Sir Taxalot wrote:
Which is (generally speaking) worse? A bad start that picks up, or a strong start that leads to an unsatisfying ending?
Personally, i think while a bad start may make people switch over/walk out, a weak finish is worse as there's that feeling of missed potential.
Deffo worse to end poorly.
Per example, Predators. Comes out strongly, sets up an interesting group of characters and an interesting premise, sags a bit in the middle when Laurence Morpheus shows up and then just bails on having an ending at all. Awful.
Or Terminator: Genisys which starts about as good as a Terminator film can start and ends as badly as is possible to do without literally doing it on purpose to tank the movie.
I love Alien3 but the whole final quarter of that movie is rubbish (until then it's a 10/10) and that's why people have such a poor impression of it I guess.
Whereas there are some films that redeem themselves by ending strongly.
One Cut of the Dead is literally a film of three thirds. The first third is as rubbish as you'll ever see anything. Get through that and the rest will blow your mind.
Also, I watched a film yesterday, Against the Night, which totally redeemed itself by where the ending went. Until then it was pretty poor.
81 - Animal House. Well you couldn't make this today. Classic US college comedy with all manner of social issues dealt with in a way that'd get you cancelled off of the planet. 4/5
82 - The Beekeeper. It's not the stupidest film ever (that'd be The Transporter 3) but fuck me it's close. Woman gets scammed by a call centre that's being ran by a sort of dickhead Logan Paul type. Commits suicide. Her gardener then turns out to be some sort of above top secret operative who then rampages through the film on god mode. It's so fucking dumb. It gets two points for the action and loses the rest because of the writing and for the supporting actress (the girl from Umbrella Academy) who is wildly shit throughout. 2/5
83 - Against the Night. This is a horror film set in an abandoned prison and it might be shit but it redeems itself along the way and in the end I was left kind of surprised by where it all went. A generous 3/5.
84 - High Fidelity. He may be playing an insufferable dickhead but John Cusack is always likeable and he's great in this. Loses a point for overusing rain every time he's vulnerable and for introducing the world to Jack Black. 4/5