Trailer Review 029 Legion Official Trailer [FX] (Marvel)

Legion
[2017] Chance of Success =  90%

It is comforting to see the Marvel logo in front of another television show outside of Netflix and abc, showing the company is ready to venture out of the their comfortable norm and diving into the world more closely related to the X-Men movies universe currently runs by FOX. There is possibility of this show tangentially ties to that particular universe but it's still up in the air. 

The first introduction scene is a forced perspective shot, focusing on a certain part of the screen and blurring others, and it is evident that it is from the eyes of the main protagonist who has the expression that reflects his seemingly unstable state of mind. 

Now having to deal face to face with the validity of his memories, he is told by the interviewer to retrace his steps. Holding his head with both hands, he is forced to go back to the first time he was trying to get medication for his headache in the institution, with the symptom that was still in its infancy with him lightly touching his left forehead.

The trend of quick cuts frequently used in trailers nowadays does not give the viewers any positive insight to the show and while in this instance, the first flashes of images showing the flashing in and out of characters around him as the interrogator reiterates his intention to "look for the truth" that he, David Heller, "promised to tell."[A shot of him shouting in a confinement coincides with the dialogue.]

With the already trippy introductory scenes foreshadowing the tone of the show, he begins telling the main crux of the story of a girl (being taken by "them") whom, he explained, switched place with him because of her 'power.' [Notice the zooming in to more cinematic mode when she was reaching for him & the apparatus being applied around his head to probably measure the brain activity]

Other characters around him seem confused when he brings up the concept of 'power' (does not bode well for the interconnected universe with the more flamboyant movie counterpart) but it turns out they were apparently only putting up a front with a voiceover claiming "he believes he is mentally ill, but he might be the most powerful mutant we ever encountered." [After being called "crazy" and having flashbacks through his life with his power coming through him without any control, the pounding feeling in his head was too much for him that his power materializes again in the 'present' with the shaking of the pen but without him realizing it, keeping him still in the constant thought between stark reality and pure imagination.] 

Taking a much needed break from the interrogation, he imagines himself to be in a Bollywood dance number inexplicably, giving us a glance at his rather unique calming place to be in and giving the show a little levity to balance the psychological terror. Both of them notice the eccentricity of it and try to move on. 

The following are the scenes in the next and last quick cuts of the trailer: a possible shot of him as a toddler, the girl in question tempting him, an ominous-looking man holding a needle in a boarded-up place, an older woman in front of other teens holding her hand up and then cut to him reaching out back while being hold back by the staff, a light moment with his friend, Lenny, the breaking point for him in the interrogation room, a look at the back of a mystery man, an impromptu battlefield with a car crushing down with a man leading a possible escape [notice the bent fence, the helicopter and the whizzing bullets], David floating down a swimming pool and finally ending with the said man pushing off a pursuer forcefully to the sky with a move of his arm (a la Jean Grey). [the reveal of the logo that uses his name in the comic and also the "O" has a familiar 'X' in it, letting the casual viewers to relate this upcoming series to the hugely popular FOX movie universe.]

"Look at me. I know what I am."

- Synopsis -

Legion follows David Haller, a troubled young man who may be more than human. Diagnosed as schizophrenic, David has been in and out of psychiatric hospitals for years. But after a strange encounter with a fellow patient, he’s confronted with the possibility that the voices he hears and visions might be real.

Cast
Dan Stevens - David Haller
Audrey Plaza - Lenny
Katie Aselton - Amy
Rachel Keller - Syd
...

- IMDb - wiki -

(Creator & Showrunner Noah Fawley [Fargo TV], Genre Drama, Psychological, Sci-Fi, Superhero, X-Men Universe)

+ Highlights: the trippy psychological journey the schizophrenic protagonist that would keep the viewers guessing, the more psychological aspect of mutant's powers,  the showrunners' gutsy attempt to play with the premise (the change in screen size & Bollywood number), the possible varieties of mutants and their powers in a tv show

- Lowlights: the trend of successive quick cuts