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?!"
Redditoru/TripleDeckerJumboJimwanted 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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"What’s the most amazing thing about the universe?"
Our Brains Are Like The Milky Way
"A single human brain has as many neurons as there are stars in the Milky Way galaxy."
"Around 100 billion."
"Source: a neuroscientist filled with useless facts about the brain."- Afferent_Input
Where Our Deep Uncertainty Comes From
"This is one I thought about recently."
"I believe that Carl Sagan said that we, sentient entities, are a way for the cosmos to know itself."
"With this in mind, when we think about the end of our universe, whether it be through a big shrink, big cooling, or what have you, we get apprehensive."
"We probably will never see this end, many of us will be dead."
"Yet, we still get a cold fear in our hearts."
"We are also a way for the cosmos to fear it's demise."- TheClassyEngineer
A Little Perspective
"If you were on a planet 65 million light years away from Earth and had a really good telescope, you could see the dinosaurs."- Swimmergent
lisa simpson space GIFGiphyWhat Got Us Where We Are
"That every single random event since the dawn of creation."
"The birth and death of stars, planets and galaxies, the very genesis of life has led to you being here right now to ask this question."- Jesus_marley
There's Another World Out There...
"Imagine being transported to a parallel universe that was almost identical to our own."
"Somewhere out in the vastness of that universe, there is a tiny planet."
"This much is true in both universes."
"On this planet, there is a beach, and on that beach, there is a small stone."
"Once again, both universes are alike in this regard."
"Beneath that stone, however, there are several million grains of sand, and while they are all are in precisely the same location in each universe, one of them, a tiny speck of particularly clear quartz, hewn from a larger whole millions of years before, has a single atom that is positioned a fraction of a femtometer differently than its twin in the mirror dimension."
"You may think that such an insignificant difference would label these two universes as being functionally identical, and you would be right."
"In fact, they are so similar that the multiverse has long since combined them into one reality."
"That single atom in that tiny speck of sand on that lonesome beach on a distant planet merely occupies two spaces at once, seeming to an outside observer to vibrate back and forth at a predictable rate."
"That every atom in existence seems to do the same is probably a coincidence."- RamsesThePigeon
Loop Space GIF by xponentialdesignGiphySpeaks For Itself
"That it exists."- phillipsd001
The Age Old Question...
"It must be true that either it didn't exist, then it did."
"Or it has always existed."- realFraaErasmas
What Makes Our Brain Work...
"That somehow all the particles accumulated in a specific way and in specific quantities to give you conscious thought."- Sphyrwa
Stars Glow GIF by Erica AndersonGiphyThe Inevitable End...
That whatever our problems are, big or small, it won’t matter in 1,000,000 years (worst being a nuclear war or something). - Reddit
There are countless things about the universe no one will ever know.
But mysterious and, sometimes, unsettling as it may be, there's something oddly wonderful about the unending exploration and study to learn what is out there.
And all the discoveries we have yet to make.
"What fictional character's death still hits you hard no matter how many times you watch it?"
Dear, Noble Artax
"I have to say the death of Artax, the boy's horse, in 'The Neverending Story'."
"Watching him sink into that swamp was pretty awful."- powderkegpitbull
Bubba of Forest Gump
"'Bubba was my best good friend'."
"'And even I know that ain't something you can find just around the corner'."
"'Bubba was going to be a shrimping boat captain, but instead, he died right there by that river in Vietnam'."- FlyingVI
Stoick The Vast
"Stoick the Vast, chief of Berk, Hiccup's father, from 'How to Train Your Dragon'."- Waldo_007
how to train your dragon animation GIF by Universal KidsGiphyThe Iron Giant
"The Iron Giant."- roo719
Noble Canine Companion
"Fry’s dog from Futurama."
"Another testimony to the fact that animators can be true storytellers, who don’t always need words to get their point across."
"The changing of seasons as the dog sits and waits in front of the pizza shop."
"Waits and waits for Fry, who never returns."
"No dialogue."
"Just the absence of the dog, eventually."
"Ugh."
"Gut wrenching."- iwokwuplikwthis
Animated GIFGiphySweet Ofelia
"The little girl from Pan's Labyrinth."
"In fact I just started crying even thinking about it"- choppcy088
Beloved Dr. Greene
"Mark Greene on ER."
"20 years later and I've never watched that episode without bawling like a baby."- LadyGreyIcedTea
A Hero's Death
"Wally West in 'Young Justice'."
"It’s been about a decade and I’m still mad about it."- Remarkable-Duck-2306
Video Game Laughing GIF by DCGiphyA Heartbreaking Escape
"When Brooks hangs himself in 'The Shawshank Redemption'."- Horror-School-6713
As the saying goes, those we love never truly leave us.
In the case of fictional characters in film and television, however, they are literally preserved for eternity.
Paving the way for new generations to be devastated and traumatized by their deaths.
If you or someone you know is struggling, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
To find help outside the United States, the International Association for Suicide Prevention has resources available at https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/