10 Exact Moments Movies Stopped Trying
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom really jumped the dying Brontosaurus...
Transcript
00:00 Ever had a great idea for a film, but halfway through explaining the story, the narrative
00:05 didn't work and you lost momentum?
00:06 Well, that definitely happens to real films, too.
00:10 Sometimes a writer's block prohibits a logical development, and a ham-fisted bit of dialogue
00:15 is waved in to force the story along.
00:17 Other times, the quality of the film drops, and you start to see where the filmmakers
00:22 stopped caring for their project.
00:24 So with that in mind, then, I'm Ellie with What Culture here, with 10 exact moments movies
00:29 stopped trying.
00:30 10.
00:31 The Twin Reveal in Night Hunter
00:34 Night Hunter is a film that had some potential.
00:37 It was a serial killer manhunt movie with top drawer actors and a few compelling twists
00:42 and turns.
00:43 The film follows cops and vigilantes tracking a serial killer who is capturing, mutilating,
00:48 and then murdering their victims.
00:49 When the prime suspect is caught red-handed, the cops - and audience - are confused to
00:54 find he has an affliction that would make it hard for him to commit such horrific acts.
00:58 Through a series of convoluted sequences, the suspect is released, but then recaptured,
01:04 only this time, he isn't as naive.
01:07 Does the suspect have split personalities like primal fear, or is it a shady character
01:12 in the police helping the killer?
01:13 It doesn't matter.
01:14 At the end of the second act, it's revealed that there is literally an evil twin committing
01:19 the killings, and the afflicted twin is just an oblivious accomplice.
01:23 This would have been a neat twist if there were some moments that compel us to re-watch
01:27 the film and point out where we were duped, like the prestige.
01:30 Instead, it feels like writer and director David Raymond wrote himself into a corner
01:36 and had to double down on the silliness from then on.
01:39 9.
01:40 Vision's birth in Avengers Age of Ultron
01:42 It's no secret that Joss Whedon's second Avengers collaboration was not a pleasant
01:48 one.
01:49 With studio interference and pushes from executives to include story devices and set pieces that
01:54 set up future films, the stress and lack of creative freedom endured did show in the final
01:59 cut.
02:00 While Thor's dip in the exposition pool might be argued as the laziest moment of the film,
02:05 a mental image of Joss giving up and giving in seemed more realistic when he had to cram
02:10 in the birth of the character Vision before the film's third act.
02:14 Not all movies stop trying because the writer gave up or got writer's block.
02:19 Sometimes pressure from the studios can squash them into submission, even if it doesn't
02:23 make sense.
02:24 From a story perspective, the birth of Vision should have come sooner in the film, but clearly
02:29 Joss wasn't ready to add in another hero just as he was turning Quicksilver and Scarlet
02:34 Witch over to the good side.
02:36 8.
02:37 Abby is possessed by a ghost in Ghostbusters
02:41 The 2016 all-female reboot of Ghostbusters didn't get off to a good start when, before
02:46 it even came out, it drew criticism from fans nostalgic to the original titles, as well
02:51 as the torrid sexist abuse the film suffered simply because it consisted of female leads.
02:57 The film's cast was solid, four Saturday Night Live alumni leading the script with experiences
03:02 in comedy and improv going back decades.
03:05 It almost makes you wonder if the film needed a script, and instead just film the actresses
03:10 riff for an hour and a half.
03:12 But alas, a script was written, and the cast did what they could to stand by it.
03:16 One scene midway through the film shows Abby possessed by a demonic spirit and begin attacking
03:21 the other Ghostbusters.
03:22 The scene is chock full of possession cliches, including head spins, lifting characters up
03:28 from the ground with one arm, and speaking with a deep voice.
03:31 What's frustrating is that this scene does nothing to further the plot.
03:35 Abby isn't possessed for very long, and it doesn't trip up the story or the Ghostbusters
03:39 themselves in any way.
03:41 It's a pointless sequence that proves the writing wasn't fishing for any original
03:45 or unique ideas.
03:47 7.
03:48 Wichita and Little Rock leave in Zombieland 2
03:51 Now, there's a lot to pick apart with Zombieland's sequel, but it's healthy to remind yourself
03:56 that it's a Zombieland sequel, and it's really not worth the effort.
03:59 What's the problem?
04:01 Well, it feels like the script was written shortly after the first one came out, and
04:05 no one considered rewriting or revisiting some of the dialogue.
04:09 2009 jokes about hippie communes, ditzy blondes, and Elvis obsessions reek throughout the sequel.
04:14 When our four leads claim the White House for their own, it gives protagonist Columbus
04:19 pause and he asks Wichita to move forward in their relationship.
04:23 Wichita freaks out and accuses Columbus as getting too close to her.
04:28 The next morning, she and Little Rock have left Columbus and Tallahassee in a scene reminiscent
04:32 of the first film.
04:34 What's confusing about this movie is that it's established Columbus and Wichita have
04:38 been together for ten years now, and Wichita is worried Columbus is getting too close to
04:42 her.
04:43 They've been together for ten years, not ten days!
04:46 Number 6.
04:47 The third puzzle in Ready Player One
04:49 The setup for the film is simple.
04:52 A community of video gamers must solve three separate puzzles in order to win a vast fortune
04:57 and control over the intense virtual reality world.
05:01 In between the video game and movie nostalgia, the film finds time to give audiences a narrative
05:06 and action set piece around two of three of the puzzles.
05:10 That's right, only two puzzles have clues.
05:12 In the film's third act, the location of the third puzzle is revealed without any mystery
05:17 clues to solve.
05:18 The film rushes to the climactic battle in a gothic fortress, and all the audience has
05:23 to go by is that the film's antagonist, IOY, worked out the third clue and located the
05:28 challenge.
05:29 This news comes to us from the character who heard this information on the grapevine.
05:33 This movie had time for a Saturday Night Fever dance sequence and a real-world romance subplot,
05:38 but not enough time to create a third riddle for the heroes to work out.
05:42 It's a sign the filmmakers stopped trying when they couldn't be bothered to write
05:45 a third puzzle, and instead just fast-forwarded to the smash a Muppet had been building up
05:50 to and teasing in the trailers.
05:53 Number 5.
05:54 To save the world, we must destroy it in Godzilla King of the Monsters
05:59 Can we just make a rule for the roaring 2020s going forward that baddies cannot use the
06:04 "we must tear down this old world to build a better one" logic for their evil schemes?
06:09 The scene was foreshadowed earlier on when forces led by Alan Jonah kill all the monarch
06:14 scientists except Emma and force her to activate the Orca to free King Ghidorah.
06:20 The logic and steps of this villain don't make sense, especially in the current climate
06:24 of a healing world.
06:26 The character of Emma wants to unleash a world-ending monster army to save it.
06:30 The character arc would have been far more compelling had Emma resented Godzilla, rightly
06:35 so, after she and Mark lost their son during the events of the first film.
06:40 And as a means to get revenge on everyone's favourite sea-dormant lizard, she goes on
06:44 a revenge mission to find a creature powerful enough to kill him.
06:48 The use of a character like hers, radicalised to become a zealous eco-warrior who believes
06:52 turning the world to ash so humanity can rise in a new world, not only doesn't make sense,
06:57 but it's so two-dimensional it's not courageous from a narrative perspective anymore.
07:03 4.
07:04 My Name is Khan in Star Trek Into Darkness
07:08 Even casual Star Trek fans could toot their own horns about how they saw the twist about
07:12 Benedict Cumberbatch's character coming before they even sat down in the cinemas.
07:17 And while it's a cheap win to pat yourself on the back over that easy guess, the reveal
07:21 does inhabit a far worse revelation.
07:24 Up until this point, there was an intriguing mystery behind the character and where the
07:28 story might go.
07:30 From John Harrison recruiting desperate parents who martyr themselves to Kirk hot-headedly
07:35 championing a manhunt for the fugitive, it seemed like the sequel to the 2009 flick was
07:40 going to take some curious turns.
07:43 Once John Harrison reveals himself to be Khan, the entire film shifts into cliches and rehashes.
07:50 Peter Weller is revealed to be a war lobbyist, Kirk and Khan replay a less interesting version
07:55 of the skydive from the first film, and a modernised version of the Wrath of Khan scream
08:00 is bellowed out to embarrassing uproar.
08:03 3.
08:04 The Brontosaurus' Death in Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom
08:08 Or was it a Brachiosaurus?
08:10 Who cares?
08:11 The writers certainly didn't.
08:13 Immediately, Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom feels like two films, with one half taking
08:17 place on the dying Isla Nublar and the other half taking place in a mansion that hosts
08:22 illegal dinosaur auctions.
08:24 Neither act is that nail-biting, but a film set on the original Jurassic Park island and
08:29 the main story, trying to get as many dinosaurs off the island as possible, should have been
08:33 better.
08:34 Capturing the dinosaurs was a big part of the lost world, but in this muddy puddle of
08:38 a film, the entire endeavour is treated like a shopping montage.
08:42 Also the story can fast forward and get off the island.
08:45 And what better way to mark this transition than to have us witness a poor, innocent Brontosaurus
08:51 get consumed by the molten lava as Isla Nublar sinks.
08:55 It's laughably lazy, and a weak attempt to tug at heartstrings.
08:59 As you hear this unknown animal moan through the ash clouds, you can imagine the writers
09:03 expecting their day of work is done, only to realise they have another hour of a movie
09:08 to write and so they latch on a dumb auction horror mansion plot.
09:12 2.
09:13 Save Martha in Batman Vs Superman
09:16 Batman Vs Superman was such a busy film.
09:19 It had so many spinning plates in motion, something eventually had to give.
09:23 Prior to Batman and Superman's big boss fight, there needed to be a friction between
09:28 the two, and we as an audience needed to see justification for their hostility.
09:33 But these two also needed a reason to forge an alliance, and the fact that their mothers
09:37 have the same name is a neat coincidence, but it's also the most transient thing.
09:42 When a battered Batman gains the upper hand on Superman, he's ready to plunge a kryptonite
09:46 spear into the alien god.
09:48 But Superman screams his mother's name and Batman stops.
09:52 Instead of Superman pleading for his life, what would have worked better would have been
09:55 the other way around.
09:58 Superman didn't want to fight Batman to begin with, and it would have made a better
10:01 character moment if Batman relented instead.
10:04 The Martha moment in Batman Vs Superman was a necessary annoyance, but it also sets a
10:09 tone for the current state of the DCEU.
10:12 The franchise was trying to play catch up with Marvel's success, and it shows in embarrassing
10:17 fashion.
10:18 Had the film moved at its own pace, maybe this moment wouldn't have happened.
10:22 1.
10:23 Somehow Palpatine Returned in Star Wars Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker
10:28 Imagine getting the opportunity to write a Star Wars film.
10:32 You'd be so ecstatic about the job, you'd work on that entire story and polish off those
10:36 points until it was the Citizen Kane of science fiction.
10:40 Sadly, though, some people just aren't that enthusiastic, and even sadder is they're
10:45 the ones in the lucky position.
10:47 If there's one thing Star Wars fans can agree on about the new trilogy, it was that
10:51 they were made with a cynical cash-grab mindset, and as such the twists and turns of the films,
10:57 especially Episode IX, were done with very little thought.
11:00 The twist that Palpatine had been alive all along might have been an interesting reveal,
11:04 but it comes up in the opening crawl text, and the film makes a very flimsy attempt to
11:09 explain his return.
11:11 This effort and attitude made by the filmmakers trickles throughout, with the other poor and
11:15 shameless story beats that echo throughout Episode IX.
11:18 When news gets round to the Rebels, the expressions on their faces seem less like concern and
11:23 more like frustration.
11:25 And that concludes our list.
11:26 If you think we missed any, then do let us know in the comments below, and while you're
11:30 there, don't forget to like and subscribe and tap that notification bell.
11:34 Also head over to Twitter and follow us there, and I can be found across various social medias
11:38 just by searching Ellie Littlechild.
11:39 I've been Ellie with WhatCulture, I hope you have a magical day and I'll see you real soon.