# Best movie from terrible directors? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 30, 2016, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-from-terrible-directors/764473 "2016-08-30T12:40:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-from-terrible-directors/764473/1 "2016-08-30T12:40:58Z")
Even hack-fraud directors sometimes turn out movies that are pretty good, at least sometimes. What movies have surprised you considering how bad that director’s other movies are? I’ll start. Michael Bay - **The Island**. Wow, this movie was a surprise. My wife and I risked going to see this in the theater and walked out surprised by how good it was. I’ve tried other movies of his, and only the Rock approached even passable. None as good as the Island, though. Brett Ratner - **Red Dragon** is a really good movie. No, really. A really good movie. Otherwise, he’s a hack. Well, Rush Hour was decently made as well. Still, he’s not talented. It’s amazing Ridley Scott made the terrible Hannibal, while Ratner turned in the superior Hannibal sequel(uh, prequel). Rush Hour 3, though, is unforgivably bad. Zack Snyder - I thought \*\*Watchmen \*\*was brilliant, a great adaptation of the book I loved. Otherwise, he’s made trash. Joel Schumacher - I love the **Phantom of the Opera** movie. I think it’s perfect. Hey, he did apologize for Batman and Robin as well. Roland Emmerich - \*\*Stargate \*\*is a mess in some ways, but I like it a lot anyway. It launched a fun show as well. ---
**Author:** ![Chihuahua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dec6dc/32.png) [@Chihuahua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chihuahua)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-from-terrible-directors/764473/2 "2016-08-30T14:42:01Z")
Michael Bay can make good movies when he wants to. \*\*Pain and Gain \*\*is one of my favorites. I could watch it over and over. Paul Verhoeven - **Robocop.** I’ve hated Verhoeven ever since he butchered _Starship Troopers._ But _Robocop_ is just incredible and I still love it. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-from-terrible-directors/764473/3 "2016-08-30T14:45:26Z")
Joel Schumacher also directed **Lost Boys**. That was a good movie that fit his style. My nominee is Adam McKay. He went from directing a bunch of Will Ferrell movies to doing \*\*The Big Short. \*\* ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-from-terrible-directors/764473/4 "2016-08-30T15:03:57Z")
> [@Chihuahua](#): > > Paul Verhoeven - **Robocop.** I’ve hated Verhoeven ever since he butchered _Starship Troopers._ But _Robocop_ is just incredible and I still love it. That’s what I was going to mention. I reject the “He’s trying to be bad so it’s good” argument. I enjoyed \*Total Recall \*but it’s not a great movie and hasn’t aged well. _Starship Troopers_ was awful. _Basic Instinct_ was horrible. _Showgirls_ made sex boring. In my youth I liked _Flesh + Blood_ but I managed to catch it on cable a couple of months ago and realized it was awful. I must have been dazzled by naked Jennifer Jason Leigh. But Robocop worked on multiple levels. ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-from-terrible-directors/764473/5 "2016-08-30T15:11:00Z")
Verhoeven had some good movies that got limited US release due to the fact that they were Dutch language. I really enjoyed ‘The 4th Man.’ I do agree that Robocop is excellent fun. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-from-terrible-directors/764473/6 "2016-08-30T16:00:59Z")
Isn’t The Sixth Sense by M. Night Shyamalan a sort of canonical answer? ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-from-terrible-directors/764473/7 "2016-08-30T16:19:06Z")
> [@74westy](#): > > Isn’t The Sixth Sense by M. Night Shyamalan a sort of canonical answer? It would be, but **Unbreakable** was a good movie too. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-from-terrible-directors/764473/8 "2016-08-30T16:46:07Z")
Bob Clark. A lot of very forgettable films (though a couple were hits). But also _A Christmas Story_, a film classic. ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-from-terrible-directors/764473/9 "2016-08-30T17:06:48Z")
What criteria are you using to pick your bad directors? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-from-terrible-directors/764473/10 "2016-08-30T18:16:35Z")
> [@Chihuahua](#): > > Michael Bay can make good movies when he wants to. \*\*Pain and Gain \*\*is one of my favorites. I could watch it over and over. I quit pain and gain 25 minutes in. Was it really good? > [@74westy](#): > > Isn’t The Sixth Sense by M. Night Shyamalan a sort of canonical answer? He’s bad now, he just lost his way or atrophied. > [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > It would be, but **Unbreakable** was a good movie too. I like Signs as well. And the Village except its terrible ending. I think the Happening approaches quality comedy, but I don’t buy he intended it to. > [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](#): > > What criteria are you using to pick your bad directors? Uh…we have criteria? I’d say thinking all but one or two of their movies are terrible is enough to qualify. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-from-terrible-directors/764473/11 "2016-08-30T18:17:31Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Brett Ratner - **Red Dragon** is a really good movie. No, really. A really good movie. Otherwise, he’s a hack. Well, Rush Hour was decently made as well. Still, he’s not talented. It’s amazing Ridley Scott made the terrible Hannibal, while Ratner turned in the superior Hannibal sequel(uh, prequel). Rush Hour 3, though, is unforgivably bad. I agree with your assessment of Ratner as a generally bad director. But for me, the exception is _Tower Heist_. It had a large cast of characters and a complicated story, which gave it ample ground to be ruined by poor direction. But I feel Ratner delivered a solid movie. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-from-terrible-directors/764473/12 "2016-08-30T20:24:49Z")
[Curtis Hanson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtis_Hanson#Filmography) - L.A. Confidential and a whole bunch of other movies ranging from crap to forgettable. > [@Mahaloth](#): > > I quit pain and gain 25 minutes in. Was it really good? It’s certainly _interesting_. I wouldn’t say that I like the movie so much as granting that, from the fact that it’s a true story (and it really does seem to be 99% a true story), it’s just crazy to know that the events which took place actually took place. It’s certainly worth watching. I just wouldn’t watch it a second time. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-from-terrible-directors/764473/13 "2016-08-30T22:14:14Z")
Alan Smithee has to have made at least one tolerable film, no? ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-from-terrible-directors/764473/14 "2016-08-30T22:46:40Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > Alan Smithee has to have made at least one tolerable film, no? _Student Bodies_, of course! Or maybe “he” was producer of that…I guess I should check. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-from-terrible-directors/764473/15 "2016-08-31T01:02:45Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > Alan Smithee has to have made at least one tolerable film, no? Some cuts of Dune and Meet Joe Black have been edited enough that Lynch and Brest have disavowed those particular versions. Having not seen them, I couldn’t say whether they remain tolerable. It sounds like the MJB variant removes Anthony Hopkins and his business dealings, which is like 90% of what makes the film, so I’d venture to guess that you’re better off skipping that one. ---
**Author:** ![Purd\_Werfect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47c2d/32.png) [@Purd\_Werfect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purd_Werfect)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-from-terrible-directors/764473/16 "2016-08-31T04:41:01Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > [Curtis Hanson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtis_Hanson#Filmography) - L.A. Confidential and a whole bunch of other movies ranging from crap to forgettable. This has to be the high watermark, though some of the other movies on his credits list were pretty decent. L.A. Confidential is simply one of the greatest noir potboilers ever. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-from-terrible-directors/764473/17 "2016-08-31T09:02:30Z")
Has Boll made anything of note? ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-from-terrible-directors/764473/18 "2016-08-31T10:48:40Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Has Boll made anything of note? I rather liked, “Postal.” Thought it was very nearly a great movie for what it was trying to be. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-from-terrible-directors/764473/19 "2016-08-31T11:09:09Z")
> [@74westy](#): > > Isn’t The Sixth Sense by M. Night Shyamalan a sort of canonical answer? > [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > It would be, but **Unbreakable** was a good movie too. Actually, he’s the opposite: A great director who makes terrible movies. I’m a fan of his so I wouldn’t necessarily call his films terrible, but most people who hate his films cite the stupid premises or lame twist endings (or both) as reasons why the movies suck. The director stuff – mood, atmosphere, etc… – is usually regarded highly. His main problem isn’t directing poorly, it’s that he’s is given too much control and does the other stuff poorly. Even I can see that when a movie like The Happening gets produced, something has gone terribly wrong. (But again, The Happening was directed well. It was just conceived and written _horribly_.) ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-from-terrible-directors/764473/20 "2016-08-31T11:49:12Z")
> [@Purd\_Werfect](#): > > This has to be the high watermark, though some of the other movies on his credits list were pretty decent. L.A. Confidential is simply one of the greatest noir potboilers ever. Given that the source material was so rich and complex just making a coherent movie out of it was an accomplishment. He perfectly cut away what he didn’t need and left a gem. I love that movie. > [@EllisDee](#): > > Actually, he’s the opposite: A great director who makes terrible movies. > > I’m a fan of his so I wouldn’t necessarily call his films terrible, but most people who hate his films cite the stupid premises or lame twist endings (or both) as reasons why the movies suck. The director stuff – mood, atmosphere, etc… – is usually regarded highly. > > His main problem isn’t directing poorly, it’s that he’s is given too much control and does the other stuff poorly. Even I can see that when a movie like The Happening gets produced, something has gone terribly wrong. (But again, The Happening was directed well. It was just conceived and written _horribly_.) I have to agree with that. He’s a good director who has made some terrible choices as a writer. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movie-from-terrible-directors/764473.md?page=2)