We’ve all been there before.

The introduction of a movie gets us hooked. The first act has us interested in where things are going. Halfway through the second act, we’re on the edge of our seats.

Then it happens: everything falls apart. Sometimes it’s due to a mid-movie twist that’s, to be honest, stupid. Other times, a film writes itself into a corner it can’t escape from. Either way, it’s still disappointing.

Audiences recently discussed the topic of movies that start strong but end poorly, and they had plenty to say on the topic.

Spectre

The Daniel Craig Bond movies are, for the most part, extremely successful. Casino Royale is one of the best Bond movies ever made. Skyfall is, in my book, even better.

Quantum of Solace is just okay; it’s nowhere near as bad as people make it out to be.

Following the release of Skyfall, Spectre looked to further establish iconic James Bond lore into the rebooted universe, plus Sam Mendes was returning as director following the success of Skyfall. Christoph Waltz was even going to be Blofeld! Only…we were told so many times, “he’s not Blofield, he’s totally someone different!”

Come on, we’re smarter than that. By the time that it’s revealed that Franz Oberhauser (Waltz) is actually Ernst Stavro Blofeld, it’s like someone let the air out of the movie. They tried too hard to build up this massive twist instead of, you know, making another great film.

Hancock

And yet that may not be the worst mid-movie twist in cinematic history.

2008’s Hancock had an excellent premise behind it: what if a superhero isn’t the clean-cut Superman type of person we expect? What if he’s hated by the general public and needs a makeover?

You got me hooked; Add in the twist of losing your powers when you get too close to someone you love, and it’s enough to keep seeing all the way through.

There’s just one problem: Hanock doesn’t know how to stick the landing. It becomes less of a movie about a superhero trying to win back public opinion and more of a gigantic tonal shift that gives you whiplash. Oh, and it just dumps a lot of lore and worldbuilding onto your lap with no time to comprehend what happened.

Downsizing

Hey, everyone, look at Matt Damon! He’s going to shrink himself to improve his standard of living.

Mind you, this was two years after he starred in The Martian. There was clearly an audience for Matt Damon doing crazy things to survive.

However, Downsizing isn’t about that. Once it really gets going, it’s going to preach to you the importance of climate change and the environment. It’s also not going to be subtle in any way, shape, or form. WALL-E has a similar tone, but it didn’t beat you over the head with it.

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Man of the Year

In some ways, you could argue that Man of the Year, the 2006 “comedy” starring Robin Williams, predicted the future: what if a television star became President of the United States?

That’s what happens here; Williams is the host of a political comedy talk show, runs for office, and wins.

Here’s the catch: remember when I used the word “comedy” in quotation marks? There’s a reason for that: the movie decides halfway through that it wants to become a political thriller and talk about election cover-ups instead of making us laugh.

Look, Robin Williams is an incredibly gifted actor who has starred in comedies, dramas, thrillers, and everything in between. But even he can’t make such a shift in tone and messaging work.

The Invention of Lying

This should have been a home run concept turned into a comedy classic.

Ricky Gervais is the first person in the world who can lie? And he’s surrounded by people who can only tell the truth? It’s incredible, it’s fantastic, it’s…nothing like any of the time he’s hosted the Golden Globes.

Instead of being a well-crafted, edge comedy, it devolves into a pretty typical romantic comedy that loses all sense of uniqueness and is ultimately cliché and boring by the end. What a shame, especially since it features an impressive ensemble cast.

Yesterday

What is it about these clever and unique “what if” scenario comedies that have the urge to fall into the trappings of a boring romantic comedy?

Instead of people being forced to tell the truth, Yesterday poses the question “What if The Beatles never existed?”

It has Danny Boyle directing, too, so you’d figure that he’d be cooking up something special. Nope! It’s just a “will they or won’t they” story with a hook intriguing enough to get us in the door.

In Time

If you’re ever randomly scrolling through movie clips on Facebook Reels or TikTok, I guarantee you that you’ve seen something from In Time, even if it didn’t see widespread recognition on release in 2011.

The concept is actually both really good and relevant to today’s society: time is the primary currency of the world. Everyone has a clock that counts down on their arm, indicating how long they have to live. You don’t spend money, you spend time.

In theory, it’s an excellent sci-fi take on wealth disparity between the rich and poor. However, instead of diving further into those themes, it decides it wants to be a mindless action flick with no sense of style or pizazz.

Explorers

Fun fact: 1985’s Explorers is the film debut of Ethan Hawke and River Phoenix.

Given their talent, you’d imagine they were given the green light to make some magic. Instead, the movie falls apart halfway through.

You see, Explorers begins as a magical 1980s sci-fi film where kids build a spaceship from scratch. It perfectly captures the magic and wonder of the best 1980s movies, tugging at our hearts and imaginations.

Rather than following through on that feeling, though, it decides it’s time to become a weird alien comedy filled with jokes you’d expect out of a sitcom.

War of the Worlds

First things first: this is the 2005 one, not the 2025 one.

I was there on opening weekend, excited to see Stephen Spielberg adapt one of the most iconic stories of all time.

For most of the film, it works super well. We get a first-hand look at the shock and terror of the invasion, the chaos as humanity fights for survival, and the lengths people will go to protect those they love.

Ironically, it’s following that specific moment (the basement scene with Tim Robbins) where the wheels fall off. First, the movie’s pacing grinds to a halt. Second, it feels like it just…ends.

Don’t get me wrong: I know that’s how the story goes, but once we enter that basement, it feels like we’re watching a very different movie. It’s no longer about the world, and Tom Cruise’s character is just our viewpoint, and that’s where you lose everyone.

Wonder Woman

Yes, it’s become popular to point out the many, many flaws in Gal Gadot’s performances as Wonder Woman, but believe it or not, her debut role was actually pretty good! Well, for the first two-thirds, anyway.

Call me a sucker for period pieces (I love the first Captain America movie, for example), but Wonder Woman does an excellent job of introducing us to the character and showcasing her strengths within the D.C. Universe. It also does an excellent job of avoiding the pitfalls of some of the worst comic book movies out there. In the world of D.C. Comics, those are a dime a dozen, so it’s certainly standing out for that.

Unfortunately, like many comic book movies today, it doesn’t know how to stick the landing, and its final act is your stereotypical CGI battle setpiece against a generic and forgettable villain. Wonder Woman is a movie that started so strongly, yet sadly ended poorly, and the character never recovered from it.

I Am Legend

We’re back to pick on Will Smith some more. He’s had a great career; he can handle it. I think.

I Am Legend‘s biggest flaw is how it deviates from the source material. It’s an excellent graphic novel that, spoiler alert, has the shocking twist that the protagonist has been the villain the entire time, not the vampire-like creatures.

The movie doesn’t spend any time exploring this theme, though, and instead, is your standard, generic post-apocalyptic Hollywood story where the third act is filled with hope, redemption, and some random humor that feels out of place.

Click

Speaking of great careers, Adam Sandler has made me laugh enough that he deserves the right to make movies based on having cool vacations with his friends. I wish I were lucky enough to have that luxury!

Anyway, after his initial success in the ’90s, Sandler wasn’t afraid to experiment a little bit. He starred in more serious films, such as Paul Thomas Anderson’s Punch-Drunk Love and Spanglish, alongside the typical comedies you’d expect from him.

One of them, however, is not like the other: 2006’s Click.

It’s a cool concept: what if you had an emote that controlled time? Sandler is able to play this off for comedic effect, but the film’s third act decides it wants to get philosophical and try to hammer home an important message. It’s like if you merged together Sandler’s more serious work with his comedies into one movie.

Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull

Okay. So.

The first portion of Crystal Skull isn’t terrible. Is it the best Indiana Jones movie? Absolutely not. Is it still watchable? You bet. The fridge scene is weird, but don’t forget how he survived on the raft, falling out of the plane in Temple of Doom. It’s harmless fun; who cares?

I can even look past the family bickering between everyone. It’s a summer blockbuster. I enjoyed the back and forth between Harrison Ford and Sean Connery in The Last Crusade. These aren’t as enjoyable, but again, still watchable.

I draw the line at the aliens. Why did there have to be aliens? Why did we have to see them? It’s the midichlorians from Phantom Menace explaining how The Force works all over again.

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