Movies that looked great but wound up being terrible

[bateman]

https://youtu.be/zdbFznqc8S0

https://youtu.be/GC2TzspJn5A

[The King of Kings]

https://youtu.be/GC2TzspJn5A

Spot on.  Horrible movie.  The only good scene in this movie is when the guy begs the general for funding for a paranormal division.

[21st Century Man]

Spot on.  Horrible movie.  The only good scene in this movie is when the guy begs the general for funding for a paranormal division.

Ed Dames was involved with that film so no wonder it sucks.

[trostol]

i liked most of Men goats thing..but it drug on for parts of it

Both the latest Star Wars

[Robert Ghostwolf's Ghost]

Almost all best parts of The Men Who Stare at Goats were in the thirty second trailer shown on TV. I did have fun wondering what happened to the guys who took in helicopter while tripping their brains out, though. 

[trostol]

i felt the opposite way with Burn After Reading..thought that was gonna be awful but enjoyed that

[ItsOver]

"Prometheus."   It was no "Alien."

[mikuthing01]

Hotaru no Hikari was a funny drama but the movie sucked

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnlSTayjFxk

[zeebo]

"Prometheus."   It was no "Alien."

Heads up ... The new movie "Alien: Covenant" is actually "Prometheus 2". 

[Taaroa]

Beyond the Black Rainbow

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWF0bBKhe6o

The film is visually impressive, well acted, and backed by a good score, but those things cannot save it from a terrible script and pacing.

[Robert Ghostwolf's Ghost]

Cowboys & Aliens, which was a complete waste of an intriguing premise and a good cast. After awhile, it seemed like they were just making it up as they went along. I rarely go to a theater to watch a movie, but I made an exception for this one, and I'm just glad I didn't waste any money on popcorn or Junior mints.

[zeebo]

Ender's Game.  Ok i wouldn't say terrible per se, but such a letdown given what it could have been.  They cast the main kid perfectly, and the effects were good, but they made the critical mistake of over-simplifying and rushing the story so it would appeal to younger audiences.  They squandered much of the plot and shortchanged cool stuff like the virtual reality game Ender plays, with the biggest crime being how they truncated the great true ending of the book, to save time and possibly financial costs.

[paladin1991]

i felt the opposite way with Burn After Reading..thought that was gonna be awful but enjoyed that

That was a great fucking movie.  Clooney blows Brad pitt.

[bateman]

Beyond the Black Rainbow

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWF0bBKhe6o

The film is visually impressive, well acted, and backed by a good score, but those things cannot save it from a terrible script and pacing.

All style, no substance. Neon Demon is an even more extreme example.

[bateman]

Spot on.  Horrible movie.  The only good scene in this movie is when the guy begs the general for funding for a paranormal division.

Whoever edited the trailer deserves an award - he made a more entertaining movie in 2 and a half minutes than the actual director made in 2 hours.

[bateman]

What a bucket of shit this was. Aside from the fact that the script was a cobbled-together mess because of the writers' strike, it appears to have been edited by a chimpanzee on meth. The motorcycle jump at 1:06, which looks amazing in the trailer, barely lasts a second in the actual movie. The whole movie is edited like that, and the opening car chase, which took months to film and put a stuntman in a coma, is reduced to 4 minutes of blurry sensory overload. It's so aggravating because there's clearly a beautiful movie in there, it's just buried under garbage editing.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/james-bond-quantum-of-solace-director-marc-forster-daniel-craig-film-lacklustre-series-a7342246.html

https://youtu.be/f6acw690AqQ

[Rix Gins]

Of course it's a personal thing but I absolutely hate movies that are beautifully filmed but have downer endings.  Quiz: Anybody know which movie this is?

[JesusJuice]

Of course it's a personal thing but I absolutely hate movies that are beautifully filmed but have downer endings.  Quiz: Anybody know which movie this is?

Google Image Search says it's McCabe & Mrs. Miller.

[Rix Gins]

Google Image Search says it's McCabe & Mrs. Miller.

Right you are, JJ.

[zeebo]

Regarding QoS, I honestly did not understand that movie.  The plot just made no sense to me.  Usually there are enough distractions in a Bond flick to still make it worthwhile but I found it befuddling. 

On another note, this might be controversial, but even though I liked the first half of both Casino Royale & Skyfall, I was so disappointed in their conclusions.

This is a phenomenon I find quite often in movies actually for some reason.  It's like writers are great at building setups before they've figured out what the point is supposed to be.

[Richard Groyper]

"Prometheus."   It was no "Alien."

I was more than disappointed. Ridley, you had so much time to come up with an epic film. Nope. Shit.

[bateman]

Regarding QoS, I honestly did not understand that movie.  The plot just made no sense to me.  Usually there are enough distractions in a Bond flick to still make it worthwhile but I found it befuddling. 

On another note, this might be controversial, but even though I liked the first half of both Casino Royale & Skyfall, I was so disappointed in their conclusions.

This is a phenomenon I find quite often in movies actually for some reason.  It's like writers are great at building setups before they've figured out what the point is supposed to be.

Daniel Craig was literally writing that script as they were filming because of the writers' strike. They didn't have a complete script. It was fucked from the get-go.

Skyfall I enjoyed immensely, even more than Casino Royale, though I can understand the criticism and the Home Alone-ish ending at the house in Scotland.

P.S. The producers initially wanted Sean Connery to play Groundskeeper Willie whatever the caretaker's name was.

http://screencrush.com/sean-connery-skyfall/

[albrecht]

Whoever edited the trailer deserves an award - he made a more entertaining movie in 2 and a half minutes than the actual director made in 2 hours.

Considering the attention spans of the general public, and not just kids these days, this type of thing could be the "movie" of the future. Just some 2 min "snapchat" or "twitter" movie. Who can sit through a 2 hours movie- much less in a theater where one can't be gaming, sexting, chatting, tweeting, or texting! (I recently had the experience of a 13 year relative tell me that the original "Red Dawn" was "too slow!" WTF?!

[Designx]

Considering the attention spans of the general public, and not just kids these days, this type of thing could be the "movie" of the future. Just some 2 min "snapchat" or "twitter" movie. Who can sit through a 2 hours movie- much less in a theater where one can't be gaming, sexting, chatting, tweeting, or texting! (I recently had the experience of a 13 year relative tell me that the original "Red Dawn" was "too slow!" WTF?!

On the flipside of your argument I've seen professional Youtubers make a better 2 minute video than most current movies out there. The medium has changed and the talent is no longer just within the confines of of the big screen.

[21st Century Man]

What a bucket of shit this was. Aside from the fact that the script was a cobbled-together mess because of the writers' strike, it appears to have been edited by a chimpanzee on meth. The motorcycle jump at 1:06, which looks amazing in the trailer, barely lasts a second in the actual movie. The whole movie is edited like that, and the opening car chase, which took months to film and put a stuntman in a coma, is reduced to 4 minutes of blurry sensory overload. It's so aggravating because there's clearly a beautiful movie in there, it's just buried under garbage editing.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/james-bond-quantum-of-solace-director-marc-forster-daniel-craig-film-lacklustre-series-a7342246.html

https://youtu.be/f6acw690AqQ

Yep, the absolute worst of the Craig Bonds. Actually maybe the worst of the whole Bond franchise.  Made absolutlely no sense at all.

[Robert]

https://youtu.be/GC2TzspJn5A

I got to know Gen. Bert Stubblebine (lampooned as Hopgood in that movie, of which I've seen no more of than this teaser) toward the end of his life.  He said he'd never want to hurt a goat, BTW.

Come to think of it, he's not the only figure investigating the paranormal whom I came to know toward the end of his life who was a point of departure for a portrayal in a major feature film; there was also John Keel -- John Klein & Alexander Leek in The Mothman Prophecies.

[Taaroa]

All style, no substance. Neon Demon is an even more extreme example.

The style/setting/score would've paired perfectly with a more traditional plotline - something in the vein of Logan's Run where the main character is mostly escaping the facility and being pursued, rather than what it is.

I watched The Fall at around the same time, and that is also another stylish looking movie but it actually was enjoyable (maybe could've been better than it was):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwsYyRc9j4g

[paladin1991]

Considering the attention spans of the general public, and not just kids these days, this type of thing could be the "movie" of the future. Just some 2 min "snapchat" or "twitter" movie. Who can sit through a 2 hours movie- much less in a theater where one can't be gaming, sexting, chatting, tweeting, or texting! (I recently had the experience of a 13 year relative tell me that the original "Red Dawn" was "too slow!" WTF?!

"Wolverines!"

[Taaroa]

Bowie was a decent actor though.

[Jackstar]

Bowie was a decent actor though.

... "was?" Gas yourself.