So, did you hear? Marvel released a teaser trailer for next May's Avengers: Age of Ultron. Needless to say, fans are excited. (And a slew of fan made trailers with AoU footage are undoubtedly on their way).
That's the power of a good teaser and/or feature trailer. There's nothing quite like the buzz that follows, whether the trailer is leaked, official or something put together for a Comic-Con. Below is a list of my ten favorite comic book movie trailers. This was harder than expected, as limiting it to ten meant leaving some really good ones off.
Here are the ten that made the cut, in chronological order.
JUDGE DREDD (1995)
The movie? Ehh. The trailer, however, kicks so much ass, thanks to legendary composer Jerry Goldsmith's music. That and the classic 90s, Sylvester Stallone one liners. "Court's adjourned". Armand Assante was gold in Judge Dredd and the trailer gives glimpses of that. Yeah, he's way over the top but that's what the film called for. And, yes, that is a young Diane Lane - you're welcome.
BLADE (1998)
Wesley the Vampire Slayer! Snipes was one of the top draws once. An A-list action star. Starring in a comic book movie where he could showcase his awesome ass-kicking skills made sense. He was also rumored for Black Panther, if I remember correctly. The trailer captures the slick, pulse pounding tone of the film, written by one David S. Goyer. (Tempted to make a remark…but won't). This was also when films had "trailer guys" to do voice overs. This voice, Miguel Ferrer, is one of the all time best.
X-MEN 2: X-MEN UNITED (2003)
The best of the X-Films. Sorry, DoFP. I love how the trailer lists the mutants, working its way to the new additions, like Nightcrawler and Deathstrike. You get the sense the story and universe is expanding. Also, moments like Scott saying he'd never let anything happen to Jean then cutting to him trying to blast her head off. And Jean stopping the huge wall of water. The X2 trailer is a rare case where the sequel looks better than the original. Turned out, it was.
SPIDER-MAN 2 (2004)
You know how people say trailers show everything nowadays? Yeah, that's the trailer for Spider-Man 2. It shows the whole film, all the way down to Harry finding out Peter is "behind the mask". It was like, "WTF, Sony!?" Still, the way it's cut to the powerful Lacrimosa managed to get me pumped for the sequel, even though it gave a reveal that would've shocked general audiences had it been kept secret going in.
300 (2006)
I didn't know you could actually soak a trailer in testosterone but Zack Snyder managed to pull it off. We really hadn't seen anything like this. Sin City had a distinct look prior and 300 managed to adopt a uniqueness of its own. Nine Inch Nails' Just Like You Imagined over Snyder's visuals sealed the deal. I hadn't seen it in a while. I watched it again for this list and I got goosebumps all over again. "Give them nothing. But take from them...everything!"
IRON MAN (2008)
A fun trailer for a fun film. That seemed to be Marvel's goal with it, to show audiences they were in for a good time. The Iron Man trailer is hip and catchy, thanks to AC/DC, Audioslave and Black Sabbath. Neither Robert Downey Jr. or Iron Man were the household names they are now, so this trailer had a lot of heavy lifting to do. We all know how that turned out.
WATCHMEN (2009)
This trailer is a piece of art. Truly, 2 1/2 minutes of art. The imagery and cinematography make it feel like a living, breathing graphic novel. The choice of music, Take A Bow by Muse fit perfectly, in my opinion. I didn't know much at all about the comic but this trailer got me into theater.
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2012)
No flashy cuts. No pounding sounds effects. This is a testament to how much power music can add to a series of select shots. And it's the music that does it for me. Gentle and haunting at the beginning. "There's a storm coming". Then it builds until finally ending with the chants over the title. This trailer got me excited about TDKR.
CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER (2014)
This is an odd one. Captain America: The Winter Soldier was my most anticipated movie of 2014. Godzilla was 2nd, followed by Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. So, I went media dark on these films, avoiding anything promoting them. I saw their teasers and that's it.
That means, I didn't see the feature trailer for TWS until after I saw the film…and it made me want to see it again. While Marvel's films are family oriented, this trailer makes it clear Cap 2 would be a departure from that. It's suitable for the whole family, but the action espionage story is geared towards older audiences.
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (2014)
I'm not an expert on Classic Rock but I do love it. So when the second trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy started pumping Norman Greenbaum's Spirit in the Sky, it put me over the top with a film I wasn't 100% convinced on. "Oh...yeah". Again, one piece a music can make a trailer. Like Iron Man, the GotG trailer had some heavy lifting, promoting a property no one knew. The film opened north of $90M, so I'd say mission accomplished.
Well, that's my list. Agree with it? Disagree? Sound off below. If you have your own top ten I'd like to hear it. And, as always, thanks for reading!