30. Jackie
It’s difficult for a trailer to show the conflict that a film is able to, the necessarily short runtime and the chopped-up nature of the form mean that a lot of the thematic nuances of a film are flushed to make way for a single, communicable idea. The Jackie trailer does not have this problem. Over 2 minutes and 25 seconds the trailer conveys all the intricate, tangly bits of the film, and crucially previews Natalie Portman’s remarkable performance. Through the use of gorgeous close-ups, the trailer is all Jackie, her complicated relationship to her husband’s legacy, and even more so, to her own. It’s quiet until it’s not, as it builds fervent intensity through a beautiful but unplaceable piece of music. The trailer is not only a microcosm of the film’s emotional and thematic through-lines, but a moving glimpse into Jackie’s life and grief in its own right. (Margaret Pereira)
29. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
The trailer for Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is so jam-packed, it never even gives you a second to catch your breath. Full of comic book-style flourishes, sarcastic lines, crash-zooms, and frenetic indie music, this trailer perfectly captures the energy of Edgar Wright’s delightful 2010 film. The trailer hints at the genuine sweetness beneath the film’s ridiculously kinetic surface, yet saves the most romantic, funny, and technically exciting moments for the actual movie. A quintessential 2010s hipster comedy, the trailer also draws us in with glimpses of the stellar cast: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin, Anna Kendrick, Aubrey Plaza, Alison Pill, and even Chris Evans and Brie Larson. (Angela Morrison)
28. Thor: Ragnarok
After two Thor standalone movies proved to be some of the worst solo installments of the MCU, no one seemed particularly excited for a Thor 3 movie. Then this trailer came out, showing us that Thor 3 was going to take a page out of the Guardians of the Galaxy book and make things a little bit weirder. The first half of the trailer looks very similar to the two previous solo installments: Thor is taking himself very seriously, wearing his impractical cape and long hair. There are some cool battle shots and Asgard seems to be burning, tying into the Ragnarok comic storyline. And then halfway through, Thor is strapped down, and his hair is cut. Rather than Biblically losing his strength, Thor instead becomes…awesome. When his colosseum opponent is introduced, the trailer takes a turn for the Taika. Instead of a direct Ragnarok adaptation …Planet Hulk has entered the chat. This trailer indicated a new era for the character, one which let Chris Hemsworth utilize his comedic chops to full effect in a wacky, funny, colorful Thor/Hulk buddy film. It was exactly what the franchise needed to reboot the character and ended up being not only the best Thor film, but also the best Hulk film, and possibly even the best standalone film in the MCU. (Sam Olthof)
27. Uncut Gems
Full disclosure: I have not yet had a chance to see Uncut Gems, but I really, really want to. Partly because Good Time was precisely the kind of movie-going experience the title indicates and I’m intrigued to see more from the Safdies, but mostly because of this trailer, which slaps very hard. It entertains, it intrigues, and it gives you that delicious hair-raising suspense tingle that the best kind of action-packed trailers do. I feel a stab of petty jealousy towards everyone I know who has had the opportunity to see this film already every time I see it. Lucky bastards. (Ciara Wardlow)
26. Zootopia (Sloth Trailer)
We have all encountered sloths at the DMV, and Zootopia’s trailer brilliantly capitalizes on a universally hated destination among the adult population to make something all audiences can enjoy. The “scene as trailer” approach isn’t all that common—it requires a certain sort of scene—but when a film has the right content to work with it, it can make for a highly effective and distinctive trailer. (Ciara Wardlow)
25. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (Trailer #1)
Ben Stiller’s 2013 remake of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty might have gotten middling reviews, but its first trailer is absolutely masterful. It utterly commits to letting its gorgeous visuals do all the talking, muting the dialogue and opting against filling the space with voice-over. Instead, it just lets the dreamy notes of Of Monsters and Men’s “Dirty Paws” provide a fitting soundtrack to the truly fantastic (and fantastical) cinematography. It’s a memorable, distinctively mesmerizing trailer that manages to strike the delicate balance of sparking intriguing while actually telling very little. (Ciara Wardlow)
24. The Dark Knight Rises (Trailer #3)
The last trailer for The Dark Knight Rises was revealed frame by frame through a worldwide treasure hunt in one of the most interesting viral marketing moves in recent memory. I recall refreshing my browser page throughout the school day at the time, searching the growing collection of images for clues. And when Warner Bros. eventually posted the full trailer to the web, my sixteen-year-old fangirl heart was fully satisfied. there are few directors disproportionately represented on this list and Christopher Nolan is one of the most prominent. His impeccably precise and somewhat hammy sensibilities are naturally suited to the trailer medium. While The Dark Knight Rises might not have been as well-received as its predecessor, this trailer absolutely did not disappoint. It starts very quietly because that is all the better to build up to a crescendo with, and build to a chill-inspiring crescendo it does. In a word: epic. (Ciara Wardlow)
23. Tully (Teaser)
Tully’s teaser trailer is a gem, from its refreshingly honest and unglamorous depiction of modern-day motherhood courtesy of Diablo Cody’s screenplay to its impeccable pacing and the glorious way the sumptuous typography interacts with the images. A trailer doesn’t need to tell a story in any traditional sort of way to be effective, but Tully‘s teaser goes the extra mile of doing so anyway. By the time Marlo’s husband delivers the trailer’s first actual line of dialogue—a backhanded “hey, frozen pizza, awesome”—you, too, are ready to gauge his ungrateful eyes out. It gives away little of the story while still presenting an appealing picture that perfectly encapsulates the style and tone of the film itself—honest advertising at its finest. (Ciara Wardlow)
22. Nightcrawler (Teaser)
Since trailers have thankfully moved on from the heyday of “in a world” and realized having some random-ass dude narrate over everything really isn’t all that sexy, most trailers nowadays get by with intertitles, exposition scenes, and voice-over pulled from film dialogue to communicate the premise. When it comes to this kind of voice-over, the teaser for Dan Gilroy’s wickedly eerie Nightcrawler is a real stand-out. The dissonance between Jake Gyllenhaal’s genially delivered self-promoting job interview monologue and the corresponding montage of ghoulish night-time imagery is utterly intriguing, and therefore, as a trailer, hugely effective.
21. Creed (Trailer #1)
The first Creed trailer would like to officially announce that the Rocky franchise is back and Michael B. Jordan is a snack. It expertly weaves in throwbacks to earlier series entries that make for a fun nostalgia kick for long-time fans and provide all the necessary context needed for Rocky novices. Lupe Fiasco’s “Prisoner 1 & 2” turns the whole experience into a bop of a time. A+ content, 10/10 recommend. (Ciara Wardlow)
Related Topics: Ava DuVernay, Christopher Nolan, David Fincher, Decade Rewind, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Paul Thomas Anderson
