Terrific half-movies

[Deckerd]

You know the ones that start incredibly well, with so much promise and then end up with all their potential completely squandered.

I was going to vote Pandorum but I think Sunshine beats it for the sheer verve involved in snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

 

[Pauln6]

From Dusk til Dawn was like two different movies tacked into one (often the case when Tarantino is involved). I preferred the drama of the first half to the B-movie gore of the second half, although the cross-over point in the bar was a huge amount of fun.

 

[AvBaur]

Sunshine is definitely a candidate. In fact, a lot of Danny Boyle's movies suffer from a weak second half, including The Beach and 28 Days Later.

Another great half-movie is the first half of Spielberg's War of the Worlds. I really loved everything up to the Tim Robbins basement scene and kind of hated the rest, especially the ending.

 

[Shazam!]

From Dusk til Dawn was like two different movies tacked into one

Wasn't that the whole point?

 

[Myasishchev]

Identity. It's a neat riff on 12 Little Indians until the goofily conceived and even more goofily executed second half. Identity is like an instructional film on how to ruin a movie with a terrible twist ending... although upper-level courses are taught by the director of the next example...

Signs. It's actually pretty dumb from the start, with the "ground action" aliens. But even then, if the silliness were limited to the premise, I could buy it, and it was a good movie until the really wacky and insulting shit started happening, turning it into one of the most disappointing films of all time.

Terminator: Salvation. Although it's not as clearly cut chronologically between a good part and a bad part, T:S has enough good in it that one can see how it might have, in some universe, been a good movie. It is true that most of the really stupid plot points occur in the film's latter half.

 

[Caliburn24]

Star Trek III, peaks with the destruction of the Enterprise, everything after it is subpar.

Star Trek V, everything has a cool fun vibe and fast pace, until just after our heroes escape the brig.

Star Trek 2009, near perfect movie until they arrive at Vulcan to stop Nero. From there it just becomes running, jumping, and yelling ending with a ridiculously young and inexperienced Kirk taking command of the Enterprise.

 

[trekkiebaggio]

I was really enjoying Hancock, probably up until the point where he met that PR dude's wife.

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

From Dusk til Dawn was like two different movies tacked into one (often the case when Tarantino is involved). I preferred the drama of the first half to the B-movie gore of the second half, although the cross-over point in the bar was a huge amount of fun.

The second half is the best part. Before that we have to suffer Tarantino "acting".

Dawn of the Dead (2004), the baby killed it. "Hey, let's leave the mall and all die." "I'll go after the dog and get people killed!" (Now I suppose there's the question, how else do you end the movie?...better than that.)

There's at least half a good movie in The Matrix Reloaded. Somewhere.

 

[Pauln6]

From Dusk til Dawn was like two different movies tacked into one (often the case when Tarantino is involved). I preferred the drama of the first half to the B-movie gore of the second half, although the cross-over point in the bar was a huge amount of fun.

The second half is the best part. Before that we have to suffer Tarantino "acting".

Dawn of the Dead (2004), the baby killed it. "Hey, let's leave the mall and all die." "I'll go after the dog and get people killed!" (Now I suppose there's the question, how else do you end the movie?...better than that.)

There's at least half a good movie in The Matrix Reloaded. Somewhere.

Heh, I knew it was only a matter of minutes before someone chimed in and said the second half was great and the first half was pants.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Split Second is a good b-movie with Rutger Hauer in a dystopic environment chasing down a serial killing monster with which he has a psychic connnection. There's a lot of good stuff in here but it has a non-ending which is a real let-down.

 

[Icemizer]

Event Horizon, The Sphere, And Lost in Space are three movies that just did not know how to close out on promising starts.

 

[Admiral Shran]

Another great half-movie is the first half of Spielberg's War of the Worlds. I really loved everything up to the Tim Robbins basement scene and kind of hated the rest, especially the ending.

Dakota Fanning was the ONLY good part of that movie. But I expected that going in. Seriously, after seeing her out-act Robert De Niro, I knew she was going to destroy her "co-star" in War of the Worlds.

Event Horizon, The Sphere, And Lost in Space are three movies that just did not know how to close out on promising starts.

I'm assuming you meant Sphere, with Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone, and Samuel L. Jackson. The only thing I remember from that movie is this scene....

Alien: DON'T CALL ME JERRY!
Hoffman: Ok Jerry, what do you want me to call you Jerry. Jerry, are you still there? What's going on Jerry. Why don't you want me to call you Jerry Jerry. Jerry?
Alien: I will kill you all.
Hoffman: No Jerry! Please don't Jerry. I call you whatever you want Jerry. Jerry are you there? Jerry?



It's not a sci-fi movie, but the one film that immediately springs to my mind is Full Metal Jacket. Such an amazing first half, but then the second half just drags on and on and on.

 

[Bast]

The Island is definitely two very different movies spliced together.

 

[Deckerd]

I've just thought of another one: Supernova. I loved the start of that film. Then it just became pants.

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

I was really enjoying Hancock, probably up until the point where he met that PR dude's wife.

Yeah.

I AM LEGEND goes off the rails when the chick and the kid show up.

Cloverfield was a great movie about young adults at a party then some monster shit happens.

How has no one mentioned Return of the Jedi yet?

Or Attack of the Clones, where the back half (maybe less) is the better part?

 

[Goliath]

Or Attack of the Clones, where the back half (maybe less) is the better part?

I only barely remember the first half of that movie. I think I may have actually fallen asleep.

 

[Agent Richard07]

The Island is definitely two very different movies spliced together.

It's a movie with two acts. We don't get enough of those if you ask me.

 

[LitmusDragon]

I think the part of Lost Highway before Bill Pullman morphs into that other guy (or whatever it was that happened) was a lot stronger than that other part.

 

[Pink Skin]

AI

 

[bigdaddy]

I was really enjoying Hancock, probably up until the point where he met that PR dude's wife.

There are movies that get worse after something happens later in the movie, but Hancock was amazing how much it changed. It literally felt like one guy wrote the first half of the movie, was fired and then someone else wrote their own movie and they stuck them together. It was a disaster!