# Movies that could have, should have, been much better than they were. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 16, 2013, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-could-have-should-have-been-much-better-than-they-were/671420 "2013-10-16T18:11:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-could-have-should-have-been-much-better-than-they-were/671420/21 "2013-10-16T20:50:56Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > **Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow** had two basic flaws. Gwyneth Paltrow played her role as far too indecisive; should have gone for that '30s, fast-talking, _His Girl Friday_ kind of vibe. And the action sequences were too frantic and confusing. There were so many killer robots, or whatever, that killing one was like swatting a gnat; no wits or skill involved. (That’s a complaint I have about a lot of modern action movies.) It’s a shame, though; the movie was gorgeous to look at. The flaw WAS that Gwyneth Paltrow was the lead. This movie could have been a really good classic with a decent actress in the lead. I never noticed exactly why the fight scenes bothered me before, but you hit the nail on the head. Yes, a little too much action/no brains. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-could-have-should-have-been-much-better-than-they-were/671420/22 "2013-10-16T20:56:17Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > I’m sure you \*could \*make a great thriller with the same basic plot elements, but **Spies Like Us** is a straight up comedy spoof. As such, it works well. One of the funnier movies of it’s era, imho. I remember it came out around the same time as **Top Secret** , which didn’t have the distraction factor of “of course this is hilarious: we’re 1970’s comedy gods.” ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-could-have-should-have-been-much-better-than-they-were/671420/23 "2013-10-16T21:14:37Z")
Fantastic Four probably would have been better received if they had spent less time on dialogue and character development and seeing how developing superpowers completely changed all the characters relationships, and instead spent more time with stuff blowing up on screen and Jessica Alba running around in her underwear. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-could-have-should-have-been-much-better-than-they-were/671420/24 "2013-10-16T21:16:15Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > I guess, though I think that has the same problem as saying “Spies Like Us” could be a better movie if it weren’t a spoof. The whole point of “Spies Like Us” was that it was a spoof, and the whole point of “300” was that it was based on Frank Miller’s comic. > > I don’t think it makes a lot of sense to say film should have been better, except for the entire premise of the movie. I’m saying that if they’re going to make a movie about the Battle of Thermopylae (a real historical event), they could have chosen better source material. Of course, I’m sure that’s not how it went down though- someone probably read “300” and thought it would make a sweet movie, and the rest is history. What I’m talking about is something on par with the difference between the John Wayne Alamo movie and the Jason Patric/Dennis Quaid/Billy Bob Thornton one. One was cartoony and pretty stylized, and one tried for more historical accuracy. That’s not to say that the 21st century one couldn’t have been better… but it was better than the 1960s one. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-could-have-should-have-been-much-better-than-they-were/671420/25 "2013-10-16T21:19:29Z")
Cloverfield had the best viral marketing I’ve ever seen in a movie. Weird ass websites, mysterious pictures appearing on a website, some drink with a bizarre history. It wasn’t a terrible movie, but they should have used the “whale” monster, that looked a lot more distinct than the thing they came up with. Plus, once the monster emerged, it didn’t do much different than your typical giant monster, it just looked silly. It could have been more mysterious, more epic, but it felt like they chickened out in doing something different and just went with the same old stuff ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-could-have-should-have-been-much-better-than-they-were/671420/26 "2013-10-16T21:25:34Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Fantastic Four probably would have been better received if they had spent less time on dialogue and character development and seeing how developing superpowers completely changed all the characters relationships, and instead spent more time with stuff blowing up on screen and Jessica Alba running around in her underwear. True. But nothing could have salvaged _Rise of the Silver Surfer_. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-could-have-should-have-been-much-better-than-they-were/671420/27 "2013-10-16T21:49:43Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > I remember it came out around the same time as **Top Secret** , which didn’t have the distraction factor of “of course this is hilarious: we’re 1970’s comedy gods.” YMMV, obviously. See, to me, SLU was funny. Period. Real Genius — Funny Top Secret — Funny Threads like this are going to have a lot of opinion in the posts. I think the Star Wars prequels suck. Some other will think the Star Trek reboot sucks. Tastes and opinions will vary quite a bit. ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-could-have-should-have-been-much-better-than-they-were/671420/28 "2013-10-16T22:01:41Z")
Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch. A capsule summary makes it sound like it will be campy eye-candy with a dash of exploitation-film sexy. In practice, it’s like watching somebody play a bad videogame run through with a bunch of low-grade misogyny, terrible writing, and no plot. It was never going to be high-art, but I didn’t expect _unwatchable_. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-could-have-should-have-been-much-better-than-they-were/671420/29 "2013-10-16T22:04:36Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > It wasn’t a terrible movie, but they should have used the “whale” monster, that looked a lot more distinct than the thing they came up with. Plus, once the monster emerged, it didn’t do much different than your typical giant monster, it just looked silly. It could have been more mysterious, more epic, but it felt like they chickened out in doing something different and just went with the same old stuff The “whale monster” wasn’t created by JJ Abrams and company. > **[6 Pieces of Fan Art That Are Better Than the Original](https://www.cracked.com/article_19906_6-pieces-fan-art-that-are-better-than-original.html)** > > Sometimes the companies or creators will actually address their fans and say, 'You think you could do better than us?' And sometimes the fans will answer back, 'Um, actually, yeah.' ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-could-have-should-have-been-much-better-than-they-were/671420/30 "2013-10-16T22:05:15Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Fantastic Four probably would have been better received if they had spent less time on dialogue and character development and seeing how developing superpowers completely changed all the characters relationships, and instead spent more time with stuff blowing up on screen and Jessica Alba running around in her underwear. I stopped watching that movie when the stretchy guy used his stretchy arms to save someone falling off a bridge, and the f/x they used had his shirtsleeves stretching all the way with him. I figured if they didn’t even give enough of a shit to bother explaining / fixing that, I didn’t need to waste my time further. From what I’ve read that decision saved me the time of that movie and its sequel. To the OP: **League of Extraordinary Geltlemen**. Talk about a movie that you thought would’ve been impossible to make boring. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-could-have-should-have-been-much-better-than-they-were/671420/31 "2013-10-16T22:12:20Z")
Ooh, thought of another one. Halle Berry is sexy, right? And Catwoman is sexy, and torn skintight leather is sexy. Yet somehow they managed to combine those three elements into something that was completely unsexy. Granted, I never saw the movie, so I don’t know how well they did on the plot etc. But sexy is a large part of the point of Catwoman. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-could-have-should-have-been-much-better-than-they-were/671420/32 "2013-10-16T22:28:14Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > [Spies Like Us.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spies_Like_Us) The main plot seems like something from Clancy, Forsyth, of Flemming: Under [illegal] orders of a rogue general intelligence agents infiltrate the Soviet Union ignorant that their actual mission is launching a missile at the United States. This has international intrigue written all over it. But Aykroyd had to ruin it by trying to make it funny.:mad: Like others have pointed out, _Spies Like Us_ was supposed to be a spoof on spy movies. And it did a good job, if I remember correctly. I think if you went into that movie looking for serious, you made a mistake. I liked it. Not oscar-worthy, but I didnt expect it to be. I’ll go with two rather recent movies. [Lincoln](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=703968), which I started a thread about recently, was a major disappointment from so many angles. You can throw away all of the crap-ola Spielberg jams down your throat and it is still unwatchable because the movie is shot in the dark. Even outside, in the daylight, every character is shot in half-face. Why directors choose to do this is beyond me, but it makes an unbearable movie unwatchable. For similar reasons, I’ll nominate the new version of _ **Total Recall,** _ with Colin Farrell. This movie was also shot in the dark. I don’t think Total Recall needed a remake, but if you are going to remake it to take advantage of today’s special effects, for God’s sake make it watchable. And one vote goes for anything that Paul Greenglass makes, because he is big on usi g the jiggly camera to shoot his movies. I don’t know who came up with this “technique”, but i’d like to find the person responsible for “jiggly screen” and beat him over the head with a pipe wrench. I believe the last movie I saw of his was _The Bourne Ultimatum_, and it gave me motion sickness. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-could-have-should-have-been-much-better-than-they-were/671420/33 "2013-10-16T22:40:19Z")
I always post this when it comes up, but matrix revolutions could have been great. Reloaded ended where Neo’s power affected the real world, and agent smith managed to inhabit a humans body. That ending would have set up the ultimate twist: what the humans thought was reality was just another layer of the matrix, and they were still enslaved. I have no idea how a satisfactory conclusion could have made if this were the case, but it is a far better idea than how it actually panned out. I cant watch the subway of boredom scene, or a retread of the French guy. Even the architect scene stank. We don’t even know if the survivors got released from the matrix. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-could-have-should-have-been-much-better-than-they-were/671420/34 "2013-10-16T22:42:58Z")
> [@typoink](#): > > Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch. A capsule summary makes it sound like it will be campy eye-candy with a dash of exploitation-film sexy. > > In practice, it’s like watching somebody play a bad videogame run through with a bunch of low-grade misogyny, terrible writing, and no plot. > > It was never going to be high-art, but I didn’t expect _unwatchable_. > [@Chronos](#): > > Ooh, thought of another one. Halle Berry is sexy, right? And Catwoman is sexy, and torn skintight leather is sexy. Yet somehow they managed to combine those three elements into something that was completely unsexy. > > Granted, I never saw the movie, so I don’t know how well they did on the plot etc. But sexy is a large part of the point of Catwoman. I liked both. If you take either as just martial arts movies, they’re fine. Catwoman in particular. It is one of the few English language movies in existence with capoeira featured in more than one scene, the other being only the strong. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-could-have-should-have-been-much-better-than-they-were/671420/35 "2013-10-16T22:51:50Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > Threads like this are going to have a lot of opinion in the posts. I think the Star Wars prequels suck. Some other will think the Star Trek reboot sucks. Tastes and opinions will vary quite a bit. I agree. However, I can’t recall any serious discussion about the Star Wars prequels being anything but bad. One CGI character (Jar-Jar for anyone who has no idea) ruined SW-I for me so completely that I never bothered to watch the other two. And ased on what I’ve read, I never will. That truly is amazing considering how much I enjoyed the first three SW movies. I had all the interest needed to get me to want to see how everything got to IV-A New Hope, and Lucas blew it. I’m sure there are fanboys out there for the three prequels, but I don’t think anyone that grew up on the first three are members. Of course, when Star Wars VIi comes out, and Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill are playing the same roles, curiosity will get the better of me and I’ll go. I think. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-could-have-should-have-been-much-better-than-they-were/671420/36 "2013-10-16T22:59:13Z")
“Star Trek Generations” should have done like the “TNG” episode “Relics” with Scotty was done. Put two different individuals in a desperate situation and have both discover the other guy has some merit. ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-could-have-should-have-been-much-better-than-they-were/671420/37 "2013-10-16T23:10:23Z")
I rewatched _Mystery Men_ recently, thinking it had to have been better than I remembered, but it still wasn’t. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I think it was Ben Stiller’s performance and laggardly pacing in general. OK, wait, and the fork thing was stupid. And Paul (PeeWee Herman) Reuben’s character was stupid. Wes Studi’s character got old. I still have a huge crush on Janeane Garafolo, and Macy was pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-could-have-should-have-been-much-better-than-they-were/671420/38 "2013-10-16T23:15:10Z")
**Superhal:** +1 to infinity My picks: 1. The recent Star Trek reboot. Lemme 'splain: I thought it was a fun movie: fast paced, snappy dialog, and the actors pretty much nailed their predecessors (with a nice character lift for Uhura, but hyper-Chekhov was annoying). Good SFX, with a…_different_ look for Lady E. But all-in-all, it was a series of action sequences with the thinnest of plots draped across it to (try, IMO) tie it all together. Cadet Kirk, about to get booted from Star Fleet Academy, gets bumped straight to Captain of Star Fleet’s flagship? Granted, saving Earth is always career-enhancing, but right up to Captain? Did he at least _graduate_ from the Academy?? Wouldn’t it be a bit more realistic to make him, say, a Lieutenant, and let him get some real-world shipboard experience before handing him the keys to a shiny new Star Fleet cruiser? And Scotty invents the Warp Transporter that just about puts most space travel right next to dinosaurs in utility, and then it’s conveniently forgotten once it gets Kirk and Co. back aboard the Enterprise? 1. Starship Troopers. Say what you will about the source material, it was much better than the anti-war/anti-military satire Verhoeven kicked out. Kindergarten-level ground tactics, over-the-top acting, and no freakin’ Power Armor? This is what we get?? ---
**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-could-have-should-have-been-much-better-than-they-were/671420/39 "2013-10-16T23:24:24Z")
_Green Lantern_. As a lifelong fan of the character, I expected to love it. As it was, I merely liked it. But I can understand the people who hated it. The story was all over the place, and went in too many different directions for one movie. If they had stuck to the basics, there would have been a better chance that there would be a sequel, where all of the more esoteric story elements could have been introduced gradually. And the costume was horrible. ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-could-have-should-have-been-much-better-than-they-were/671420/40 "2013-10-16T23:52:32Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > I always post this when it comes up, but matrix revolutions could have been great. Reloaded ended where Neo’s power affected the real world, and agent smith managed to inhabit a humans body. That ending would have set up the ultimate twist: what the humans thought was reality was just another layer of the matrix, and they were still enslaved. No idea if it’s true, but I’ve read at least once or twice that this WAS the twist the Wachowskis were building to all along but decided to go a different direction when they realized their “big twist” would seem really, really obvious by that point. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-could-have-should-have-been-much-better-than-they-were/671420.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-could-have-should-have-been-much-better-than-they-were/671420.md?page=3)