Another Top 10 Trailers that Ruined the Movie

The premise for Alfonso Cuarón’s dystopian masterpiece is simple and inviting. For an unknown reason, humans can no longer bear children. The trailer did a wonderful job setting things up, showcasing the bleak near-future setting and chaos that erupts as humanity’s future fades. It went a little too far, though, delving into the romantic relationship between Clive Owen’s lead and Julianne Moore, revealing the big act two twist discovery of a pregnant girl, and showing glimpses from basically every big scene in the movie.

This movie showcased director Steven Soderbergh’s talent for corralling ensemble casts with his own signature style. Unfortunately, in an effort to show off just how much talent is in the movie, the trailer presented snippets of several different story arcs, spoiling the knowledge that many of them are indeed infected by a mysterious virus. It’s even revealed that at least a few of the stars die. In a film that’s based around suspense, it’s kind of disappointing to see the trailer steal so much of its thunder.

Longtime fans of this franchise know at least two things: One, it used to be about car racing, and two, the fourth entry saw the death of Michelle Rodriguez’s character, Letty. Although it was revealed that she was still alive in a post credit scene in “Fast Five,” this initial trailer sucked any remaining surprise out. The preview then goes on to ruin basically every action set piece in the film, from the car-slash-tank chase, to the massively epic runway plane crash.

Considering the size, scope, and success of “Jurassic Park,” it kind of makes you wonder, did they really need a trailer for the sequel at all? The studio was either afraid that the movie would underperform, or that there would be audience backlash when they realized Sam Neil wasn’t involved, so they figured they’d show us a huge array of plot points from the movie, and finish with a couple Jeff Goldblum one-liners as the icing on top. Whatever the case, the trailer left us not wanting to return to “Jurassic Park.”

This trailer doesn’t just give you the plot, it pile drives it into your skull with constant repetition of the phrase “What is the secret of soylent green?” The trailer then proceeds to show us a slew of character deaths and dramatic sequences as Charlton Heston’s hardboiled detective works the case. It even shows us bodies coming down a conveyer belt in the factory, and ends with snippets of Heston’s famous final lines. Not even a spoiler alert as a warning.

In case there’s a film executive watching this, wondering why this Spidey sequel didn’t gross over a billion dollars, it’s because everyone had already seen all they needed to in the trailers. Literally everything, from Electro’s inception, to Harry Osborne becoming the Green Goblin, to the plane crash that killed Peter’s parents, was in the trailers! Plus, we basically spent the whole movie waiting for that epic battle with Rhino you promised with that sweet slo-mo shot, only to find it was…not even in the movie! Seriously, you ended at the most exciting part?

In 1990, everyone knew what they wanted from the next Schwarzenegger film, and “Total Recall” delivered. Unfortunately, so did the trailer. A handful of sweet action scenes? Check. Bunch of classic lines? Check. Giving away enough plot points and twists to make M. Night Shyamalan look like an effective storyteller? Check and mate. Seriously, if you haven’t seen this ‘90s wonder, don’t bother with the trailer. Get your ass to your closest Netflix account, and watch the movie!

This clearly needs to be said. Surprise plot twists are like silence: When you talk about them, they disappear! That’s why you’d never see a movie like “Fight Club” or “The Usual Suspects” on this list. This trailer literally makes a point of announcing the best part of the movie. Having the big surprise shattered before our eyes left us no desire to see this movie. Of course, maybe that’s for the best given the poor reviews it received.

With everyone’s favorite Khaleesi taking on the iconic role of Sarah Connor, an endorsement from James Cameron himself, and Arnold Schwarzenegger sticking to his word and coming back, we had high hopes for this movie. The first trailers had us intrigued, but with the media blitz put out by the studio, the biggest surprise of the movie was spoiled. With an adult John Connor returning as a Terminator-human hybrid, you may still want to see how it all plays out, but it had most of us checking our hype at the door.

Before we showcase our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:
- “Mission: Impossible” (1996)

- “The Cabin in the Woods” (2012)

- “Chinatown” (1974)

- “GoldenEye” (1995)

This American found footage horror film is a remake of a Spanish film “REC,” which is hailed as one of the scariest films of all time. The trailer for “Quarantine” does its job by introducing the characters, the tense style, and the terrifying plot, getting us generally excited. That is until the last shot of the trailer, which ends on the same visual as the movie… which might be okay, if it didn’t show the main character being dragged off, presumably to her death. Kind of a bummer, right?

Do you agree with our list? What trailers made you totally not want to see a movie in theatres? For more top 10s about your best and worst trailers and movies, subscribe to WathMojo.com.