How do you tell if a movie is worth watching?

[W13]

This may be common sense for many but ... how the hell do you decide if a movie is worth watching? Like, in this case, the IMDB rating is 6.7 - so that's bad but not terrible. Rotten Tomatoes is 38%, which to me is terrible (it looks like 3.8 / 10) and Popcorn (whatever that is) is showing 4/5, which is superb.

[Saddam]

i find a stream, watch for 20 seconds, if it looks as if it was filmed by students on a camcorder i click another movie, never bother with reviews or trailers

[Ramu]

Usually I am drawn to animation and if I know of the movie series I will watch it. Next I might see a trailer for a movie before I even know it is a movie. Lastly, I read the synopsis and if it sounds interesting watch the movie. I usually only do one of the previous for each movie and it is good enough for me. Not like a busy college student has that much time to watch movies anyways.

[Teddy]

I'm not much of a movie guy, so frankly I'm horrible at picking this stuff. Generally, if I watch a movie that has just come out, I'm probably going to be disappointed. I mainly just go with my friends to theaters because they're the ones who suggest it in the first place.

If it's a well-known sequel or comes from an acclaimed director like Christopher Nolan or is based on a story that I know well, I'm much more likely to give it a shot. Otherwise, I like to leave it to the test of time. That's why I've historically watched movies from several years ago, rather than going out of my way to catch up on current releases. I guess somebody has to be the one to test these new releases, but rarely is that person me.

-Teddy

[Giggity]

I don't bother with reviews, I give it a shot and if I don't like it I'll change it up.

[The duck]

Trailers spoil movies, review "critics" imply their taste matters. Just go watch a movie based on the short description and theme

PS: Superman vs Batman was pure kino

[Teddy]

Trailers spoil movies, review "critics" imply their taste matters. Just go watch a movie based on the short description and theme

PS: Superman vs Batman was pure kino

Agreed on the trailers bit, I actually totally avoid them beforehand. Even the descriptions I avoid if I can. For example, I went in to Inception just knowing it was “really good” and nothing else. No idea what genre to expect or who was in it... fantastic experience.

-Teddy

[Matt Slater]

Simple, anything with a typical trailer of a few phrases, action sequence, and overall no unique attributes are an instant "not gonna watch".

Oh wait, that's just about every movie being pumped out of Hollywood lately. That's why I don't watch movies anymore, let alone even pay for them.

[Ryan]

I watch the preview if it looks shit I move on, if it looks good/decent the chances are 50/50 at that point so good luck.

[Kevin]

If it's a series I'm already invested in, I'll go for it usually. e.g. Marvel universe. I rarely go for reviews unless it's something I haven't heard of.