We simply don’t know what to make of the first trailer for If, John Krasinski’s new movie starring Ryan Reynolds. On paper, the idea is beautiful. The imaginary friends you made as a child are real, everywhere, and require saving. The cast, which includes not just Reynolds and Krasinski, but Steve Carell, Emily Blunt, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Matt Damon, Maya Rudolph, Sam Rockwell, and others, is beyond words. And it feels like Krasinski, a beloved figure not just due to his work on The Office but also his A Quiet Place films, can do no wrong.
But when you watch the trailer it’s like… will this actually work? That’s a lot of CGI. Check out the first trailer to If, which opens in theaters May 17.
If we’re being optimistic, there’s some real potential here. A big family blockbuster that’s surely aiming to have all the heart and excitement we look for in this kind of movie. And with Krasinski at the helm—an actor and director who has made it clear he only does this kind of thing when he believes in it— maybe it all comes together.
Pessimistically though, in the very first scene in the trailer, the eyeline between Reynolds and the purple If voiced by Carell is off. That character’s humor seems a tiny bit grating. And while several scenes have a good, Who Framed Roger Rabbit look about them, not many movies since Who Framed Roger Rabbit have been able to fully and convincingly capture that reality vs. fantasy magic.
But, as the trailer says, “What if?” What if this story and these characters grab us? What if the CGI gets finished to Avatar-like perfection? If that happens, nothing else matters. We really, truly want If to be great. We just aren’t sure yet.
This is fun though. Along with the trailer, Paramount released a little behind-the-scenes video showing the making of the film.
Tell us what you think about If below. The film opens May 17, 2024 so surely we’ll have much more in the coming months.
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