Movies you totally misjudged before actually watching them?

We’ve all been there, right? You read about a movie, stare at the posters, watch the trailers... and you build up this specific idea of what it’s going to be. Then you actually sit down to watch it and realize it’s nothing like what you imagined. And look, I’m not even talking about whether the movie is good or bad—just the vibe itself.
Here are a few that got me:

The Seventh Seal: Man, they hyped up that chess scene with Death so much that I honestly thought the whole movie was just two guys sitting around playing chess and acting deep. I actually avoided watching it for ages because of that, until my professor basically forced my hand. Luckily, it wasn't what I expected. 😁

Blade Runner, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Abyss: I went through this phase where I was obsessed with 70s and 80s sci-fi classics. I started with Alien and The Terminator, so I went into these expecting tons of action and horror. When I realized they were actually pretty slow-burn movies, I was a little let down. 😁

Zardoz: I saw that infamous shot of Sean Connery in his underwear holding a gun and figured this would be some wild adventure flick, maybe something along the lines of Mad Max or He-Man... Turns out it was way more low-key. Honestly, it felt like something the Coen brothers would have made.

Speaking of Mad Max... I always thought of that series as being strictly post-apocalyptic. It totally caught me off guard when the first one turned out to be pretty grounded, without much of that sci-fi or wasteland stuff. Because of that, I just remember the first one being a bit of a snooze, while the hated Beyond Thunderdome was actually great—almost as good as The Road Warrior. 😁

First impressions

The Drive trailer featuring Ryan Gosling

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0780504/

The trailer is a completely different beast than the actual movie. I finally made it out to the local Cinema—which isn't something I get to do very often where I live 😁—and WOW. I was absolutely floored.

It turns out that, after seeing this, I just can't stand the lack of talent from Ryan Gosling.👎

Since we’re talking about Ryan Gosling, let's talk La La Land. I honestly expected a much thinner plot than what I actually got. Sure, musicals aren't usually built on deep character studies, but the total lack of substance here was just disappointing. Even the songs? Not exactly catchy for a musical. A complete swing and a miss in my book.

I had the same expectation for The Seventh Seal based on how you described it. That’s exactly why it let me down. I think the movie might have actually worked better if those two were just constantly talking and playing around; those kinds of setups can be pretty great if they're executed right, I guess.

Got any specific examples of a movie like that?

Can anyone suggest some minimalist films set in a single or cramped location where the whole plot just revolves around the dialogue? I’ve got a few favorites that really stick with me:

Harakiri (1962)
Demons (1971)
Persona (1966)
Affair in the Snow (1968)
Rope (1948)
The Ballad of Narayam (1958)
this Transient Life (1970)
Coup (1973)
The Naked Island (1964)—though there isn't any dialogue in that one, so it's pure minimalism, but still excellent.

Nice harvest!

The Naked Island

Brian Ross7 said:The Naked Island

I'd say it's one of the best films from the sixties. 👍

Morgan Brown4 said:Do you happen to have a specific example of a movie like that in mind?

Maybe Berkovich's "rondo".

I don't even bother watching trailers for older films; sometimes I won't even read the plot summary. 🤷

Based on the trailer for Inherent Vice, I was expecting something a bit more fun (though it is decently entertaining), but I definitely didn't expect such a messed up story.

ruggedbadger2 said:Honestly, one of the best movies from the sixties. 👍

That movie hits close to home for me..
I end up watching it every single summer..

electrictrucker82 said:First impression here...

A drive with Ryan Gosling

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0780504/

The trailer is a total lie compared to the actual movie. I finally made it to the cinema (don't get out much where I live, so chances are slim 😁) and MAN! I was losing it.

Yeah, that's when it hit me—I just can't stand the lack of talent from Ryan Gosling 👎

Honestly, I thought it was going to be some pretentious arthouse slog, but thank God it turned out to be a pretty decent, normal movie. 😁

ruggedbadger2 said:Looking for examples of minimalist films set in one cramped location where everything relies on the dialogue? Here are a few favorites of mine:

Harakiri (1962)
Demons (1971)
Persona (1966)
Affair in the Snow (1968)
Rope (1948)
The Ballad of Narayam (1958)
this Transient Life (1970)
Coup (1973)
The Naked Island (1964) - though there's zero dialogue in this one, so pure minimalism, but it's amazing

Oh man, definitely Persona. 🤦 I saw that Hitchcockian Rope too, but there's a bit more going on with the characters there. 😁

Noah Roberts46 said:When it comes to older movies, I don't even bother with trailers. Sometimes I won't even read the plot. 🤷

Actually, true. I don't really watch trailers most of the time either. I just check out the posters and see what genre it is. 😁

I don't do horror. Just isn't my thing.
For that exact reason, I’ve been avoiding the first Alien movie for a long time—and honestly, all the others too.
Actually, I think I caught the second part at the cinema right when it hit theaters. Back then, you didn't really sit around being picky—if something was playing, you just went and saw it. No hesitation.
That movie was an absolute disaster... honestly, just forget you ever saw it. Once the sequel fails that badly, it completely retroactively ruins the first one and the third one too. It’s all tainted now.

So, there I was one beautiful evening when NBC decides it’s the perfect time to air the first Alien movie. Talk about a revelation... honestly, it changed everything for me.
One of the greatest films ever made... honestly. Just one of those pieces of cinema that stays with you long after the credits roll.
I've sat through that one so many times now that I could probably recite the entire script from memory. Honestly, it's become a bit of a ritual.

The rest of them? Honestly, they’re significantly worse. The second one in the bunch is easily the absolute worst, though I suppose you could still sit through it if you really had nothing better to do.

This belongs in the main thread—specifically that poll about the Alien movies. I honestly have no idea why I didn't just post this there in the first place...

First off, a good chunk of Jesus Franc’s movies fall right into that bucket for me. I usually go in expecting fun, over-the-top trash, but half the time you just end up with boring, unwatchable junk. A few of his flicks have actually caught me off guard in a good way, like Vampyros Lesbos, but even then, I wouldn't call them "good" movies. 😁

frozengull94 said:I don't do horror..
Because of that, I avoided the first Alien for the longest time, and the rest too..
Actually, I think I caught the second one in the cinema when it first came out, back when you just watched whatever was playing without being picky..
And man, that movie was a disaster. Just forget it immediately.. If the sequel is that bad, then the first and third ones can't be any better, right?

Then one night, ABC decides to air the first Alien.. What a revelation..
One of the best movies ever made..
Since then, I've seen it so many times I could practically recite it from memory..

The other sequels are way worse—the second one is especially rough—but they're still worth a watch..

This probably belongs in the main thread or maybe an Alien poll.. Not sure why I didn't post it there..

You have zero taste. 🙂

I haven't given a damn about Titanic for years—and honestly, that goes for DiCaprio too.
I mean, I already knew the whole story about the ship long before the movie even came out.
It showed up on TV one year—I think it was a few years after its initial run in the cinema.
And that was the real kicker—it was a genuine revelation, a total surprise. I mean, look, I wasn't exactly holding my breath or expecting anything close to what I got, but man, it actually turned out to be pretty damn good.
It felt like the same old story with those last few DiCaprio flicks—just more of the same thing over and over again.

Honestly, there aren't really any surprises left in the deck—I’ve reached that point where I can pretty much call my own shots, predicting exactly what’s going to turn out great and what’s headed straight for the gutter.

As Far as My Feet Will Carry Me
An American film about a prisoner of war sent to eastern Siberia who eventually makes a long trek home on foot. I didn't have high expectations for a movie about one guy hiking through Siberia for years, but I was honestly surprised by how engaging and beautifully shot it was.

Mystic River
I’ve never really considered Tim Robbins an A-list actor worth seeking out, but since Eastwood was directing, I figured I'd give him a shot. Man, how wrong I was. It's easily one of the best movies I've ever seen.

Morgan Brown4 said:It’s something we’ve all experienced. We read about a movie, see the posters, watch the trailers... and we build this specific expectation in our heads about what the experience will be like. Then we actually sit down to watch it, only to realize that what we anticipated bears almost no resemblance to the actual film (and I’m not even talking about whether the movie is "good" or "bad"—that’s a different conversation entirely).
Here are a few instances from my own history:

The Seventh Seal: they leaned so hard into that chess scene with Death that before I even saw it, I was convinced the entire movie was just two guys sitting around playing chess and discussing philosophy. Because of that, I actually hesitated to watch it for quite a while, only finally relenting because a college professor practically forced my hand. Fortunately, it wasn't at all what I had braced myself for. 😁

Blade Runner, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Abyss: there was a period in my life when I was diving deep into 70s and 80s sci-fi classics, and Alien and The Terminator were among the first I checked out. Based on those, I went into these subsequent films expecting heavy action and plenty of Horror. When I realized they were actually much more contemplative, slower-paced films, I felt a bit let down. 😁

Zardoz: I saw that infamous image of Sean Connery in his underwear holding a gun, and I expected some sort of high-adventure romp, maybe something along the lines of Mad Max or He-Man... In the end, it turned out to be quite subdued, and I honestly got the feeling it was something the Coen brothers might have directed.

Speaking of Mad Max... That franchise was always categorized in my mind as post-apocalyptic, so I was genuinely surprised when the first installment turned out to be a fairly standard film without any glaringly obvious sci-fi or wasteland elements. As a result, my memory of the first one is just that it was a bit dull, whereas the version everyone hates, Beyond Thunderdome, was actually great—nearly as good as The Road Warrior. 😁

You know, I was actually one of the first people captivated by Mad Max... And I avoided Zardoz specifically because of those famous briefs you seem to love so much... And I have to admit, the movie is such absolute garbage that even the underwear couldn't save it... 🤣

frozengull94 said:I don't watch Horror..
Because of that, I avoided watching the first Alien for a long time, along with others of its kind..
In fact, I think I caught the second one in the theater when it was released, simply because back then, you watched whatever was playing without being picky..
And the movie was a disaster for me. Just something to forget as quickly as possible.. And if the second one is that bad, then the first or the third certainly aren't any better..

Then, one lovely evening, an American network decided to air the first Alien.. What a revelation..
One of the best films ever made..
Since then, I've watched it so many times I could recite it from memory..

The other installments are significantly worse—the second is the worst—but they are still watchable..

This post probably belongs in the poll thread about the Alien films..I'm not sure why I didn't write this there...

It is likely just a precaution so we don't all end up ganging up on you at once, wouldn't you agree? 🤔