Movie lovers hate wasting their time on a bad film, especially one that starts with so much promise. Clever filmmakers will know that the start of a movie is vital to hooking the audience, but sustaining this interest isn’t always easy, and an exciting movie can quickly turn into a dud.
Whether it’s a choppy narrative or some poor character choices, movies can lose their way as the story continues. In some cases though, the problem is simply that the movie puts a lot of the best stuff in the first few scenes, but the premise isn’t as exciting as it seems once things really get moving.
Trapis just as divisive as any movie that M. Night Shyamalan has directed in the last decade or so. He certainly has his admirers, butTrapsuffers from the same problems that his detractors often point to. While it starts off strongly,Trap’s plot shoots off in some unexpected directions, with mixed results.
Trapis just as divisive as any movie that M. Night Shyamalan has directed in the last decade or so.
WhenTrapis just a thriller about a serial killer surrounded by the police in a crowded music venue, it feels intense and unique.As soon as Cooper leaves the arena,Traploses the big thing that makes it special, as if Shyamalan releases the tension too quickly.
James Bondmovies are famous for their action-packed cold opens. Although the franchise is set to enter an uncertain new era with the nextJames Bondmovie, it’s a safe bet that this tradition will be kept alive.Spectredelivers one of the most exciting opening scenes of all, but the rest of the movie doesn’t live up to these high standards.
10 Movie Series That Ended Perfectly
Bringing a major movie franchise to an end is no easy feat, but some beloved movie trilogies and franchises managed to bring land theirs beautifully.
The Day of the Dead sequence unfolds in one long take, creating an immersive scene that stands out from most otherBondmovies. There are a few other great moments sprinkled throughoutSpectre,butit’s largely seen as a lowpoint in Daniel Craig’s run as 007, marred by the infamous Blofeld twist.
TheMission: Impossiblefranchise has generally gone from strength to strength, hitting its stride withGhost Protocol.Mission: Impossible IIIis often seen as one of the weakest entries, although Philip Seymour Hoffman’s performance as Owen Davian is always compelling.
Mission: Impossible IIIstarts with a lot of promise, flashing forward to show Davian interrogating Ethan Hunt for the location of the mysterious “rabbit’s foot”. If the rest of the movie could be as captivating as the villain,Mission: Impossible IIIcould have a better reputation.Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoningcould end the franchise, meaning thatDavian could reign supreme as the best villain.
7Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)
The Kingsman Sequel Doesn’t Recapture The Magic
Kingsman: The Golden Circlestarts with Eggsy as a more senior agent, taking over from Harry in the previous movie. There’s a thrilling car chase through central London that stands up to any of the imaginative action sequences fromThe Secret Serviceto get things going, butThe Golden Circleloses its way.
Once Harry is dragged back from death,The Golden Circleloses its stakes completely. He even gets another shot to the head later, but he’s brought back using questionable sci-fi tech once more. This problem, coupled with the fact thatThe Golden Circledoesn’t have as many memorable action scenes, means that the sequel falls flat.
Now You See Meputs a unique twist on the heist movie formula, as a group of flamboyant stage magicians use their skills to rob from the rich and give to the poor. This creates some unusual and inventive heist scenes, with the added excitement of police pursuing them across the globe.
10 Movies That Were Saved By Great Endings
From Terminator 3: Rise of The Machines’ Judgment Day twist to The Mist’s horrifying reveal, a strong ending can make a film much better in hindsight.
AlthoughNow You See Memakes a strong start, the movie’s notoriously unpopular ending ruins a lot of the good faith that it builds up. The twist ending makes very little sense, and it seems to contradict most of the action.Now You See Me 3is finally set to continue the franchise, hopefully with a more watertight narrative.
Comedy sequels are notoriously difficult to pull off, especially when there’s a long gap between the first and second movies.Anchorman 2had a tough act to follow, but it makes a promising start with its first few scenes. Harrison Ford makes a brilliant cameo showing off his comedy chops, and Brick’s funeral is also hilarious.
Unfortunately,Anchorman 2can’t keep up its rate of fire. Perhaps Ford should have been given more than one scene, and perhaps the plot shouldn’t have strayed into political satire. Regardless of the exact cause, it’s clear thatAnchorman 2doesn’t live up to the first movie in the end.
A lot of thebest Pixar moviesmanage to tap into the way that children see the world, like howToy Storyplays on childhood fantasies andMonsters, Inc.deconstructs fears about monsters lurking under the bed.The Good Dinosaurcould have been just as interesting, since plenty of kids love dinosaurs, but it’s widely regarded as one of the studio’s weakest efforts.
The Good Dinosaurstarts with an interesting “what if” scenariothat imagines humans and dinosaurs living side-by-side. There are also some exquisite landscape shots early on to paint a vivid picture of the world. However, the plot doesn’t deliver the kind of fun that such a premise suggests. It begins to drag after a while.
Ever since Drew Barrymore’s one scene at the start of the firstScreammovie, it’s been a franchise tradition to start each movie off with a shocking Ghostface kill.Scream 3puts a twist on this familiar idea by killing off Cotton Weary, an established character in the franchise. This sets the tone for a more personal story featuring Sidney and her friends.
10 Movie Cold Opens That We’ll Remember Forever
A great cold open can get audiences excited from the very first scene, introducing the characters and the plot before the movie really gets going.
WhileScream 3has a few great moments, and the Hollywood setting adds another layer to the horror genre satire,it’s not quite as sharp as the franchise’s best movies. The mystery element isn’t quite as gripping as it is in the first two movies, and the divisive twist ruins the ending for a lot of people.
The Dial of Destinystarts with a scene that shows a much younger Indy fighting the Nazis once again. With an exciting train chase and some explosive fight scenes all strung together in the first few minutes,The Dial of Destinyhas a brief callback to the franchise’s early days. There are a couple more thrilling action scenes, but overall the movie seems too obsessed with the past.
There’s no real reason that Indy should still be fighting the Nazis in the late 1960s. This choice of villain underlines the core reason whyThe Dial of Destinyfeels like a missed opportunity.There’s a death of new ideas, and only a few action scenes which justify resorting to old habits.
Hancockis almost like two distinct movies which have been spliced together to create a strange kind of Frankenstein’s monster.It starts off as a cynical superhero satire,with Will Smith’s charisma in full flow as the most irresponsible hero possible. With an unexpected midpoint twist, everything changes.
Hancockis almost like two distinct movies which have been spliced together.
After the big twist,Hancockbecomes more and more like the kind of overblown superhero melodrama that it’s supposed to be making fun of. It’s a grating tonal shift that’s made even worse due to the fact that it seems to betray the spirit ofHancock.Sure, there are some hard-hitting superhero fight scenes, but this comes at a huge cost.
