Most Effective Trailers of Recent Years

You'll notice that most of the trailers on the list are action and special effects films. This is because it is those things that are best 'shown off' in a short trailer - other elements of a great film are harder to compress into a two minute trailer. Also, great movies sometimes have really bad trailers (Seven), or bad movies have really great trailers (Comedian). Keep in mind, this is highly subjective, and I'm sure there are many great trailers I'm simply forgetting (and if I am, let me know about it!) - anyway, here's the list:

1. Jurassic Park - In 1993, the special effects floored everyone. Dinosaurs returned from extinction.

2. Independence Day - Aliens blow up the White House? I sure as hell ain't gonna miss that!

3. Terminator 2 - Shows off the great bad to good switch from the original, the great action, and the groundbreaking special effects.

4. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - Gives you a taste of the scale, the darkness, the emotion, and the beauty of the biggest and most beautiful movie ever made.

5. Comedian - Perhaps the funniest trailer ever made. The trailer was 10x better than any part of the poor movie. In that way, it was a wise choice to not actually show any clips from the movie in the trailer.

6. The Day After Tomorrow - One money shot after another: the perfect trailer for this type of movie. Not as groundbreaking or surprising as Jurassic Park or Independence Day, but strong nonetheless.

7. Toy Story - A fun, original premise? A completely 3D animated film? Good humor and drama? I think I might have to check out this 'Toy Story.'