Why do we love movie trailers so much? Well, for the same reason we adore tasty appetizers at our favorite restaurants -- there's just something about a brief, bite-sized sample to get our moviegoing taste buds all fired up. Movie trailers come in all different shapes and sizes -- from the very short teaser to the much longer final version -- and as we put a cap on the year that was, let's take a look back at the trailers that stoked our fan flames the most in 2014. From the spectacular to the heartwarming and everything in between, here are the 10 best movie trailers of 2014.
(Note: Some of these movies don't hit theaters until 2015, but we're counting them since their trailers debuted in 2014.)
1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens (in theaters December 18, 2015)
Oh, you bet the trailer for the first Star Wars sequel in 30 years is getting a spot on this list. C'mon, it's Star Wars! The above 88 seconds worth of the next Star Wars movie has been viewed millions of times, and though it leaves out Luke, Leia, and Han (Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford are all reprising their original roles), that final shot of the Millennium Falcon gives us serious nerd chills. You win, Star Wars. You win.
2. Avengers: Age of Ultron (in theaters May 1, 2015)
Marvel's biggest superhero movie to date is also lining up to be one of the biggest sequels sequel of all time, and this first Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer shows us why. All your favorite big-screen Marvel heroes are back together again, but this time Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hawkeye and Black Widow will be joined by Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and a robot villain (voiced by James Spader) that who will wreak the kind of havoc that will change the Marvel cinematic universe forever.
3. Gone Girl
Director David Fincher is an ace when it comes to the trailers for his movies, known for utilizing just the right kind of music to go with his meticulous direction. (Remember how his first trailer for The Social Network got fans buzzing when he introduced a choir singing Radiohead's "Creep?") With the first teaser for Gone Girl, this time Fincher looks to Elvis Costello's "She" -- a very fitting tune for a movie about a wife (Rosamund Pike) who goes missing and the husband (Ben Affleck) who may or may not have had something to do with her disappearance. Oh, she will definitely be the face you can't forget...
4. Guardians of the Galaxy
The first Guardians of the Galaxy trailer immediately hooked us on this feeling that the film was gonna be something special. And it was! Like, really special. Like, so special it quickly became one of the highest grossing movies of the year. Marvel's space epic was colorful, exciting and super funny, and not only did it come stuffed with an amazing soundtrack full of classic tunes, but it also introduced us to a couple of guys named Rocket Raccoon and Groot. Our lives haven't been the same since. We are all Groot now.
5. Godzilla
Our last good look at Godzilla on the big screen came when Matthew Broderick chased him around Madison Square Garden. That's why this early teaser trailer for the new Godzilla made such an impact -- it was literally unlike any Godzilla movie we'd seen before. Like the movie itself, the trailer plays coy when it comes to revealing the monster (it's reminiscent of Jaws in that way), but that just puts more emphasis on the film's other striking visuals -- like a group of soldiers leaping out of a plane and parachuting down as monsters stomp through the city below.
6. Interstellar
The first couple of teasers for Christopher Nolan's Interstellar slowly revealed a story about a farmer (Matthew McConaughey) who's tasked with leaving the planet in order to save it. Much of what we saw early on, however, was set right here on Earth, which makes this particular trailer stand out because it's the first one where we really get a sense of the wickedly brainy sci-fi elements infused throughout the film, not to mention the other planets our human saviors travel to. It's exhilarating to watch -- a forward-thinking director at the top of his game, gently teasing the epic adventure he's about to take us on.
7. Inherent Vice
When you think of a Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights, Magnolia) movie, you think excellent ensemble casts and good tunes. Both are on display in this first trailer for Inherent Vice, revealing the film's layered story -- itself adapted from Thomas Pynchon's novel -- and hippy-trippy vibe through some fun music and brilliant editing. We especially like how they fuse separate conversations together as if to show how every bizarre moment in this movie is connected in some way. It's, like, far out man,
8. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1
"Are you here to fight with us, Katniss?"
"I am. I will."
Those two lines drew a clear line in the Hunger Games franchise, separating the two movies where Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) fought for her own life and the ones where she'll be fighting for the lives (and freedom) of her people. This is the moment where she truly becomes "The Mockingjay"... and, yeah, it kinda took our breath away.
9. Furious 7 (in theaters April 3, 2015)
There's a scene where a bunch of hot-lookin' cars are dumped out of an airplane and parachute to the ground... and that's not even the craziest part of this trailer! Furious 7, please get here now.
10. American Sniper
The newest film from director Clint Eastwood lands a spot on our list because of this ridiculously intense first trailer, which wisely chooses not to deliver a montage of scenes from the movie and instead plants us inside the drastic decision-making of a military sniper -- where one minute all is fine and the next you may be forced to shoot a child to save your fellow soldiers. Plus it's cool watching the often charming and charismatic Bradley Cooper -- seen here portraying real-life Navy S.E.A.L. Chris Kyle -- as a rough, tough, no-nonsense military man.
What were some of your favorite movie trailers of the year?
