2015 had a ton of top-notch trailers. In fact, the movie that's about to win this award is actually my new favorite movie trailer of all time! (Don't ask me what movie previously held that title. I have no idea what it might have been!) There's nothing better to get us pumped up for a film than an exciting trailer, and fortunately, all 5 of these nominees delivered and ended up being great films overall. Now, here are the nominees!
Favorite Movie Trailer Nominees:
Mad Max: Fury Road
What a trailer! What a lovely trailer! The official trailer for Mad Max: Fury Road is outrageously cool in so many ways. It is a wild spectacle of a movie and this trailer gives a nice glimpse of all of it's unique, crazy, wasteland mayhem. After seeing this trailer, Fury Road instantly became one of my most anticipated movies of the year.
The Revenant
This trailer for The Revenant is an outstanding tension builder that raises the intensity with each added breath. I love the use of breathing in the trailer, as it ends up being such an integral concept in the film. Just like Leonardo DiCaprio's character Hugh Glass says in the movie, "As long as you can still grab a breath, you fight. You breathe. Keep breathing." When I saw this trailer, I was convinced The Revenant was going to win the Oscar for Best Picture of the year. I guess we'll find out soon enough!
Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation
Holy crap! Did Tom Cruise just literally hang from an airplane? As if that wasn't enough to get me excited, the rest of the trailer is excellent as well. It briefly highlights the best moments of the movie without detracting from the final cut. I really dig the use of The Fugee's "Ready or Not" in the trailer, which compliments it so well. Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation scored the #2 spot on my most wanted list of 2014 after this trailer went live, and for good reason!
The Martian
I knew when I saw this trailer that The Martian was going to be one of the must-see movies of 2015. It's a fascinating trailer with a wonderful introduction containing a moving speech by the film's title character, stranded astronaut Mark Watney. I was wholly invested in the movie and the rescue mission to Mars just from the trailer alone. I love this trailer from beginning to end, from its opening message of hope to it's closing shot of Jeff Daniel's hopeless face of shame. Tractor beam! Wooo. Sucked me right in!
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Like so many hundreds of millions of you, I had been waiting for this moment ever since the film was announced, and let me tell ya... it didn't disappoint! In fact, it completely blew me away. I don't want to sell it short in any way, so I'm going to stop trying to hide my enthusiasm here. This trailer is outstanding. It's nostalgic, it's beautiful, it's totally exciting, and it does a perfect job of blending in the old with the new. I don't know if I've ever been as excited for a movie as I was for The Force Awakens. Now is that simply my inner fanboy talking or was the trailer really that good?
And the Winner Is...
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Favorite Trailer
YES! Yes, of course Star Wars: The Force Awakens gets the win! This is not only my favorite trailer of the year, but my personal favorite trailer ever. I've seen it probably twenty times and it still excites the heck out of me. It sets the stage flawlessly with its breathtaking opening tracking shot, leading to Luke Skywalker's amazing voice over. We get an awesome shot of the melted Vader helmet, followed by mysterious passing of the baton with Luke's lightsaber. Then John William's legendary score kicks in and then the action blasts off with a fleet of X-Wings led by newcomer Dameron Poe. We get brief glimpses of all the new characters, including Kylo Ren who looks totally bad ass. Then we're reunited with the Millennium Falcon as its chased by TIE fighters, and finally, the big moment we had all been eagerly waiting for; the reveal of Han and Chewie! Oh man, if you've seen Star Wars and that doesn't blow your socks off, you need to check your pulse. I cannot emphasize enough how much I love this trailer and how much it means to me. As great as the other nominees are, none of them even remotely had a chance.