11 Movies That Had Amazing Concepts But Were Executed Terribly, According To Reddit

Just because a movie in development has an inventive concept doesn’t always mean that it’ll end up being as great as it sounds. That’s generally the case for a lot of big-budget films, and whether it’s due to a lackluster script or studio interference, some films are the epitome of a wasted opportunity. In fact, Redditors have jumped at the chance to debate poorly executed movies that had potentially brilliant concepts.

Whether it’s a crossover monster movie, a sci-fi flick where time is currency, or one of the first-ever films about multiverses, it seemed almost impossible for these movies to fail. However, even though some of them had giant box office grosses (though others were infamous bombs), they left audiences totally dissatisfied. However, some Redditors have extremely hot takes too, believing that the most universally acclaimed movies of all time had amazing concepts that were executed terribly.

11 Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice (2016)

It’s almost impossible for a movie with both “Batman” and “Superman” in the title to fail. The two superheroes going head-to-head had been long-awaited after the movie was teased nine years earlier in I Am Legend. However, it wasn’t quite as satisfying as people had hoped, and H20loo-sunset was one of the most disappointed. The Redditor notes, “It had been talked about for decades and they finally come up with the stupid ‘Batman hates Superman’ plot that gets resolved because their mothers have the same name.” The whole “Martha” narrative has been memed to death, but the two heroes’ fight was exciting, even if it only lasted for 10 minutes.

10 In Time (2011)

Justin Timberlake became a major movie star in the early 2010s. The singer had a huge year in 2011, starring in Bad Teacher and Friends with Benefits, which were hits, but the sci-fi flick In Time lives in their shadows. The film is set in a dystopian future where time is money. Characters have ticking clocks on their arms that are countdowns to their deaths, but it’s also currency, so the more they spend, the less time they have to live. Wasalater notes, “Had a ton of potential, just was not a very good movie.” The 2011 movie is considered by some to be underrated, but it all but disappeared into obscurity.

9 Idiocracy (2006)

Idiocracy follows Joe, a man with an average IQ, who is frozen before being thawed out 500 years later. When he awakes, the average IQ has drastically decreased. Crops are being watered with Gatorade, Starbucks is now a chain of brothels, and Joe is the smartest man in America. Kastabortkontodeluxe admits, “The movie itself is quite alright and I wouldn’t call the execution terrible, it’s just that the concept is brilliant and it could have gone in a different (and better) direction.” The film has a huge cult following, one of the funniest movie presidents, and the concept is done much better than similar movies like Don’t Look Up.

8 The One (2001)

The biggest Hollywood trend at the minute is multiverses, and every movie franchise just has to have its multiverse. However, the idea was done way earlier than Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse or The Flash. The One follows a multiversal being who kills his variants to collect their powers, which is a great premise that just wasn’t utilized. AWS-77 puts it best, noting, “Instead, we got a lot of fun fight scenes and dated split-screen, face-replacement effects, but not much exploration of everything that could be done with that idea.” Nevertheless, The One is still regarded as one of the best Jet Li movies.

7 Prometheus (2012)

Prequels can typically go one of two ways; either they are completely unnecessary and risk ruining their predecessors, or they cleverly expand the cinematic universe. Prometheus somehow lands somewhere in the middle, as it attempts to explain the origin of the Xenomorph, but in a much grander narrative. Arealhumannotabot explains that, along with Alien: Covenant, it should have been more engaging. The Redditor notes, “I didn’t dislike them like many of you did, but I still agree they were not executed well enough given the legacy.” The movie set itself an impossible task by asking who created humanity. As a result, Prometheus was just too ambitious.

6 Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines (2003)

The Terminator series has been on what many consider a downward spiral. The franchise’s run of disappointments started with Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, which seemed unnecessary after Judgment Day perfectly wrapped up Sarah and John’s story. However, despite how unwarranted the movie is, Habatoozoo90z defends it and points some fingers. The Redditor argues, “Terminator 3 had a lot potential to be really great if the producers had given a crap about it.” In fairness, outside of some misplaced comic relief, the movie does some things right, and it has one of the most morbid and shocking twists of the 2000s.

5 Terminator Salvation (2009)

Where Rise of the Machines has some elements that a few fans appreciate, Terminator Salvation had more questionable saving graces. VRomeo32 thinks the film has a great concept, as it flips the formula on its head by setting the movie in the future, but it doesn’t stick the landing. The Redditor posits, “I liked the idea of setting a Terminator during John Connor’s time as a leader of the resistance vs. Skynet, but it really just missed the mark.” The film is best known for Christian Bale’s on-set tantrum than for its narrative, and it’s one Terminator movie that’s easy to forget.

4 Jurassic Park (1993)

Homesteader86 thinks Jurassic Park was handled badly. The Redditor argues, “The concept of making the Jurassic Park book into a movie was amazing, but it was executed in an entirely different way. If you were expecting the book it was a huge letdown.” This choice is more of an unpopular opinion than any other, as Jurassic Park is one of the most beloved releases of all time and a milestone in filmmaking. However, James Cameron almost directed Jurassic Park, as he raced Spielberg to the rights to the novel. If Cameron had gotten there first, he likely would have made a movie more in keeping with Michael Crichton’s original novel.

3 Waterworld (1995)

Waterworld is one of the most notorious box office bombs ever, as it failed to recoup its inflated budget despite making $264 million (via Box Office Mojo). The movie had overwhelmingly negative reviews, but RB8718 thinks it could have been great under a different direction. The Redditor comments, “Could’ve been Mad Max in the ocean.” As the movie is set in a dystopian future where the sea level has risen thousands of meters and covers most land, there are a lot of parallels between Waterworld and the post-apocalyptic George Miller-created franchise. The 1995 movie could have been just as exciting and thought-provoking if Miller had spearheaded the disaster flick.

2 Alien Vs. Predator (2004)

Being two of the most terrifying movie monsters ever, a versus movie between the Xenomorph and the Predator could have made for one of the scariest and most exciting horror flicks of the 2000s. It was almost impossible for Alien vs. Predator to fail, but Sicksixgamer astutely points out where the movie went wrong, positing, “Hollywood has this very wrong belief that people won’t watch monster movies if there aren’t a bunch of human characters.” Instead of following two monsters hunting each other, the movie’s 115-minute runtime is spent following humans.

1 Highlander (1986)

This Reddit user thinks 1986’s Highlander joins the exclusive group of movies with amazing concepts that were executed poorly. The Redditor explains, “A great concept bungled by a director who clearly was more fascinated in the action set pieces and bad-ass posturing than anything else.” The movie has so much great world-building, but it’s all surface level and none of it is properly explored. However, that could change, as a Highlander remake starring Henry Cavill is in development, and it could finally deliver the exciting fantasy action that was teased in the original movie.