With this year’s bountiful crop of movies behind us and 2015 rapidly drawing to a close, it’s the perfect opportunity to revisit some of the best movie trailers that got us all excited.
Regardless of whether the movies themselves have been released as of yet (or whether they’re any good), here’s ten of the trailers that either generated a huge buzz or that are almost works of art all on their own.
10. Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice
Okay, let’s just get this one out of the way since we’d probably take fire if we didn’t include it somewhere on this list.
While the criticisms of the official Dawn of Justice trailer have been rife since its release (and have cast further doubt over whether the actual movie will live up to the hype), it’s undeniably the one that got us all talking and is arguably the most discussed trailer of the year, save for… well, we’ll get to that.
9. Hail, Caesar!
With an incredible cast the likes of which only the Coen Brothers could assemble, trailers don’t get much classier and star-studded than this. “Wondering what’s going on?” is the final line of spoken dialogue, and following this 2:32 of typical Coen-flavored absurdity, the answer is in the affirmative.
8. Queen of Earth
Speaking of intrigue, the trailer for Alex Ross Perry’s next flick is like a little ball of curiosity wrapped up in a bow of psychological thrills. The movie is a both a satire of—and tribute to—the genre, and the trailer is no different. If it’s not the best trailer of 2015, it’s certainly got the best voiceover.
7. The Revenant
There have been a slew of horror movies with chilling trailers that could have featured here, but none of them even came close to the savage and relentless suspense seen in the trailer for The Revenant. The cinematography looks divine, the set pieces epic, and the performances (lead by Leo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy) award-worthy.
One thing’s for certain: if the movie that’s released in January is anything as good as the trailer, it could go down as the best film of 2016.
6. Suicide Squad
Another highly anticipated trailer that garnered discussion on a pandemic level, along with the Dawn of Justice trailer and… well, we’re still getting to that.
Let’s face it, just as we flocked to the Batman v. Superman trailer to check out Ben Affleck’s Batman, we all came to this one to catch the first glimpse of Jared Leto’s take on The Joker. What we ended up getting, however, was a whole lot more as the trailer carefully teases other performances that may steal the show when Suicide Squad hits screens next August.
5. The Lobster
How do you make a two-minute trailer that sells the idea of a surreal rom-com in which the main protagonist must fall in love or be turned into an animal?
Exactly like this.
While giving nothing away in terms of its best gags or plot spoilers, the trailer reflects the super-tight editing and unique weirdness of this Palme d’Or Jury Prize winner. Sadly, it’s yet to be released in the U.S. which makes this trailer even more of a tease.
4. Steve Jobs
The cinematography behind Danny Boyle’s many masterpieces is rarely reflected to a justifiable extent in the trailers for his movies, and you wouldn’t think a trailer for a computer nerd biopic would be overly engrossing either. But surprisingly, Boyle’s better-than-the-2013-flop delivered on every level, and had an energetic trailer to match.
3. Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7a4imrOhK-I
The number three spot on our list of 2015’s best trailers is for a nonfiction film which we’ve covered in greater depth over here, but the trailer neatly encapsulates the feel of this excellent documentary (and the tormented nature of Cobain’s soul in general.)
2. Mad Max: Fury Road
Because the only thing more insane and bombastic than this year’s Mad Max trailer was the movie itself. We hope you love the color orange.
1. The Force Awakens
Okay, you probably saw our No. 1 spot coming from six parsecs away but you’d have to travel quite some distance to find someone who didn’t get a tiny bit excited by the official trailer for The Force Awakens.
This was the trailer that put all remaining doubts that J.J. Abrams couldn’t rise to the challenge to rest. And at the time of writing the press embargo has just been lifted, and we’re pleased to report that the official reviews overwhelmingly suggest that the full movie is every bit as good as the trailer promises…
… but over to you. Which of the list have you seen (or are planning to see ipon release)? Any that you’re planning to skip? Let your voice be heard in the comments below!
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