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Plot vs Execution
What are some examples of films with really excellent plots that just get executed poorly?
Maybe the storytelling is boring or the soundtrack is jarring. Performances might be bad or scenes might be shot in a way that just doesn't really convey emotion correctly.
I just watched "Fury Road" for the second time and absolutely loved it, but was reminded of several of my issues with it in theaters. The plot just doesn't really matter. The stakes are never really set, characters have kind of strange relationships, and everything comes to almost a complete stand still in the middle of the film.
It's not a fault, not every movie needs to have wildly complex plot elements, it's just interesting. Fury Road's execution of a totally mediocre plot is absolutely flawless -- one of the most technically impressive modern films I can even think of -- and that makes it a total blast to watch. I love this movie.
So, I wonder what stuff we can come up with on the opposite end of that spectrum. Really good plots, with really bad execution.
It's difficult to find a movie with a really GOOD plot and a REALLY bad execution. Good plots are usually written by authors that know their way when it comes to execution.
Anyway, I'd go with something like Passengers. The premise is intriguing, but the execution is extremely poor. If the film was from Jennifer Lawrence's perspective instead of Chris Pratt's, I think it could have become some sort of a cult film. But instead, it's just bad.
Yes! Super agree with Passengers, that's a great example.
Good point, I guess we should be looking at bad adaptations of plots by better writers.
I have heard that said many times on r/movies and it is silly. Passengers has so many problems that gender flipping the story would not have changed anything.
what? No gender flipping at all. The story simply begins when Jennifer Lawrence wakes up. At the midpoint we learn that Chris Pratt woke her up on purpose.
Also, they should have mixed the romance with heavy thriller elements.
Fury Road doesn’t have a mediocre plot it has a simple plot that serves the exact purpose it’s meant to.
Here come the 'Fury Road is the best movie ever, there is no other opinion' crowd
OP's right. Shit became stale real fast. One similar looking long car chase after another where I didn't give a shit about anyone/thing
A lot of people tend to name Logan’s Run for this and it pains me a bit because I still enjoy it greatly but it’s undeniable that it has one of the most intriguing premises in sci-fi that would almost certainly grant a masterpiece which this simply isn’t.
Just reading the synopsis, this feels really similar to 1984 or Soylent Green?
The recipe is totally there for something as classic (It has a lot in common with Brave New World actually) but it's just underdeveloped. I still really admire the ambition though.
Brave was the one slipping my mind. I gotta re-read that...
OK cool. I'll definitely check this one out.
Man from UNCLE
It could have been a great spy film with a really good villain and a great cast. Instead it had moments of a great spy film with a blah villain (not due to Elizabeth Debicki mind you) and a great cast but was mostly couldn't figure out if it wanted to go full fun/action or be serious.
Surrogates 2009
In Time 2011 Both were great ideas that just didn’t work for me
Total Recall. They want you to believe that everything might be happening in Quaid's head. But they show you scene after scene taking place when he's not around and is clearly not aware of what's going on.
Sometimes imo it’s not about the plot, it’s about moments u remember
I'm biased, but I'd compare Law Abiding Citizen with Peppermint. Almost exact same plots... but the execution of (most!) of LAC is pretty cool, whereas Peppermint is just a big fail.
You could say the same of Heat vs Den of Thieves. Though that also has to do with casting & budget.
Lastly, Armageddon vs Deep Impact, due to the choice of tone. When it comes to "End of the world from a Asteroid/Comet", Armageddon chose to go with fun/bombastic/comic, whereas Deep Impact chose to go with serious melodrama. Armageddon's tone works a alot better.
Idiocracy
if they had managed to just write some better jokes to fill out the running time, the brilliant premise could have worked better. Instead, it dragged on at times.
Lawnmower Man
Batman V Superman. The pieces are there but Snyder and Chris Terrio just didn't know how to bring them together in a way that works.
Just saw 'Old' yesterday and I nominate this movie
Most recently, The Tomorrow War. Time travel, aliens, military. All interesting topics that could have been pretty epic. Instead we got an abortion of a film that was as cookie cutter as could be, riddled with plot holes (willing to admit time travel films tend to do that), contrived character flaws, and an attempted world build that falls apart logically within the first couple of scenes.
The plot is the events that relay the story. The plot is really the execution of the story. It is not possible to have an excellent plot that is poorly executed.
Do you mean good stories that have bad plots?