Removed the following exampels when I sorted the page - they need more explanation than X Just X, most notably because some of these trailers may be subversion (what appears to be a spoiler is something to throw audiences off the trail):
The trailer for Bratz tells the entire movie's story.
If you watch the trailer for College Road Trip, you probably won't have to see the movie at all, as it seems to summarize the entire plot of the movie quite nicely.
Death Race's trailer appears to cover the entire plot. If anyone was watching for that rather than Jason Statham based violence, they'd be disappointed.
While not spoiling any plot points, and anyone who's read up on the movie should see this coming, but the trailer for The Expendables shows clips from the meeting between Stallone, Schwarzenegger, and Willis. A good way to get people to see the movie, but it's similar to the above Transformers example.
The website for Fantastic Four (2015) has analyses of the protagonists' powers. The one for Reed Richards originally indicated his stretching powers came from micro-black holes integrated into his body, allowing him to alter the fabric of spacetime and making him essentially a limited Reality Warper. However, soon after this information broke the text was quickly changed, hinting that it may be a significant plot point in the movie.
Invoked with the trailer for Femme Fatale which shows the movie in fast forward.
In the first few seconds of the teaser trailer, you'll see that Summer is clearly wearing a wedding ring, not necessarily a spoiler but with the narration claiming "This is not a Love Story". It gives you a pretty big hint that the two will not end up together.
The film's opening shows Tom and Summer holding hands, so showing her hand with a ring on it doesn't show any more than the first couple of minutes, and the audience doesn't know that Tom's not her fiance.
Watch the trailer for Gray Matter. Congratulations, you have just seen the entire movie. Sure, there was a lot of Gayngst in the middle, but that was the whole movie right there.
The trailer for The Great Escape reveals that a bunch of men do, in fact, escape, which happens very late in the film.
Not exactly a trailer yet, but the New York Times' profile for the adaptation of Here There Be Dragons flat out advertises what was supposed to be a big surprise at the end of the book, namely that John, Jack and Charles are J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Charles Williams.
According to William Goldman, producer Joseph E. Levine started this with the Hercules (1958) movie (the Steve Reeves one).
The poster for The Hudsucker Proxy spoils one of the funniest jokes in the movie.
The trailers and posters for The Incredible Burt Wonderstone spoil every plot development and serves as more or less a two minute summary of the film.
The remake of the horror and revenge film I Spit on Your Grave, about a woman who spends over a month taking systematic revenge on the individuals in a group that gang-rapes her, actually says what the story and ending are plainly straight, clearly with no attempt in allowing the slightest bit of suspense. It states right in your face what happens after describing the entire first half in a few sentences with the words: "When the carnage clears, victim has become victor."
Go watch the trailer to Letters to Juliet, and you already could probably write a synopsis of the entire film.
The trailer for The Mask made people want to watch the film more for the humor and less for the story. Unfortunately for them the trailer pretty much gave most of it all away.
Watch ANY of Melancholia's trailers and you've seen the whole movie.
Much of what made Men in Black enjoyable was its striking visuals and special effects — all of which seem to be in the trailer.
The Icelandic national TV station (RÚV) makes a habit of giving a brief description of each film they show before the airing. These descriptions are usually summaries of about 2/3rds of the movie's plot.
The trailer for Robot and Frank gives away all of the major aspects of the plot, though the film is worth watching for Frank Langella's performance more than the story.
The trailers to the original Shaft and its first sequel, Shafts Big Score, both give away the whole movie. So if you don't want to ruin it, watch the movie first.
Between the various trailers of Spy starring Melissa McCarthy most of the comedy that features in the film are shown, so if you don't care for the plot there is little need to watch the actual movie.
The trailer to the 1994 movie Trading Mom gives away the entire plot from start to finish and shows the ending too.
The trailer (or at least one of them) for Twilight gave away absolutely everything. The sequel, New Moon, is even worse! The first trailer for it was fine, it stopped at the first major plot revelation. But the second trailer? Well that just takes one scene from every plot point in the movie, save the VERY last one, and mashes it all together in a sequential montage! You could nearly write the Wikipedia plot summary with just that trailer alone!
The TV-movie When a Stranger Calls suffered from this in that the promos spoiled every single plot point. The kicker? When it was recently remade into a theatrical film, the theatrical film had the exact same issue. The movie is based on an old campfire ghost story, so this really should be an issue of Late-Arrival Spoiler.
Removed the following exampels when I sorted the page - they need more explanation than X Just X, most notably because some of these trailers may be subversion (what appears to be a spoiler is something to throw audiences off the trail):
- The trailer for Bratz tells the entire movie's story.
- If you watch the trailer for College Road Trip, you probably won't have to see the movie at all, as it seems to summarize the entire plot of the movie quite nicely.
- Death Race's trailer appears to cover the entire plot. If anyone was watching for that rather than Jason Statham based violence, they'd be disappointed.
- While not spoiling any plot points, and anyone who's read up on the movie should see this coming, but the trailer for The Expendables shows clips from the meeting between Stallone, Schwarzenegger, and Willis. A good way to get people to see the movie, but it's similar to the above Transformers example.
- The website for Fantastic Four (2015) has analyses of the protagonists' powers. The one for Reed Richards originally indicated his stretching powers came from micro-black holes integrated into his body, allowing him to alter the fabric of spacetime and making him essentially a limited Reality Warper. However, soon after this information broke the text was quickly changed, hinting that it may be a significant plot point in the movie.
- Invoked with the trailer for Femme Fatale which shows the movie in fast forward.
- (500) Days of Summer:
- In the first few seconds of the teaser trailer, you'll see that Summer is clearly wearing a wedding ring, not necessarily a spoiler but with the narration claiming "This is not a Love Story". It gives you a pretty big hint that the two will not end up together.
- The film's opening shows Tom and Summer holding hands, so showing her hand with a ring on it doesn't show any more than the first couple of minutes, and the audience doesn't know that Tom's not her fiance.
- Watch the trailer
for Gray Matter. Congratulations, you have just seen the entire movie. Sure, there was a lot of Gayngst in the middle, but that was the whole movie right there.
- The trailer for The Great Escape reveals that a bunch of men do, in fact, escape, which happens very late in the film.
- Given that "Escape", something that happens in the movie, is in the title, what did you think was going to happen?
- It is based on a true story, what did you expect?
- This trailer
for Grosse Pointe Blank gives away every single plot twist in the film.
- Not exactly a trailer yet, but the New York Times' profile for the adaptation of Here There Be Dragons flat out advertises what was supposed to be a big surprise at the end of the book, namely that John, Jack and Charles are J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Charles Williams.
- According to William Goldman, producer Joseph E. Levine started this with the Hercules (1958) movie (the Steve Reeves one).
- The poster for The Hudsucker Proxy spoils one of the funniest jokes in the movie.
- The trailer
for I Can't Think Straight sums up all the major plot points in the movie.
- The trailers and posters for The Incredible Burt Wonderstone spoil every plot development and serves as more or less a two minute summary of the film.
- The remake of the horror and revenge film I Spit on Your Grave, about a woman who spends over a month taking systematic revenge on the individuals in a group that gang-rapes her, actually says what the story and ending are plainly straight, clearly with no attempt in allowing the slightest bit of suspense. It states right in your face what happens after describing the entire first half in a few sentences with the words: "When the carnage clears, victim has become victor."
- Go watch the trailer
to Letters to Juliet, and you already could probably write a synopsis of the entire film.
- The trailer for The Mask made people want to watch the film more for the humor and less for the story. Unfortunately for them the trailer pretty much gave most of it all away.
- Watch ANY of Melancholia's trailers and you've seen the whole movie.
- Much of what made Men in Black enjoyable was its striking visuals and special effects — all of which seem to be in the trailer.
- The trailer
for My Favorite Year tells the entire story in 2 and a half minutes.
- Try watching the trailer for Never Been Kissed, and then once you see the movie it will be as though you just watched it twice.
- The trailer for The Perfect Host includes everything but the fact that there are only two people actually at the dinner party.
- Planet of the Apes:
- The Planet of the Apes (1968) movie features the Statue of Liberty on the DVD case.
- The trailer for Rise of the Planet of the Apes summarizes the plot of the whole movie.
- The Icelandic national TV station (RÚV) makes a habit of giving a brief description of each film they show before the airing. These descriptions are usually summaries of about 2/3rds of the movie's plot.
- The trailer for Robot and Frank gives away all of the major aspects of the plot, though the film is worth watching for Frank Langella's performance more than the story.
- The trailers to the original Shaft and its first sequel, Shafts Big Score, both give away the whole movie. So if you don't want to ruin it, watch the movie first.
- Between the various trailers of Spy starring Melissa McCarthy most of the comedy that features in the film are shown, so if you don't care for the plot there is little need to watch the actual movie.
- The trailer
to the 1994 movie Trading Mom gives away the entire plot from start to finish and shows the ending too.
- The trailer (or at least one of them) for Twilight gave away absolutely everything. The sequel, New Moon, is even worse! The first trailer for it was fine, it stopped at the first major plot revelation. But the second trailer? Well that just takes one scene from every plot point in the movie, save the VERY last one, and mashes it all together in a sequential montage! You could nearly write the Wikipedia plot summary with just that trailer alone!
- The TV-movie When a Stranger Calls suffered from this in that the promos spoiled every single plot point. The kicker? When it was recently remade into a theatrical film, the theatrical film had the exact same issue. The movie is based on an old campfire ghost story, so this really should be an issue of Late-Arrival Spoiler.
Edited by crazyrabbits