Where movie trailers are used tease audiences with a glimpse or action or adventure, taglines
have become an art form of their own, using humor, terror, or mystery to convince moviegoers
to buy a ticket with just a single sentence. But sometimes, a studio comes up with a tagline
so confusing, so boring, or downright pathetic, they may have been better off without it.
Here are Screen Rant�s 10 Worst Movie Taglines.
A Good Day Day to Die Hard
The Die Hard series is best known for its unapologetic action and John McClane's attitude
- and the taglines of the films tended to reflect it. But with A Good Day to Die Hard,
things took a different turn. The film�s Russian setting may have been worth mentioning,
but we find it hard to believe that McClane would approve of his catchphrase being twisted
into some eye-rolling wordplay. In the end, �Yippee Ki-Yay Mother Russia� was all
fans needed to hear to steer clear entirely.
Basic Instinct 2
The original Basic Instinct made Sharon Stone a superstar, pushing the envelope in more
ways than one. The sequel�s marketing made it perfectly clear that Stone�s sex appeal
was the key selling point, but its tagline � �everything interesting begins in the
mind� � is downright meaningless. Anyone who saw the original movie could come up with
a more clever reference to the original film, meaning the little time spent on the tagline
matched the effort put into the sequel perfectly.
Alex Cross
There�s a time and place for almost any pun, but in the case of Alex Cross, a dark
adaptation of James Patterson�s novel, wordplay seemed more than a little out of place. �Don�t
ever cross Alex Cross� wasn�t just clunky, since �Don�t cross Cross� would be a
simpler version, but it framed the movie�s psychologist/detective as some kind of action
hero. In the end, that promised an attitude and story that the movie couldn�t deliver.
Clash of the Titans
The original Clash of the Titans wowed audiences with its stop motion battles and mystical
beasts, and its tagline, promising �An Epic Entertainment Spectacular� in its marketing.
So how did the remake excite audiences with a brand new tagline? By confirming that in
the film, �Titans will clash.� Thankfully, this painfully uninspired tagline was only
used in the first trailer before being scrapped.
Avatar
James Cameron�s Avatar forever changed blockbuster filmmaking � shattering box office records
and kicking off a new age of 3D filmmaking. Its tagline was a little less impressive.
For a movie that opened into movie history, �Enter The World� is, sadly, a tagline
that could be attached to nearly every genre movie ever made.
Lethal Weapon 2
The Lethal Weapon series came to define the �buddy cop� genre as a whole, and began
with taglines every bit as thrilling as the action. Warning audiences to �pity the bad
guys� among other one-liners, the sequel dropped the ball big time. �The magic is
back!� may seem a suitable tagline for a fantasy adventure, but not an action film.
�Still too old for this� would have made at least some sense, but even if Lethal Weapon
3�s �the magic is back again� marked a new low, it�s the sequel we have to blame
for it.
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
Star Trek fans may accuse J.J. Abrams of swapping smarts for action, he wasn�t the first to
try to draw audiences in with the promise of big screen spectacle. That began with Star
Trek V: The Final Frontier, a movie promising action so wild, movie theaters would need
to install seatbelts. The marketing apparently worked, bringing the movie a bigger opening
weekend than the prior installments. But it remains a poor fit for the actual film, meaning
the tagline, like the Enterprise crew, really did go too far.
Earthquake
These days, the term �event film� is thrown around quite often, along with. But back in
the 1970s, the term was brand new, as disaster films overtook the American box office. Earthquake
was just one example, but the audience�s demand for any and all disasters meant even
the most boring tagline imaginable was deemed good enough.
Citizen Kane
Director and star Orson Welles left a permanent mark on cinema with Citizen Kane, hailed by
many as one of the greatest movies ever made. The studio clearly wasn't aware that the film
would become a Hollywood treasure, since it was also given one of the most uninspired
taglines in movie history. Telling moviegoers that it's simply "terrific" is a far cry from
advertising Welles' unforgettable performance, and sells short the truly revolutionary picture
Citizen Kane turned out to be.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
The first Indiana Jones tagline promised that the era of "Great Adventures" had returned,
and Raiders of the Lost Ark didn't disappoint. But when The Last Crusade called Indy back
into action, the studio decided to ignore the film's plot, action, or even its fitting
send-off for the franchise hero. Aside from the fact that "the man with the hat" is a
terrible nickname, it was never applied to Jones in the first place, and the claim that
he "brings his dad" makes the film sound more like a cheesy gimmick.
So what do you think of our list? Did we miss any criminally bad taglines? Let us know in
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