10 Movies With Great Premises But Awful Execution

Movie trailers and enticing plot descriptions often set high expectations for a film, only for the final product to end up deeply disappointing. Many films start with clever concepts, sometimes based on successful novels, but stumble in bringing their vision to life. Whether it’s due to lackluster dialogue, mediocre acting, subpar direction, or lazy special effects, promising movies can turn into disastrous messes. Conversely, exceptional execution can elevate less-than-great concepts into seemingly excellent films.

From lackluster science fiction epics to humorless comedies, the world of cinema is replete with examples of films that fall short of their initial promise. It’s a reminder that the journey from concept to execution in filmmaking can be fraught with challenges, and even the most brilliant ideas can flounder without the right team and resources. The best movies are the ones that combine good ideas with strong execution, a feat that many projects fail to achieve.

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10 Downsizing

In the film Downsizing, Paul Safranek, portrayed by Matt Damon, undergoes a procedure to shrink himself down to a mere five inches to combat overpopulation and reduce carbon footprints. Originally, his wife intended to join him in this endeavor, driven mostly by financial savings, but she ultimately backs out at the last moment. This leaves Paul divorced and alone until he encounters an impoverished activist from Vietnam who had been downsized against her will.

The film’s premise had the potential to serve as an intelligent and unique satire on global warming. It could also have served as a commentary on modern relationships in an increasingly materialistic world. However, the script falters when attempting to infuse dramatic depth alongside its social critiques, resulting in a somewhat disjointed narrative.

9 America’s Sweethearts

Boasting a star-studded cast featuring Julia Roberts, Catherine Zeta-Jones, John Cusack, and Billy Crystal (who also co-wrote), America’s Sweethearts should’ve been a non-stop laugh riot. The film revolves around a former Hollywood ‘It’ couple trying to maintain civility during their last ever joint public appearance to promote their latest film. Simultaneously, one of their press agents orchestrates embarrassing yet effective publicity stunts, and some romantic entanglements only further complicate matters. Despite the cast’s chemistry and a premise with the potential for broad slapstick humor, the jokes are too infrequent, preventing the film from reaching its comedic potential.

8 The Last Airbender

The prospect of M. Night Shyamalan helming the live-action adaptation of Nickelodeon’s immensely popular animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender was initially exciting. Additionally, the source material provided characters and storylines that had already worked in other media. However, The Last Airbender movie could not match the quality of the original. In fact, The Last Airbender is widely considered one of the worst blockbuster movies ever made.

The script was burdened by excessive exposition, resulting in a bewildering mishmash of the series’ narrative. Shyamalan’s attempt to condense an entire season into 90 minutes sacrificed the character development that the animated series had masterfully achieved. Moreover, the epic action sequences the show was renowned for turned into poorly directed, tensionless messes with unimpressive special effects. Fortunately, Netflix’s live-action Avatar show is delivering a much more faithful adaptation of the animated series.

7 Mortal Engines

Based on Philip Reeve’s young adult novel, Mortal Engines is set In a post-apocalyptic world where entire cities have been mounted on wheels. It follows a trio who attempts to stop the city of London from destroying everything in its path. Mortal Engines leverages its thrilling premise for epic action sequences and impressive visual effects. However, it falls short in character development, failing to engage viewers emotionally. The rich post-apocalyptic setting and the concept of ‘Municipal Darwinism’ offer the potential for deeper themes but remain largely unexplored, and the filmmakers seemingly prioritized spectacle over coherent character motivations.

6 The Invention of Lying

Written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson, The Invention of Lying features Gervais as a screenwriter in a world devoid of falsehoods who, as the title suggests, utters the world’s first lie. While the film delves into intriguing ethical quandaries regarding lying, it misses the opportunity for profound societal commentary on the function of deceit in society. Instead, it leans heavily on the single-joke premise, resulting in a repetitive and predictable experience. It explores religious themes, albeit without the depth or wit required to do them justice. The addition of a romantic subplot, though featuring Jennifer Garner delivering a strong performance, introduces a formulaic and clichéd element.

5 Passengers

Passengers features Jennifer Lawrence and Christ Pratt as two passengers on a spacecraft carrying people to a colony 120 light years away from Earth. When Pratt’s character Jim is accidentally awoken from his induced hibernation 90 years too early Jim, out of loneliness, makes the controversial decision to wake Aurora. Together, the two must confront the prospect of spending the rest of their lives together on board. While the film could have explored important themes about consent and manipulation, it largely sidesteps these discussions in favor of a more conventional romance narrative. Passengers lacks emotional depth and fails to imbue the story with any sense of atmosphere.

4 Yesterday

In Yesterday​, a struggling singer-songwriter finds himself in a world where a global power outage erases all memory of The Beatles, except for his. Capitalizing on this unique knowledge, he achieves fame by passing off the band’s iconic songs as his own. While the film exudes charm, it doesn’t fully exploit its clever premise. Rather than delving into the complexities of fame and the price of deception, the story leans heavily on a romance plot. It misses opportunities for trippy, uproarious comedy, opting for a safer, less edgy approach, resulting in a film that, while sweet, doesn’t fully live up to the potential of its concept.

3 The Dark Tower

The Dark Tower attempts to adapt Stephen King’s book series, featuring the world’s last Gunslinger’s battle to protect the Dark Tower, which upholds the universe, from the Man in Black. Starring Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey, it fails to capitalize on its source material. The primary issues include the daunting task of condensing a series of novels into just 95 minutes, rendering the plot largely incomprehensible to non-book fans It strays from the delightfully strange tone of the books, offering none of its source materials’ unique atmosphere. Its unimpressive cinematography further contributes to the lack of a compelling tone and coherent storyline, making it one of the worst Stephen King movie adaptations.

2 In Time

Set in a society where time is currency and each individual possesses a watch counting down their remaining lifespan, In Time follows Will (played by Justin Timberlake), a man from the impoverished classes who discovers the hoarding of time by the wealthy elite. Accused of murder upon acquiring more time, he goes on the run with Sylvia (Amanda Seyfried), the daughter of a wealthy figure. While Will is initially depicted as an average individual, his character quickly becomes unbelievably skilled, straining the plot’s credibility.

In Time‘s intriguing sci-fi concept and underlying political themes are overshadowed by trite action sequences, like car chases. The film is further hindered by clichéd action dialogue which is filled with one-liners. Despite the original premise, In Time‘s increasing focus on romance and action elements makes it ultimately feel generic.

1 Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets draws inspiration from a rich source material, a science fiction comic series spanning four decades. Set in the 28th century, it follows two special operatives on a mission to save the universe. While the film showcases impressive world-building with visually stunning moments and locations, its characters lack depth, hampered by a weak script and subpar performances. Attempting to juggle numerous plotlines and tones results in a disjointed narrative. Additionally, due to the comic’s widespread influence, the film feels somewhat derivative. The movie‘s promising premise and captivating vision of the future fall short of expectations.