From worst previews, The trailer opens with the usual studio logos, but quickly transforms the Warner Bros. logo into the streets of London. There is some great eerie music in the beginning, as the narrator explains that a barber named Benjamin Barker (Depp) had everything he could ever want (wife, kids, etc.) until some corrupt government officials arrest him and “take everything he’s ever loved.” Barker returns to London to find wife and kid dead, changes his name to Sweeney Todd, and decides to use his profession to exact revenge on those that wronged him.
Alan Rickman plays the government official responsible for Barker’s incarceration, but apparently he does not recognize him as Sweeney Todd. He is shown sitting in Sweeney Todd’s terrifying attic barbershop, which puts him in a very compromised position. There’s no telling whether or not this is early or late in the film, nor what will happen to his character as a result.
When the trailer really gets going, there is an awesome shot of Todd’s ghost ship appearing through the fog, perhaps signaling an escape from bondage. It looks amazing, and there is a driving violin progression which really amps up the energy of the movie.
It’s also really great how the early portions of the trailer (the Benjamin Barker portions) are bright and colorful, while the Sweeney Todd portions are evident of the darkest times in London. It’s a great contrast and really sets the mood of the movie.
Depp looks awesome playing the manic Sweeney Todd, an extreme version of Edmond Dantes who is bent on revenge no matter what the cost. His blade gleams against the dark scenery, and he makes some very profound slices and dices later in the trailer. Rickman is playing his usual slimy bad guy, and Helena Bonham Carter is doing another drugged out tramp role. Sasha Baron Cohen even makes a quick appearance in the trailer, dressed in a sharp blue tunic with a pink cape that stands out from the gray and black tone of the rest of the trailer.
There really isn’t much in terms of the film’s music (it is a musical), but expect some great musical numbers, and it looks like it is done in Burton’s signature macabre style. Depp does sing a few notes, vowing vengeance for his dead wife and child.
It looks like there will be a focus on humor as well. At the end of the trailer, Sweeney Todd exclaims “At last, my arm is complete again!” to which Carter’s character replies “That’s all very well, but what’re going to do about him?” referring to a body in a box.
Though there’s been some talk of the movie being pushed to a PG-13 for marketability, there seems to be no sign of it in the trailer. The trailer is dark, gritty, and even shows some pretty sickly kills. I would say that the blood will flow. At one very cool moment, Rickman says “And may the lord have mercy on your soul,” followed by an emphatic blade slice, resulting in a splatter of CGI blood across the screen. In terms of actual kills, it’s hard to say which characters are axed as a result of these particular kills (I have not seen the musical), but one is dropped headfirst through a trap door, another stuffed inside a box (their arm dangles from an opening).
The trailer itself has a 2:23 run time, which is enough to get a great idea of what the story will offer. The trailer I saw is obviously not a final cut, as it ends with what looks like some unfinished CGI of 19th century England, so I don’t even know if this will be the trailer the general public sees.
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