Beware of Pre-Release Hype - Opinion
Photo from Variety
From Gaius Bolling
We've all been there. Searching through Twitter and other social media platforms waiting on the earliest word on some of our most anticipated films of the year. Some of us are lucky enough to experience certain films in advance to give out the early word on their quality while others have to sit back and patiently wait for the embargo to lift. This used to seem a bit more pure and honest but now pre-release hype and early word of mouth has almost turned into a bit of a detriment.
Look at The Flash. Out of CinemaCon, the early word on the film was that it was one of the best comic book films ever made and certainly one of the best ones since The Dark Knight. That is a VERY high compliment and the kind of statement that certainly made fanboys everywhere salivate. In addition to these comments, we also had Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav and DC Studio co-head James Gunn making similar comments. Not to say they don't honestly feel this way but they have some skin in the game here. They want to see a $200 million+ invested (not including a huge marketing spend) be very successful. Then we had Stephen King and Tom Cruise singing the film's praises which did seem like a winning endorsement since neither is involved in the making of the movie. Granted, King is connected to The Flash director Andy Muschietti since he did successfully bring It to the big screen so some might look at his positive reaction with a bit of a side-eye. Needless to say, The Flash was able to momentarily hide its Ezra Miller problem with excellent early reactions, particularly for the return of Michael Keaton's Batman.
Then the review embargo lifted and The Flash currently sits, as of this writing, with a 72% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes with a total of 97 reviews counted. This is by no means a horrible score but it's definitely not a score that matches the second coming of Jesus pre-release hype the film saw out of CinemaCon and from subsequent early press and fan screenings. During the initial praise of the film, you could find some on social media that advised people to have a wait-and-see approach to the movie. Don't get too embroiled in all of the hype before you can see it for yourself. I was one of those people. I want to point out that I don't wish failure on any film and that I want this movie to be the best it can be because, like many, I am hyped for the return of Keaton as Batman and, despite all the problems associated with the film's star, I'm aware countless others worked on it and they're invested in its success as well. I totally get that but I'm also aware that some of the early goodwill for some of these movies come from critics who are also fans. This is especially true of an event like CinemaCon which tends to have people in attendance that have proven to be big fans of some of the product being presented in the past. That's not to say their opinion isn't valid, it just means that you as an individual should be aware that they could also be coming from a place of pure fandom.
Another problem with pre-release hype, which isn't exclusive to films like The Flash, is the motivation behind being one of the first to give a movie a nice little blurb on social media. You might see some call people "schills" that attend these early screenings and while there are so many I trust like myself to give an honest critique, there is sadly some truth that you could have a schill in your midst. A schill is someone that could be a plant that publicly gives credibility to a product without disclosing they have a close association with said product. In the case of early film screenings, if you have someone that ALWAYS has something to say about the latest DC or Marvel release, there are some that believe they are doing this because they want to continue to be invited back to the party. A studio is going to notice any press personality that gives positive feedback 100% of the time so that means they will likely extend an invite to their latest premiere. If you're a press personality that cares to be at all these events to boost your own public profile, you might be inclined to be one of the first to publish your positive first reactions across Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram. This is not meant to call anyone out, this is meant to show the casual movie watcher that you have to look out for all of these things when you have overwhelmingly positive reactions to a film weeks before its release.
Like I said, this isn't exclusive to films like The Flash but it does tend to happen more with bigger tentpole releases that happen to have huge fanbases. This can also be especially true of horror films and horror franchises which see similar robust pre-release hype. It's up to you as the moviegoer to decide do you trust the source of the hype and what you want to do with it. I have a handful of personalities that see films early that I tend to trust because I know they give honest feedback, even if it isn't always positive. I can look at what they say and gauge my interest accordingly. Once you have those people on your radar, it's a little easier to have the appropriate amount of excitement for an upcoming release.
How pre-release hype ultimately can become negative is that it can create a 'see, I told you so,' argument amongst fans. I'm seeing it even now with The Flash. For those that didn't get caught up in the hype, some of them are starting to casually insult those that did based solely on its current Rotten Tomatoes score. In regards to the score, some of the negative reviews seem like legitimate criticism while others can't seem to put Ezra Miller's personal problems aside and have judged the film on that level which, in my opinion, isn't really fair. The film is being critiqued, not the person, and, again, a lot of people worked on this movie. Their hard work shouldn't be negated over the issues of one. I guess this shows that there is a lot to unpack with any release. Some projects come into the public sphere with a monkey on its back while others have a microscope on them because the early reactions have been so strong out of the gate. At the end of the day, the decision should be yours as to why you decide to see a movie and it shouldn't ultimately be based on hype that some projects don't always live up to.
