What makes you cringe when you see a movie advertised for the first time?
Although there have been some half decent adaptations the biggest “well that's going to suck" red flag for this writer is seeing the movie is adapted from a novel I have read.
If you haven't read the book typically the movie is good. However, if you know and loved the book, seeing the film adapt the story away from the beloved literature can be painful to watch.
This always leaves a tricky choice for the adapters themselves as well. Do they stay truer to the book and make a movie that's hours long or make a nip and tucked version to fit it into 120 minutes?
One thing for sure is there are many signs of a would be flop of a movie. TerabyteAIX wanted to know more.
They asked:
“What just screams 'this movie is gonna suck'?"
Que unimaginative fireworks here…
“When the main male character (teen) meets the main female character (teen) for the first time and it's just like: Sparkles! Sparkles! Time slows! Love at first sight!”
“No but like they actually make it slow motion and add like a billion special effects with the guy just staring open mouthed at her. It's so dumb.” GraceOfTheNight
This!
“Forced exposition: characters saying stuff unnatural to fill in the audience on backstory.”
Example: "Ugh, what would mom and dad say? ‘I don't know; they're gone. They died when I was three, remember?’” ypsm
GiphyWhen it’s a money grab…
"Beloved childhood story, starring three actors that were hired not because they'd be a good fit, but because they have loads of name recognition. Limping into a theater near you this summer! Our accountants rave 'This'll sucker some money from some fans!" CaptValentine
“Like that Star Wars when they show Han Solo at the end of the trailer. He's 75 years old but he's still wearing the same clothes and standing in the same ratty ship next to chewy. ‘Hey remember this guy? Yeah we got him here come see the der der deeerrr’” Historicmetal
A bad sign…
“When it's a comedy and the trailer isn't even funny - like, they couldn't even find 15 seconds of humor in their movie." bdbr
Glad you had fun—however….
“When all the cast talk about what a blast they had making the movie. That's a bad sign." Pytia007
“It's like only talking about how great the atmosphere or service is at a restaurant, that's not why you are going there." timesuck897
Super cringe…
“Movies that try hard to use today's memes or slang lol. Like you are trying tooo hard to be relatable and it's cringey” idkwhat2putasmyuserr
“And given how long it takes to produce a movie vs how fast memes move on it's always a dated reference too.” ReallyHadToFixThat
Giphy“I couldn't care less…"
“I remember when Batman Vs Superman came out, Warner brothers must have realised how big a piece of crap this movie is so they tried this with a bunch of new TV trailers only there weren't any positive reviews. The solution? Add a bunch of random peoples tweets that were positive. I burst out laughing." insane_knight
“I've noticed this trend in the media in general. I see numerous articles that pull random tweets as if their opinion has any merit. I couldn't careless what @queefburglar69 thought about the Senate spending bill, and apparently the writer didn't either because they couldn't be bother to interview anyone." Jezus53
People Break Down The Nicest Celebrities They've Ever Met | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
They always say, "don't meet your heroes." But here's the thing, sometimes your celebrities are actually just chill, normal people who are overjoyed to meet ...The word does not mean what you think it means…
“When the commercials all feature one or two word reviews, like "Dazzling", "Spectacular", or "Epic".” stinky_cheese33
“And there'll all from the same reviewer” Weekly_Noodle
Stinkburger with an extra side of one star reviews…
“In the 80s and 90s there was a trend where if there were NO positive reviews for a movie the commercial for the film would be people coming out of a screening raving about how hilarious/exciting/scary the movie was. That marketing trend is done but at the time that was a guarantee that the movie was a real stinkburger.” Groovy_Chainsaw
When even the stars stay away...
“A sequel with none of the original actors except for that one guy's dad.” Steph_Allen
When we get excited to spend money at the local theater we look forward to a good show.
But if you see any of these film red flags, there's a good chance your popcorn will be better than your movie.
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again.
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
@islamoradalover/Bluesky
@hillbillybluedog/Bluesky