Are movies over-hyped?

 
More specifically, are movies over-hyped to the point our expectations for a particular film are raised so high, it makes it next to impossible to truly enjoy that movie?

In the era of the internet, film connoisseurs, geeks, nerds, all have 24-7 access to information regarding any film that's due to come out later in the year (or the year after that!). When I was a kid, the only inside access we had was either movie trailers that we'd see on TV or at the movies, or heading to the local corner store to pick up the latest issue of various film magazines. Word of mouth seemed to be the hype machine 30 years ago, and it wasn't uncommon for a films box office to go up in the second or third week of release as opposed to the first. From my perspective, that limited amount of exposure films received until released, offered a sort of innocence along with going to the movies. Now it's just too damn easy to get access to the latest tidbits, and rumors regarding a highly anticipated film.

For example, Ridley Scott's Prometheus has been over-hyped from day one of being announced it was green lit back in 2011. Maybe for good reason, a lot of closet geeks like myself want to see if he has the ability to catch lightning in a bottle twice, by returning to the "ALIEN" universe he successfully delivered on screen back in 1979. OK, great, but what if it sucks? And what if that suckage really stems more from the constant stream of news related to its production, it's leaked plot information, and all of the current movie fandom websites that spew something new every other day about this film? Time will tell what kind of palpable effect it has on the audience opinion.

It makes me wonder if all of this overabundance of information sort of destroys the point of movies altogether. JJ Abrams, who is a writer/director/producer in Hollywood has always hammered home the point of keeping things a mystery to film audiences. The longer you can keep the audience wondering what the movie is about, the better the payoff when they actually get to see the film firsthand. I agree. It gives you a better chance to be in awe once the theater lights go dark.

In the end, it's probably better to avoid the internet all together when it comes to leaked, upcoming film information. Watch the trailer, and leave it at that until you pay your 10 bucks or whatever the hell it costs to see movies these days. Nuff said.