Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Share Tell-Tale Signs That A Movie Is Going To Be Terrible

Unspooled film reels
Denise Jans/Unsplash
Make us preferred on Google

Trailers are misleading on purpose, and if they did their job, you shelled out your hard-earned cash at the box office to go see the movie.

Once you're seated in the auditorium, the succession of previews is over, and the lights dim, the anticipation runs high.

How disappointing then, that a certain element in the film that you dedicated time away from home to go see turns out to be underwhelming.

What is it that indicates you're in for a non-refundable time of entertainment?


Moviegoers online shared their thoughts when Redditor Snoo_19146 asked:

"What’s the first sign that a movie is going to be bad?"

Pandering to the audience with lame humor is such a turn-off.

This Speaks Volumes

"Characters think they are funny because they speak loudly."

– drod3333

Soph-moronic Humor

"Also references to farts or weed. (Not jokes: references.)"

'Hey guys who wants to smoke some weeeeed?'

"Pause for laughter"

Beingabummer

Premature Review

"It's advertised as one of the best movies of the year."

"And it's late January."

– M-Test24

The Poster Says It All

"There’s someone shrugging whimsically on the poster. 🤷"

– findlestick

Trailers alone can be a red flag.

Cliff's Notes Version

"When the trailer already tells you the entire movie."

– JAR_Melethril

"I've scratched titles off my watch list because I feel I've already seen the important parts of the film through the trailer, why bother?"

– butter00pecan

Recycling One-Liners

"If there are multiple trailers for a comedy movie, but they use the same joke in all of them."

– jelecel865

"And then you sit in the movie or on netflix and you're like. Oh, the joke from the trailer, I think that's where the movie starts to get funny, but it just transitions into the serious end arc and then is over."

– candybomberz

Familiar Jokes From Deadpool

"Something that always bugged me was the first Deadpool movie and it’s trailers. Don’t get me wrong, I love the movie, but here you have a character wearing a mask, played by an actor known for comedy in a movie that probably had a ton of jokes and multiple takes left on the cutting room floor."

"They could have EASILY dubbed different jokes into the trailer and used the final ones in the movie for an extra surprise. But nope, trailer jokes -> movie jokes. Kind of a bummer."

– LegendaryOutlaw

Some movies are destined for failure.

If It Ain't Broke

"It’s a remake of something that didn’t suck."

– Diesel07012012

"I hate that there’s so many remakes of decent/good movies. Feels like it’s just a safe money-grab. It would be cool if movies that didn’t do so hot, get reworked into good movie remakes, but I guess that’s too much of a risk for studios to bother with."

– AnEpicHibiscus

A Very Telling Intro

"An exposition in which one character explains everything that's going on to another character that should already know what is going on."

– rohawe8491

Familiar Setup

'Stacy sweetie, you know I haven’t been the same since your brother disappeared 4 years ago at the creek, & then we moved here to get away from the bad memories but it didn’t change anything & now you’re moving to college & I’ve been finding it hard to accept, & I’m struggling to hold down my job at the diner & that new guy I’m seeing is acting really shady & disappears for days, & completely unrelated to all that there’s mysterious murders happening since he arrived in town. You know all this Stacy..'

"whilst unpacking the shopping in the first scene."

– bluerain80

We Need A Reset

"Doctor: what we have here is a case of transcranial temporal reinforcement. If the patient is not restored to his original nacency the Einstein Bozeman condensate will reseed throughout the multiverse and congeal with unfortold consequences!"

"Other doctor: in English please!"

"Doctor: we need to send him back in time so his brain can restart the universe."

– ActorMonkey

Multiple Cooks

"Not always the case but when there are more than 3 writers a movie tends to lack vision. It can also occur due to rewrites. Not A Bomb Podcast reviews movies that bombed financially or critically and this is a subject often discussed if anyone is interested."

– earball1996

Maybe it's all about the journey.

Trailers do have to entice you with the best parts of a film promising audiences they'll be in for a good time.

However, movies just have to deliver on that promise by not revealing all the best bits in the trailer.

One movie I thought was going to be a succession of cheap one-liners with nothing but action was Disney's animated film Big Hero 6. The trailer was never appealing to me.

But after reading many positive reviews, I decided to give it a chance and I'm so glad I did.

It ended up being a very intelligent, emotionally mature film dealing with grief and an internal struggle about doing the right thing. While those are common tropes, it was all the more impactful watching animated characters dealing with serious themes and issues.

The bottom line is don't be quick to dismiss every movie based on its trailer.

You might be pleasantly surprised.


More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Donald Trump
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

New Photos Of Trump On Air Force One Seemingly Reveal His Alarming Plans For The Kennedy Center

Viral photos of President Donald Trump have sparked alarm after they were captured by a Getty photographer, showing President Donald Trump looking at what appeared to be a posterboard presentation about the future of the Kennedy Center.

Only a small portion of the poster board could be seen, but the legible text suggested a connection to the Kennedy Center and included the word “DEMOLISH." The images were captured by Getty Images photographer Brendan Smialowski.

Keep ReadingShow less
Hannah Revels
@hannahhrevels/TikTok

Woman Recounts 'Craziest' Experience At Restaurant While Reality TV Show Was Filming There—And Yikes

There's a saying about being a "jack of all trades" that's popular for a reason: basically, you cannot be the best at everything, and if you try to be the master of juggling too many plates, you're likely to drop some of them.

TikToker Hannah Revels went out for a double date, including her husband and a couple of friends, to a restaurant that she did not disclose. It's supposed to be a nicer restaurant that was recently renovated, and it's also located in Charleston, South Carolina, so celebrity sightings are fairly common.

Keep ReadingShow less
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; Mike Johnson; Zohran Mamdani

Mike Johnson Called Out For His Blatant Hypocrisy After Accusing Mamdani And AOC Of 'Laughing' At 9/11 Victims

During a press conference on Tuesday, Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson regurgitated a previously disproven claim that New York progressive Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and New York City Democratic Socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani were laughing while the names of victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks were read during the 25th anniversary commemoration in NYC.

The story first made the rounds of MAGA influencers on the day of the memorial ceremonies.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @phlynnmartin's TikTok
@phlynnmartin/TikTok

Guy Sparks Debate After Calling Out 'Nightmare' Date Who Racked Up $330 Bill At Frozen Yogurt Shop In Viral TikTok

TikToker Phlynn Martin may not be crying over spilled milk, but he might be ready to cry over money spent on frozen yogurt.

After going on a first date with "a friend," Martin sat in his car and shared the story of going to the popular Melbourne-based frozen yogurt chain, Yo Chi. He looked increasingly shocked and perplexed over what he clearly perceived as offense after offense to proper dating etiquette.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @sailors.mama's TikTok
@sailors.mama/TikTok

TikToker Shares The Outfits She Wore To School Her Senior Year To Hide Her Teen Pregnancy—And Viewers Are Stunned

Most people would agree that high school is tough, from going through puberty and figuring out who you are, to trying to decide what to do for a career and where you might like to go for trade school or college, and maybe experiencing your first love.

Also, going through teen pregnancy during that time takes the high school experience to a whole other level.

Keep ReadingShow less