[Movies] Films that start well and end terribly

[jamewages]

I've been rewatching the Bond films recently, and I realised that a fairly common theme is that many of them have a really strong first hour or so then suddenly decline in quality and go out with a whimper - sometimes they go completely off the rails, sometimes they go nowhere, sometimes they jump the shark massively. Examples:

Thunderball - great first hour with an intriguing plot and genuinely engaging characters - then it descends into endless underwater sequences and nothing much else, and by the end is intensely boring.

Moonraker - it does not need the space sections at all. I wouldn't say the first hour is great, to be honest, but it's a hell of a lot better than what follows, which is basically a poor man's Star Wars.

Quantum of Solace - in the second half of the film, all the most interesting characters disappear to varying degrees, the film rushes into a half-baked conclusion, and the final scenes are a mess.

And it got me thinking about other films that do this - I would say Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Spider-Man 3, and The Island all go completely insane in their second half after relatively enjoyable first halves. What other films would you suggest and why?

[xylophone]

Pineapple Express

[leafs43]

Kill Bill vol. 2



OMG gimme that eff'ing sword fight!

[hawtlol]

Pineapple Express

The best quote of the movie is near the end. "What's down there?!?! Fuckin Rancor?!?!"

[Nanaboostme]

Majority of M Night Shyamalan's movies

[s_bushido]

Law-Abiding Citizen

The premise was ok, but it felt like they wrote themselves into a corner.

[Elgefar]

Cabin in the Woods.

I know it was intended as a satire to the torture porn that the horror genre has become, but the last 15 min killed the movie for me.

[Eorayn]

I've been rewatching the Bond films recently, and I realised that a fairly common theme is that many of them have a really strong first hour or so then suddenly decline in quality and go out with a whimper - sometimes they go completely off the rails, sometimes they go nowhere, sometimes they jump the shark massively. Examples:

Thunderball - great first hour with an intriguing plot and genuinely engaging characters - then it descends into endless underwater sequences and nothing much else, and by the end is intensely boring.

Moonraker - it does not need the space sections at all. I wouldn't say the first hour is great, to be honest, but it's a hell of a lot better than what follows, which is basically a poor man's Star Wars.

Quantum of Solace - in the second half of the film, all the most interesting characters disappear to varying degrees, the film rushes into a half-baked conclusion, and the final scenes are a mess.

And it got me thinking about other films that do this - I would say Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Spider-Man 3, and The Island all go completely insane in their second half after relatively enjoyable first halves. What other films would you suggest and why?

When I was watching The Island, I was really impressed with it, actually. That was until they got out of that lab. The first half was fantastic, I actually thought for a second that Michael Bay had made something great. But it declined after that. Still thought the movie was pretty good though, but the latter half seemed like a different movie. Loved the mysterious feeling about the first half. if he had kept the plot in the lab and made it more weird, I think it would have been great.

[Badpaladin]

When I was watching The Island, I was really impressed with it, actually. That was until they got out of that lab. The first half was fantastic, I actually thought for a second that Michael Bay had made something great. But it declined after that. Still thought the movie was pretty good though, but the latter half seemed like a different movie. Loved the mysterious feeling about the first half. if he had kept the plot in the lab and made it more weird, I think it would have been great.

I think he read Plato's Allegory of the Cave and then said, "This needs more action and boats and shit".

[Deleted]

The Hunger Games.

[Deleted]

Kill Bill Vol. 2 - after ALL that and given who her enemy is?
The Descent - US version, not UK version. Basically censorship.
Source Code - totally inconsistent
Lady in the Water - what a way to ruin such a mystery movie, or why I hate deus-ex machina.
Signs - really, M. Shyamalan, really?!
Django Unchained - ending is Tarantino at his laziest.

And not that it was a particularly bad ending, but,

- I Am Legend - real ending (from the book) literally changes the genre/type of story.

[menulo]

the last batman movie... started out so great. and bane was fucking awesome. but the last 30 min just make absolutely no sence..
the first 2 movies are so great, and this one started out great to.... and then they shat all over the end. damnit.

[Puri]

Pearl Harbor

[Badpaladin]

- I Am Legend - real ending (from the book) literally changes the genre/type of story.

Thanks for bringing that up and reminding me of how disappointed I was when I saw the movie. The book ending is so fuckin' awesome and mind-twisting.

[Deleted]

Majority of M Night Shyamalan's movies

Surely all? Eh and my ex was in one of them so that's not me being biased against it either

Battle Los Angeles was good at the start too, maybe until mid way through. But the ending, oh christ the ending is that all we're getting?

The Watchmen - Kinda overly drawn out imo, needed more packed into it. Was little substance for the time it took up.

Every movie with Tom Cruise ever made.

Legion. I really enjoyed the movie right up until the end where literally nothing happened.

[s_bushido]

Thanks for bringing that up and reminding me of how disappointed I was when I saw the movie. The book ending is so fuckin' awesome and mind-twisting.

Heh, I saw the movie without reading the book and left wondering what the title had to do with anything. Then I read the book, and was like "ooohh." :P

Every movie with Tom Cruise ever made.

Aw, but I loved the Last Samurai. I guess I'm just a sap when it comes to stuff like that.

[Tziva]

A.I. Artificial Intelligence

[Darsithis]

Case 39 comes to mind

[Rec]

A.I. Artificial Intelligence

Honestly, that ending made that movie good imo.

[KCguy]

Pretty much all movies start out alright, but have horrible endings.