Every year, there are films that come out that look like they might be entertaining. Some have a lot of hype, or they just have really cool trailers. Unfortunately, they turn out to be major letdowns.
They aren’t bad enough to be placed on the worst of the year list, but they do deserve some recognition for being disappointments. In no numerical order, here are five films from 2012 that fall under that category. I didn’t rank these, because they were all equally disappointing or overrated.
With Jeremy Renner as the lead and Tony Gilroy as the director, I was actually kind of looking forward to see where the franchise could go. Sure, I knew this was technically a spin-off, and I knew Renner wouldn’t take over as Jason Bourne, but I thought it would be fun.
Well, I wasn’t too pleased with the outcome. I didn’t really understand why Renner’s character had to be some kind of super assassin who stayed alive with the help of magical pills. I also wasn’t too impressed that we didn’t get much background story with his character until some flashbacks in the middle of the film.
As a standalone film, it might have worked. As a “Bourne” film, it doesn’t. (Review)
I’ve never been too impressed with Steven Soderbergh’s filmography, aside from “Traffic” and, surprisingly, his other 2012 film, “Haywire.” In my opinion, “Magic Mike” is more overrated than disappointing. (80% on Rotten Tomatoes? Seriously?)
I didn’t go into the film expecting some big extravagant event-style film like many women did; I went into it to analyze the plot, characters, and everything else that is in a movie. And, like many of Soderbergh’s other films, it was a complete letdown. Matthew McConaughey was the only interesting character in the entire film. The film starts off as a nice tribute to '70s films that were campy and didn't let boundaries get in their way. But it later deteriorates into a generic love story that tries to tell how the strippers' lifestyles are bad. Huh?
“Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter”
Honest Abe slaying vampires with an axe sounds like a lot of fun. Unfortunately, “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” isn’t all the great title makes it out to be.
It starts off as a fun journey as we see America’s 16th president before he takes over the White House. He is seeking vengeance on the bloodsuckers that killed his mom. However, by the time he becomes president, the movie becomes kind of a bore. It begins to take itself way too seriously for a B-movie, and when it tries to kick the action back into gear, the viewer has already lost interest. (Review)
OK, my expectations weren’t too high for this movie in the first place. But once I saw Josh Brolin impersonating Tommy Lee Jones, I had to give it a shot.
Not only was I disappointed with the lame, recycled jokes, but the script completely tosses continuity out of the window. J was 24 when he was recruited to the MIB. If the first film is set in 1997, and the third in 1969, he would have to be a little older, right? I don’t want to give too much away, but some may know what I’m saying. (Review)
Don’t get me wrong – I liked “The Dark Knight Rises.” But I also didn’t think it was the greatest of the franchise. It could have been my own hype and anticipation that somewhat killed it, since I loved the previous two entries. A second viewing might change my opinion.
There were a lot of great things in the film, including Anne Hathaway’s Catwoman and Tom Hardy’s Bane. But it felt incredibly rushed in some parts, and that Christopher Nolan didn’t put as much effort into this film as he did the previous entries. Moments of greatness are followed by moments where I shrugged my shoulders. Plus, I was hoping for Nolan to put a complete wrap on the franchise rather than leave it open for a sequel that he won’t direct. I never did a full review for the movie, so I'd say it deserves a B+. It's good, but it's not as incredible as Nolan's previous work.
Again, I’m not saying these are the worst films of 2012, or that they were awful – they were just disappointments. They all have something good about them, but the overall result for each one is less than spectacular.
If you want to see the films I thought were the absolute worst, click here.
If you want to see the films I thought were the absolute best, click here.
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