Ah, what could have been! For this list, we’ll be looking at films which introduced ingenious premises, but ultimately failed to live up to their potential.
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00:00 "What the hell are you?"
00:02 "I'm a warrior, a priestess, a lover."
00:07 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 20 awesome concepts
00:12 wasted on mediocre movies.
00:14 "Audrey, if you don't come back here right now, I'll see you all small."
00:20 For this list, we're looking at films that introduced ingenious premises but ultimately
00:24 failed to live up to their potential.
00:27 Because it's originality we're looking at, we won't be including sequels or movies that
00:32 were adapted from other mediums.
00:34 Which of these concepts do you want to see get a second chance?
00:37 Let us know in the comments.
00:40 Hey Mojoholics, for a chance to win cash prizes, play our live daily trivia challenges every
00:45 day at 3pm and 8pm Eastern only at watchmojo.com/play.
00:52 Number 20.
00:53 Passengers
00:54 "You two look fine this evening."
00:55 "Thank you, Arthur.
00:56 We're on a date."
00:57 "Very nice."
00:58 "Took you long enough to ask."
00:59 "I was giving you space."
01:00 "Oh, space.
01:01 The one thing I do not need more of."
01:09 Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt were a couple of the biggest stars on the planet back in
01:13 2016.
01:15 And it seemed like they'd be getting an engrossing sci-fi vehicle worthy of their talents.
01:19 Not so.
01:20 The film opens with Pratt's Jim erroneously awakening from his hibernation pod aboard
01:25 a futuristic space vessel.
01:26 "Say you were trapped on a desert island and you had the power to wish somebody there
01:31 with you, you wouldn't be alone anymore.
01:34 But you'd be stranding a person on the island.
01:38 Would you make that wish?"
01:39 "I don't know.
01:40 I've never been on an island."
01:42 "Okay, well, yeah."
01:43 Unable to put himself back under, he eventually awakens Lawrence's Aurora out of loneliness.
01:49 Forced to live out their lives on the ship, the two inevitably fall in love.
01:53 While the moral quandaries presented are endlessly fascinating, Passengers somehow necessitates
01:58 us rooting for Jim despite his unforgivable deed.
02:02 By the time the movie devolves into contrived third-act plot mechanics, we're already pretty
02:07 checked out of this one.
02:09 "They say time heals all wounds."
02:13 "Broken hearts aren't that simple, Arthur.
02:20 You wouldn't understand."
02:22 Number 19.
02:23 The Village.
02:24 Despite a spotty track record, M. Night Shyamalan has proffered a series of tantalizing concepts.
02:30 And of the misses, it's the village that we most wish was great.
02:34 "With regards to those we don't speak of, I am certain they will let me pass.
02:40 Creatures can sense emotion and fear.
02:44 They will see I am pure of intention and not afraid."
02:47 Set in an ostensible 19th century Pennsylvania village isolated from the rest of the world,
02:52 the movie does a great job at establishing an ethos and lore.
02:56 Early on, we're informed of mysterious creatures that lurk in the surrounding woods, compelling
03:01 the citizens to stay safe within their enclave.
03:04 The film could go in a multitude of directions from there.
03:08 However, it spends more time on overly solemn period dramatics than actual thrills.
03:13 And by the time it gets to Shyamalan's signature twist ending, it makes us more aggravated
03:18 than astounded.
03:20 Number 18.
03:21 Sucker Punch.
03:22 Granted, Zack Snyder is better known for his directing prowess than his screenplays.
03:26 But while Sucker Punch definitely plays into his sensibilities, it still needed a rewrite
03:30 or two to pass muster.
03:32 "Let the hurt go.
03:34 Let the guilt go.
03:37 What you're imagining right now, that world you control, that place can be as real as
03:46 any pain."
03:47 The plot of the movie, and we use the word plot loosely, centers on a group of women
03:51 committed to an unethical mental hospital.
03:54 They seek to escape, with their escapades being conveyed through over-the-top fantasy
03:58 theatrics.
03:59 "You know, for those who fight for it, life has a flavor the sheltered will never know."
04:08 If you went into this one looking for a blockbuster that played more like a video game, you got
04:13 your money's worth.
04:14 But if you expected something that backed all that up with convincing character development
04:18 and feminist themes, then you were the one who got sucker punched.
04:22 Number 17.
04:23 A Cure for Wellness.
04:25 Gore Verbinski is another filmmaker who we expect great things from visually.
04:30 Unfortunately, this wasn't enough to buoy A Cure for Wellness.
04:33 "Most of my patients have done extraordinary things.
04:37 Built vast fortunes.
04:39 Commanded great empires.
04:40 But at a terrible cost.
04:46 They have no one who cares for them."
04:48 Playing almost like a detective mystery, the movie follows a young executive who's
04:52 set to retrieve his company's CEO from a supposed wellness center in the Swiss Alps.
04:56 Unsurprisingly, however, he finds there are much more sinister things going on.
05:01 "You here for the cure?"
05:04 "No.
05:05 Actually, I was just leaving."
05:07 "No one ever leaves."
05:10 "What are you talking about?"
05:14 "Why would anyone want to?"
05:17 Despite a solid setup and a rich atmosphere, the overlong Cure for Wellness has more plot
05:22 than payoff as it trundles along.
05:25 The reveals are fairly predictable, and its almost monster movie climax feels uncomfortably
05:30 out of place.
05:32 Number 16.
05:33 Vanishing on 7th Street.
05:35 All horror movies need to give explicit explanation for its frights, but they need to give us
05:40 a little something to subsist on along the way.
05:43 "It can trick you.
05:46 Stay near a light source, but do not trust any light other than the one that you hold
05:52 in your own hand."
05:54 In one light, Vanishing on 7th Street is clever in how it uses its low budget to its advantage,
06:00 as it tells a supernatural apocalyptic tale about a living darkness that consumes anyone
06:05 enveloped in it.
06:06 The survivors thus have to find creative ways to keep the lights on, from which you would
06:10 think a series of dynamic set pieces would practically write themselves.
06:15 However, the film feels more unsure of itself the longer it goes on, becoming less engaging
06:21 and exciting.
06:22 Its flame snuffed out far too soon.
06:25 "We can wait till morning."
06:27 "You sure there's one coming?"
06:28 Number 15.
06:29 Brightburn.
06:30 Sure, Brightburn does lift a lot of elements from the Superman mythos, but since it's technically
06:35 an original screenplay, we're going to include it here.
06:38 "Nope.
06:39 Mm-mm.
06:40 No.
06:41 No.
06:42 Nope.
06:43 Get out of here!
06:44 Gotta go!
06:45 Let's go!"
06:46 In a small Kansas town, a couple's prayers for a child are answered when a spacecraft
06:52 carrying a baby crashes near their house.
06:55 They raise the superhuman child as one of their own, but unlike Clark Kent, Brandon
07:00 Breyer becomes influenced by his alien nature in doing harm.
07:03 "Take the world.
07:06 Take the world.
07:09 Take the world.
07:12 Take the world."
07:15 The idea of an evil Superman is a fresh one, and twisting the superhero origin into a horror
07:21 movie is a fun slant.
07:23 But the film can never reconcile that with the overarching story set up in the beginning.
07:27 "We've got to do something.
07:29 If we don't, more people are going to get hurt.
07:31 More people will die.
07:32 You've got to be with me on this."
07:33 "I will never turn against our son."
07:36 "He's not our son!
07:38 He is some thing we found in the woods!"
07:40 This is one that could have used a little extra oomph to it.
07:44 Number 14.
07:45 The invention of lying
07:46 We tend to take everyday constructs for granted.
07:49 So when a movie comes along that imagines what it would be like without them, our ears
07:53 immediately perk up.
07:55 "What do you see when you look at me?"
08:00 "You're chubby and you have a snub nose."
08:06 The invention of lying is pretty much what it sounds like.
08:09 In a world where everyone tells the truth all the time, one man looks to turn his life
08:13 around after discovering the concept of lying.
08:16 "I'm a pirate."
08:17 "I didn't know they still had those."
08:19 "Are you a dangerous pirate?"
08:20 "I'm a lion tamer.
08:21 And I'm wearing a wig."
08:22 "Aren't you scared you'll get bitten one day?"
08:24 "That's a fantastic wig."
08:25 "I invented the bicycle."
08:27 "I love your work."
08:28 "Can I get a discount on a 10 speed?"
08:30 The idea of only one person being able to lie while everyone takes him at his word sounds
08:34 like a recipe for comedy gold.
08:36 Yet the movie fails to come up with many really hysterical bits.
08:40 Throw in a half-baked send-up of religion and it feels more and more like they were
08:44 making it up as they went along.
08:45 "There is a man in the sky who controls everything.
08:51 Number two."
08:52 "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
08:54 What does he look like?"
08:55 "Um, tall, big hands, making stuff, good head of hair."
09:00 Number 13.
09:01 "Event Horizon."
09:03 We recognize that this one has garnered a cult following since its release.
09:06 But given the almost endless possibilities of the premise, we can't help but feel it
09:11 comes short.
09:12 "The ship doesn't really go faster than light.
09:13 What it does is it creates a dimensional gateway that allows it to jump instantaneously from
09:19 one point in the universe to another light years away."
09:21 When a rescue team is sent to investigate the disappearance and reappearance of a spaceship,
09:25 they learn that the previous crew opened a window to another dimension, unleashing an
09:30 evil never before seen.
09:32 "I think that says 'X' in Faris.
09:39 Save yourself from hell."
09:45 With too few great horror movies set in space, "Event Horizon" had real potential to kick
09:50 the door in and craft a strong identity for itself.
09:53 Instead, it feels far too reliant on standard horror theatrics and perfunctory shock value.
10:00 "Oh my God.
10:05 What happened to your eyes?"
10:06 If this one had spent a little more time in the realization stage, we really could have
10:11 had something here.
10:13 Number 12.
10:14 "Bright."
10:15 This one started out with a bright idea.
10:17 Bright execution?
10:19 Not so much.
10:20 Written by Max Landis, the movie introduces us to a modern society whereby humans and
10:24 fantasy creatures coexist.
10:27 On the other end of the genre mashup is a police procedural about a human-orc partnership.
10:31 "I need to know if you're a cop first or an orc first.
10:37 I need to hear you say it."
10:38 "I've wanted to be a cop since I was a little kid.
10:39 I have nothing else."
10:40 "Training Day" meets "Lord of the Rings" really could have been something different,
10:49 especially since the writer of the former, David Ayer, directed this one.
10:53 However, the movie loses itself in sloppy character development and some really cringy
10:59 dialogue.
11:00 "Savior Don.
11:01 Fairy lives don't matter today."
11:04 It also seems like it wants to be reflective of our own society, but even that aspect feels
11:09 forced and ineffective.
11:11 Number 11.
11:12 "Daybreakers."
11:13 We've probably seen one too many vampire movies that are content simply replaying the
11:18 greatest hits, so color us intrigued when "Daybreakers" promised to flip the mythos
11:23 on its head.
11:24 "My brother clearly disapproves.
11:25 I wonder if it's a common trait in your family."
11:26 "I'm good at this.
11:27 I was never very good at being human, sir.
11:28 And I'm not my brother."
11:40 Instead of bloodsuckers lurking in the shadows, this one imagines a world whereby vampires
11:45 have completely usurped society in their image, hunting the last of us for food.
11:50 Where the movie succeeds in fleshing out the world with creative details and differences,
11:54 it largely fails in telling a compelling story with unique characters.
11:58 To that end, much of the acting and dialogue feels hokey, almost like they belong in a
12:03 satire of itself.
12:05 "You need it."
12:06 "Yeah, well, life's a bitch and then you don't die."
12:12 By the time it wants to peak emotionally, we're already feeling cold-blooded to this
12:17 one.
12:18 10.
12:19 Downsizing
12:20 Alexander Payne has always been a writer and director with a real hold on character work
12:25 and dialogue.
12:26 So, when we heard Downsizing had an insanely timely and creative sci-fi premise, our expectations
12:32 went through the roof.
12:43 Set in the near future, this one opens with scientists solving overpopulation by shrinking
12:47 people down significantly, thus reducing their carbon footprints and allowing them to live
12:52 lavish lifestyles to boot.
12:54 Rather than explore its miniature concept in its entirety, Downsizing takes a head-scratching
12:59 left turn halfway through into an allegory for environmentalism.
13:03 That's all well and good on its own, but when it comes at the expense of the story's
13:06 entire conceit, we can't help but feel like we got two halves of separate movies.
13:13 9.
13:17 Morgan
13:20 This sci-fi horror film didn't just squander a promising concept, it also failed to capitalize
13:29 on its strong cast.
13:31 Kate Mara plays Leigh Weathers, an expert called in to evaluate a living science experiment,
13:36 an organic hybrid AI known as Morgan, played by talented up-and-comer Anya Taylor-Joy,
13:46 with Rose Leslie, Michelle Yeoh, and Paul Giamatti in tow.
13:50 And a basic premise that opens the doors wide open for reflections on the definition of
13:54 life, personhood, and scientific ethics, it had the makings of something remarkable.
14:00 Unfortunately, it does very little with all this potential, opting instead to go the route
14:05 of the superficial sci-fi horror flick.
14:07 Another ex machina, it sadly is not.
14:11 8.
14:13 Law, Abiding Citizen
14:25 Somewhere out there in the multiverse, there's a parallel dimension in which Law, Abiding
14:29 Citizen was a really great film.
14:31 Sadly, we are not living in it.
14:34 This film pitted Gerard Butler, playing vengeful vigilante Clyde Shelton, against Jamie Foxx's
14:39 assistant DA Nick Rice.
14:41 Shelton Rice makes a plea deal with the man who killed Shelton's wife and daughter, which
14:45 sees the murderer get off light.
14:48 Shelton takes justice into his own hands.
15:00 It should be a sober reflection on grief in the justice system, but instead, it loses
15:04 itself in its own self-seriousness, taking the plot to absurdly unrealistic places, while
15:10 failing to dig deep into the themes at the heart of the story.
15:15 7.
15:16 Chappie
15:17 Director Neil Blomkamp is an ideas man.
15:21 District 9, Elysium and Chappie each boast a promising premise, but taken as a whole,
15:27 his filmography has been an exercise in diminishing returns.
15:31 In 2015's Chappie, a damaged and stolen police robot, newly implanted with an AI program,
15:37 is raised by criminals.
15:39 When done right, it was always going to be an odd film, but while this movie has heart,
15:44 it's just too clunky to ever come close to its narrative potential.
15:50 Non-professional actors, and a willingness to take both the story and the titular Chappie
15:54 to overly silly places, made this potential ET for adults into a messy misfire.
16:01 6.
16:03 The Purge
16:04 When the first Purge film was released, horror enthusiasts collectively shook their heads
16:15 in disbelief at the missed opportunity.
16:18 The Purge, a 12-hour period occurring once per year, sees the suspension of all laws,
16:24 so that people can emotionally cleanse.
16:31 As a concept, it was fresh, thrilling and wildly inventive.
16:35 So what'd the film do after getting us all amped up with the premise?
16:38 Tell us a small-scale home invasion story about neighborly envy and revenge.
16:45 The premise, and its many implications, was used as an excuse to tell a horror story we've
16:50 seen countless times.
16:52 Fortunately, the franchise has at least partially made up for it in subsequent installments
16:56 thanks to larger budgets.
16:59 5.
17:00 Hancock
17:01 KISS usually stands for "Keep It Simple, Stupid," but how about "Keep It Simple,
17:13 Screenwriters?"
17:14 Hancock made bank at the box office because, hey, there's no denying that Will Smith-action
17:19 blockbuster star power.
17:21 But it could have been a far superior film, one that succeeded at the box office and got
17:26 solid reviews.
17:31 A down-on-his-luck superhero with substance use disorder and Superman-level powers, Hancock's
17:36 story is an interesting and unique one that we hadn't seen on the big screen, with built-in
17:41 themes of loneliness and the burden of responsibility.
17:44 Rather than keep it intimate, however, the film vacillates wildly between comedy and
17:49 drama, complicating the plot with bafflingly unnecessary twists.
17:54 4.
17:56 Suburbicon
18:01 Racially charged themes require a deft hand, especially when you're approaching your subject
18:05 matter from the angle of a dark comedy.
18:08 In all fairness to George Clooney, who directed the film after having co-written it with the
18:12 Coen brothers and Grant Heslov, one can appreciate what he was trying to do.
18:16 Heck, we wouldn't even be talking about this film if it weren't ripe with untapped potential.
18:23 Somewhere underneath all the mistakes is an insightful investigation of suburban life
18:32 and priorities, the illusion of the perfect family, and a powerful commentary on racial
18:37 prejudice.
18:38 Unfortunately, none of that actually comes through in this film.
18:42 3.
18:46 In Time
18:49 A compelling concept is a prerequisite to any good sci-fi film.
18:54 Unfortunately, even then, a quality movie is still far from guaranteed.
18:58 Director and writer Andrew Nicol has done it in the past with films like Gattaca, and
19:02 in terms of concepts, we think he had another potential home run here.
19:07 Unfortunately, it fell apart in Execution.
19:11 Starring Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried, the film explores a world in which the time
19:15 left in your life is also currency, something that can be earned, used to purchase things,
19:21 or be stolen.
19:22 Sadly, rather than dive deep into the potential commentary about capitalism, wealth inequality,
19:28 and access to healthcare, it devolves into a simple futuristic Bonnie and Clyde/Robin
19:33 Hood story.
19:34 2.
19:35 Waterworld
19:37 Be honest, don't you kinda wanna see them remake this movie?
19:48 Okay, maybe not a remake per se, but at least give the premise another go.
19:53 In terms of post-apocalyptic futures, one in which the polar ice caps have melted and
19:57 the world is largely covered by water is a premise that hasn't gotten nearly enough
20:01 screen time.
20:02 This is a fascinating concept, and one that remains largely untapped.
20:08 Waterworld was arguably sunk long before anyone saw it, due to its much-publicized "nightmare
20:13 of a production."
20:14 But beyond that, its greatest failure is the rather boring story it chose to tell in this
20:19 otherwise fascinating world.
20:38 1.
20:40 Transcendence
20:47 Considering the beautiful cinematography he's done while working on the films of frequent
20:51 collaborator Christopher Nolan, people were understandably excited to hear that Wally
20:55 Pfister was trying his hand at directing.
20:57 Especially since his debut film seemed like a thematically rich sci-fi thriller not dissimilar
21:02 to Inception.
21:07 In the film, a brilliant researcher in the field of AI transcends beyond the physical,
21:12 uploading his consciousness to a computer, and eventually, the internet.
21:16 The plot brushes against a number of questions that feel incredibly relevant in our modern
21:21 age, but fails spectacularly to say anything meaningful, instead telling a superficial
21:26 story that falls painfully short of its high-concept and far-reaching premise.
21:40 2.
21:43 The End.