# Movie You Looked Forward to Seeing, Then Was Totally Disappointed In? Spoilers Welcome **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 10, 2010, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-you-looked-forward-to-seeing-then-was-totally-disappointed-in-spoilers-welcome/560239 "2010-11-10T22:52:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-you-looked-forward-to-seeing-then-was-totally-disappointed-in-spoilers-welcome/560239/61 "2010-11-11T20:36:14Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > Or half of Central America. Or poor. My family was never very far from the poverty line when I was a kid…and we were happy. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-you-looked-forward-to-seeing-then-was-totally-disappointed-in-spoilers-welcome/560239/62 "2010-11-11T20:53:13Z")
I suppose the reason that I’m the only one to mention [Hereafter](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1212419/) is that you all had the good sense to stay away. But I can’t be faulted that much, can I? Like Matt Damon is pretty good, right, and Cécile de France, well, she’s _amazing_. And of course, Eastwood’s been on quite a streak. So, lots to look forward to, right? Gawd it was bad. Sloooooooooooooow moving, and I’m not one of these guys who thinks a five minute hiatus without something blowing up is dull. But, Jesus, this was just cruel. Nothing happens after the first 15 minutes. Nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Neidhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-you-looked-forward-to-seeing-then-was-totally-disappointed-in-spoilers-welcome/560239/63 "2010-11-12T01:57:05Z")
Waterworld. I didn’t know it was going to be Mad Max on the open seas. And Kevin Costner has gills. GILLS!! ---
**Author:** ![Jormungandr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@Jormungandr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jormungandr)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-you-looked-forward-to-seeing-then-was-totally-disappointed-in-spoilers-welcome/560239/64 "2010-11-12T02:06:49Z")
“Batman Returns” was the first movie I ever felt like walking out and asking for my money back. I was young, but the power station draining power from Gotham didn’t sense at all. :dubious: Also, I wondered why Batman was even investigating the Penguin at first or as Alfred said, “Why are you now determined to prove that this Penguin is not what he seems? Must you be the only lonely man-beast in town?” ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-you-looked-forward-to-seeing-then-was-totally-disappointed-in-spoilers-welcome/560239/65 "2010-11-12T02:27:24Z")
**Contact.** Loved the book, hated the movie. Couldn’t believe Carl Sagan approved of it. They fucked up the climax of the story and took out one of my favorite features – a female president – and substituted hacked-up CGI of Bill Clinton. Barf. Mr. S and I actually got into a pretty nasty argument about it as we left the theater because I was so disgusted. (He hadn’t read the book and couldn’t understand why I was pissed that the movie didn’t match the book and couldn’t enjoy it on its own merits. Because it had none, that’s why!) Maybe someday when I can sufficiently suppress my gag reflex I’ll try to watch it again. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-you-looked-forward-to-seeing-then-was-totally-disappointed-in-spoilers-welcome/560239/66 "2010-11-12T02:51:13Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > Mine was **The Dark Knight**. … But I found it fairly boring, overly long, didn’t care about Maggie Gyllenhaal’s character at all, and thought the action sequences were a mess. Hear, hear. Awful movie. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-you-looked-forward-to-seeing-then-was-totally-disappointed-in-spoilers-welcome/560239/67 "2010-11-12T03:18:27Z")
> [@GreedySmurf](#): > > God were do I start? 😃 > > Most of mine have been mentioned except for the Thin Red Line. Oh My God Snore! > > Coming off Saving Private Ryan, which I adored, (I went in wanting a good old fashioned war movie, and I got a good old fashioned war movie) Here was another War-ry, according to the trailers, only in the pacific. Ye ha!! But all I got was What!!!:eek::eek: this psuedo artistic, presumably ‘the inhumanity of war’ clap trap, which was so mind numbingly boring and made me so disinterested that the war bits couldn’t get me back in the movie again. > > That is the closest I’ve ever gone to walking out of a cinema, and the only reason I didn’t was I was seeing it with a mate. Talking afterwards turns out he wanted to leave too but didn;t becasue he was seeing with a mate! :smack: I had this exact same experience except that I rented it rather than see it in the theater. I blame the marketing of it. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-you-looked-forward-to-seeing-then-was-totally-disappointed-in-spoilers-welcome/560239/68 "2010-11-12T03:41:30Z")
> [@Scarlett67](#): > > **Contact.** Loved the book, hated the movie. … > > Maybe someday when I can sufficiently suppress my gag reflex I’ll try to watch it again. This is a movie I’ve never seen, but I have to ask…if you hated it so much, why would you even consider trying to watch it again? Surely there are dozens of movies out there that you’ve never seen that you might actually enjoy, no? ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-you-looked-forward-to-seeing-then-was-totally-disappointed-in-spoilers-welcome/560239/69 "2010-11-12T03:49:29Z")
> [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](#): > > This is a movie I’ve never seen, but I have to ask…if you hated it so much, why would you even consider trying to watch it again? > > Surely there are dozens of movies out there that you’ve never seen that you might actually enjoy, no? Probably, but perhaps with the passage of time I’ll see it differently. I’m just saying that I might be willing to give it another chance. There are plenty of movies that I didn’t like the first time that grew on me once I’d watched them a few times. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-you-looked-forward-to-seeing-then-was-totally-disappointed-in-spoilers-welcome/560239/70 "2010-11-12T04:02:31Z")
There have been so many. As others have already mentioned: - All three Star Wars prequels. For me, the disappointment got greater with each one. I looked at the previews for AotC, and said, “this can’t stink as bad as TPM did.” I was wrong. I looked at the previews for RotS, and said, “finally, maybe, this one won’t suck.” I was wrong. - The Matrix sequels - Aliens3 - Indiana Jones 4 Some others which I don’t think have been mentioned: - Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and 3. My understanding is that they wrote the scripts on the fly. If so, it shows. My wife _adored_ the first movie. She is now in denial that other movies were ever made. - Highlander 2. I so loved the first one. The second one took everything good in the first one, and spent the first 10 minutes saying, “sorry, nope, didn’t happen that way. Special humans? No, they’re banished space aliens.” And then, it became clear that Connery got sick of it halfway through the filming, and said, “I’ll give you another scene, but that’s it. Just kill off my character.” ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-you-looked-forward-to-seeing-then-was-totally-disappointed-in-spoilers-welcome/560239/71 "2010-11-12T04:51:00Z")
Escape from LA. I liked Escape from New York so I thought this would be good too. Holy crap it was bad. I’ll also second the Simpsons Movie. Just a longer version of the show where Homer, once again, loses the trust and respect of his family and has to win it back. Gee, I never saw that plot a million times before. The Forgotten. Actually, in the theater I was fine. It wasn’t until after my wife and I left, and I thought about what I watched that I realized there were a lot of plot holes and things that didn’t make sense. ---
**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:** [November 12, 2010, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-you-looked-forward-to-seeing-then-was-totally-disappointed-in-spoilers-welcome/560239/72 "2010-11-12T05:04:02Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > - Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and 3. My understanding is that they wrote the scripts on the fly. What I’ve heard is that they designed all the special effects first. And then they called in a couple of writers, gave them the list of special effects scenes, and told them to write some kind of story that would link those scenes together. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-you-looked-forward-to-seeing-then-was-totally-disappointed-in-spoilers-welcome/560239/73 "2010-11-12T05:16:11Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > What I’ve heard is that they designed all the special effects first. And then they called in a couple of writers, gave them the list of special effects scenes, and told them to write some kind of story that would link those scenes together. Either way, it certainly explains the lack of a coherent story. And, they took a great character in Jack Sparrow (sorry, **Captain** Jack Sparrow 😉 ), and utterly destroyed him. ---
**Author:** ![MegaBee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f0a364/32.png) [@MegaBee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MegaBee)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-you-looked-forward-to-seeing-then-was-totally-disappointed-in-spoilers-welcome/560239/74 "2010-11-12T14:44:43Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > **Superman Returns.** I was absolutely pumped about being this, even driving two hours so I could see it in IMAX 3D on opening weekend. > > But emo-Superman, the cardboard Lois Lane, a scheme that was contrived even by Lex Luthor’s standards, Superman being able to lift the Kryptonite island - it all just went wrong on so many levels. > > I tried telling myself it wasn’t so bad. After all, years earlier I had tricked myself into thinking the Phantom Menace was good. But shit, no amount of trickery was going to work this time. Creepy stalker Superman is what killed it for me. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-you-looked-forward-to-seeing-then-was-totally-disappointed-in-spoilers-welcome/560239/75 "2010-11-12T16:07:49Z")
The **Star Wars** films that came after the first three. It seemed they were going for the 12-year old market with those. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-you-looked-forward-to-seeing-then-was-totally-disappointed-in-spoilers-welcome/560239/76 "2010-11-12T16:18:23Z")
> [@](#): > > Every Halloween, the local university would have a screening with accompanyment by a live pipe organist. Some years it was awesome, some years it would drag. I was never _totally_ disappointed, but it was a bit of a crapshoot. I’ve seen it with a live orchestra and a live organist (the guy who played at the Boston Garden), but I was hoping for something great from Wakeman, for reasons I gave. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-you-looked-forward-to-seeing-then-was-totally-disappointed-in-spoilers-welcome/560239/77 "2010-11-12T16:50:25Z")
The Count of Monte Cristo. I was soooo looking forward to that. Blast and botheration! ! ! ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-you-looked-forward-to-seeing-then-was-totally-disappointed-in-spoilers-welcome/560239/78 "2010-11-12T17:56:43Z")
I heard really good things about **Sin City** and I loved the first scene, but the rest of the movie has horrible. I wish I had walked out, it just kept getting worse. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-you-looked-forward-to-seeing-then-was-totally-disappointed-in-spoilers-welcome/560239/79 "2010-11-12T18:37:42Z")
_Return of the King_ and last year’s _Star Trek_ are the first that come to mind. I thought about adding _Matrix: Revolutions_, which is far worse than the former and almost as bad as the latter, but I had to be dragged to see it so it doesn’t count. I should have known better than to see it, though. When my friends and I arrived at the theatre, the showing we wanted to see was sold out, so I began to go home. Then a couple of young (i.e., high school) girls approached me and offered to give me a ticket. Not sell – give. They were apparently huge Matrix fans and had bought tickets early, intending to see it twice in a day; but their first showing had left them cold. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-you-looked-forward-to-seeing-then-was-totally-disappointed-in-spoilers-welcome/560239/80 "2010-11-12T22:09:29Z")
> [@Scarlett67](#): > > **Contact.** Loved the book, hated the movie. Couldn’t believe Carl Sagan approved of it. They fucked up the climax of the story and took out one of my favorite features – a female president – and substituted hacked-up CGI of Bill Clinton. Barf. Mr. S and I actually got into a pretty nasty argument about it as we left the theater because I was so disgusted. (He hadn’t read the book and couldn’t understand why I was pissed that the movie didn’t match the book and couldn’t enjoy it on its own merits. Because it had none, that’s why!) > > Maybe someday when I can sufficiently suppress my gag reflex I’ll try to watch it again. I concur. When the last 5 minutes were over, I so badly wanted to start yelling at the screen I scared myself. 😉 It was horrible. Everything up to then was OK - I didn’t have a problem with them simplifying the stories (from 5 visitors to 1) or doing the Clinton thing, but I had a BIG problem with them completely changing the philosophical basis and conclusion of the original story! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-you-looked-forward-to-seeing-then-was-totally-disappointed-in-spoilers-welcome/560239.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-you-looked-forward-to-seeing-then-was-totally-disappointed-in-spoilers-welcome/560239.md?page=5)