Almost..not quite

[RobertScorpio]

Have there been movies you have seen that, after seeing it, you said to yourself "that movie had a great idea, but..man..they totally screwed it all up"

For example; we saw THE KNOWING last month. I got blasted on Rottentomatoes, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it was. i thought it started off really good, and then just went off the deep end in the final third of the movie...I think, with a couple more rewrites, it could have been a great move...

Rob
Scorpio

 

[trevanian]

ST 1, 3, 6, 8, 9, 10
Every Brosnan Bond
This list is going to be immense, can you come up with narrower parameters?

 

[Peter the Younger]

Peter Jackson's King Kong. Never before had I seen anything so lovingly rendered by a director who was obviously true fan... and who so very badly needed a frakkin' editor.

 

[RobertScorpio]

ST 1, 3, 6, 8, 9, 10
Every Brosnan Bond
This list is going to be immense, can you come up with narrower parameters?

Well...we could keep it to scifi/fantasy movies only..that might help I guess..

Rob

 

[Caliburn24]

The newest Star Trek movie is the most recent example I can think of. It was so close to being great, but it just couldn't get all the way there.

 

[23skidoo]

AI is the big one. I remember seeing it and up until the last 20 minutes or so thinking that it might well be one of the best SF films I'd ever seen. But Spielberg (or Kubrick) didn't know when to end the film, so it went from being one of the best films I'd seen in years to being one of the worst because of "that ending". Given recent discussion on this board regarding studio interference on films like Blade Runner (a film that qualifies for "almost...not quite" in its studio-influenced theatrical version, but passes the bar in the director's cut) I'm willing to give Spielberg the benefit of the doubt that maybe some suit mandated the film not have a downbeat, tragic ending, though I'd have thought Spielberg was too powerful to be swayed by office boys.

Alex

 

[Klaus]

Although I like it a lot more than many here do, the first recent thing that came to mind for me was Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow... the lack of chemistry between Jude and Gwyneth was the big problem.

 

[barnaclelapse]

The remakes for The Omen and Halloween come to mind. I honestly believed that both of those movies had a chance at being solid, inspired remakes that struck just the right balance between their source material and something new, exciting.

I must have been drinking more than usual during those times.

The Godfather III would be another.

All three X Men and Spiderman movies.

All of these movies to me have great elements going for them and even some great moments, but none of it comes together in such a way that I think would qualify as great or even good movies.

That's just me.

 

[Shazam!]

Underworld - The idea of Vampired vs Werewolves is awesome. Shame they ballsed it up.

Likewise Van Helsing.

 

[Mistral]

Although I like it a lot more than many here do, the first recent thing that came to mind for me was Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow... the lack of chemistry between Jude and Gwyneth was the big problem.

As a fan of Crimson Skies I had HIGH hopes-silly me. This one almost did it. Almost. Also, their was a movie with (Bill Paxton?) about time-travelers who visit disasters by time-travelling. It was intriguing but didn't seem to hold it together in the long run.

 

[RobertScorpio]

Although I like it a lot more than many here do, the first recent thing that came to mind for me was Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow... the lack of chemistry between Jude and Gwyneth was the big problem.

Thats a good one. I thought that movie had it all, great effects, great story...concept. But you are so right; there is no chemistry between those two. A friend of mine has offered his take as to why that is, but because of its subject matter and sensitivity I wont go into it here; but it would explain a great deal. Maybe the same reason why I get no 'chemistry' in the whacko Harrison Ford movie Seven days and seven nights (though, in this case the reason is reversed on the leads)

Rob

 

[Bad Bishop]

Have there been movies you have seen that, after seeing it, you said to yourself "that movie had a great idea, but..man..they totally screwed it all up"

For example; we saw THE KNOWING last month. It got blasted on Rottentomatoes, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it was. i thought it started off really good, and then just went off the deep end in the final third of the movie...I think, with a couple more rewrites, it could have been a great move...

I don't think you were really interested in a great movie. You wanted a movie that made you comfortable in an embrace of cozy cinematic conventions--the happy ending, lead characters that survive, and a complete absence of any real mystery. I suggest you should stick to 70's disaster movies.

Knowing, directed by Alex Proyas, is masterful thriller about the end of the world. It skillfully weaves controversial phenomena (precognition and extraterrestrial visitors) into a frightening yet highly personal drama about the end of everything. What do you do when you face the loss your life and your world? How do you respond when your faith in science is utterly destroyed? What matters most after that? Knowing is a gripping tale about people who find the answer to that question. This film deserves a second look.

 

[dougkeenan]

"Sunshine" - disappointing ending to an otherwise good film.

 

[Q2UnME]

^ I don't know, but the wife and I watched Knowing and thought it was a great movie right up until the last 10 minutes. The ending just didn't do it for us. I can remember just looking at my wife as the credits rolled and her looking at me like ...

Q2

 

[Aragorn]

X-Men: The Last Stand... and we all know what happened here.

Highlander (yes, the first one)

 

[SilentP]

"Sunshine" - disappointing ending to an otherwise good film.

Spoiler: about the ending style of the movie

Agreed, we really didn't need that genre shift to slasher flick, far too jarring, though the end sequence when the 'black box' fell into the Sun and the new star being born still was almost magical. At least for me.

 

[The Boy Who Cried Worf]

Well what immediately comes to mind is District 9. I am one of the few people on the planet that thought it was an interesting premise and a totally formulaic script.

Jacob's Ladder- I actually enjoyed the movie, but hated that little message about Vietnam era drug testing by the government they had to tack on before the credits. In my opinion the whole plot device about the Ladder was done away with at the end so bringing it back served no purpose.

Heathers- A film that undercut whatever it was trying to say at the end by making the Slater character just a kind of crazy guy.

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

Knowing, directed by Alex Proyas, is masterful thriller about the end of the world. It skillfully weaves controversial phenomena (precognition and extraterrestrial visitors) into a frightening yet highly personal drama about the end of everything. What do you do when you face the loss your life and your world? How do you respond when your faith in science is utterly destroyed? What matters most after that? Knowing is a gripping tale about people who find the answer to that question. This film deserves a second look.

Gawd damn. Do you write blurbs for press releases or something?

 

[Starbreaker]

Premonition. Great first half... and then WTF.

Sunshine would have been great if I had given a frak about any of the characters and their situation.

 

[miraclefan]

WOW! where to begin? Both Robocop Sequals. Water World, Terminator 3, Star Wars Eps 1-3, Star Trek Insurection, Nemesis, Superman Returns(Should have been a RE-BOOT!) The Punisher (BOTH the original & update) Judge Dredd, A L I E N 3, ALIEN Resurrection, Predator 2, Deep Blue Sea, AI & I could go on....