Sci-Fi Movies That Have Come Out That Excited You but Disapointed You

[Admiral_Young]

Feel free to expand the genre into fantasy and horror if you want...this thread is inspired by Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Was disappointed immensely by the movie after being excited for it since the end of the first movie (which wasn't that much better but still). What other hyped up movies or flicks you've personally been looking forward to only to end up being let down after watching them? Here's a short list...in no particular order:

-Superman Returns (I did like it when I saw it in the theaters but being Super (pun intended) excited about the aspect of having Bryan Singer direct a Superman movie I was expecting more than a rehash or continuation of the Donner Verse.

- X-Men The Last Stand....Singer left the franchise to do a mediocre at best Superman film that tried too hard to be more than it should have been to let Brett Ratner take over and essentially destroy what should have been an awesome conclusion to a beautiful movie trilogy adaptation.

-Spider-Man 3...what a disapointing ending to an otherwise pretty good trilogy. Sandman, New Goblin (should have been Hobgoblin), and Venom! Mary Jane in peril again, a blonde Bryce Dallas Howard as Gwen Stacy, James Cromwell as Captain George Stacy, and the movie just fell apart.

-Wing Commander...a fun romp but horrible casting and directing, no cameo from Mark Hamil and the only reason most people went to see this movie was because The Phantom Menance trailer was attached to it. The box office dropped off afterwards.

-X-Men Origins Wolverine: I really wanted to like this film so much so that I forced myself to not leave the theatre (I would have astonished my friends had I done that) I would have perferred to seen the original draft of the movie be filmed. Deadpool was awesome until they fucked him up and made a mockery of the character. Really giving a master assasin Cyclop's optic blasts is cool how?

Transformers Revenge of the Fallen: I've already stated why this movie was disapointing to me as have others in the grading and discussion thread. Hopefully there will be a trimming of the cast in Transformers 3 and Unicron will come and crush Fallenn who was a pathetic character and a waste of Tony Todd's talent.

 

[byron lomax]

Re: Sci-Fi Movies That Have Come Out That Excited You but Disapointed

I remember being hugely excited for Batman Forever when the trailers were running, but the end result was flashy, irritating nonsense. I was kinda entertained the first time since I was just a kid, but remember being let down by the Riddler and Two-Face, who bore little resemblence to their cartoon counterparts.

Independance Day, obviously. The approaching ships were obviously awe-inspiring, before the film descended into dumb, jingoistic gung-ho. I can't respect films with such low aspirations.

 

[Jayson]

Re: Sci-Fi Movies That Have Come Out That Excited You but Disapointed

Terminator:Salvation=The adds looked good and you had Christian Bale playing John Connor. Add this up to the fact that "Terminator" might be my second favorite movie series after the Romero zombie movies.

"Superman Returns" I was also disapointed by this because I had never seen a "Superman" movie on the bigscreen.

"Phantom Menace"=Like "Superman" I hadn't really seen "Star Wars" at the movies. With all the hype and my enjoyment of "Star Wars" I thought I was going to like this.

"Star Trek:Generations"=First TNG movie and it would have Kirk and Picard meet. I was pumped. Turns out the movie wasn't all that good except for the opening 15 minutes. Soon as the TNg characters show up, it went south. I think this might have been the first big moment, where I began to loose intrest in the TNG characters, which eventually helped me accept that I liked TOS and Ds9 much better.

Jason

 

[Silent_Bob]

Re: Sci-Fi Movies That Have Come Out That Excited You but Disapointed

Batman and Robin- I was 11 when i saw Batman Forever and i loved it, so a sequel coming out filled me with joy. Naively i didnt actually watch a trailer or look into any behind the scenes previews etc leading up to the film. Disappointed doesnt begin to cover how i felt.

Star Trek Generations - First Star Trek i saw in the cinema. I was taken to see it to distract me from the fact i was having several teeth removed the next day. Of the two experiences, Generations was only marginally better.

Wing Commander- I loved the games, so a film based on it was pretty high on my must see list. Utter drivel. And the fact that the lead writer was the creator of the game franchise made it inexcusable to boot.

Edited to Add to the list:

Resident Evil Apocalypse- I saw the first film in the cinema, thought it was relatively ok. So when i found out that they were making a sequel using the greatest of the games monsters - Nemesis, i was actually looking forward to Apocalypse. I mean how could they possibly get Nemesis wrong? Instead i got to watch two hours of Anderson simultaneously masturbating over his girlfriend whilst raping the games. Utter outrage rather than disappointment in this case.

 

[Ood Sigma]

Re: Sci-Fi Movies That Have Come Out That Excited You but Disapointed

"Knowing" - The previews for this looked amazing, and I actually thought the first half was pretty exciting. But then it all fell apart, and the last half made this as awful a movie as I've seen in the theaters in years. I'm pretty easy to please, so it takes a lot for me to really dislike a movie.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Re: Sci-Fi Movies That Have Come Out That Excited You but Disapointed

All three of the Spider-Man movies. I'm a huge fan of the comics having grown up on them, but as much as I want to enjoy the movies, there's too much going against them for me. Tobey Maguire is not Peter Parker and the less said about Kirsten Dunst's "acting" abilities, the better. Far too many unnecessary corny moments, poor representations of the stories from the comics, and a variety of nitpicks (some which I'm more willing to let slide than others) makes those movies unjoyable for me.

X-Men 3: A lot of potential to be simply awesome and ultimately fails to reach that level. The only good things about the movie are Kelsey Grammer's Beast, Magneto lossing his powers (that final moment in the movie aside @#$%&), and Magneto's verbal smackdown on Stacy X in regards to tattoos.

 

[Too Much Fun]

Re: Sci-Fi Movies That Have Come Out That Excited You but Disapointed

Blade Runner - I love a good sci-fi movie. I was shown this in a science fiction film class in which most of the movies shown prior to it were excellent and I knew of its good reputation, so I was expecting a classic. Instead, all I saw was a movie with amazing special effects and production design creating an unforgettably incredible world which was unfortunately inhabited by characters I couldn't care about and a story I cared even less about.

I've been arguing with people for years about it because they claim it's actually some deep, meaningful story about human nature that uses the robot 'replicants' as a metaphor to say something about it. All I saw was Harrison Ford chasing Rutger Hauer around with a gun until they have a big fight at the end. An empty chase movie that's fooled everyone into thinking it's something more just because it's dressed in such a shiny package due to the special effects and production design.

"The Thing" - The Internet and friends of mine insist it's some deep movie that touches thoughtfully on themes of paranoia and trust between humans. I saw it with two friends and we all agreed that in reality it's just another monster movie about some creature killing off a bunch of characters in a confined space.

And the characters aren't even interesting, like in movies such as "Alien". Like "Blade Runner", it has awesome special effects and great use of location, but that's not enough to make a movie truly satisfying to me.

 

[Leroy]

Re: Sci-Fi Movies That Have Come Out That Excited You but Disapointed

Van Helsing it turned out to be nothing more than just a string of random action sequences strung together. LXG yet another Alan Moore creation ruined by Hollywood.

 

[Scout101]

Re: Sci-Fi Movies That Have Come Out That Excited You but Disapointed

In with Sunshine before someone else mentions it

 

[Starbreaker]

Re: Sci-Fi Movies That Have Come Out That Excited You but Disapointed

Superman Returns - best trailer ever. Terrible movie.

Sunshine - gorgeous drivel

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - my favorite book of the series, worst movie.

 

[Chekov's Phaser]

Re: Sci-Fi Movies That Have Come Out That Excited You but Disapointed

I remember being hugely excited for Batman Forever when the trailers were running, but the end result was flashy, irritating nonsense. I was kinda entertained the first time since I was just a kid, but remember being let down by the Riddler and Two-Face, who bore little resemblence to their cartoon counterparts.

This was the first one to come to my mind. I was a 15 and was excited to see a new Batman, but when I left the theater, I thought it was awful. It didn't seem to bare much resemblance to what came before it, and as you said, it seemed flashy and irritating. I knew better not so see Batman and Robin in the theater.

Star Trek V was probably my first disappointment. I was only 9, and it was my first Star Trek movie to see. It turned out to be rather disappointing even for 9 year old. Funny thing is in my older age, I've actually kind of sort of in a way warmed up to TFF.

 

[Greg Cox]

Re: Sci-Fi Movies That Have Come Out That Excited You but Disapointed

Van Helsing it turned out to be nothing more than just a string of random action sequences strung together. LXG yet another Alan Moore creation ruined by Hollywood.

You beat me to the punch. As a devotee of old-time Universal Monster movies, I was really excited about VAN HELSING--and even lobbied aggressively to write the novelization. Then I saw the movie . . . and felt much better about not getting the gig.

Here's hoping the upcoming WOLF MAN remake succeeds where VAN HELSING failed.

 

[davejames]

Re: Sci-Fi Movies That Have Come Out That Excited You but Disapointed

"The Thing" - The Internet and friends of mine insist it's some deep movie that touches thoughtfully on themes of paranoia and trust between humans. I saw it with two friends and we all agreed that in reality it's just another monster movie about some creature killing off a bunch of characters in a confined space.

I don't usually put much stock in all those deep thematical arguments critics make about movies. For me The Thing works because it's just dark and creepy and atmospheric as hell, with characters who have an authenticity you just don't see much in horror movies anymore. You're never quite sure WHO the hell to trust (even the main character at times), or what the hell that alien is doing.

I freakin love it.

 

[The Evil Dead]

Re: Sci-Fi Movies That Have Come Out That Excited You but Disapointed

Sunshine looked like a return to thought provoking science fiction and I ended up being greatly disappointed by that film. However, this year Moon has delivered the experience to me that I was hoping Sunshine would.

Superman Returns and Watchmen were two big films I was anxious to see and ended up being very underwhelmed by both.

 

[barnaclelapse]

Re: Sci-Fi Movies That Have Come Out That Excited You but Disapointed

I was pretty disappointed with the first X-Men movie. I honestly believe the other two to be much better.

Terminator III was initially very disappointing to me, but I've come to appreciate it a little more on DVD and to realize that most of its problems can be boiled down to a hideously untalented cast.

I've enjoyed elements of them (Willem Dafoe, Thomas Haden Church and any scene with Bruce Campbell), but really, I haven't been particularly impressed with anything out of the Spiderman franchise.

 

[Rackon]

Re: Sci-Fi Movies That Have Come Out That Excited You but Disapointed

Van Helsing it turned out to be nothing more than just a string of random action sequences strung together. LXG yet another Alan Moore creation ruined by Hollywood.

You beat me to the punch. As a devotee of old-time Universal Monster movies, I was really excited about VAN HELSING--and even lobbied aggressively to write the novelization. Then I saw the movie . . . and felt much better about not getting the gig.

Here's hoping the upcoming WOLF MAN remake succeeds where VAN HELSING failed.

Considering the forces behind Van Helsing, I wasn't too surprised the movie was a mess - I just didn't think with the cast it had it would be THAT big of a mess. If I hadn't taken a friend's young son with me to the matinee, I would have walked out of this one. Awful. Everything I hate in one movie. Be glad you didn't get the gig. I'm afraid the touch needed for good classic horror is absent these days, sensibilities are too blunted and the studios want to pile on what they feel will put butts in seats, much to the overall detriment of the movies themselves. It takes a very strong filmmaker or someon flying completely under the radar (e.g. Duncan Jones with Moon) to avoid this.

I quite like Blade Runner...and always have, ever since it came out in theaters. Didn't care for the HF voiceover in the initial theatrical release, but that was corrected in later rerelease. It's mainly a mood/character piece, filled with gorgeous eye candy. I had read the original Dick story, so I was cued in a bit - although Scott takes major departures from the book. I don't think BR follows up on all the ideas and ironies it floats througouhgt its two hours, but as a contemplation of what is human, I thought it succeeded.

Disappointments...well, probably very different selections from most fans here, as I have limited interest in most action type movies and I'm not a huge fan of comic movies. There aren't EVER that many truly good sci-fi movies in production at any one time - scarce as hens teeth, actually, especially since most of what we get these days is actually "science fantasy". I'll also take an interesting failure over a more polished but empty headed blockbuster. Frex, I much prefer Alien over Aliens. I loved Dark City and hated SW 1-2-3. I'd also much prefer to watch The Hidden over any Terminator or Transforemers. (I'm an old broad, I never played with robots as a little girl.) I'll take mood over shoot 'em ups most days.

The Dark Knight: argh... everyone loved it, I strongly disliked it...hated spending time with the characters by the third act and couldn't wait for the film to end. I'm a Nolan fan and was sorely disappointed, structurally and narratively TDK just seemed...weak - the review in Salon.com pretty much summed up how I felt about it. An ambitious and bloated miscalculation artistically. Obviously the rest of the world disagrees. The most fun I had was looking for local Chicago landmarks - my friends' condo building was in it. I don't demand movies be all sunshine and light (heck, I enjoy dark films -The Grifters is one of my all time fave modern noirs), but this has to be the most off putting major film I've seen in years.

Event Horizon - Sam Neil, one of my favorite actors, yay. I thought this was actually going to be "science fiction". Foolish me. Another gory horror movie in space, and not that interesting either.

Star Trek Generations - I choose to pretend it doesn't exist. At least Nemesis "looked" cooler.

Soderberg's Solaris - I just thought this director would have a more interesting take on Tarkovsky's masterpiece. I was wrong.

PS: if it comes to an art house theater near you, do see "Moon". Thoughtful SF movies come out once in a blue moon (pardon the pun) so you don't want to miss this.

 

[bigdaddy]

Re: Sci-Fi Movies That Have Come Out That Excited You but Disapointed

"Knowing" - The previews for this looked amazing, and I actually thought the first half was pretty exciting. But then it all fell apart, and the last half made this as awful a movie as I've seen in the theaters in years. I'm pretty easy to please, so it takes a lot for me to really dislike a movie.

I have that movie stickign on my table right now from Netflix...

 

[barnaclelapse]

Re: Sci-Fi Movies That Have Come Out That Excited You but Disapointed

Ohhh yeah...totally forgot about Event Horizon. Very disappointing indeed.

 

[Greg Cox]

Re: Sci-Fi Movies That Have Come Out That Excited You but Disapointed

Regarding "Event Horizon," was the problem the movie or the marketing? My impression is that a lot of people were disappointed in that movie because they were expecting sf and got horror. Which isn't necessarily the movie's fault . . .

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Re: Sci-Fi Movies That Have Come Out That Excited You but Disapointed

Probably true, Greg, but I was disappointed nonetheless. When I saw it, I didn't know anything about the movie other than it had Sam Neill and was set in space. I really loved the premise...right up until it became a generic gory movie.