# Purposefully-misleading movie trailers **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 20, 2011, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purposefully-misleading-movie-trailers/589748 "2011-07-20T19:27:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purposefully-misleading-movie-trailers/589748/41 "2011-07-21T17:38:16Z")
> [@FordTaurusSHO94](#): > > Also, I can’t remember if I ever saw a video of it, but there’s lots of pictures of Batman standing on the crushed roof of a cop car. That scene happens early in the movie when Batman dive bombs The Scarecrow’s getaway van. > [@Finagle](#): > > The one example where I think they might have tried to do a deliberately misleading trailer was Terminator II. Certainly in the movie, if you hadn’t heard anything about it beforehand, you might have thought Arnie was coming back for another shot at the kid and Robert Patrick was the good guy. But I can’t remember if they gave that away in the trailer or not. I just recently watched T2 and while this may have been in the back of Cameron’s mind, The Terminator never comes across as a bad guy and the T-1000 never seems like a good guy. But it didn’t matter because every trailer gave that away. ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purposefully-misleading-movie-trailers/589748/42 "2011-07-21T18:11:27Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > That scene happens early in the movie when Batman dive bombs The Scarecrow’s getaway van. That was a van that he crushed though. [This](http://snarkerati.com/movie-news/files/2011/05/the-dark-knight.jpg) is the picture I’m talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purposefully-misleading-movie-trailers/589748/43 "2011-07-21T18:38:52Z")
> [@Hal\_Briston](#): > > Not really what the OP is looking for, but still… > > [Shining](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfout_rgPSA) - the light-hearted journey of discovery… See post 16. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purposefully-misleading-movie-trailers/589748/44 "2011-07-21T18:44:41Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > I just recently watched T2 and while this may have been in the back of Cameron’s mind, The Terminator never comes across as a bad guy and the T-1000 never seems like a good guy. But it didn’t matter because every trailer gave that away. Really? I thought there was nothing that gave away that Robert Patrick was actually a Terminator right up until the first fight between him & Arnie at the mall. It’s left ambiguous enough up to that point that it easily could have followed the first Terminator formula, including the T-1000 having Robert Patrick’s face the very first time we see him. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purposefully-misleading-movie-trailers/589748/45 "2011-07-21T19:11:06Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Really? I thought there was nothing that gave away that Robert Patrick was actually a Terminator right up until the first fight between him & Arnie at the mall. It’s left ambiguous enough up to that point that it easily could have followed the first Terminator formula, including the T-1000 having Robert Patrick’s face the very first time we see him. No, at the very beginning, T2 kills a cop to get his uniform and car. We don’t see Robert Patrick’s face until after the deed was done, but he does act menacing enough so that we get the idea that he’s not good. Arnie, when he appears, is shown in his birthday suite walking into that male strip joint, and does the “talk to the hand” bit. More comedy, less menacing. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purposefully-misleading-movie-trailers/589748/46 "2011-07-21T19:15:37Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > No, at the very beginning, T2 kills a cop to get his uniform and car. We don’t see Robert Patrick’s face until after the deed was done, but he does act menacing enough so that we get the idea that he’s not good. IIRC, it’s filmed to look like the T2 is swiftly incapacitating the guy – rather like Kyle Reese would presumably do, without hesitation, in a similar situation. ---
**Author:** ![Strassia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e8c25b/32.png) [@Strassia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strassia)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purposefully-misleading-movie-trailers/589748/47 "2011-07-21T19:41:14Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Really? I thought there was nothing that gave away that Robert Patrick was actually a Terminator right up until the first fight between him & Arnie at the mall. It’s left ambiguous enough up to that point that it easily could have followed the first Terminator formula, including the T-1000 having Robert Patrick’s face the very first time we see him. Didn’t he kill the cop with an arm blade and then morph to match his clothes? Didn’t that kind of give it away? ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purposefully-misleading-movie-trailers/589748/48 "2011-07-21T19:49:54Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > IIRC, it’s filmed to look like the T2 is swiftly incapacitating the guy – rather like Kyle Reese would presumably do, without hesitation, in a similar situation. Yes - he hits the cop in the abdomen and the cop falls. No way to tell if he’s dead or just incapacitated. We see Robert Patrick’s face when he hits the cop. The cop is definitely not played by RP - the whole chameleon mechanism doesn’t show up until much later in the movie. So as far as we can tell - Robert Patrick/T-1000 is a human. Maybe meaner than Reese was, but there’s no indication he’s been sent back to kill John Connor. And Arnie definitely beats up the bikers pretty well - including sticking a 6 inch knife into one guys back (after he tried to stab Arnie with it). All I’m saying is that if you saw the first movie, then without seeing any previews or press, watched the second, your natural assumption would be that Robert Patrick was sent back to protect John again, and Arnie was sent back to kill him again. Just like John and Sarah thought when they saw Arnie. That’s why the whole theater erupted in cheers when Arnie said “Come with me if you vant to live.” ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purposefully-misleading-movie-trailers/589748/49 "2011-07-21T19:52:22Z")
> [@Strassia](#): > > Didn’t he kill the cop with an arm blade and then morph to match his clothes? Didn’t that kind of give it away? Nope. He’s naked, with Robert Patrick’s face already, hits the cop in the stomach, then bends over him, then it cuts to a scene where’s he’s dressed as a cop. No reason _at that time_ to think he did anything but knock him out and steal his clothes. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purposefully-misleading-movie-trailers/589748/50 "2011-07-21T19:52:42Z")
> [@Strassia](#): > > Didn’t he kill the cop with an arm blade and then morph to match his clothes? Didn’t that kind of give it away? I don’t remember the scene in question, but I think here you’re conflating two different, later scenes, one in John Connor’s house and one with a helicopter pilot. ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purposefully-misleading-movie-trailers/589748/51 "2011-07-21T20:09:51Z")
I don’t think T2 was misleading at all. I seem to recall reading an article where they flat out state Arnie is the good guy this time. ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purposefully-misleading-movie-trailers/589748/52 "2011-07-21T20:13:46Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > Arnie, when he appears, is shown in his birthday suite walking into that male strip joint, and does the “talk to the hand” bit. More comedy, less menacing. That was in Terminator 3 and it was sort of a light-hearted take on how it went in T2 since it was obvious he was good. IIRC, he walks into a biker bar, beats up the bikers, and takes the guys clothes and his bike. > [@Strassia](#): > > Didn’t he kill the cop with an arm blade and then morph to match his clothes? Didn’t that kind of give it away? No, they don’t show what happens. Knowing he’s the bad guy on subsequent viewings, we know that’s probably what happened. But not knowing, we might assume that he incapacitated him and took the uniform. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purposefully-misleading-movie-trailers/589748/53 "2011-07-21T20:15:05Z")
> [@FordTaurusSHO94](#): > > That was a van that he crushed though. [This](http://snarkerati.com/movie-news/files/2011/05/the-dark-knight.jpg) is the picture I’m talking about. Looks like a promotional shot from after the police van chase. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purposefully-misleading-movie-trailers/589748/54 "2011-07-21T20:19:24Z")
> [@Sister\_Vigilante](#): > > I don’t think T2 was misleading at all. I seem to recall reading an article where they flat out state Arnie is the good guy this time. Sure - there was plenty of press before the movie was released that Arnie was going to be protecting John Connor, and that the T1000 could morph, and all that. But in the movie itself, there’s no indication of that right until they both find John and the first real action/fight sequence begins. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purposefully-misleading-movie-trailers/589748/55 "2011-07-21T20:24:34Z")
Of course, press promos and reviews are not trailers. And I think this is a good example of a time where a deliberately, artistically deceptive trailer (without the press spoilers, at least before opening) would have worked well and been appreciated, not resented, by audiences. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purposefully-misleading-movie-trailers/589748/56 "2011-07-21T20:24:47Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Really? I thought there was nothing that gave away that Robert Patrick was actually a Terminator right up until the first fight between him & Arnie at the mall. It’s left ambiguous enough up to that point that it easily could have followed the first Terminator formula, including the T-1000 having Robert Patrick’s face the very first time we see him. I think Robert Patrick’s attitude gives away that the T-1000 is evil. First of all, he very calmly kills the cop in a way that screams “superstrength!” And then later, he seems almost smug when he confronts John’s parents at the house. Finally, using the computer to look John up was a dead giveaway. A resistance soldier would know all that because he would have been told by John himself. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purposefully-misleading-movie-trailers/589748/57 "2011-07-21T20:40:06Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Finally, using the computer to look John up was a dead giveaway. A resistance soldier would know all that because he would have been told by John himself. Not if he’s looking for directions rather than an address. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purposefully-misleading-movie-trailers/589748/58 "2011-07-21T20:48:49Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > I think Robert Patrick’s attitude gives away that the T-1000 is evil. First of all, he very calmly kills the cop in a way that screams “superstrength!” And then later, he seems almost smug when he confronts John’s parents at the house. Finally, using the computer to look John up was a dead giveaway. A resistance soldier would know all that because he would have been told by John himself. I disagree that anything about him beforehand gives away that he’s evil. Ruthless, sure, but so was Reese. There’s no certainty that he killed the cop. He’s polite enough at the foster parents house, and seems interested when told about the “big guy” also looking for John. And the computer might be a giveaway, but only in hindsight - like all the other clues. I guess there’s no way to know, short of having someone with no previous exposure watch both movies, pause the second one right before “Get down!”, and see what they think. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purposefully-misleading-movie-trailers/589748/59 "2011-07-21T20:50:34Z")
> [@Blaster\_Master](#): > > That was in Terminator 3 and it was sort of a light-hearted take on how it went in T2 since it was obvious he was good. IIRC, he walks into a biker bar, beats up the bikers, and takes the guys clothes and his bike. Ok, sorry. It’s been a while since I have seen these films. I plead old age. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2011, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purposefully-misleading-movie-trailers/589748/60 "2011-07-21T20:52:10Z")
Wait, what? Regardless of trailers, press material, etc, it’s very, very clear that the viewer was meant to think Arnold was bad in T2, right up until he says “Get down!” in the maintenance hallway in the mall and stops the T1000’s bullets. I don’t understand how anyone could think otherwise. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purposefully-misleading-movie-trailers/589748.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/purposefully-misleading-movie-trailers/589748.md?page=4)