Nothing gives you the happy goosebumps more than a fabulous work of art. Film is one of the greatest forms of art that there is.
When a film comes together at every facet to create a world that envelops us, it can leave a lifelong impression. Great characters, exciting writing, lavish scenery, detailed direction, inspiring acting.
And it all starts with one brilliant idea. A morsel of thought that a writer painstakingly brings to the world. It's been done tons of times throughout history.
That is why it can be heartbreaking when the brilliant idea is taken, set on fire and destroyed. Nothing is sadder than watching a film and thinking..."how do you take such a great idea and create this unholy mess?!"
Redditor u/TripleDeckerJumboJim wanted to compare notes about some of cinema's biggest misses, by asking:
What's a movie with a great premise but a terrible execution?
I have three words for you... "Dear Evan Hansen." That is all. Well not all, but if I get started we'll be here all night.
So Vanilla...
Russell Crowe Gladiator GIF by MOODMANGiphy"The Robin Hood movie with Russel Crowe. It was written to be told from the Sheriff of Nottingham's viewpoint in "the villain was right" style. Then the studio chickened out and made ANOTHER Vanilla Robin Hood movie."
Don't be dumb...
"Percy Jackson. They literally had all the great source material in their hands, and threw it all aside to make their own dumb movie with just the same character names."
"See, the first one was at least bearable. They changed up quite a bit, but it was salvageable. Then they took everything they could have fixed and said f**k you were doing the opposite. Movie 1 was fine but not great, movie 2 was a soulless cash grab."
Fumbled...
"Valerian and The City of a Thousand Planets. Like you're telling me that with all of the source material- that inspired tons of well known scifi franchises today- and a 177M$ budget, they f**ked it up with miscasting the leads and an unfocused plot?? (I'm also a huge fan of the Valérian & Lauréline comics so it bummed me out how they fumbled the one chance at a live action film)."
- LMCO890
Such a Comedian...
"Man of the Year... A comedian launches a third party bid for the presidency and wins. Despite a solid performance from Robin Williams, a thoroughly forgettable movie with a lame script. Could've had a lot of heart and a lot of laughs."
"Ooh this is a good answer. Yes the premise that was advertised (a Jon Stewart-type comedian becoming President) looked so good I went to see it. Turned out the plot was really about a computer bug that accidentally makes a comedian President. Such a letdown."
Night Only
Horror Films Vampire GIFGiphy"Daybreakers was a pretty cool look at a vampire society but the second half about the cure was so dumb."
I am still stunned at how you turn a classic like Robin Hood, with a cast like Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett, into something that makes people want to burn down a theater. Sad.
Bless You
fun horror GIF by visitorlandoGiphy"The Nun, great setting, great premise, even had a good story imo but the climatic fight with the main antagonist (spoiler alert, the nun) was really stupid and kind of let it down."
Dark is Rising
"Seventh Son. It's based on The Last Apprentice book series by Joseph Delaney, which are fantastic books. The movie on the other hand is terrible and was a big flop. Whoever thought to have Jeff Bridges do that accent was an idiot."
- Rpg_11
"I went and read a little about this and was shocked that it has such similar ties to the Dark is Rising Sequence, which was a staple of my childhood, but they're based in the same mythology so I suppose I should be less surprised than I was. I have no idea if the writing is similar and whether you would enjoy it but The Dark is Rising series is fantastic and well worth a read, and ironically also had a lackluster film that should have been great . :("
But I love Edris...
"The Dark Tower. Source material (Stephen King book series) is amazing. Movie is crap."
- Lexrst
"I wanted to like this movie so much. I love Idris Elba as an actor and had no problems with his casting as Roland. His dynamic with Jake is one of my favorite aspects of the first book. There's a line, really early in the movie where Jake says something like "you're a gunslinger" and Roland says "There are no more gunslingers" and I just... turned the movie off."
"I understood that this was another reiteration, but I could not conceive of a version of Roland Deschain who forgets the face of his father and denies that fact that as long as he is alive, he is a Gunslinger and has a duty to fulfill and he carries all the names of those he lost on the journey, so the Gunslingers are alive as long as he is alive. I get it was a throw-away line but it just sat wrong with me."
So bad...
"I will forever stay mad about how badly Eragon turned out."
"Came here to say this. Went back and rewatched recently and found the sound track to be a large part of why it fell so flat and made the acting seem phoned in."
I am Number Four...
"Jumper. I still actually enjoy the movie a lot because the premise is so cool and it has its moments, but it could've been better for sure."
- dn35
"Once a quarter I text the same friend "dang I wish they made a jumper sequel". It was one of those movies made at the time when everyone was so desperate for a franchise that could appeal to teens and adults that the first movie focused so hard on being the first in a trilogy that it forgot to be fun. The plans for the trilogy sounded awesome. I am Number Four did the same thing."
Oh Will
will smith hancock GIFGiphy"Hancock. It's half of a great movie with a different, terrible movie for the second half."
I think there are a few Will Smith films we could have long chats about. But starting at Hancock is smart. What a mess. And here's another one... "Nomadland." I still don't get it.
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