‘John Carter’ the pick of Super Bowl movie spots

One of the most impressive trailers glimpsed at last night's Superbowl XLVI was for Disney's 'John Carter' (formerly 'John Carter Of Mars').

[See more: Robert Downey Jr and co. star in 'Avengers' Super Bowl spot]

Starring ladies' favourite Taylor Kitsch — who you might remember from 'Friday Night Lights' — it's based on the old school books by Edgar Rice Burroughs about a confederate soldier transported to Mars.

Directed by Pixar-favourite Andrew Stanton ('Finding Nemo', 'Wall-E') the CG extravaganza will usher in blockbuster season on 9 March.

Some have described it looking like a cross between 'Avatar' and the 'Star Wars' prequels.

Is this a good thing?

Battleship
"Brought to you by the company behind 'Transformers'." Your reaction to that statement will tell you all about whether 'Battleship' is for you. The noises from the trailer could have been lifted from the 'robot's-in-disguise' series.

The film sees Taylor Kitsch (he gets around apparently), Liam Neeson and Rhianna battle an alien invasion from, surprise surprise, a battleship! No, we don't remember aliens in the original board game either.

G.I. Joe Retaliation
Much like 'Transformers', 'G.I. Joe' is also based on a famous toy line. The original film was complete nonsense and all the better for it, a silly and just-about-watchable action film.

[See also: The worst movie mistakes of 2011]

The sequel of course has to be bigger and better, so joining the team are action-heroes Bruce Willis and Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson primed to blow stuff up and take out bad guys with no remorse.

The Dictator
Sasha Baron Cohen drinks up controversy the way Americans glug Bud Lite, so here he is with enormous facial hair spoofing real life dictators from around the globe. Unfortunately the ad offers nothing that wasn't seen in the film's first trailer, just with an okay Super Bowl-based joke added thrown in in the middle.

Chrysler
One of the most talked-about movie-related spots at this year's Super Bowl year wasn't a trailer. Instead it was Clint Eastwood's emotional Chrysler ad, in which he declares, 'it's half time in America'. Gravel-voiced inspiration.

Volkswagen
Volkswagen also made a sequel to last year's sublime 'Star Wars' inspired ad (with the little boy trying to use the force), this time featuring a dog trying to get fit. Darth Vader and the regulars at Mos Eisley cantina make an appearance at the end.