The First Trailer of "The Post" Shows Spielberg Digging Into a Seriously Promising Story

Scene from The Post

With less than two months to go, it's becoming harder to find new movies to add to the Oscar race. Of course, that is director Steven Spielberg's specialty. While he debuted a trailer for next summer's Ready Player One back at Comic Con, many have wondered what his prestige movie of 2017 would look like. The Post is lead by Oscar-winners Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks, and at least promised to shake up one of the most unformed awards seasons in years. With the first trailer officially out, Spielberg is back in drama mode, and it looks like he's going to be taking audiences to the familiar serious ground of his last Hanks collaboration, Bridge of Spies, and there's plenty to like so far.

By virtue of his legacy, it only seems right to put up sirens every time Spielberg releases a new movie. I for one was a big fan of Bridge of Spies, which earned the film a Best Supporting Actor win for Mark Rylance. However, I am still disappointed that Hanks has gone without so much as an Oscar nomination since Castaway almost 20 years ago. He has done incredible work, and a lot of that was with Spielberg in tow. One can hope that he brings his typical charisma to The Post and delivers another outstanding performance full of life and humor. Still, it's an interesting film to look at given the odd relationship that the media has with the general public in 2017. Ironically, it's not the vision that Spotlight had glorified.

I really liked Spotlight and felt that it was a great example of why journalism matters. However, as this unfortunate date would suggest, journalism has taken a beating by the elected president who denigrates the media with terms like "Fake news" and "Crooked media." While journalism is a mode that will prevail, it's hard to feel an enthusiasm in a time where half of the country doesn't trust truth. It's a premise that could be interesting if Spielberg dares to go into it head on with The Post. Still, it's one of the last major awards contenders to premiere a trailer, and that should make one wonder... is it any good?

Check out the trailer below:

Looks pretty good. Here's the plot description according to IMDb:

A cover-up that spanned four U.S. Presidents pushed the country's first female newspaper publisher and a hard-driving editor to join an unprecedented battle between journalist and government. Inspired by true events.

Considering that the aforementioned Spotlight felt timely even two years ago, The Post is looking to take up the mantle with an equally prestigious supporting cast and a story that shows why hard work matters. In some ways, these films are all trying to be modern All the President's Men with their meticulous processes. With that said, I think that these are hard films to sell, and the only way to enjoy them is to watch them. I wasn't wild about Spotlight's marketing, but found it moving once I saw it. The Post at least feels like it had a bit of a more relevant subject matter (cover-ups) and therefore may end up being more integral than other late Oscar season entries. 

Only time will show as The Post already joins a long line of movies that are vying for Oscar consideration. On the bright side, Spielberg's credibility will at least suggest that some Oscars will come of it, but how many will be speculative. I personally would love to see Hanks do a great job and get nominated. Even then, that's a matter if this film is good. Bridge of Spies showed that Hanks was still great at playing the every man, and journalists are supposed to be the voice of the people. Maybe it will all work out. Either that, or Streep will get another nomination for being Streep. It's tough to say, but at least the film looks promising.