Random Dumbest Movie Trailer Cliches That We Need To Reti (13 items)

• 

  (#8) Slow Motion Beat Drop

  This particular trope is most common in comedies. It involves a character or group of characters walking, dancing, or somehow moving in slow motion while a funky beat plays on the soundtrack. It's a shortcut to let the audience know the movie is going to be wacky with a capital W. 

  Appears in:

  • Tammy
  • Daddy's Home 2
  • Booksmart
  • The House
• 

  (#5) Assembling Unrelated Scenes

  It's good when trailers want to avoid revealing major plot points that audiences would rather discover for themselves. That said, it's irritating when two completely unrelated scenes are cut together, making it seem like something is going to happen in the movie that doesn't (like the Last Jedi trailer implying that Rey might join forces with Kylo Ren) or giving the impression that two characters share a scene when they don't (as in the Inglourious Basterds trailer that suggests Lt. Aldo Raine will directly encounter Adolf Hitler). This can have the effect of creating false expectations among viewers, who await tantalizing possibilities the film itself has no intention of getting into.

  Appears in:

  • Star Wars: The Last Jedi
  • Inglourious Basterds
  • Avengers: Age of Ultron
  • Suicide Squad
• 

  (#3) Visionary Director

  By definition, a "visionary" is someone who can imagine or envision things in a way few others can. You wouldn't know that from modern movie trailers. An increasing number of them use the phrase "From Visionary Director" (or "From Visionary Filmmaker") to trumpet the person behind the film. Sure, it's no stretch to use that term when describing directors like Guillermo del Toro and Ridley Scott. Both have the acclaimed resumes to back the label up. But does anyone really think the term applies to The Darkest Hour's Timur Bekmambetov or Gods of Egypt's Alex Proyas? 

  Appears in:

  • Crimson Peak
  • Blade Runner 2049
  • A Monster Calls
  • Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
  • Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
• 

  (#12) Minor Key Pop Song

  The use of pop songs in trailers has been commonplace for decades. As ScreenCrush's Matt Singer points out, there's been a recent trend of using slow, minor-key interpretations of pop hits rather than the peppy originals. Presumably, the idea is to create a sense of ambience or mystery, but it's been done so often that the trope has become tiresome. From Destiny's Child's "Survivor" in the Tomb Raider trailer to Depeche Mode's "Enjoy the Silence" in the trailer for Ghost in the Shell, this cliche is now so prevalent that it no longer makes the movies feel distinct.

  Appears in: 

  • A Cure for Wellness (The Ramones' "I Wanna Be Sedated")
  • The Social Network (Radiohead's "Creep")
  • A Wrinkle in Time (Eurythmics "Sweet Dreams")
  • Blair Witch (The Police's "Every Breath You Take")
  • Dracula Untold (Tears For Fears' "Everybody Wants to Rule the World")
• 

  (#1) Blatant Spoilers

  The point of a trailer is to offer a taste of an upcoming movie. But far too many these days give the whole story away. A number of recent trailers for prominent, highly anticipated films have made the mistake of including major spoilers. The second trailer for The Invisible Man, for example, gave away one of the movie's best jump scares, while the one for Terminator Genisys totally revealed what should have been that picture's most shocking plot twist. 

  Appears in:

  • Kingsman: The Golden Circle
  • Terminator Salvation
  • Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
  • Funny People
  • Children of Men
• 

  (#7) Excessive Fading To Black Or Strobing

  People sensitive to strobing effects must be especially frustrated by all the trailers that utilize them. They can come in various forms. Some have very brief images interspersed with blackness, almost as if you're blinking really fast. Others show a couple seconds of footage, fade to black, and repeat. Still others suddenly zap into a flash of white light. Then there are trailers like the one for A Wrinkle in Time that do all three. 

  Appears in:

  • Dreamcatcher
  • Avengers: Age of Ultron
  • Star Wars: The Force Awakens
  • Jurassic World

New Random Displays    Display All By Ranking