Analysis of English-language trailers for the most anticipated films of 2021

Hello, Habr! Watching movies in English is one of the good ways to improve your language skills.

Cinema perfectly immerses the viewer in context, introduces interesting colloquial and slang phrases, helps to improve the perception and understanding of speech. Moreover, you get pleasure at the same time.

We decided to parse the vocabulary of the trailers of the three most anticipated films of 2021. And at the same time, let’s assume what to expect from them in terms of English. Let’s not linger, let’s go!

The Suicide Squad 2

From the author: I myself am a big fan of superhero movies and the first part of “Suicide Squad” in particular. So I’m looking forward to Suicide Squad 2. Margot Robbie is a van love.

Strong cast, strong director, based on DC Comics. What else is needed? To get out as soon as possible.

The film was announced for November 2021, but the marketing campaign began last year. Let’s take a look at the teaser trailer.

You kind of sit there and go: “How did they do that?”

You sit there and don’t understand how they did it.

All translations here and below are taken from the official trailer dubs, unless otherwise stated.

The second phrase and an interesting conversational moment.

kind of – kind of like, like, like

“Kind of” is a common filler. It is one of the ten most common word parasites among native speakers. In meaning, it most of all resembles the Russian “type”.

An important point: you need to remember that the phrases “kind of” and “a kind of” are completely different in meaning.

a kind of – similarity, something similar, something like

So in some cases the article can change the meaning of the phrase.

Then there is another remarkable phrase that is easy to understand native, but can be quite difficult for a student.

As soon as you have some sense about what’s about to happen next, James comes in.

As soon as it seems to you that you begin to understand something, James comes.

The original uses two different meanings of the word “about” here. They go in a row, so you can get confused.

“Some sense about” – lit. “Some kind of understanding about that.” This is the most common meaning of the word “about”.

“… what’s about to happen” – lit. “What’s going to happen.”

“Is about to” is a phrasal verb. And they usually describe something that is about to happen. And “about” here is part of the verb, not a preposition. And this meaning of the word occurs much less often than the main one.

Unfortunately, little can be said about the language of the film itself. In the trailers, there is practically no information from the filmed scenes, by which one could assess the level of English. And given that the director has changed, then nothing can be determined from the previous film. But in any case, we are looking forward to it.

Godzilla vs. Kong

Another brainchild of the AAA format, which exploits popular heroes of the past. Godzilla vs. Kong is a mix of universes. Filmmakers know they are popular and guarantee great returns. “Freddie vs. Jason” and “Alien vs. Predator” confirm this.

The English in the trailer is pretty straightforward. A student with an Intermediate level will be able to understand what will be discussed without any problems.

These are dangerous times.

These are dangerous times.

A phrase popular with politicians. “These are times” – “The times have come.” The use of the plural “times” is noteworthy here. This does not mean a specific time or day, but a large, indefinite period of time.

In Russian, a similar phrase is used in the same context, but more often in a nostalgic context: “Yes, there were times.”

I’m on the same opinion.

I think so too.

“To be on” is a phrasal verb with a fairly large pool of meanings, which largely depend on the context. Here he replaces the verb “have” – ​​and this is a good way to diversify your speech.

Let’s analyze other common meanings of a phrasal verb right away with examples:

What’s on in the city? – What’s going on in the city?

The movie is on! Hurry up! – The film has already started! Hurry up!

The coffee machine is on. – The coffee machine is on.

The context decides here.

And at the end there is another phrase that is interesting from a grammatical point of view.

Who bows to who? – Kong bows to no one.

In the dubbing of the trailer, for the sake of sonority, the phrase was modified “Who will bow? Not Kong. ” Literally translated, it will sound like this: “Who bows before whom? Kong doesn’t bow to anyone. ”

The most interesting thing is that there is a mistake in the speech, because “Who bows to whom?” Will be correct.

“To who” is colloquial and not entirely correct, but it is often said that way.

Insight. here’s the easiest way to figure out where to use “who” and where to use “whom”.

Replace them mentally with “he” or “him” (or “she” or “her” if that’s more convenient for you). If the meaning is “he” or “she”, then you need to use “who” in the sentence. If “him” or “her”, then “whom”.

The English language of the film will most likely be at the Upper-Intermediate level with a bias in the spoken format. It will contain some of the military vocabulary and many simplified American English phrases.

Mortal kombat

Another film on the arch-successful franchise. This time – gaming. It includes 26 official games and tens of millions of players worldwide since 1992.

Several films and a TV series have been released throughout the universe. But even controversial reviews from critics were very warmly received by the public. “Mortal Kombat” is a brand under which anything can be now. And it will be on sale.

First learned about this seven years ago.

I first encountered this seven years ago.

First, in the official dub of the trailer, the adaptation for the viewer is clearly visible. Because the literal translation: “I first learned about it seven years ago.” But it doesn’t sound as organic in Russian as it does in English.

Secondly, the absence of a subject is very noticeable in the sentence. In this case, “I”. In colloquial speech, it is permissible to omit it if it is clear from the context what is meant. You can also omit auxiliary verbs.

But it is worth remembering that such abbreviations and simplifications are relevant only in colloquial speech and in correspondence with friends.

It had the same marking you do, Cole.

And most importantly, he had the same mark.

The quirks of localizers again. The literal translation will be “He had the same mark as you, Cole.” It is clear that they want to make speech more pleasant for the ear of Russian speakers, but this is not a translation, but a free arrangement.

But grammatical inaccuracies are also noticeable here. The omission of the word “that” is already the norm, so we do not consider it. But “you do” here is not entirely correct, it is a simplified version of the phrase. It should be “It had the same marking you have”.

Name’s Jax.

Jax.

In dubbing, it is impossible to convey the nuances of the presentation, as they are conveyed in English. Here are some examples.

  • “My name is Jax” is an official representation that is relevant in any situation.

  • I’m Jax is an unofficial show. Suitable for informal dating, but should not be used in formal situations.

  • Name’s Jax is even more informal. We can say emphatically informal. This is appropriate in the company of teenagers or students, but in the office, for example, it will no longer be too cultured.

  • They call me Jax is a pretty showy, informal greeting. Usually, this is not represented by a real name, but by a nickname.

  • You can call me Jax – and this performance often comes after the main one. So a person can allow another to call himself an abbreviated name. “My name is William, but you can call me Bill.”

Jax introduces himself emphatically informal. Which fits perfectly with his character and complements him. Unfortunately, it is quite difficult to convey such nuances in dubbing, so we are content with what we have.

Get over here

Go here

Scorpio’s trademark phrase, which the localizers decided not to translate, but simply duplicated it in subtitles. And this is good, because this is the character’s calling card.

Since the first game in 1992, Scorpio has a special blow with a harpoon, with which he pulls the target towards him and stuns it for a few seconds. And when he conducts it, he says one of two phrases: “Come here” or “Get over here”.

By the way, the phrase “Get over here” is much rougher than “Come here”. The meaning of the second depends on intonation and context, it can be pronounced very softly or very rudely. But the first is rough a priori, it cannot be softened. In its meaning, it can be compared to “Get your ass here.”

In general, it can be assumed that the English in the film will be quite difficult precisely because of the informal abbreviations and simplifications. For students who are not used to this, this will be a serious test. But at the same time, we do not think that the vocabulary of the film will cause difficulties, so it is well suited as a textbook for fans of the genre with the Upper-Intermediate level.


Even an excellent dubbing is not able to convey 100% of the jokes, references and features of the original speech of the motion picture. That is why we always recommend watching a movie in the language in which it was released.

After all, besides the pleasure, you will also get an excellent tool to pump your English. And if you want to come to the cinema in full readiness for any foreign cinema, sign up for a trial lesson with us.

Which of the 2021 films are you looking forward to?

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