Film trailers were originally created to display an upcoming movie’s general synopsis, encouraging
people to give the movie a chance.
Now film trailers have become their own art form.
With a killer editing job and an unforgettable soundtrack, a movie’s trailer can evoke
a variety of emotions in a two minute spot.
However, not all movies can live up to their incredible trailers.
Here are 10 Amazing Trailers that Were Better than their Movies.
Suicide Squad After years of Marvel releasing one awesome
superhero movie after another, DC has trailed behind attempting the same with lackluster
results.
The summer of 2016 seemed to mark a change for DC.
After the spring release of Batman V Superman disappointed, it was up to the Suicide Squad
to bring some much needed vigor to Gotham City.
The first trailer for Suicide Squad is hard to beat with its Bohemian Rhapsody soundtrack,
big guns, fast cars, and likeable antiheroes.
The trailers that followed were equally eye popping with copious amounts of Harley Quinn
screen time.
The film was certainly entertaining but failed to live up to its truly spectacular trailer.
Star Wars Episode 1 The Phantom Menace The Phantom Menace was one of the most highly
anticipated films of the 1990s.
Star Wars fans were practically salivating over the first trailer and once it was released
it appeared that it was worth the wait.
The iconic music and the lightsabers were all accounted for as well as an appearance
by none other than the always insightful Yoda.
Along with the familiar Star War elements, there were new characters like Darth Maul
and Jar Jar Binks.
But, alas, The Phantom Menace just did not live up to its hype or the energetic trailer
and the introduction of Jar Jar Binks only made it worse.
The Blair Witch Project Watching The Blair Witch Project trailer today
is a completely different experience than it was when it was released in 1999.
When the film was first promoted as a real found footage piece, it was a time when found
footage movies were not a dime-a-dozen.
There were viewers who believed that the three campers, who went searching for The Blair
Witch, actually went missing.
This was thanks to the pitch perfect marketing of the film.
The trailer is distressing with its troubling footage and limited reveal of the events in
the film, making it even more mysterious.
The film itself has frightening moments but the simplicity of the trailer is more ominous
than a feature length film could manage.
The Strangers The Strangers is definitely one of the most
frightening horror films made in the last decade but the trailer is hard to beat.
The 2008 film starring Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman follows a couple whose secluded farm
home is invaded by three mysterious strangers in creepy masks.
While the film holds up and is scary enough to avoid staying home alone for a while, the
trailer is so unsettling it makes the actual film feel like a relief.
There’s the eerie music playing on a record that begins to skip, the appearance of a masked
figure coming out of the darkness, the extended silence when suddenly an ax goes crashing
through the front door.
It is a truly nerve wracking trailer which culminates with a final moment of dialogue
explaining that the only reason the couple was chosen was because they were home.
Who needs the movie?
The trailer is enough to spark more than enough nightmares.
Watchmen Director Zack Snyder certainly has a way with
making films visually stunning which is probably why the trailers for his films are so much
better than the actual film.
Films like 300, Sucker Punch and Watchmen are each a feast for the eyes but the execution
of the story tends to fall short.
Watchmen may be the biggest disappointment considering the beloved graphic novel already
had unreasonably high expectations from fans.
The release of the first Watchmen trailer alluded to Snyder pulling off the impossible
with a film that could not look any cooler.
The spectacular visuals accompanied by the Smashing Pumpkins song, "The Beginning is
the End is the Beginning" makes for a phenomenal trailer.
Unfortunately, the film is just a little too long and is unable to sustain the same element
of cool.
Spiderman 3 The trailer for Spiderman 3 gives audiences
the impression that not only is the film going to live up to the two previous films but also
get darker, crazier, and more entertaining.
The presence of Venom provides even more of a thrill to comic book fans.
Unfortunately, the film is not an epic superhero film but rather a much too long final entry
to the Tobey Maguire Spider Man franchise.
Peter Parker turning bad is just ridiculous in large part because Tobey Maguire’s bad
Spidey is not as much sinister as it is laughable.
There are weird dance scenes and awful hairstyles that find their way into the cluttered mess
of Spider-Man 3.
No one would ever suspect how much of a bummer the movie actually was based on the engaging
and thrilling trailer.
Pearl Harbor The trailer for the 2001 film Pearl Harbor
paints a much different picture than the actual film.
The trailer shows a few sentimental scenes of children outside, couples in love, and
the general Norman Rockwell style of American life in 1941 until harrowing scenes of the
Pearl Harbor attack inform the audience that this film will be filled with a history lesson
and finely executed action scenes.
The trailer also shows actors Kate Beckinsale, Josh Hartnett and Ben Affleck rounding out
an exciting historical war film.
The actual film is less Historical drama and more “Dawson’s Creek Goes to War” with
Michael Bay as director.
The film somehow manages to make a real life devastation take a back seat to the insane
explosions of a big budget film.
Where the Wild Things Are Where the Wild Things Are was a tricky project
to take on as a feature length film.
The classic children’s book by Maurice Sendak is a brief tale of a boy who gets a bit rambunctious
with his mother which causes him to be sent to his room without dinner.
He decides to take a trip to where the wild things are, becomes the king, and returns
while his dinner his still hot.
That’s pretty much the tale, so it makes sense that the Spike Jonze film gets a bit
lost trying to extend such a simple story.
The trailer, however, is two minutes of amazement set to Arcade Fire’s “Crown of Love”.
The pain, imagination and wonder of childhood is on full display in a trailer that makes
everyone nostalgic for a time when they sailed over a year, and in and out of weeks and through
a day to where the wild things are.
Joy David O. Russell’s film loosely based on
Miracle Mop inventor Joy Mangano’s life could have easily become a dull film about
a housewife who thought of a great idea.
That was not the story Russell wanted to tell.
Apparently Joy had a life that was fascinating enough to become cinematic.
The actual film is not lacking and while it may not compare to the previous Russell/Lawrence
pairing Silver Linings Playbook, it is definitely on par with American Hustle.
However, the trailers for Joy are such knockouts that it is hard to live up to the expectations.
The music, the stunning visuals and the delivery of some of best lines in the film come together
in trailers that promise an Academy Award quality film.
While Lawrence was nominated, the rest of the film was mostly pushed to the side.
The film may have been a mild disappointment but only compared to its fantastic trailers.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice There were plenty of expectations for a Batman
versus Superman film which pitted the two DC giants against each other in a knock out
drag out fight.
The second official trailer may be the best by providing scenes of Clark Kent and Bruce
Wayne officially meeting while Lex Luther comments on Clark Kent’s strong handshake.
The trailer also shows us the big bad Doomsday who is there to cut in with his own fight
against the superheroes.
Wonder Woman shows up at the end to really bring home what kind of spectacle the film
promises to be.
The film is entertaining enough but it also goes off the rails quite a few times before
the fine ending.
There was no need to drag out the backstories when there is action to be had and new problems
in Metropolis and Gotham to be solved and the trailer seems to understand that better
than the film
What do you think of our list?
Were there any movies that didn’t live up to their incredible trailers?
Let us know in the comments.
Don’t forget to subscribe to the Screen Rant channel to see more videos like this
one.