In light of the recent debate about the Thor, Green lantern, Captain America and X-Men-First Class trailers hitting the airwaves, I began to wonder, what truely makes a trailer stand out? What makes a trailer so good (or so bad), that fanboys will jeopardize all their accumulated "street-cred" to publicly proclaim it and the eventual movie a masterpeice?
Well, I got to thinking about this, and in so doing, researched all the comicbook movie trailers I could find. I established a criteria for evaluating the trailers and then compared my evaluations to the "general feel and concensus" others got from the trailer. Then I made a list.
The Criteria:
1. The Movie must have been published as a comic book (or Graphic Novel or Manga) before or shortly after the theatrical release of the movie.
2. Teasers, TV spots, Sneak Peeks, Behind-The-Scenes and Set-visits were not included in the viewing.
3. Both Green band and Red band trailers were acceptable, but red band versions were always considered over Green where available.
4. The Trailer length could not exceed 3 minutes.
5. In instances with multiple movie trailers (eg. Iron man Trailer 1, Iron man Trailer 2 etc), the trailer with the longest running length under 3 mins was selected)
6. Only live action movies were considered, fully animated movies were not included in the pull of considered movies.
The Nominees:
For a list of the nominees, please view the wikipedia list of Films Based on comics. I looked at every one of these movie's trailers over the course of the last two months, then I spent time comparing their merits.
Selection Criteria:
1. Level to which the trailer engages and/or captivates the viewer.
2. Universality of content (how easily different kinds of people eg. men vs women, old vs. young, fan vs. newbie could understand the content
3. Story exposition or the extent to which the trailer communicates what the movie will be about without revealing the entire plot
4. General feel and concensus of the movie. What did fanboys and new comers to the content think about the trailers (youtube/traileraddict/google video comments and votes)
5. Box office movie performance, as well as movie reviews were not taken into consideration in evaluating the trailers.
And now, without further ado, I present to you...
The Top 10 Comicbook movie trailers...Ever!
10. Casshern
Years before Snyder and Rodriguez would cause us to marvel at the seamless melding of live action and CGI, Kiriya would give us this slick trailer that is a treat even to non-native japanese audiences.
9. Red
When you take so many seasoned actors and put them together in an action-comedy setting as was shown in this trailer, there is a universality about this that makes it something that all can appreciate.
8. 30 Days of Night
Even if you are not a fan of vampire films, the foreboding setting of this trailer will still make a lasting impact you.
7. American Splendor
This trailer screams of overcomplicated banality (a la Woody Allen), as do the characters. By the time the viewer reaches the end of the surprisingly engaging trailer, they realize that the movie seems to play on itself.
6. A History Of Violence
Perhaps revealing too much, this trailer successfully draws the viewer into a story about an otherwise modest character with a troubling past.
5. Sin City
The first of the ultra-stylized trailers to make the list. There's something about the texturing of the visuals, the snippets that are shown, that pulls the viewer in.
4. Iron man
The sequel's trailer only fails to create the same level of emotional draw that this trailer provides.
3. 300
Besides having one of the highest views on google and youtube, this trailer is extremely well crafted as it instantly signals entry into a completely different and fascinating world.
2. Spiderman 3
Throw some fast-paced climatic opera music on anything and watch it sparkle. This trailer does a great job of doing just that and it draws the viewer in with the murky layers of turmoil interspliced with special effects.
1. Watchmen
One half music video, the other half visual expedition, the watchmen trailer has pound for pound the highest net views and embeds (when the release date is taken into consiedration). The trailer sets a tone that can only be described as "intense" and causes the viewer to hit the "replay" button.
Honorable mention: 20. X-Men: First Class, 19. Spiderman, 18. Thor, 17. Star Wars Episode 3, 16. Goemon, 15. The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec, 14. X-Men 2: X-Men United, 13. Superman Returns, 12. Wanted, 11. X-Men: The Last Stand.
Dishonorable mention: 98. Sucker Punch, 99. The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, 100. Batman & Robin
So those are my picks, please share yours!