“Coming Soon”: Top Twenty Best Movie Trailers.
Who doesn’t love a good movie trailer? Especially the ones with iconic movie guy’s (Don Lafontaine among others)voice over the most exciting clips of a movie that was coming out? Most trailers back then and today don’t really do much for the audience and a lot of them basically show you the entire movie in less than two minutes. These are twenty trailers that I feel are the best of the bunch as well as the most artfully done.
20. Midnight Run. 1988.
This trailer does a great job of showing the great blend of the frenetic pace, fun, over the top action and timelessly great comedy that the film has as well as displaying the iconic chemistry between DeNiro and Grodin. The music choice is perfect too. Fits perfectly for a action\adventure\comedy road movie.
19. Die Hard. 1988.
If you like getting your adrenaline pumped then the Die Hard trailer is for you. It gives you some of the charm of John McClaine as well as some of the best scenes and dialouge yet still has enough mystery that doesn’t completely spoil you on plot intricacies.
18. The Thing. 1982.
Appropriately both mysterious and creepy. The Thing’s trailer prepares us for a wild ride and does it all with a certain flair that’s unique from most film trailers.
17. Aliens. 1986.
The iconic sequel to Alien became a cinematic masterpiece and this trailer shows you exactly why. It doesn’t reveal significant details of the story or the Aliens themselves yet gives you enough of an exciting sneak peek to get you pumped up to go see it. The score by James Horner also enhances it.
16. Beavis and Butthead Do America. 1996.
If ever a trailer understood the appeal of the protagonists of the film, it’s Do America. Beavis and Butthead are at their moronic best as the two juvenile delinquents and their antics make you laugh hysterically before you even see the movie. Also love the fun mix of music choices including Rollercoaster of love by the Red Hot Chilipeppers.
15. Devil In A Blue Dress. 1995.
This gem of a trailer gives you all the noir style suspense, intrigue, mystery and action we would come to expect from the film and it doesn’t disappoint. Showcasing the powerful charisma of Denzel Washington as well in only 2 minutes.
14. The Thin Man. 1934.
Earning major cool points for a creative and original opening, the trailer of The Thin Man is as entertaining, funny and creative as the movie itself. The dialogue in the Thin Man movies are all exceptional and this trailer gives you a taste of that.
13. Black Panther. 2017.
“Wakanda forever!” The fictional yet immortal African city of Wakanda’s beauty and power is on full display in this trailer for the 2017 blockbuster. A very exciting and stylish trailer that shows you that this wasn’t just a typical Marvel comic book movie. Black Panther had arrived.
12. Toy Story. 1995.
When audiences first saw this trailer back in 1995 they must’ve been completely wowed by a film that was unlike any ever made before. Toy Story was officially the first computer animated feature film. Smartly teasing more of the film than giving us a bit more than necessary.
11. Lethal Weapon 2. 1989.
“The magic is back” as a tagline is exactly right as the dynamic duo were back and more lethal than ever in Lethal Weapon 2. The trailer gives us just a few of the classic moments from the movie including Martin’s classic line “We’re back, we’re bad, you’re black, I’m mad.”
10. Lethal Weapon. 1987.
Truly one of the most creative trailers ever done, as well as a perfect description of both lead characters and how they’re different yet make a cracking team. This Lethal Weapon trailer really lets you know that the bad guys never stood a chance.
9. Star Trek ll: Wrath of Khan. 1982.
This felt more like a long teaser than an actual trailer which is what makes it so brilliant. Just giving us a glimpse of the legendary movie we were about to see. Giving us the epic “KHANNNNN!” at the end was a nice touch.
8. Bad Boys. 1995.
I could imagine the incredible excitement for viewers of 1995 who first witnessed this epic trailer as they realized the true awesomeness in front of them as Martin Lawrence and Will Smith were coming together to make a action packed, legendary movie. Also notable is how they don’t reveal anything about the plot of the movie and show Martin and Will at their most badass, along with a killer music track playing with a perfect exciting and intense mood suiting a jam packed action thriller like Bad Boys, and also including the iconic shot of Burnett and Lowery rising up from the street.
7. Toy Story 2. 1999.
The successful sequel’s trailer gives us a peek at the exciting and adventurous tone of the movie. While also giving us that great subtle adult humor that the Toy Story movies did so well. We knew we were in for a fun ride.
6. Back To The Future. 1985.
What a teaser. Full of mystery, intrigue, a cool time travelling Delorean, awesome music and 80’s icon Michael J. Fox. With nothing but little clues about what the film is it makes you even more interested in seeing the film than a full fledged trailer.
5. 48 Hrs. 1982.
Starting off with the classic “We ain’t partners, we ain’t brothers, we ain’t friends” dialogue, we’re introduced to what would become the definitive buddy action comedy. The narration adds so much to the magic of the trailer as well as the classic theme song of the movie “The Boys Are Back In Town” by The BusBoys in the background. Just such an entertaining tease of what was to come.
4. Beverly Hills Cop. 1984.
Very few trailers bring on the swell of pure joy and smiles as the trailer for the iconic 80s comedy Beverly Hills Cop. It is everything 80s in all its glory and Eddie Murphy is shown to be at his best. The Pointer Sisters’ Neutron Dance track only adds to the genuine joy of the mood this trailer.
3. In The Line Of Fire. 1993.
Just in case you forgot Clint Eastwood was the man, here ya go! Just brilliant in concept and execution. A perfect tease of what’s to come that proves less is more.
2. The Lion King. 1993.
This was just a masterful work of art. The idea of taking the iconic opening scene of the film and just letting that be the first trailer introducing the world to the film was a stroke of genius. It tells its own story with a beginning, middle and end without a single word of dialogue. Job well done.
- Avengers: Infinity War. 2018.
As far as I’m concerned the only choice for number 1 greatest trailer ever made is this official Infinity War trailer. I remember how insane everybody including myself went after witnessing it that fated Friday morning. I’ll admit that I watched it over 50 times in total times before the movie came out. Everything about it is perfection: The music is so perfectly haunting and dark as all get out, the choices of clips were very smart and mysterious enough to intrigue the audience about what’s going to happen and the very best part was the ultimate comic book villain(After Heath Ledger’s Joker of course) the almighty Thanos and his iconic lines. Thanos is terrifying and intimidating as all get out in this Thanos. He made me nervous the moment I saw him and I just knew that the Avengers were in deep doo doo.
’Til next time, folks.