# Movies that start out seeming like masterpieces but then plummet to earth **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 20, 2014, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-start-out-seeming-like-masterpieces-but-then-plummet-to-earth/686537 "2014-04-20T10:56:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [April 20, 2014, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-start-out-seeming-like-masterpieces-but-then-plummet-to-earth/686537/21 "2014-04-20T19:37:02Z")
_Full Metal Jacket_. The boot camp portion is harrowing and amazing (and coulda been a standalone movie), but the Vietnam part is just OK (and Platoon did it better the year before). ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-start-out-seeming-like-masterpieces-but-then-plummet-to-earth/686537/22 "2014-04-20T19:48:21Z")
_Wolf_ with Jack Nicholson was off to a good start as a moody piece exploring the aggressive and pitiless side of human nature and their manifestations. Then a second character who also has werewolfy powers and inclinations is brought in and the movie quickly devolves into yet another cheapie Marvel-comics wannabe story of Superpowered Semidark Hero versus Similarly Powered Verydark Villain. ---
**Author:** ![kstarnes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4da419/32.png) [@kstarnes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kstarnes)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-start-out-seeming-like-masterpieces-but-then-plummet-to-earth/686537/23 "2014-04-20T19:51:03Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > As I just mentioned in one of the Ebert threads, \*Sunshine \*seems headed for all time sci-fi classic" territory until, if not halfway through, pretty close. Then, spoiler alert, it shockingly becomes just another cliched, cheesy slasher flick. Total WTF. > > What other examples can you name when you were thinking a film you were watching was headed for the pantheon, until some ridiculous plot development or other cinematic sin torpedoed its chances for greatness? Jeepers Creepers could’ve been a horror/suspense masterpiece, then all kinds of ‘magic’ happened. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-start-out-seeming-like-masterpieces-but-then-plummet-to-earth/686537/24 "2014-04-20T19:59:50Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > That’s exactly what happened. It was rewritten and tweaked by so many different sets of writers, directors, and focus groups that a mess was probably inevitable. > > [Hancock (film) - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hancock_%28film%29#Production) > [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/04/movies/moviesspecial/04ciep.html](http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/04/movies/moviesspecial/04ciep.html) Thanks for that, I guess at least it makes sense now. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-start-out-seeming-like-masterpieces-but-then-plummet-to-earth/686537/25 "2014-04-20T20:00:54Z")
Matrix 2 and 3. The story is that originally, they had 3 scripts for a trilogy but couldn’t get the funding. Finally they found a studio willing to give them money, but only for one movie. So, they took the best parts of their three scripts and made a single film. When Matrix 1 was a huge hit, the studio gave them like 5X as much money to make two sequels. But, they used up their scripts, so they were forced to use whatever was too crappy to get into the first film, and apparently random notes written on restaurant napkins. This would have all been forgivable if they hadn’t lost their guts at the end of Matrix Reloaded. At the end, Neo somehow has got his matrix powers in the real world and Smith managed to take over the body of a real person. The logical conclusion is that the “real world” and Zion is just another part of the matrix, and everybody who thought they were free are actually still in the system. Instead, we get the Subway of Boredom. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-start-out-seeming-like-masterpieces-but-then-plummet-to-earth/686537/26 "2014-04-20T20:26:31Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I don’t think I’d agree. Just off the top of my head, _Brazil_ and _Time Bandits_ work right up to the end. Brazil is quite complete, although chaotic and confusing near the end (but I daresay that could be entirely purposeful). Time Bandits is also quite good, but ends very abruptly - and in the middle, there does seem to be a bit of serial situational peril. But yes, those are the exceptions to ‘nearly every’. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-start-out-seeming-like-masterpieces-but-then-plummet-to-earth/686537/27 "2014-04-20T21:07:31Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > _Saving Private Ryan_. The opening twenty minutes are probably the best battle scene ever filmed. And then they start the story and the movie descends into mediocrity. Read the OP a few hours ago but didn’t have time to type this. Exactly what I thought when I first read the OP. Outstanding right up until they make it off Omaha Beach, and then goes steadily downhill from there. But Jesus, what an opening scene! ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2014, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-start-out-seeming-like-masterpieces-but-then-plummet-to-earth/686537/28 "2014-04-20T22:23:42Z")
> [@Roundabout](#): > > Splice. By the time Dren became a male and started his rape/murder rampage, I was done. What a cheap 3rd act twist to such a good sci-fi concept. Agreed. Actually, I’d say it went downhill when the male scientist screws Dren in the first place but the ending was not only terrible in execution but also telegraphed from a mile away so there wasn’t even any surprise factor. Also agreed on Hancock but that seemed to have been explained. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-start-out-seeming-like-masterpieces-but-then-plummet-to-earth/686537/29 "2014-04-21T00:05:27Z")
> [@Bozuit](#): > > I love Sunshine. I get the criticisms of the “slasher” side to it, but I just don’t care. The visuals, the music, the dichotomy of insta-vaporizing sunlight and insta-freezing shade, the strange spirituality of the characters in the face of death and the general mystery behind everything all make it a great experience for me. The elements you refer to are why it seemed a masterpiece to me until halfway through. I wasn’t being hyperbolic, did not mean “it was pretty good until it started sucking”. I really meant that it was shaping up to be one of the all time great works of cinema; and then it just veered into being another, very common and forgettable, type of film. Just inexcusable–although if anyone has insight as to whether there was studio interference behind it as with other cases described here, that might help me forgive the principals. I’m still mulling getting the Blu-ray to show the first part of it to my kids, along with the ending I suppose. > [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I don’t think I’d agree. Just off the top of my head, _Brazil_ and _Time Bandits_ work right up to the end. Half agree. The ending to _Brazil_ is perfect, if incredibly depressing, like the film as a whole. _Time Bandits_, not so much. > [@Superhal](#): > > Matrix 2 and 3. > > The story is that originally, they had 3 scripts for a trilogy but couldn’t get the funding. Finally they found a studio willing to give them money, but only for one movie. So, they took the best parts of their three scripts and made a single film. When Matrix 1 was a huge hit, the studio gave them like 5X as much money to make two sequels. But, they used up their scripts, so they were forced to use whatever was too crappy to get into the first film, and apparently random notes written on restaurant napkins. Ahhh…so that explains it. I try not to let the masterful original get tainted by the abomination that followed (admittedly I only watched about 20 min. of the second installment before walking out of the theatre) but it’s tough. I should have known better: the original ends perfectly, Neo has won, “SYSTEM ERROR”, _Fin_. ETA: For those who enjoy rating movies on Netflix or IMDB, or ranking them on Flickchart, how do you handle movies in this category? I think with _Sunshine_ I ended up giving it three stars; but that was a strange and unsatisfying representation of how I felt about it. ---
**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:** [April 21, 2014, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-start-out-seeming-like-masterpieces-but-then-plummet-to-earth/686537/30 "2014-04-21T14:10:12Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > The elements you refer to are why it seemed a masterpiece to me until halfway through. I wasn’t being hyperbolic, did not mean “it was pretty good until it started sucking”. I really meant that it was shaping up to be one of the all time great works of cinema; and then it just veered into being another, very common and forgettable, type of film. Just inexcusable–although if anyone has insight as to whether there was studio interference behind it as with other cases described here, that might help me forgive the principals. Nope, it seems to solely be the work of director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland. > **[Sunshine (2007 film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunshine_%282007_film%29#Production)** > > Sunshine is a 2007 science fiction psychological thriller film directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland. Starring an ensemble cast featuring Cillian Murphy, Chris Evans, Rose Byrne, Michelle Yeoh, Cliff Curtis, Troy Garity, Hiroyuki Sanada, Benedict Wong, Chipo Chung, and Mark Strong, the film takes place in the year 2057, where a group of astronauts aboard the Icarus II are sent on a dangerous mission to reignite the dying Sun. > A British-American co-production between DNA Films, U... ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-start-out-seeming-like-masterpieces-but-then-plummet-to-earth/686537/31 "2014-04-21T14:32:30Z")
Brazil and Time Bandits weren’t masterpieces. The only good thing about the beginning of Brazil is seeing the parallels with 1984 until it felt like you were being bludgeoned to death by them. The ending imho is better thanks to the cameo by DeNiro, but even then, the last part of the movie copied Marathon Man. I lump time bandits in with all those midget movies of that time period: Willow, Return of the Jedi, Leprechaun, etc. I’m glad they got work but until Game of Thrones, there haven’t been many good midget actors. Oh, definitely in this topic would be unfinished movies. If you haven’t seen it yet, go buy the Bruce Lee documentary that has the “director’s cut” of Game of Death. Definitely a masterpiece, even unfinished. That it will never have the right ending is one of the great tragedies of film, imho. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-start-out-seeming-like-masterpieces-but-then-plummet-to-earth/686537/32 "2014-04-21T14:40:39Z")
_John Dies At The End_ starts out brilliantly quirky, and I thought I was witnessing the birth of a classic. I stopped and rewound it (on Netflix) a dozen times for all the awesome scenes that I just had to see again before moving on. But then about halfway through it turned into a quite ordinary monster movie. I still liked it, but it didn’t rocket to the classic status that the first half promised. ---
**Author:** ![BlueOhio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/439d5e/32.png) [@BlueOhio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlueOhio)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-start-out-seeming-like-masterpieces-but-then-plummet-to-earth/686537/33 "2014-04-21T14:46:39Z")
I thought the beginning scene in the farmhouse of The Inglorious Basterds was fantastic, but didn’t really care for the rest of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-start-out-seeming-like-masterpieces-but-then-plummet-to-earth/686537/34 "2014-04-21T14:47:23Z")
I would vote for _Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow_. When we saw the trailer for the first time, we said “this could be the greatest movie ever!” A retro-futuristic tale with the feel of _Raiders_ and a bit of _Dark City_. It started out really cool, but it didn’t take long before we realized the filmmakers didn’t “get it.” It was a film with all the elements of cool (30s looking tech, giant robots, flying aircraft carriers) but none of the “heart”. It really pisses me off, because it could have become a series, and now we’ll never see a good version. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-start-out-seeming-like-masterpieces-but-then-plummet-to-earth/686537/35 "2014-04-21T15:15:47Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > I found the ending of “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” sort of disappointing. Oh, and Sir Lancelot the Brave’s rescue of Sir Galahad the Chaste from great peril. That was very disappointing. Well yeah. The first 20 minutes of that movie is the greatest comedy movie ever made. The rest of it is ok, the ending sucks. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-start-out-seeming-like-masterpieces-but-then-plummet-to-earth/686537/36 "2014-04-21T15:20:27Z")
_A.I._ plummeted pretty hard. Also, _Titanic_ would have been a better movie with the middle hour excised. ---
**Author:** ![PeacePlease](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/71c47a/32.png) [@PeacePlease](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PeacePlease)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-start-out-seeming-like-masterpieces-but-then-plummet-to-earth/686537/37 "2014-04-21T15:34:23Z")
[QUOTE=Little Nemo] _Saving Private Ryan_. The opening twenty minutes are probably the best battle scene ever filmed. And then they start the story and the movie descends into mediocrity. [/QUOTE. Absolutely agree] IMHO, the movie just nosedives into schmaltz. There was a reason that ‘Shakespeare in Love’ won the Oscar (very well deserved). Sorry, screwed up the quotes on my tablet. > [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > _Full Metal Jacket_. The boot camp portion is harrowing and amazing (and coulda been a standalone movie), but the Vietnam part is just OK (and Platoon did it better the year before). Yup!! > [@AHunter3](#): > > _Wolf_ with Jack Nicholson was off to a good start as a moody piece exploring the aggressive and pitiless side of human nature and their manifestations. Then a second character who also has werewolfy powers and inclinations is brought in and the movie quickly devolves into yet another cheapie Marvel-comics wannabe story of Superpowered Semidark Hero versus Similarly Powered Verydark Villain. Concur…and Jack was woefully under-used. (Best Actor evah!) ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-start-out-seeming-like-masterpieces-but-then-plummet-to-earth/686537/38 "2014-04-21T16:13:00Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > I found the ending of “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” sort of disappointing. Oh, and Sir Lancelot the Brave’s rescue of Sir Galahad the Chaste from great peril. That was very disappointing. Oh, yes. It’s my personal view that the only Monty Python movie to have an actual ending is **Life of Brian**. The first time I saw it, I was shocked. Pleasantly shocked, but shocked. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-start-out-seeming-like-masterpieces-but-then-plummet-to-earth/686537/39 "2014-04-21T16:27:21Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > Matrix 2 and 3. I was going to say the first Matrix. Oh, it’s a great movie, but I remember watching it and feeling disappointment that a science fiction film with such an original point of view, and so many good ideas, culminated in a John Woo-style shoot-'em-up. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2014, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-start-out-seeming-like-masterpieces-but-then-plummet-to-earth/686537/40 "2014-04-21T16:32:56Z")
_ **28 Days Later** _ gets my vote. It was a good movie all the way through, but the first half up until they get to the military outpost was amazing. After that, I feel it went overboard with the frantic action and lost some of what made it unique. Maybe this is a Danny Boyle trend. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-start-out-seeming-like-masterpieces-but-then-plummet-to-earth/686537.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-start-out-seeming-like-masterpieces-but-then-plummet-to-earth/686537.md?page=3)