Most disappointing non-sequels

MakeEmLaugh

Everyone is used to disappointing sequels (The Godfather Part III, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull etc) but what about are some of the most disappointing non-sequels out there? Films you expected – or hoped – to love but which just didn't work?

Here are some of mine

A Life Less Ordinary (1997, Danny Boyle)

Having truly loved both Shallow Grave and Trainspotting, I expected the third Danny Boyle-Andrew Macdonald-John Hodge-Ewan McGregor collaboration to be of a similar quality. But whereas Shallow Grave and Trainspotting were dark, gritty, intense pictures, A Life Less Ordinary had a silly plot, unconvincing casting (McGregor, with his thick Scottish brogue, working as a cleaner in an American corporation?!) and ultimately was a disappointment.

Inherent Vice (2014, Paul Thomas Anderson)

Paul Thomas Anderson might be my favourite American director working today (Boogie Nights, Magnolia, There Will Be Blood, The Master – all great) but Inherent Vice was a deliberately unintelligible picture, in which we are forced to spend two hours with a mumbling, permanently inebriated character. It left me feeling underwhelmed.

American Beauty (1999, Sam Mendes)

The reviews for American Beauty were among the most hyperbolic I'd ever read back in 1999 (Rod Dreher of the New York Post said it was “flat-out masterpiece, surely the best movie of the year; indeed, an all-time classic.” Despite a nice score from Thomas Newman, the film was filled with unsympathetic, badly-written characters (do even American teens shout as one another in the melodramatic fashion they do in American Beauty?) and pseudo-profundity. The fact that almost no one cites it as a favourite film today is telling.

Calvary (2014, John Michael McDonagh)

The praise heaped upon this film led me to believe that one of the McDonagh brothers (John Michael, in this case) could live up to the hype that had surrounded them for years. It wasn't to be. This is much worse than the entertaining if lightweight The Guard. As a Sligoman, this was a depiction of a Sligo which doesn't exist – mechanics from the Ivory Coast living side-by-side with coke-snorting surgeons, ageing American novelists and retired Dublin detectives with a proclivity for rentboys who speak in a faux-West Side Story 'Noo Yawk' accent? What the hell was McDonagh thinking?!). Don't even get me started on the ridiculous cannibal-serial killer subplot.

I went in hoping it would be great. I left stunned by its awfulness.

MadDog76

American Beauty is one of my favourite movies.

darkdubh

Terry Gilliams Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas.As a big fan of the book it left me distinctly underwhelmed.

ruskin

Inherent Vice had inherent shyte. It left me with inherent confusion, inherent anger and inherent disgust after watching it.

syklops

Prometheus.

Also, I really like American Beauty.

Goodshape

I loved Calvary. I think many people took it up wrong. It's not supposed to be a Sligo that exists, it's a "Father Ted" fantasy version of Ireland, but in a post-catholic-child-abuse world where things aren't really quite so funny any more.


On topic, it's an easy one maybe but Tarantino's work after Jackie Brown has just been disappointing.

syklops

Goodshape wrote: »

I loved Calvary. I think many people took it up wrong. It's not supposed to be a Sligo that exists, it's a "Father Ted" fantasy version of Ireland, but in a post-catholic-child-abuse world where things aren't really quite so funny any more.


On topic, it's an easy one maybe but Tarantino's work after Jackie Brown has just been disappointing.

You were disappointed with Django Unchained?

Huntergonzo

I heard a few people on the radio saying how great American Hustle was, then I went to see it and found it pretty boring to be honest, huge let down.

Huntergonzo

darkdubh wrote: »

Terry Gilliams Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas.As a big fan of the book it left me distinctly underwhelmed.

I actually loved that film and I have read the book, granted it could have been made better though. Apparently it was supposed to be an animated film in the style of Ralph Steadman's illustrations but it never happened because Thompson had sold the rights to a girlfriend of his or something to that effect.

MakeEmLaugh

Goodshape wrote: »

I loved Calvary. I think many people took it up wrong. It's not supposed to be a Sligo that exists, it's a "Father Ted" fantasy version of Ireland, but in a post-catholic-child-abuse world where things aren't really quite so funny any more.


On topic, it's an easy one maybe but Tarantino's work after Jackie Brown has just been disappointing.

I agree about Tarantino post-Jackie Brown.

However, on the subject of Calvary...

(a) Father Ted was very funny, whereas Calvary failed as a comedy. There was one line throughout the whole film that genuinely made me laugh: Chris O'Dowd, speaking about his wife, "I think she's bipolar, or lactose intolerant, one of the two".

(b) No one claimed Father Ted was "on a par [with the films of] Ford/Wayne, Fellini/Mastroianni or Scorsese/De Niro", as Kim Newman did with Calvary.

MadDog76

Goodshape wrote: »

I loved Calvary. I think many people took it up wrong. It's not supposed to be a Sligo that exists, it's a "Father Ted" fantasy version of Ireland, but in a post-catholic-child-abuse world where things aren't really quite so funny any more.


On topic, it's an easy one maybe but Tarantino's work after Jackie Brown has just been disappointing.

Couldn't disagree more ........ I loved both Kill Bill's, Sin City (Guest Director), Death Proof, Inglorious Basterds and Django Unchained ......... can't wait for The Hateful Eight!!!

Goodshape

syklops wrote: »

You were disappointed with Django Unchained?

Well, considering what preceded it (post Jackie Brown) I guess that one wasn't disappointing in an any unexpected way. It was just a another silly, indulgent, throw-away Tarantino film.

MakeEmLaugh wrote: »

However, on the subject of Calvary...

(a) Father Ted was very funny, whereas Calvary failed as a comedy.

It wasn't a comedy in the same way that Father Ted was; how could it be? There's nothing to laugh about the church any more. There's nothing to look up to. There's nothing even to laugh at, because it's really not funny. What they've done is far too severe. That's Calvary. Because in a different time you could imagine this being funny, with those characters – even those actors – in that ridiculous, almost OIrish, version of Ireland. But it's 2015; and instead it's heartbreaking.

Having said that, I did find it darkly humours. But very ****ing darkly.

(b) No one claimed Father Ted was "on a par [with the films of] Ford/Wayne, Fellini/Mastroianni or Scorsese/De Niro", as Kim Newman did with Calvary.

[/quote]
Well.. might of helped that I saw it before hearing any of that. The cinematography was lovely though? And the pacing was lovely and deliberate. Performance from Gleeson was fantastic too.

****ing great film

e_e

Almost everything I've seen from Scorsese since Goodfellas.

Skerries

e_e wrote: »

Almost everything I've seen from Scorsese since Goodfellas.

what about The Departed, Gangs of New York and Casino?

e_e

I thought The Departed was okay but way overwritten, could have been dialed down several notches without losing anything. Didn't like Gangs of New York much and thought Casino was a really weak follow up to Goodfellas. Turns everything up to 11 and becomes tedious and redundant after the first hour. Didn't feel like Scorsese had anything new to say at all with it.

MakeEmLaugh

e_e wrote: »

Almost everything I've seen from Scorsese since Goodfellas.

He's made as many films since Goodfellas as he made before it (eleven on either side).

If you haven't liked any of them, surely they aren't disappointments any more?

It's only a disappointment if you expect to like something.

Sudden Valley

ruskin wrote: »

Inherent Vice had inherent shyte. It left me with inherent confusion, inherent anger and inherent disgust after watching it.

You keep using that word, I do not think it means what youthink it means.
I agree though that Inherent Vice was terrible

MadDog76

ruskin wrote: »

Inherent Vice had inherent shyte. It left me with inherent confusion, inherent anger and inherent disgust after watching it.

Sudden Valley wrote: »

You keep using that word, I do not think it means what youthink it means.
I agree though that Inherent Vice was terrible

I was just thinking that!!

Caovyn Lineah

Avatar Possibly my own fault as I bought into all the hype for years before it was released. It was a very poor cinema experience and I have actually never managed to watch it in its entirety since then despite trying 5+ times.

darkdubh

Does The Phantom Menace count as a sequel?Anyway it was one of the biggest cinematic let downs ever for me.I'm not a Star Wars fanatic but enjoyed the original trilogy.PM sums up everything thats wrong with CGI led blockbusters.

MakeEmLaugh

syklops wrote: »

Prometheus.

Kind of a sequel, or prequel, no?

syklops

MakeEmLaugh wrote: »

Kind of a sequel, or prequel, no?

Its a prequel, therefore a non-sequel.

The_Valeyard

Everything by Mr. Night Shyamalan after the 6th sense and unbreakable.

syklops

The_Valeyard wrote: »

Everything by Mr. Night Shyamalan after the 6th sense and unbreakable.

You didn't like the Village?

darkdubh

Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy.I have to admit I had reservations about what they'd do to it before seeing it and my worst fears were confirmed.It was utterly ruined by the casting and attempts to sell it to an American audience.The early 80s BBC series is far more enjoyable in spite of its cheap production values.

The_Valeyard

syklops wrote: »

You didn't like the Village?

No. No I did not.

Zaph

Goodshape wrote: »

On topic, it's an easy one maybe but Tarantino's work after Jackie Brown has just been disappointing.

Inglorious Basterds and Django Unchained are two of my favourite Tarantino films, however I didn't really enjoy Jackie Brown at all.

Huntergonzo wrote: »

I heard a few people on the radio saying how great American Hustle was, then I went to see it and found it pretty boring to be honest, huge let down.

It was a decent plot and the acting was superb, but the film itself dragged and could have really been improved by having half an hour or more shaved off it.

darkdubh wrote: »

Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy.I have to admit I had reservations about what they'd do to it before seeing it and my worst fears were confirmed.It was utterly ruined by the casting and attempts to sell it to an American audience.The early 80s BBC series is far more enjoyable in spite of its cheap production values.

Even though Douglas Adams was involved, it was never going to be as enjoyable as the previous versions due to its American funding and therefore being more aimed at an American audience. I agree, the worst part of it was the casting, Mos Def was probably the worst Ford Prefect they could ever have come up with. That said, it does have some enjoyable parts that keep me from writing it off completely, and the theme music is possibly the greatest in cinematic history!

HamsterFace

ruskin wrote: »

Inherent Vice had inherent shyte. It left me with inherent confusion, inherent anger and inherent disgust after watching it.

I turned it off after the first scene, the most unengaging opening scene I have ever seen.

What happened to the classic rule of capturing your audiences attention?

e_e

HamsterFace wrote: »

I turned it off after the first scene, the most unengaging opening scene I have ever seen.

What happened to the classic rule of capturing your audiences attention?

What happened to people giving a film a chance for more than 10 minutes?

Besides a film doesn't really owe you anything tbh, especially something deliberately opaque and ambiguous like Inherent Vice. Also the whole tone and pacing of that scene (and the film in general) are perfectly in line with Doc's stoned mindset. It's pretty much the most complicated noir imaginable but you're drifting through it with this character who hasn't the capacity to follow all the leads and tie all of the evidence together. I found it a lot of fun.

The_Valeyard

The_Valeyard wrote: »

Everything by Mr. Night Shyamalan after the 6th sense and unbreakable.

I thought Happening was one of the funniest films in years. I mean, think about it, the trees are getting real mad with us...real...mad...

e_e

Goodshape wrote: »

On topic, it's an easy one maybe but Tarantino's work after Jackie Brown has just been disappointing.

His best movie.

jones

syklops wrote: »

You didn't like the Village?

I liked the village when i saw it in the cinema many moons ago. It wasn't as good as sixth sense but i enjoyed it for what it was although his need to force a twist into all his films was getting tiring.

Rewatched it a few months ago and was bored to tears. The whole film just made no sense :rolleyes:

Decuc500

The_Valeyard wrote: »

Everything by Mr. Night Shyamalan after the 6th sense and unbreakable.

I think his new film, The Visit, is fantastic and will probably be considered a return to form.

syklops

jones wrote: »

Rewatched it a few months ago and was bored to tears. The whole film just made no sense :rolleyes:

Thats because you know theres a twist and you know what the twist is.

MakeEmLaugh

syklops wrote: »

Prometheus.

MakeEmLaugh wrote: »

Kind of a sequel, or prequel, no?

syklops wrote: »

Its a prequel, therefore a non-sequel.

Pedant. :P

boy98

Seen Iron Man (2008) on Blu-ray........ bitterly disappointed with The Iron Lady (2011).

syklops

boy98 wrote: »

Seen Iron Man (2008) on Blu-ray........ bitterly disappointed with The Iron Lady (2011).

Saw Iron Man(2008), was very disappointed in Iron Man 2.

Skerries

I was disappointed in Iron Man too

Ironman76

Man of Steel. Had huge expectations but never expected it to be as bad. Utter shyte.

Will never again get my hopes up for a movie after that. Even the new Star Wars, it will probably be shyte.

B.A._Baracus

Caovyn Lineah wrote: »

Avatar Possibly my own fault as I bought into all the hype for years before it was released. It was a very poor cinema experience and I have actually never managed to watch it in its entirety since then despite trying 5+ times.

I'd agree with Avatar too.
Bought into all the hype and it was from James Cameron. The guy has a good track record. But I always remember coming out of Cineworld (Dublin) feeling a tad disappointed.

It wasn't a bad movie. You can even say it was good movie. But not the masterpiece it was hyped to be.
It's also very hard to rewatch as it's too long. I think i've only seen it twice (cinema and home) and don't think I could sit through it again.

darkdubh

Eyes Wide Shut was kind of a disapointment,wouldent quite call it a bad film as such as it was Kubricks first film in over a decade had high expectations which it dident live up to.