Movies are great, but good movies are even better. Just like any other art form, people appreciate when a movie has a compelling story, nice visuals, and relatable characters. Sadly, not all movie-watching experiences are satisfying. Some leave us wanting more. Way more. Especially when it seemed to be so promising.
So when one netizen asked fellow movie lovers, "What movie had a 10/10 concept and a 3/10 execution?", lots of people had their one poorly-executed movie pick. Whether it was a lacking storyline, not enough chemistry between the actors, or something less tangible that's even hard to put into words, people didn't hesitate to share them.
A captivating idea is a great foundation for a film. However, it's not enough for it to stand on its own. And the movies in this list might just be proof of that. There are far too many things needed for a movie to do well at the box office or become a cult classic many years after its release.
A film historian and filmmaker Wheeler Winston Dixon, a professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, told CNN that there is a great deal of things that can go wrong for filmmakers. "It's always a crapshoot because there are so many factors you don't know about before you're going into something. Even with all the elements in place, there's always an element of chance."
Director John Jacobsen writes that it's not a good concept that moves us, it's a good story. "Concepts do not move us, stories do. They are the currency of human exchange and how we touch and move each other," he claims. According to him, people go to the movies to learn something, and in order for that to happen, they need to find the characters and the story relatable.
"I look at it this way – a concept is the promise you make, but the story is how you deliver on that promise, or a concept is something that asks a question, and the answer to the question is your story," he writes.
An example that does both the concept and its execution right is Good Will Hunting, Screencraft writes. It has a compelling concept, as well as characters that go through their respective arcs as the movie progresses. Interestingly, the original idea Affleck and Damon pitched was about a mathematics genius pursued by the government. But, after reading the draft, filmmaker Rob Reiner told them to get rid of that plotline and focus on the characters.
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Another two examples they give are genre movies Get Out and A Quiet Place. Both have interesting, original concepts, as well as great character stories. A good concept, according to Screencraft, is what gets you noticed. "Yes, the more compelling your concept is, the more doors may open. But always remember that there's a place for every type of screenplay — as long as it's written well."
Eragon
All they had to do was follow the damn books.The Hobbit. It should have been 1 movie but was artificially stretched out to 3 s****y movies in an obvious attempt to cash-grab.Stephen King's Dark Tower series was his magnum opus.
I don't know what the s**t that thing they put on screen was but it wasn't any of the Dark Tower books.The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Sean Connery's talents were such a waste. lackluster script. Would love to see this be remade.Avatar the Last Airbender
Still sad about that one. Nicola Peltz was a nepotism hire because her dad was in the biz.The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. As a fan of the books, I was highly disappointed that we didn’t get more.Jurassic World Dominion... Dinosaurs have to co-exist with humans, will they survive? eh, who cares lets talk about LOCUSTS.Hancock had two good concepts combined into one bad movie.I always thought Passengers would’ve been a much better movie if it was revealed that Chris Pratts character had woken up Jennifer Lawrence’s character at the end as a twist.Jumper. Cool idea of a secret society of teleporters, and the idea of someone becoming aware of their powers, and running a afoul of them. Lotta missed opportunities and Hayden Christensen was terrible.I thought valerian and the city of a million planets could have been amazing. But even as someone who liked the movie, man it was bad.Enders game. I loved the book as a kid. I absolutely hated the movie.Jupiter Ascending Seemed like a pretty great concept but that movie was just awful. I think it could’ve made a fantastic Netflix/HBO series.The Island (2005) had a great premise. Would have been good if it was sci-fi horror genre instead. Like if they focused on the mystery and suspense of slowly revealing the truth about "The island". Instead we got a 3/10 movie filled with car chase and explosions.Antman and the Wasp Quantumania had the potential to be an absolutely genre changing movie if they utilized the different parts to their full potential (kang as a character, the quantum realm as a concept, the family dynamic of the Lang’s/ Pym’s) but instead it came out like a burnt pizza, so much potential wasted to the point of it barely being serviceable at all.The Golden Compass.Gonna say Wild Wild West. Steampunk western? Hell yeah.
Admittedly, I enjoyed the movie as it is, despite many valid reasons not to.The Assassin's Creed movie. I was so excited, but I don't think I've ever left a theater more disappointed. If they made a tv series (I know I heard Netflix was supposed to, but that was a long time ago) it could work better than a movie.The 2005 War of The Worlds with Tom Cruise.
The book is good and so is the movie from the 1950s. The 2005 adaptation was such a good concept but those kids (one of which being a very annoying young Dakota Fanning) are so damn annoying.Cowboys & Aliens. Ohh it could’ve been so good….Downsizing.World War Z. Just do the actual book.Alien VS Predator movies
They have Soooo much potential, yet always seem to under deliver.The first modern Transformers. The OG (1985) was in my VHS player every day of my childhood. I was so excited to see what Hollywood CGI could do with the series.
I was so disgusted by the incessant interjection of f*****g humans that I haven't watched any of the sequels. The story is about the f*****g autobots vs decepticons not the goddamn meat bags in between the intergalactic battle of transforming metal f*****g warriors.
It's such a wasted franchise right now. Like holy s**t how about a good video game too?
Guess the robots don't have tits so we'll just not put money into the actual story.Congo, a dangerous expedition into the jungle to rescue the son of a corporate tycoon. You have a lost city of diamonds, killer apes, and a cast that includes Ernie Hudson, Tim Curry, Laura Linney, and Delroy Lindo.
What we got was a mess of a movie, that is just a chore to watch.The Matrix sequels had some really interesting ideas, but generally sucked as movies.Recently 65(Million) starring Adam Driver.
I went in, not expecting high art or anything. But if you explained the premise, "Sci-Fi spaceman Adam Driver goes to prehistoric earth with a space gun and fights dinosaurs." I would GUARANTEE the movie would be a blast to watch.
It was not a blast to watch. They somehow made that movie boring. Incredibly boring. They gave the only two humans a language barrier. It was awful.Lucy.Buffy the Vampire Slayer the movie.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer the TV show proved the concept worked if it just had the right execution.Don't Worry Darling! I think the concept was great, the aestetics were lovely, Flo was amazing as per usual... everything else fell entirely flat and the film was altogether mediocre. Without Florence Pugh it wouldn't have been good at all.“Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow”—trailer promised pulpy sci-fi goodness but failed to deliver.The Giver. The book was so good, and the movie they made was complete s**t.I Am Legend.In Time starting Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried.Valerian and the City of A Thousand Planets - needed better casting Ender's Game - should have been an animated movie instead of trying to work with child actors.Both Waterworld and The Postman.
I’m a big fan of the post-apocalyptic genre. Kevin Costner was coming off huge after Dances With Wolves and he had two shots at mega-funded films and botched them both. They were corny, badly acted, and way too cheesy for what kind of money was spent to produce them.Renfield.
Nicholas Cage as Dracula and Nicholas Hoult as Renfield. Both characters in a horrible co-dependent relationship with Dracula being a narcistic abuser. On paper it sounds like a dream. On film...it was forgettable. They shoe-horned an unnecessary good cop versus the mob storyline in. Cage and Hoult didn't have many scenes together. Their relationship was barely explored. The cop story was so utterly cliche. It could have been better if they had dropped the cop vs. mob storyline altogether and made it about Renfield and the recovery group vs. Dracula.After earth.The maze runner movies. Absolutely terrible excution desipte amazing concept/book. The movies change plot points/characters drastically and made them so dull and builds no connection with them. Think if maybe they made a tv series to have more time to not cut so many corners by changing so much it could work.Attack of the Clones. If it had better dialogue, and fleshed out Dooku's motivations better, it would be a great movie. I still think it was higher than 3/10, though.Army of the Dead.
A casino heist in the middle of a Zombie outbreak sounds like an amazing idea.
It's too bad the movie abandons the core premise immediately.Prometheus.The Butterfly Effect. Really cool premise but, yikes.The first purge movie in 2013. The sequels became “better” and explored the purge more.Beau Is Afraid. The cinematography was beautiful, and the first half was mysterious and suspenseful. But somewhere around the 2 hour mark, the wheels fell off. The rambling monologues were incoherent and felt out of place, and it seemed as if the movie was trying too hard to replicate the dream-like mood of Mulholland Drive.Dragon Ball evolution has a literal 2,6/10 rating on imdb and even the writer apologized.Sucker Punch.M Night Shyamalan’s “Old”. The plot had so much potential.Not 3/10, but way short of the cult classic it could have been: *Brightburn*.Reign of Fire. I wanted the movie on the poster, attack helicopters fighting dragons over a london in flames.
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