# Movies You Didn't Expect to Suck So Bad **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 10, 2011, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-didnt-expect-to-suck-so-bad/574196 "2011-03-10T17:27:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-didnt-expect-to-suck-so-bad/574196/41 "2011-03-10T21:50:04Z")
_Avatar_, for reasons that have been beaten to death on this very board. _Children of Men_, ditto. ---
**Author:** ![Sakuma\_Drops](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sakuma\_Drops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sakuma_Drops)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-didnt-expect-to-suck-so-bad/574196/42 "2011-03-10T21:55:30Z")
> [@astro](#): > > [Will Smith in “7 Pounds”.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Pounds)I almost lost the will to live watching that steaming pile. Oh god _7 Pounds_. I saw that one because someone I know was glowing about it and said it was the most profound thing he’d ever seen. “Profound” my ass, I was totally rooting for the jellyfish. I also got dragged to see the live-action _How The Grinch Stole Christmas_. I knew it wasn’t going to have the same vibe as the cartoon, but…echh. The things I could have done with THAT eight bucks instead… ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-didnt-expect-to-suck-so-bad/574196/43 "2011-03-10T22:02:40Z")
I can’t say I was too impress with the Coen Brother’s _True Grit._ I didn’t really care for _No Country for Old Men_ either. I may be losing some affection for the bros. ---
**Author:** ![Sakuma\_Drops](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sakuma\_Drops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sakuma_Drops)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-didnt-expect-to-suck-so-bad/574196/44 "2011-03-10T22:12:49Z")
> [@astro](#): > > In thinking about it a lot of Will Smith’s work leaves me underwhelmed. He’s in a lot of one of my favorite genres of action sci-fi, but other than Independence Day I can’t really think of a role he was all that great in. I can’t describe it well but it seems like the whole movie is often very much crafted around him, rather than him filling in the edges of the story. I thought _Men in Black_ was pretty good. But it’s not all because of Will Smith, it’s the magical combination of Will Smith AND Tommy Lee Jones that makes it work. Much like volatile chemicals you have to make sure you’ve got a good balance. ---
**Author:** ![maplekiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@maplekiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maplekiwi)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-didnt-expect-to-suck-so-bad/574196/45 "2011-03-10T22:25:25Z")
> [@wheresgeorge04](#): > > Agreed about The Hangover. Not only wasn’t it as funny as everyone said, it wasn’t funny. At all. It looked like it was right up my alley, but nope. > > Joe The Hangover was OK. I probably would have enjoyed it more though if it hadn’t been so hyped. The 2 movies I have been most disappointed in were Lost in Translation & Shrek 2. I should also mention Beverly Hills Cop 2, My Big Fat Greek Wedding (again, I would have enjoyed it more if it hadn’t been over hyped) & Return of the Jedi since they haven’t been mentioned yet. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-didnt-expect-to-suck-so-bad/574196/46 "2011-03-10T22:27:14Z")
Tim Burton’s **Batman**. I was so pumped to see this. Was expecting it to be something like Batman Begins or Dark Knight. Instead I got the theatrical version of Batman. Jumbo set props, theatrical acting, cartoonish. They might as well made it a musical. ---
**Author:** ![Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ed655f/32.png) [@Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crown_Prince_of_Irony)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-didnt-expect-to-suck-so-bad/574196/47 "2011-03-10T22:43:20Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > _Avatar_, for reasons that have been beaten to death on this very board. Oh, I **knew** _Avatar_ was going to suck (and look really good doing so) as soon as I saw James Cameron’s name attached to it. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-didnt-expect-to-suck-so-bad/574196/48 "2011-03-10T23:05:11Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > Tim Burton’s **Batman**. I was so pumped to see this. Was expecting it to be something like Batman Begins or Dark Knight. Instead I got the theatrical version of Batman. Jumbo set props, theatrical acting, cartoonish. They might as well made it a musical. I’m on board with that one. I think that might have been the genesis of my extreme hatred of Tim Burton. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-didnt-expect-to-suck-so-bad/574196/49 "2011-03-10T23:13:49Z")
**Prizzi’s Honor**. All the critics loved it. We hated hated hated it. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-didnt-expect-to-suck-so-bad/574196/50 "2011-03-10T23:17:58Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > Lost in Translation. It got such amazing reviews, but it put me to sleep. This. And I’ll throw in [Broken Flowers](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0412019/). _Crystal Skull_ has already been mentioned. As has _Phantom Menace_. I fell asleep IN THE THEATER during _Menace_. ---
**Author:** ![Carmady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f04885/32.png) [@Carmady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carmady)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-didnt-expect-to-suck-so-bad/574196/51 "2011-03-10T23:38:28Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > The Will Smith/Kenneth Branagh/Kevin Kline _Wild Wild West_ was an astonishing pile of suck. I had forgotten about this, but yeah. I wasn’t expecting much, but I still ended up astonished. As for Crystal Skull, it was exactly as bad as I expected. ---
**Author:** ![jordanr2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@jordanr2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jordanr2)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2011, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-didnt-expect-to-suck-so-bad/574196/52 "2011-03-10T23:52:49Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > **Prizzi’s Honor**. All the critics loved it. We hated hated hated it. this isn’t the first time I’ve seen someone say this. I thought it was a perfectly competent movie, but not exceptional in any way and not one I need to see again - baffling that it received such critical adulation. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2011, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-didnt-expect-to-suck-so-bad/574196/53 "2011-03-11T00:05:19Z")
The Star Wars prequels The Matrix sequels Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull The Curious Case of Benjamin Button The Last Dragon (Recommended _heavily_ by a close friend. After I watched it I was angry with him) Avatar: The Last Airbender (I sort of knew it would suck, but I never could have imagined…) Percy Jackson’s The Lightning Thief (Same as The Last Airbender) ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2011, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-didnt-expect-to-suck-so-bad/574196/54 "2011-03-11T00:26:15Z")
First of all, I love my kids and would gladly die 1000 painful death for them. As a dad, you go to lots of kiddie movies just for the sakes. However, _The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D_ made me want to go back in time and get a vasectomy before I met their mother so that I wouldn’t have had kids and therefore go to that leviathanically bad movie, even considering the extremely low bar i’d set for it. On top of its “badliness” I could never see the 3D because I can do it with the blue-red thingies. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2011, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-didnt-expect-to-suck-so-bad/574196/55 "2011-03-11T00:48:22Z")
> [@Sakuma\_Drops](#): > > I thought _Men in Black_ was pretty good. But it’s not all because of Will Smith, it’s the magical combination of Will Smith AND Tommy Lee Jones that makes it work. Much like volatile chemicals you have to make sure you’ve got a good balance. You’re right, he did a very good job in that and a decent job in Independence Day. I forgot about that one. ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2011, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-didnt-expect-to-suck-so-bad/574196/56 "2011-03-11T00:56:33Z")
Add another for Crystal Skull - Don’t get me wrong. I expected badness. I just didn’t expect it to be THAT bad. The ending of AI killed the entire thing for me. I got as far as Roboboy choosing to reanimate ‘mommy’ for like 5 minutes, knowing then she’d be gone for good, and as soon as that hit, I walked out of the theatre. I’m assuming they reanimated her, but I’ll never see it myself, and I’m ok with that. Batman and Robin was godawful. Again, not very high expectations, but JHChrist was it bad. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2011, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-didnt-expect-to-suck-so-bad/574196/57 "2011-03-11T01:02:40Z")
> [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](#): > > First of all, I love my kids and would gladly die 1000 painful death for them. As a dad, you go to lots of kiddie movies just for the sakes. > However, _The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D_ made me want to go back in time and get a vasectomy before I met their mother so that I wouldn’t have had kids and therefore go to that leviathanically bad movie, even considering the extremely low bar i’d set for it. On top of its “badliness” I could never see the 3D because I can do it with the blue-red thingies. Kind of amusing; I looked up the child actors and the one who played Sharkboy is now one of the leads (Jacob) in the **Twilight** saga. And I’m going to have to defend **Requiem for a Dream**. The only problem I have with it is the whole Sara in the hospital scene. The doctor having her sign the electroshock consent form, when she clearly isn’t making, or capable of making, an informed consent is not only unethical, but probably illegal. Also, from what I’ve heard, electroshock therapy is way different than what the movie was showing. Or rather, the way it was portrayed was they way it was done 50 years ago or so. And as for bad things happening to everybody, well, yeah, bad things can and do happen to heroin users. ---
**Author:** ![multimediac17](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@multimediac17](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/multimediac17)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2011, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-didnt-expect-to-suck-so-bad/574196/58 "2011-03-11T01:25:28Z")
**Body Of Evidence**. I’m a huge Madonna fan and over the years I’ve slowly been working my way through her filmography. I knew this one had a bad reputation but I like lots of movies that the critics hated so I thought maybe it’d be okay, and I don’t think Madonna is as bad at acting as she is made out to be. Holy shit. It was so bad I could hardly believe it. And the worst thing is, because it’s Madonna and I collect works related to her, coupled with the fact that the film is pretty obscure these days and probably not available down at my local video rental store, I actually _bought_ the DVD. I _paid money_ for a copy of **Body Of Evidence**. It is sitting in my room right now, and every time I look at it I hate myself and everyone involved in the film. ---
**Author:** ![zoog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7ea924/32.png) [@zoog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoog)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2011, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-didnt-expect-to-suck-so-bad/574196/59 "2011-03-11T01:27:20Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > Well I think the basic storyline: deranged doctor cuts off woman’s arms and legs so he can obsess over her … had huge potential for suckitude from the git-go. So I have trouble understanding how it could be a surprise that it sucked. It would have taken an extraordinary script to overcome that storyline, and it didn’t have that, it didn’t have that at all. I only watched it cause I really like Sherilynn Fenn, who played Helena, but I’ve learned that she is a lot more appealing than the films she is in, as a general rule. > > I nominate “Couples Retreat.” When it showed up on cable I thought, romantic comedy, tropical island setting, sounds like some mild fun at the very least. Boy was I wrong! Such totally UNLIKABLE characters, such an unfunny script, such unfunny acting. It’s the sort of film you keep watching because you can’t believe how bad it is. Like “The Hangover,” come to think of it, I’ll pile on on that one. I’m not sure exactly what I was thinking about “Boxing Helena” now, it’s been a lot of years ago. I suppose that something made me think it was going to be kind of a weird, dark horror/comedy. I, on the other hand, had no expectations that “Couples Retreat” would be worth watching. My wife recorded it off cable a few months ago (and confused me, because it ain’t her kind of movie at all) and I think we got through about 15 minutes of it before we gave up. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2011, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-didnt-expect-to-suck-so-bad/574196/60 "2011-03-11T01:37:39Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > Kind of amusing; I looked up the child actors and the one who played Sharkboy is now one of the leads (Jacob) in the **Twilight** saga. > > And I’m going to have to defend **Requiem for a Dream**. The only problem I have with it is the whole Sara in the hospital scene. The doctor having her sign the electroshock consent form, when she clearly isn’t making, or capable of making, an informed consent is not only unethical, but probably illegal. Also, from what I’ve heard, electroshock therapy is way different than what the movie was showing. Or rather, the way it was portrayed was they way it was done 50 years ago or so. And as for bad things happening to everybody, well, yeah, bad things can and do happen to heroin users. The mom’s story was the worst part. There was just something poorly done there. I have been told that no, I’m wrong, and her part is actually good cinema. Whatever. Cracked is a not very credible source, but I did [see this](http://www.cracked.com/article/223_6-mental-illness-myths-hollywood-wants-you-to-believe/) on ECT the other day (Number 4). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-didnt-expect-to-suck-so-bad/574196.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-didnt-expect-to-suck-so-bad/574196.md?page=4)