Tom O' Bedlam

I was looking a the "We own the Night" thread and it occurred to me that the movie had all the components of a great film, but it wasn't quite there. It had a great cast, competent director, o.k. plot and decent pacing, mood, yet it didn't quite come together. It even had few interesting scenes.

My question is, what other movies were almost great? And where did it fall short?

bunkaroo

Sunshine is a definitely one. Very cool film, but a pretty big letdown of an ending.

As far as other recent films, I would also name American Gangster and There Will Be Blood.

With AG, it's very much like WOTN. Awesome cast, awesome director, yet the film is very pedestrian IMO.

With TWBB, it needed some editing. I like a lot of what was done, but it was just too long for the material. Ending was great though.

JPRaup

Not sure about "Almost Great", but these, while good, had the potential to be great:

American Gangster
The Kingdom
The Kite Runner
Lars and the Real Girl
Michael Clayton
3:10 to Yuma (2007)
The Man From Earth
First Snow
The Science of Sleep

B5Erik

Will Penny

It features Charlton Heston in one of his best (and most subdued) roles. A real modern western that hits all the notes right - except the villains. Straight out of a western spoof they don't fit the realistic style or tone of the film. Both the acting and the script make these guys look like cartoon villains rather than the real people that inhabit the rest of the movie.

Shame. It's still a good movie, but it could have - and SHOULD have - been great.

PopcornTreeCt

American History X
Equilibrium

There Will Be Blood is a great movie, I think it's right up there with City of God for top film of the decade.

hardercore

Michael Clayton, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Into The Wild could have been "great" if Sean Penn was a little more even handed.

There Will Be Blood IS great. I've just seen it again today, and, if possible, I loved it even more on a second screening. The final scene gets me giddy, as do many other points throughout.

Tarantino

No Country For Old Men. The best movie I'd seen all year, up until the last 15 minutes.

And There Will Be Blood? A snooze-fest for me. I recommend people to stay away from that one, I can't understand the praise.

= J

Rypro 525

wow, 'blood' is far FAR from a 'snooze fest'.

E. Honda

The Empire Strikes Back. Who would believe Vader is really Luke's father? I mean, come on!

mikelowry

Jarheads. The material was great but fell short in it's execution.

taa455

Last year's 3:10 to Yuma. I believe it was already mentioned. All the ingredients were there for greatness, but I just didn't like the way it all came together in the end.

Transformers was fun but could have been so much better. Get a better plot/script and lose the silly pee pee humor.

The Departed is another "almost there" movie. Terrific acting, engrossing story. The ending just ruined it.

RichC2

Gone Baby Gone - Great plot, solid characters, direction, etc; could have used a rewrite and while a solid directorial debut, could have been great with a more seasoned director.

Michael Clayton - Same movie with a different title snipping out some of Clayton's largely uninteresting personal life and you've got a great flick.

No Country and There Will Be Blood were fine how they were and are great movies.

One of my favorite movies, Dark City, suffers a bit in the last 10 minutes - very close to greatness but it doesn't quite hit it.

cleaver

Kingdom of Heaven - fine performances, well directed, great cinematography, terrific cast, shitty plot.

Matthew Ackerly

War of the Worlds - The usual "happy" Spielberg ending ruined what could have been a masterpiece of sci-fi cinema.

Brack

yeah, I was thinking, "what, he's still alive? RETARDED!!"

RichC2

^^ That movie had more problems than just the ending.

Brack

depends on what you consider "problems" for a movie like this. it's a silly action movie.

NiCK Crush

explain to me your issue with Into The Wild if you would..

-NiCK

chris_sc77

I agree with Sunshine and Jarhead...
Also, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada

FantasticVSDoom

Another vote for Jarhead... I would say American Gangster and Zodiac needed some editing tweaks and these would have been really great movies imo.

starman9000

I really like Stranger than Fiction, but it feels like it was missing that little something that could have made it great. I have no idea what that would be though, so probably not a good example.

amplified

I agree that this could have been a great Sci-fi film but IMO once they were hiding out in the house it turned into one giant cliché of every other Sci-Fi film ever made. It was all downhill from that point of the film.

islandclaws

Tobe Hooper's Lifeforce. It's got such a badass premise but the execution and length made it drag a bit and didn't quite live up to what I was hoping for. It's plenty kick ass, don't get me wrong, but it's just missing something to take it to that next level.

Groucho

Good choice. Hooper was never that strong as a director, I thought.

By the way, I don't believe I've seen you around before, KillerCannibal. Unfortunately, I have a hard time taking you seriously with such a username. Cannibalism is no laughing matter, sir!

islandclaws

Sure it is. Haven't you seen Cannibal: The Musical? It's a whimsical perversion!