We love movies. Nothing beats seeing a new release in the theater and feeling the excitement in the air.
There’s also nothing quite like settling in on your couch, grabbing some snacks, and putting on your favorite movie.
Having said that, some movies have fallen victim to the same old tropes and trends we’re tired of. We say this out of love: these are the things films must stop doing.
Trailers with major spoilers
I remember a time when I was super excited for movie trailers, especially in the theater. It was the only way to find out what was coming to the movies later that year.
Now we get to watch trailers for major films from our phones on a random Tuesday morning. Well, I’d like to, anyway, but more often than not, modern trailers are essentially a short summary of the entire film, including spoilers.
Casting 30-year-olds as high schoolers
No matter how young casting directors think people look, we can always tell when someone is in their 30s, despite playing a character in high school.
It’s distracting, annoying, and unnecessarily stealing parts from talented young actors.
Reviving dead characters
I get that this is a popular horror trope for villains, and that’s the one place where it works.
Did we really need to bring back Palpatine in Star Wars, though? Or somehow bring back Billy Lumis in Scream? Absolutely not.
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Limited releases
One of the most frustrating things about the moviegoing experience is when films get a limited release that’s not close to where you live.
I don’t want to pull out a map to check whether I can see a movie I’ve been looking forward to in theaters. The same is true for anniversary re-releases. I would have loved to see Interstellar in IMAX, but I’m not driving two hours to do so.
Live-action adaptations
Disney seems content to revive their animated library in live-action form. That’s their prerogative; honestly, it’s been profitable for them.
We have to draw the line somewhere, though. Is The Lion King really live-action? Did we really need a live-action Lilo and Stitch? I think not.
Remakes and sequels
I get it; making movies is expensive. Studios want to make sure that they see a return on the investment. It’s way easier to make a profit when making a remake or sequel to a beloved movie rather than trying something risky and new.
At the same time, I think we can do without a Freaky Friday sequel two decades after the original. We also didn’t need another Matrix movie, either.
Connected universes
Thankfully, this is one trend that is starting to fall off already, but I feel like we’re a successful Avengers crossover event away from studios bringing this back.
We’ve seen several studios try their own connected universes, but all have failed. Hopefully, executives can get the hint.
Overreliance on CGI
I get that it’s easier just to use CGI to film action pieces, but there’s something about practical effects and real-life stunts that look so good.
Think of how incredible Tom Cruise’s stunts are in the Mission: Impossible movies. Now think about how bad that would be if they were filmed in front of a green screen.
Out-of-control budgets
You can make the argument that one of the reasons for large movie budgets is the overreliance on CGI.
It’s also due to the astronomical amount of money spent on bankable movie stars. To make things worse, this doesn’t always deliver success; we’ve seen projects from Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Pratt post-MCU bomb. If we’ve learned one thing from 2026, it’s the strength of mid-, or even low-, budget movies.
Movies lasting over three hours
What happened to the 90-minute movie? It’s a lost art as movies have become longer and longer.
Having to time your bathroom breaks during movies that last well over 3 hours isn’t an enjoyable theater experience.
Movies needing homework from television shows
We all know the biggest guilty party here: Disney. Between Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it feels like in order to properly understand a new movie, we need to spend hours watching all of the Disney+ shows.
‘Thankfully, it seems like the company is scaling back on their Disney+ shows and just letting the movies do the talking.
Movies being too dark
Remember when you could easily see all the action in a movie during night scenes? I do.
It’s been a problem that has plagued films in the MCU in particular, which is ironic considering the old Fantastic Four movies have several set pieces at night and are clearly visible.
Expository dialogue
I can’t help but feel that most moviemakers don’t trust their audience. There’s so much expository dialogue in movies today.
This is what made the Dune movies so special. It trusts its audience to understand what’s going on. There’s no character whose sole purpose is explaining events we have just watched.
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