Monday is the day where I do The Phenomenal 5. But honestly, it’s kinda hard to fit the word “phenomenal” in with this list. Just as every movie year has its great films, every year also has its movies that fell short, disappointed, or simply missed its mark. 2012 was certainly no different. For this list I’ve picked five movies that just didn’t work for me. Now I’m not claiming that these are the worst films on 2012 (more on those later). Nor am I including movies like “The Master” which I feel is overrated but that has some undeniable strong points. These five films are movies loaded with potential and high expectations but ended up as real letdowns. (Click on the names of each movie for a link to my full review).
#5 – “BATTLESHIP”
I almost left “Battleship”off this list entirely. It wasn’t a movie that I had huge expectations for therefore it wasn’t a major disappointment. On the other hand, I bought into the flashy, action-packed trailers that showed off the cool technical side of the film. Unfortunately that’s about all this movie had to offer – lots of explosions, cool alien technology, and nothing more. Even more, I was really surprised at just how lame the script really was. It’s completely predictable, filled with clichés, and features an absolutely absurd rise in military rank for our protagonist. Look, I get that “Battleship” was a mindless, summer popcorn flick. But even those have to execute better than this movie does.
#4 – “TAKEN 2”
I really like the first “Taken” film. It was one of the first films featuring the new tough guy Liam Neeson. I ignored all of the bad reviews and made my way to the theater to see “Taken 2”. Sigh! There were moments that I liked in the movie. But there weren’t many of them. “Taken 2” completely dropped the ball in the end. It’s a lazy, check cashing effort that seems to have worked judging by the box office numbers. But I found myself frustrated at the film due to its poor camerawork and absolutely absurd moments. Some of Neeson’s tough guy techniques are ridiculous and I’ve rarely seen a stupider bunch of the bad guys. And then there’s the climactic fights at the end where the camerawork is so bad you have no idea what has taken place. One thing I do know, “Taken 2” definitely qualifies as a disappointment.
#3 – “CLOUD ATLAS”
I was completely unfamiliar with the source material for “Cloud Atlas”. But after hearing all of the excitement from many others, I became pretty enthusiastic about the movie adaptation. I came out really disappointed but I’ve also grown more disenchanted with it as time goes by. There’s a lot of ambition tied into this film. It also takes chances and I always like that. But this is a mishmash of incomprehensible nonsense, self-indulgent style, and heavy-handed sermonizing wrapped up as a groundbreaking, science-fiction epic. Now I can see where people may buy into it but I saw it as a lot smaller than it tries to be. A couple of the storylines are interesting but as a whole it just didn’t come together and I have no interest in seeing it again.
#2 – “TO ROME WITH LOVE”
I was never a big fan of Woody Allen, at least not until I saw “Midnight in Paris”. I remain mesmerized by that movie both due to its heart and it’s incredible witt. Allen’s European cinematic tour continued with “To Rome With Love” and how could it not be good, right? Sadly the movie flies off the rails at the halfway point and never captures any of the locational magic that made “Midnight” so great. Now I will say the movie starts off promising and I was starting to think Allen had struck gold again. But things take a ridiculous turn and the second half of the movie is about as sloppy as anything I saw all year. I was really hoping Woody Allen would do for Rome what he did for Paris. Instead he left it just short of a disaster area.
#1 – “TOTAL RECALL”
Many of us have questioned the barrage of remakes coming out of Hollywood these days. But “Total Recall” was one film that seemed primed for a modern day makeover. And while I did have questions, I back-burned any skepticism. Unfortunately there were a lot of reasons to be skeptical. I watched the original “Total Recall” tons of times after its release. This flashy remake not only fails to capture the fun, sci-fi action and adventure of the original, but it leaves out much of what made the first film so good. The glaring creative changes and omissions decimate the story so much so that the fantastic visuals and great special-effects can’t cover it. This is a really good looking movie. But it’s also a complete drag and it fails to capitalize on what should have been a surefire formula.
There are my five biggest disappointments of the 2012 movie year. Agree or disagree? Please let me know. Also take time to share some of your biggest disappointments of this past year.
Keith & the Movies 
Still have to see Taken 2 (although I know it’s not that good), quite enjoyed Battleship myself, but agree on all the others.
Actually “Taken 2” takes home another dubious honor (more on that tomorrow). It’s certainly nothing you should rush to see!
Fortunately I have seen none of them. I was planning to see To Rome With Love but once I saw the reviews I decided not to.
Wait, none of them? Not a single one? How were you lucky enough to avoid each of them? If only I had been that smart! LOL!
Nice list Keith. I didnt get a chance to see “To Rome”, but I haven’t heard good things 😦 That IS a shame because after “Midnight in Paris” hopes would obviously be high.
I wouldnt be able to include Taken 2 or Battleship as disappointments though, LOL. I had no hopes at any point ever that either of them would be more than jumk 😀 Heh.
Your expectations were spot on my friend! If only I had been wiser!!! :{
I actually quite enjoyed Cloud Atlas but totally agree with you about Total Recall, and I had gone in with tepid expectations! As for the rest, I’m glad I’ve avoided them, especially Battleship!
To Rome With Love could have easily been my #1 biggest disappointment. I was thinking it would be Midnight in Paris…errr Midnight in Rome but it was train wreck. I was really bummed leaving the theater that day!
That’s too bad Keith. I don’t even know if I want to rent that one to be honest.
In all honesty, I haven’t seen any of these man. For the most part, that was deliberate. The only one I’m interested in is Cloud Atlas. The others I couldn’t care less and your list seems to prove that.
You haven’t seen any of these? Then wisdom truly lies in your corner. LOL! Trust me, you haven’t missed a thing.
“What good is wisdom when it beings no profit to the wise?” Yeah, I didn’t fancy any apart from Cloud Atlas which I will get on to when it’s released here. The rest can forget it.
I’m with you on Cloud Atlas and Total Recall, but I thought Taken 2 delivered exactly what it promised! I was delighted by the absurdity (grenades! GRENADES!!)!
Yes the grenades! More on that tomorrow! Hint, hint!
Have yet to see any of these films. Do have Cloud Atlas on my horizon when it’s out here next month. Battleship looked like brainless fun, like Transformers, shame to hear it didn’t quite get to that point.
I thought the same of the Battleship trailer. But the script lacks any originality. It’s lazy and predictable and you know everything that’s going to happen. Even the great visuals grow old after a while.
Keith, Thankfully the only film I saw on your list so far was Total Recall. When I saw that trailer for Cloud Atlas I said its going to be glorious or terrible lol
You did well in avoiding these Daniel-San!
I didn’t get disappointed this year because I for some reason knew what I was going into for each film 😀
Got some pleasant surprises though 😀
LOL! I should have known better with some of these!!!
There have been some years were I saw some whopping disappointment 😦
Cloud Atlas and To Rome with Love are definitely two of the most disappointing films I saw this year. I’d add Ted, The Five-Year Engagement and The Cabin in the Woods.
I’m such a huge Midnight in Paris guy that I overlooked the fact that Woody Allen puts out a lot of crap too. I was unprepared! 🙂
I thought this wouldn’t be at the level of MIP, but I was surprised it was this bad. Loved Penélope, though.
Well hey Penelope is Penelope after all, right?
Yes, she’s a goddess.
Only one of those I’ve seen was Taken 2. Big big disappointment. They forgot everything that made the original so good.
So true!!! It was completely forgettable both in terms of story and in how it was made.