Kate Hackett
Imagine (and I know after 2020 it might feel like a big ask) you head into a theater and sit down, ready to enjoy whatever movie you’ve picked. It’s a treat! It’s going to be a great evening.
So you think.
Sometimes Hollywood puts out total stinkers — or sometimes your taste just doesn’t mesh with the film’s. Whatever the case, we collected the best responses over on AskReddit’s viral thread from u/Thats_What_Sh3_Sa1d, which asked “What’s a sign that a movie is going to be bad?”
1. Multiple Trailers
If there are multiple trailers for a comedy movie, but they use the same joke in all of them.
2. No Advance Copy
Critics did not receive an advance screening in order to write a review. It means the studio is hoping to at least recover an opening weekend of ticket sales before word gets out.
3. Short reviews
When the commercials all have one or two word reviews.
4. All the scenes in the trailer
When you’ve basically seen the entire plot of the movie and all main scenes in the trailer.
5. Back in action
“Get ready to see ____ back in action in the big screen!” This line is used in many bad movie trailers of old properties which are made into movies.
6. Obvious
If the character points out something that is blatantly obvious.
7. From the Studio
if it’s from the studio that brought you, “insert decent movie here”.
8. Always Ads
The near-constant advertising. Usually the exact same spot played before every video on YouTube.
9. Changing Teams
‘Chaos Walking’. It changed screenwriter, director and production company so many times over 10 years but was sold on it been “A Charlie Kauffman movie starring Daisy Ridley and Tom Holland”. Kauffman left in 2013, Ridley and Holland filmed it over years due to so many reshoots and failed screenings. Then Lionsgate said the negative reviews were shocking to them.. Really??
10. Dump Month
If it’s being released in January. That isn’t the case every time, just most of the time.
deleted
11. Too Focused
The preview shows a girl who’s Just Too Focused On Career to find love going back to her small hometown for whatever reason.
12. Posters
When the main actors name is bigger than the title on the poster.
13. Synopsis
If the whole synopsis is a terrible idea, like making a movie about emojis.
14. Remakes
When it’s a Disney remake. Solid.
15. Bad Cast
Blatantly bad re-casting to the point where you wonder if it would have been better to just drop the character.
16. Nudity
The female lead gets naked in the first 10-15 minutes.
You know they were already running on fumes for plot, so out come the ta-tas.
17. Naw. It’s not.
Reviews state that it’s “Scariest”/”Funniest” movie of the year. It rarely is
18. Exposition
An exposition in which one character explains everything that’s going on to another character that should already know what is going on.
19. Bad Hype
When they hype the movies soundtrack more than the film itself.
20. More reboots
It’s an edgy reboot of a children’s property that stopped being relevant a decade ago.
