  This looks like a straight-ahead western adventure centered around the newfangled railroad, and it frankly looks pretty sharp.  Gore Verbinski is nothing if not a visual stylist and this looks gorgeous.  But the most promising sign is the fact that the trailer emphasized its time and place while all-but hiding Johnny Depp in the shadows.  You get a few glimpses of Depp and Arnie Hammer, but most of this tease is just Tom Wilkinson (the villain, natch) talking about how much he loves trains with bits and pieces of what is allegedly an insanely elaborate train-set action sequence.  Whatever you may think about the need for a Lone Ranger picture or whether it was wise to spend $200 million on it, this does look like something at least attempting to be a real movie, which I'd argue is the Verbinski touch.  Anyway, this one drops July 3rd, 2013.  As always we'll see, but I'm officially intrigued by the restraint and relative realism on display.  This certainly *looks* closer to Pirates of the Carribean: Curse of the Black Pearl than Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.  Your thoughts?

Scott Mendelson