# Great Trailer, Bad Movie **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 7, 2014, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-trailer-bad-movie/694993 "2014-08-07T00:23:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-trailer-bad-movie/694993/1 "2014-08-07T00:23:21Z")
For the biggest differential in awesomeness of trailer and blandness of movie I present [Superman Returns](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CuJ08nwJpA). Such an amazing Superman movie is promised there. Other examples? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-trailer-bad-movie/694993/2 "2014-08-07T00:48:26Z")
[The Phantom Menace looked awesome](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6hOlI9cg4o). It was terrible. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-trailer-bad-movie/694993/3 "2014-08-07T01:51:51Z")
I thought the trailer for **Oredator** was much better than the movie turned out to be, but I still liked the movie. I’d also like to mention that, even though I thought the movies themselves were very good, the trailers for **Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan** and **The Natural** , which came out about the same time, were artistic and awesome. The only trailer I can think of right now that looked good for a movie that turned out to be awful was **Star Trek V**. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-trailer-bad-movie/694993/4 "2014-08-07T03:29:36Z")
[This trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQyfQ7RMOXs&src_vid=XiZuvJ48MZ0&feature=iv&annotation_id=annotation_594699) is awesome. The bad aspect of the movie is that it doesn’t exist. ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-trailer-bad-movie/694993/5 "2014-08-07T08:45:53Z")
The trailer for [Comedian](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVDzuT0fXro) ended up being the best thing about the film. The first [trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsYtUgYx8Xo) for the terrible 1998 American Godzilla movie got loud cheers and enthusiastic applause when I saw it in the theatres. Little did we know it was actually a giant turd swimming in the East River. ---
**Author:** ![priapus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@priapus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/priapus)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-trailer-bad-movie/694993/6 "2014-08-07T10:02:28Z")
I get the feeling Troma spends the budget on trailers and nothing is left for the actual movie. ---
**Author:** ![Reno\_Nevada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Reno\_Nevada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reno_Nevada)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-trailer-bad-movie/694993/7 "2014-08-07T12:47:21Z")
> [@jovan](#): > > The first [trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsYtUgYx8Xo) for the terrible 1998 American Godzilla movie got loud cheers and enthusiastic applause when I saw it in the theatres. Little did we know it was actually a giant turd swimming in the East River. I came in to say Godzilla (1998). The trailers were fantastic, with approximately 1000 times the creativity and humor of the movie they were advertising. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-trailer-bad-movie/694993/8 "2014-08-07T14:13:03Z")
> [@jovan](#): > > The first [trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsYtUgYx8Xo) for the terrible 1998 American Godzilla movie got loud cheers and enthusiastic applause when I saw it in the theatres. Little did we know it was actually a giant turd swimming in the East River. Wait, that was the _second_ teaser I saw. The first was [this one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_oiHWXLIFI), and like you said, it got cheers and applause, me included. The teaser basically blatantly gives the finger to **Jurassic Park** , which at the time was quite contemporary. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-trailer-bad-movie/694993/9 "2014-08-07T14:52:14Z")
[Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11Mide2KXow) It’s got retro-futuristic tech, a name that evokes classic serials, a comic book look, giant walking robots fighting P40s, floating aircraft carriers, zeppelins, Angelina Jolie with an eyepatch. I saw that trailer in the theater and thought, “this could be the greatest movie EVER!” What could go wrong? Gah, what wasted potential! I’ve never rewatched it. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-trailer-bad-movie/694993/10 "2014-08-07T14:53:37Z")
The\*\*\* Iron Man 2\*\*\* trailer looked awesome. The movie was a snooze. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-trailer-bad-movie/694993/11 "2014-08-07T14:57:36Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > The only trailer I can think of right now that looked good for a movie that turned out to be awful was **Star Trek V**. Beaten to it. This is the correct answer. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-trailer-bad-movie/694993/12 "2014-08-07T19:13:28Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > [The Phantom Menace looked awesome](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6hOlI9cg4o). It was terrible. I look back at that now - and myabe its because I’m jaded by the reality of it - but that trailer does _not_ look awesome - it has a few good bits in it - but it otherwise looks like that movie will absolutely suck. Which it did. I would never go see that one today based on that trailer. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-trailer-bad-movie/694993/13 "2014-08-07T20:44:50Z")
As a reverse case, I saw the movie [The Skeleton Twins](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Skeleton_Twins) during the Seattle International Film Festival and it was a decent little flick (not the best movie ever, but reasonably entertaining). Then a day or two ago I saw [their trailer for wide release](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhULZJDXLaE). Somehow, they were able to take everything fun or poignant about the film and avoid hinting as to its presence. The movie just looks boring and depressing. This is particularly impressive as they seem to have chosen clips from almost every scene in the whole film. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2014, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-trailer-bad-movie/694993/14 "2014-08-07T22:16:26Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > [Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11Mide2KXow) > > It’s got retro-futuristic tech, a name that evokes classic serials, a comic book look, giant walking robots fighting P40s, floating aircraft carriers, zeppelins, Angelina Jolie with an eyepatch. I saw that trailer in the theater and thought, “this could be the greatest movie EVER!” What could go wrong? > > Gah, what wasted potential! I’ve never rewatched it. I. Came in here to post exactly this. Robots that shoot lasers out of their eyes! Too bad they didn’t shoot them at Gwyneth Paltrow. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-trailer-bad-movie/694993/15 "2014-08-08T00:56:29Z")
> [@simster](#): > > I look back at that now - and myabe its because I’m jaded by the reality of it - but that trailer does _not_ look awesome - it has a few good bits in it - but it otherwise looks like that movie will absolutely suck. > > Which it did. > > I would never go see that one today based on that trailer. It was the first new Star Wars on a movie screen in 20 years (not counting the Special Editions); it was amazing. I know several people who paid to see Meet Joe Black just to see that trailer. They went in, watched it and left before the movie started. It makes you realize that movie was doomed since it would have never lived up to expectations. ---
**Author:** ![SBGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@SBGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SBGeek)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-trailer-bad-movie/694993/16 "2014-08-08T00:59:10Z")
This looked awesome. It was a disappointment for how much it sucked. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/DvLUrF3ItGQ/hqdefault.jpg "The Last Airbender Teaser Trailer!! \*\*OFFICIAL\*\*") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvLUrF3ItGQ) ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-trailer-bad-movie/694993/17 "2014-08-08T01:19:45Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > It was the first new Star Wars on a movie screen in 20 years (not counting the Special Editions); it was amazing. > > I know several people who paid to see Meet Joe Black just to see that trailer. They went in, watched it and left before the movie started. It makes you realize that movie was doomed since it would have never lived up to expectations. Wing Commander was the premiere movie for it and a lot of folks also bought tickets to that and left after the trailer. [quote=“SBGeek, post:16, topic:694993”] This looked awesome. It was a disappointment for how much it sucked. [/QUOTE] It’s Last Airbender, folks, and yes, it was a terrible movie based on a great show. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-trailer-bad-movie/694993/18 "2014-08-08T01:22:56Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > I know several people who paid to see Meet Joe Black just to see that trailer. They went in, watched it and left before the movie started. It makes you realize that movie was doomed since it would have never lived up to expectations. I paid good money to see… The Waterboy (with Adam Sandler) just to see the Phantom Menace trailer. I consider it money well spent. If you took the amount of enjoyment I got out of that trailer, and multiplied to by (length of movie divided by length of trailer), that would have been the greatest movie ever made, not even close. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-trailer-bad-movie/694993/19 "2014-08-08T02:37:38Z")
“White Noise” has a great trailer for a mediocre film. When I get to my computer I’ll post a link. ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2014, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-trailer-bad-movie/694993/20 "2014-08-08T07:00:37Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > Wait, that was the _second_ teaser I saw. The first was [this one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_oiHWXLIFI), and like you said, it got cheers and applause, me included. The teaser basically blatantly gives the finger to **Jurassic Park** , which at the time was quite contemporary. You’re right, I never saw the first teaser. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-trailer-bad-movie/694993.md?page=2)