‘A Hologram For The King’ Trailer: Tom Hanks Finds Himself In Saudi Arabia
Tom Tykwer’s last movie was one of the stranger thingsTom Hankshas ever done.Cloud Atlas, co-directed by the Wachowskis, had Hanks playing a number of different roles spanning genres, continents, and centuries. It was an intriguing reminder that Hanks, who could easily coast on popularity and charisma at this point, is still the kind of actor who takes risks. Now the pair have teamed up again forA Hologram for the King, a more ordinary-looking adventure — though to be fair, pretty much everything looks ordinary compared toCloud Atlas.
Based on the novel byDave Eggers,A Hologram for the Kingstars Hanks as a struggling American businessman. In a desperate attempt to save himself, he jets off to Saudi Arabia to score a potentially massive deal. At first he’s disoriented by his unfamiliar new surroundings, but eventually this strange new land helps him rediscover himself. Watch the firstA Hologram for the Kingtrailer below.
As the director ofRun Lola Run,Heaven,Perfume,Cloud Atlas, and tons of other interesting films, not to mention several episodes of the Wachowskis' superbSense8, Tykwer’s earned the benefit of the doubt. He’s a bold filmmaker who’s not afraid of coloring outside the lines, so to speak, and that alone is reason enough to watch out forA Hologram for the King. All that said, the trailer itself isn’t very promising. It looks like another bland entry in the “unhappy American travels to hilariously exotic foreign land to find self” dramedy subgenre, and that cheesy ’90s-style voiceover is not helping matters. Fingers crossed it’s just a poorly cut promo, and not an accurate representation of the film as a whole.
A Hologram for the Kingopens in theatersApril 22.Sarita Choudhury,Alexander Black,Ben Whishaw, andTom Skerrittalso star.
