# Movies whose general crapitude you've excused because they're so visually compelling **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 7, 2014, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-whose-general-crapitude-youve-excused-because-theyre-so-visually-compelling/680724 "2014-02-07T02:28:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-whose-general-crapitude-youve-excused-because-theyre-so-visually-compelling/680724/41 "2014-02-07T22:51:28Z")
Another vote for **Prometheus**. I wanted so badly to love that movie and pretty much did the first time I saw it. Repeated viewings made me like it less and less but _damn_…the visuals sure are great. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-whose-general-crapitude-youve-excused-because-theyre-so-visually-compelling/680724/42 "2014-02-07T23:03:55Z")
> [@montag01](#): > > Coppola’s interpretation of Dracula. Some really amazing visuals and editing, along with a strong, moody soundtrack. It’s not a “crappy” movie by any means, but many of the scenes feel strung together without a strong narrative to keep everything moving. That movie makes perfect sense if you see it completely stoned. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-whose-general-crapitude-youve-excused-because-theyre-so-visually-compelling/680724/43 "2014-02-07T23:10:28Z")
> [@montag01](#): > > Coppola’s interpretation of Dracula. Some really amazing visuals and editing, along with a strong, moody soundtrack. It’s not a “crappy” movie by any means, but many of the scenes feel strung together without a strong narrative to keep everything moving. I haven’t seen it for years but from what I remember I agree, it was well done. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-whose-general-crapitude-youve-excused-because-theyre-so-visually-compelling/680724/44 "2014-02-08T01:16:53Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > “What Dreams May Come” had some beautiful visuals but holy crap was it a terrible film. In fact it probably doesn’t count for this thread because even with the beautiful visuals the film is inexcusable. … Not to mention a title that brings out the “heh, heh” inner Beavis & Butthead in everyone who doesn’t do Shakespeare references. (Also of course, in some who do.) ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-whose-general-crapitude-youve-excused-because-theyre-so-visually-compelling/680724/45 "2014-02-08T01:44:58Z")
Richard Linklater’s “Waking Life” would have been pretty dull stuff without the freaky visuals. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-whose-general-crapitude-youve-excused-because-theyre-so-visually-compelling/680724/46 "2014-02-08T01:45:13Z")
_Ultraviolet_. Yes, the plot makes dick all sense. Yes, the acting is terrible, nevermind the dialogue. But dude, she’s got hair & clothes that change colour at will, a hammerspace arsenal AND a bike with a gravity switch. Also, gun kata. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Goob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@Mr.Goob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Goob)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-whose-general-crapitude-youve-excused-because-theyre-so-visually-compelling/680724/47 "2014-02-08T01:55:19Z")
Read the OP an composed my reply and then read the thread and still have to say Copollas trainwreck of Dracula. I saw it in the company of a bunch of fellow Lit Geeks. Over beer and wings after we agreed it was visually stunning and Winona Ryder is cute as hell, the story was shit. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-whose-general-crapitude-youve-excused-because-theyre-so-visually-compelling/680724/48 "2014-02-08T02:14:19Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I want to find those people and sucker punch them in the balls. Geez- **FUCK** , what a horrible depressing film. It’s like they found out what fanboys like, and decided to ruin their dreams forever… Yeah, Sucker Punch is definitely in my “How could you fuck this up?” short list. I do not excuse it, or _Prometheus_, for the creators’ stunning displays of incompetence. Sucker Punch: A movie about hot women in sexy clothes going to fantasy worlds. Prometheus: A movie about people who aren’t complete imbeciles encountering alien life for the first time. That’s not fucking difficult, is it? ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-whose-general-crapitude-youve-excused-because-theyre-so-visually-compelling/680724/49 "2014-02-08T03:13:08Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > Richard Linklater’s “Waking Life” would have been pretty dull stuff without the freaky visuals. Funny, I feel exactly the opposite. Some thought-provoking dialogue, but the visuals quite literally made me want to barf. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-whose-general-crapitude-youve-excused-because-theyre-so-visually-compelling/680724/50 "2014-02-08T03:14:52Z")
_Titanic_. Stupid love story, but oh, the costumes! I’d kill for Kate Winslet’s wardrobe in that film. ---
**Author:** ![zoog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7ea924/32.png) [@zoog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoog)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-whose-general-crapitude-youve-excused-because-theyre-so-visually-compelling/680724/51 "2014-02-08T05:15:01Z")
I thought _Life Of Pi_ was pretty unremarkable except for the visuals. But I’d have to agree, _Avatar_ wins the category hands down. I tried to watch it on TV sometime after seeing it in IMAX 3D, and it was damned near unwatchable. You’d think that if you have something on the order of half a billion dollars to spend on making a movie, you could at least spring for a decent screenwriter or two… ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-whose-general-crapitude-youve-excused-because-theyre-so-visually-compelling/680724/52 "2014-02-08T05:43:27Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > “The Day After Tomorrow”, I completely, without shame, went to see it for the special effects. Pretty much the only movie I’ve unabashedly done that for.\ I agree, and I feel the same way about “2012” with John Cusack - I love post-apocalyptic movies, but these two are so disappointing. I’ll still watch them for the visuals - they both have some very cool stuff going on. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-whose-general-crapitude-youve-excused-because-theyre-so-visually-compelling/680724/53 "2014-02-08T06:49:25Z")
[Hero](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0299977/) was a wuxia film with a fairly hohum if mildly disturbingly nationalistic plot but goddamn was that movie pretty. In the famous [yellow forest fight](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5J5XiisSAkI) scene, _every single leaf was hand picked_ and graded by flawlessness. In the [lake fight](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGq6FXcpxtY) scene, filming could only be done for 2 hours every day because Zhang Yimou insisted the lake had to be perfectly still. The youtube clips don’t really do it justice, it’s a movie that begs to be watched in HD. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-whose-general-crapitude-youve-excused-because-theyre-so-visually-compelling/680724/54 "2014-02-08T07:01:57Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > [Hero](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0299977/) was a wuxia film with a fairly hohum if mildly disturbingly nationalistic plot but goddamn was that movie pretty. > > In the famous [yellow forest fight](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5J5XiisSAkI) scene, _every single leaf was hand picked_ and graded by flawlessness. > > In the [lake fight](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGq6FXcpxtY) scene, filming could only be done for 2 hours every day because Zhang Yimou insisted the lake had to be perfectly still. > > The youtube clips don’t really do it justice, it’s a movie that begs to be watched in HD. Gotta disagree - I thought it was a wonderful story and told exceptionally well. That being said it is also pretty as hell. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-whose-general-crapitude-youve-excused-because-theyre-so-visually-compelling/680724/55 "2014-02-08T10:56:04Z")
The _Underworld_ movies. _Aeon Flux_ _Chronicles of Riddick_ ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-whose-general-crapitude-youve-excused-because-theyre-so-visually-compelling/680724/56 "2014-02-08T20:54:34Z")
> [@montag01](#): > > Coppola’s interpretation of Dracula. Some really amazing visuals and editing, along with a strong, moody soundtrack. It’s not a “crappy” movie by any means, but many of the scenes feel strung together without a strong narrative to keep everything moving. I agree that Dracula is beautiful, but I can’t fault it’s narrative problems because they come from it being pretty faithful to the source material - something almost nothing else bothered with. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2014, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-whose-general-crapitude-youve-excused-because-theyre-so-visually-compelling/680724/57 "2014-02-09T15:20:20Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > [Hero](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0299977/) was a wuxia film with a fairly hohum if mildly disturbingly nationalistic plot but goddamn was that movie pretty. > [@zoid](#): > > Gotta disagree - I thought it was a wonderful story and told exceptionally well. I’m with **Shalmanese** - _Hero_ had about ten minutes of plot but it was absolutely beautiful to watch. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2014, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-whose-general-crapitude-youve-excused-because-theyre-so-visually-compelling/680724/58 "2014-02-09T15:43:07Z")
James Cameron is the king of this category, between _Titanic_ and _Avatar_. > [@montag01](#): > > Coppola’s interpretation of Dracula. Some really amazing visuals and editing, along with a strong, moody soundtrack. It’s not a “crappy” movie by any means… Well you are half right. I agree with you that the visuals make Bram Stoker’s Dracula worth watching. All of the scenes at Dracula’s castle are just beautifully shot. However, it _is_ a crappy movie. Bad acting, bad dialogue, bad everything except visuals. I would put [Cloud Atlas](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1371111/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_5) in this category. The visuals were stunning but I didn’t think the movie held together at all. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2014, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-whose-general-crapitude-youve-excused-because-theyre-so-visually-compelling/680724/59 "2014-02-09T15:59:28Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > This might not count, because the movie isn’t exactly craptacular, but IMHO _Gravity_ would not be getting all the Oscar attention it is except for the amazing visual effects. I’m not even saying that it’s undeserved. But if it had taken place on a shipwreck in the middle of the ocean instead of in outer space I think the story and script would be revealed as much less compelling. Of course, they actually did that, and in the same year; “All is Lost,” starring Robert Redford. It’s “Gravity” at sea. The thing is, it IS a compelling movie. Done right, “can a lone person survive” can make for a hell of a movie, whether in space or on the ocean. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-whose-general-crapitude-youve-excused-because-theyre-so-visually-compelling/680724.md?page=2)