10 Sure Signs That a Movie Is Absolutely Going To Be Terrible

What's the first sign that a movie is going to be bad? I'll go first. When you can tell that the trailer used all its best footage. Sometimes, you can just tell, and it never fails to prove true. After someone asked for other examples in an online film forum, here is what moviegoers had to say.

1. Multiple Comedy Trailers Highlighting the Same Joke

When you have seen multiple trailers for the same comedy movie, and they are all centered around the same joke or laughing point, that's when you know something is up. One individual pointed out, “That's usually the only joke in the movie.”

2. The Remake of a Previously Successful Movie

If a film or film franchise was already successful, what reason do you have to try to make a reboot? Many agreed, “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.”

3. Visual Effects and Celebrity Presence

When the only focal point of the film is the significant celebrity presence or the overwhelming reliance on visual effects to captivate the audience, get yourself out of there; it's going to be a stinker, my friend.

4. Death by Exposition

Exposition in a film can be a helpful tool to move along plot points, highlight character traits, or even illuminate specific details. What is not helpful is when there is a character giving an exposition to a fellow character who should already know what's going on.

5. Multiple Writers, Lack of a Clear Idea

We have all seen movie credits that list multiple writers without realizing the correlation to the incoherent plot of the story. It doesn't always happen, but the film can lack coherency when there are more than two or three writers. It's like “the too many cooks in the kitchen mentality.”

6. It's the Best Movie of the Year, in Late March

It's a clear sign that the movie has a good chance of flopping when advertised as the “Best Movie of the Year” or “The #1 Movie of the Year.” How can a studio declare something so daring at such an early stage in the year? It's insane.

7. Someone Is Shrugging on the Ad Poster

Several people shared, “I like to imagine that when they take the photo shoot for the movie posters and promotional material, the lead actor/actress just shrugs like ‘I don't know what I'm doing here or why I took this gig, but a paycheck's a paycheck I guess.”

8. Production Took How Long?

Several filmaholics noted the film Chaos Walking. “It changed screenwriter, director, and production company so many times over ten years. It was sold on it being a Charlie Kauffman movie starring Daisy Ridley and Tom Holland. But, unfortunately, Kauffman left in 2013; Ridley and Holland filmed it over the years due to so many reshoots and failed screenings.”

9. Snack Refill Without Pausing the Movie

For us adamant movie viewers, a great perk to home movie viewing is the ability to pause, rewind, etc., as we please. When you have to get up within the first five to ten minutes of the movie and don't feel the need to pause it, you know this movie isn't going to be too good.

10. The Trailer Can't Hide the Terrible Acting

When a well-edited trailer can't hide how terrible the dialogue of a film is, there's no hope for the movie at all. You have to remember that the trailer is what visually draws the moviegoer in. If the studio can't manage to put its best foot forward at the most crucial time, you can't expect much for the rest of the movie.

Source Reddit