Movies that you only loved one half of

[LotusEater79]

delete

[sauce07]

Armageddon - First half is alot of fun, second half is just one forgettable action scene after another.

[slymer]

Jeepers Creepers

[DarthVong]

Full Metal Jacket. First half.

RZ Halloween. First Half.

[Rockmjd23]

Grindhouse ;)

[Rammsteinfan]

From Dusk Till Dawn. Like the film but enjoy the first half before the vampires show up. Once that happens its pretty bland.

[Dean Kousoulas]

From Dusk Till Dawn was what I was thinking of too.

[The Bus]

There's a ton of movies like this.

Most recently, I Am Legend. Once the "vampires" show up, it's... not good.

[dugan]

O. Things fall into place really well by the second half, but the set-up in the first half is sloppy.

[tommyp007]

Full Metal Jacket 1st half
Malcolm X Second half

[Chad]

Dreamcatcher

[Michael Corvin]

From Dusk Til Dawn is the best answer.

First half - :up: :up:
Second half - :yack:

[Barings]

Full Metal Jacket. First half.

I third this.

[Norm de Plume]

The best example I can think of a movie with two halves of wildly divergent quality is Mute Witness. It has a fantastic, scary first act before veering off into obnoxious comedy and espionage claptrap in the second.

[BullGooseLoony]

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - The first half sets up the story and this new world so well, and then turns into an f/x-laden, chaotic action movie with a really weak climax.

[wendersfan]

<b>Fight Club</b>. Once Project Mayhem becomes the focus it starts to fall apart. After "the reveal" it's pretty much unwatchable. Sad, because the first half of the movie is really funny and compelling.

[dhmac]

E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial

The first half or so is quite good and deserving of a lot of the praise that the movie gets.

The second half (from the Halloween night sequence and onward) is not-so-good, full of mawkishly manipulative tearjerker scenes and silly chases.

.

[GoldenJCJ]

<b>Fight Club</b>. Once Project Mayhem becomes the focus it starts to fall apart. After "the reveal" it's pretty much unwatchable. Sad, because the first half of the movie is really funny and compelling.
Just what I was coming in to post. You pretty much nailed it with your explanation.

[NEUMANN]

Pearl Harbor,first half sucks but the second half is a great war pic.When ever i watch it i start it at the start of the Pearl Harbor attack then watch it through the Dolittle raid,makes a great 90 minute war movie

[devilshalo]

Pearl Harbor,first half sucks but the second half is a great war pic.When ever i watch it i start it at the start of the Pearl Harbor attack then watch it through the Dolittle raid,makes a great 90 minute war movie

I was about to say the same thing, then I realized that it's really the middle of the movie that I liked of the actual bombing. I could do without the tacked on ending.

[Doughboy]

From Dusk Til Dawn - First half

Wedding Crashers - First half

Full Metal Jacket - First half

Superman: The Movie - I love the whole movie, but the first half is superior to the Metropolis part.

The Insider - Again, I love the entire movie, but the Russell Crowe first half is superior to the Al Pacino second half.

[Mondo Kane]

Lawrence of Arabia-Nothing seems to happen with an hour left.

[mndtrp]

From Dusk Til Dawn - First half
The Descent - First half. I didn't care for it once the creatures showed up.

[Aphex Twin]

Signs
The Happening
War of the Worlds (Cruise)

[doubledown44]

Wanted had a really promising first half, then it died in the second half.

[Franchot]

Ghost Rider
Spider-Man
The Dark Knight

[Hokeyboy]

The Lost Boys... Once the "vampires" show up, it's... not good.

[Yeti4623]

From Dusk Til Dawn. The second half is fun, but it's too different, and outrageous. If it were more down to earth vampires.......hard to explain. It was fun, but something was off about the vampires.

Breakdown (1997). I like the whole movie, but the first half is better.

Total Recall. The first half is better.

Sixteen Candles. The second half is better, or really everything past the first 20 or 30 minutes.

[dugan]

I just remembered that The Door fits this description. The first half is hypnotic and tight. The second half is just a bunch of random stuff happening.

[7Keys]

Dog Day Afternoon - First half

Die Hard with Vengeance - First half

[Count Dooku]

Wall-E

[DarthVong]

Wall-E


Good one!

[Doughboy]

Die Hard with Vengeance - First half

Great example. I forgot about that. Once it turned into Goldfinger, it lost me.

[Michael Corvin]

From Dusk Till Dawn. Like the film but enjoy the first half before the vampires show up. Once that happens its pretty bland.



Most recently, I Am Legend. Once the "vampires" show up, it's... not good.

The Lost Boys... Once the "vampires" show up, it's... not good.


The Descent - First half. I didn't care for it once the creatures showed up.

*Note to filmmakers: Don't wait until halfway through the movie to get to the vampires.

[RyoHazuki]

I agree with Wall-E, From Dusk till Dawn, and War of the Worlds.

[Brent L]

Jeepers Creepers

This was the first one I thought of also.

[MovieMaster11]

Most recently Nights of Rodanthe - first half.

[wd40cloud]

Vanilla Sky
Full Metal Jacket
Hancock (very promising until the twist)

[movielib]

Moscow on the Hudson. Great first half. Awful second half.

[starman9000]

I'm surprised Stripes hasn't been listed, that is usually one of the top ones in this discussion.

I'd agree with Fight Club and also add Superman Returns (though I'm using 1st half loosely here, more like first 1/4)

[Raul3]

Hancock, once the "vampires" show up...

Wait a...

[mike45]

Lost in Space

[Groucho]

Titanic -- once they stop focusing on the shitty romance and start sinking the boat it's pretty damn good.

[milo bloom]

Kinda funny, I prefer the second halves of both From Dusk til Dawn and Hancock.

[Hokeyboy]

In all honesty, I don't get why people have a problem with the 2nd half of "From Dusk Till Dawn". I love the entirety of that movie... but oh well.

I also agree with the 2nd half of DR ZHIVAGO, whoever brought that up. It's a beautiful looking movie (especially the ice house) but it fails to be remotely as interesting as the first half of the movie.

[shyguy1083]

The only one I could think of right off the top of my head was "How To Lose Your Lover"... doubt anyone has seen it... but I thought the first 45 min. - 1 hr. was some good stuff and immediately starting with the next scene at some charity event, it's just blah.

[parker63]

The Abyss

[DRG]

I'm going to get crucified for this one, but No Country For Old Men. Loved the first half, but the second half didn't work for me. I get what they were going for, I just didn't care for it.

[Hulkabrgr]

Attack of The Clones. Once they get to the arena, and stop with all the horrible romantic dialogue (I do like the Obi- Wan part of the film), it becomes a good flil for the last 30-45 minutes.

[Superboy]

<b>Fight Club</b>. Once Project Mayhem becomes the focus it starts to fall apart. After "the reveal" it's pretty much unwatchable. Sad, because the first half of the movie is really funny and compelling.

I have the same feelings. The movie completely fell to pieces after he starts handing out assignments. It went from a clever commentary on masculinity to being a fictionalized version of jackass.

[Rockmjd23]

28 Days Later gets weaker when they get to the military base.

[Trevor]

Jeepers Creepers
Signs
War of the Worlds (Cruise)
Vanilla Sky
From Dusk Til Dawn
Don't hate the second half, but the first half is definitely much better in these for me.
The Happening
First few minutes starts off with potential, but then the last 80% or so is just awful.
Wall-E
I love all other Pixar films, but here the first half is predictable slapstick humor and characters I could not care less about, and the second half is to heavy-handed in its message to bear.
Hancock (very promising until the twist)
Agreed. First half is a solid B or better, but the second half just ruins it.

[Michael Corvin]

I'm surprised Stripes hasn't been listed, that is usually one of the top ones in this discussion.


Ahh yes... Stripes is a good one.

In all honesty, I don't get why people have a problem with the 2nd half of "From Dusk Till Dawn". I love the entirety of that movie... but oh well.


It's not that the second half doesn't work, it just doesn't work with the first half. The first half gives us this 'brothers on the lam' story which is excellent drama and the second half throws all that out the window for B-movie vampire nonsense and some comedy. Put it this way, they could have left out the vampires altogether and spun the story in a different direction and had a compelling drama and it would have been a far better movie for it. The two halves just don't work together.

[Hokeyboy]

It's not that the second half doesn't work, it just doesn't work with the first half. The first half gives us this 'brothers on the lam' story which is excellent drama and the second half throws all that out the window for B-movie vampire nonsense and some comedy. Put it this way, they could have left out the vampires altogether and spun the story in a different direction and had a compelling drama and it would have been a far better movie for it. The two halves just don't work together.
The first half of chock-full of hyperreality and over-the-top hysterics, it's practically a cartoon. (The entire opening as the gas station/mini-mart is ridiculously silly) I don't see how its that incongruous with the second half. Different, yes, but not completely out of tone.

[B5Erik]

Wow. 55 posts and no one has mentioned....

Die Another Day.

The first half is pretty darned good. Once the movie hits Iceland it becomes a cartoon (which is unfortunate), but that first half makes it worth owning.

[Doughboy]

I'm going to get crucified for this one, but No Country For Old Men. Loved the first half, but the second half didn't work for me. I get what they were going for, I just didn't care for it.

Why would you get crucified? I agree with you 100%. The first half is terrific. Full of suspense and great performances. But all that buildup and the 2nd half has the best and most important moments play out offscreen? That's not clever or unconventional. It's lazy and a copout.

[PopcornTreeCt]

*Note to filmmakers: Don't wait until halfway through the movie to get to the vampires.

Or I would say: *Note to filmmakers: Don't make movies with vampires in them

Sunshine -- once the former-astronaut/burnt-monster shows up the movie goes to sh*t

[SomethingMore]

not the first "half" as much as the first "act" of World Trade Center. To me, that first act (~20 minutes. right up until the part where the buildings fall) would have been an amazing short film, but the rest of the movie wasn't as good as I had hoped.

[MinLShaw]

Wow. 55 posts and no one has mentioned....

Die Another Day.

The first half is pretty darned good. Once the movie hits Iceland it becomes a cartoon (which is unfortunate), but that first half makes it worth owning.

It is amazing that this wasn't one of the first responses, really. It was the first one I thought of when I saw the thread title. My brother would cast another vote for Full Metal Jacket. In fact, when he first showed it to me, he actually stopped it half way through and said the rest of it sucked.

I would also say:
The Lost World: Jurassic Park gets really bad when it leaves Isla Sorna
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - the first half, which addresses the issue of destroying the ring, is great; the second half, which follows every character through the rest of his or her lifetime...not so much.

[gmanca]

Sunshine -- once the former-astronaut/burnt-monster shows up the movie goes to sh*t

I didn't mind the crispy astronaut but they didn't execute it correctly. If they had docked sooner so that he would have gotten on and caused the fire in the oxygen farm, it would have had a "whodunnit" element. The whole issue with the technician killing himself could have been a guessing game as to whether he did it or if the crispy dude did.

I love the score though.

Die Another Day is just all-around bad for me; the beginning has CGI-surfing and the later has CGI solar beams, with a CGI-camo Jaguar smacked in the middle... all of which were craptastic.

[PopcornTreeCt]

Another movie for me: Death Proof

This movie kinda drags but when Rosario Dawson's segment starts the movie really picks up.

[Trevor]

Another movie for me: Death Proof

This movie kinda drags but when Rosario Dawson's segment starts the movie really picks up.

Opposite for me. The first part is incredible, great study of a badass serial killer, and even the girl's dialogue in the first half is ok. The second half is abysmal, with lousy dialogue and a great character reduced to a whiny wimp.

[Zen Peckinpah]

Titanic -- once they stop focusing on the shitty romance and start sinking the boat it's pretty damn good.

Very true. Cameron manages to give an event with an obviously known ending the same tension of Aliens and the first two Terminators.

[MinLShaw]

Die Another Day is just all-around bad for me; the beginning has CGI-surfing and the later has CGI solar beams, with a CGI-camo Jaguar smacked in the middle... all of which were craptastic.

I hate to tell anyone to re-watch that particular film, but you're off on your chronology. The CGI-surfing actually comes about 3/4 of the way into the film, as it's near the end of the Iceland segment. It actually comes after the CGI solar beams. And it wasn't the Jaguar that had CGI-camo, it was the Aston Martin. Which, incidentally, appeared before either the CGI-surfing or the CGI solar beams...at about half-way through the film. The first half of the film is free of hokey CGI sequences.

[DVD Guy ATL]

The Birds is pretty good until the birds show up. The chemistry between Tippi Hedren and Rod Taylor is intriguing but then gets totally lost in the ensuing titular mayhem.

And I'm definitely in agreement with WALL-E... first half is a delight, second half is unfortunate silliness.

[asianxcore]

Atonement

First half was great and then I was bored to tears during the second.

[albert_m]

I was really enjoying The Prestige for the first half and then it lost me the direction that it went.

[riotinmyskull]

I was really enjoying The Prestige for the first half and then it lost me the direction that it went.

the direction of awesome?

[Deftones]

Full Metal Jacket. First half.


/thread


i can't think of a movie that i enjoyed as much as that in the 1st half and hated as much as i did for the 2nd half.

[Daytripper]

"Australia" - Hated the first part, the second half was not bad.

"Batman Begins" - Sorry, but I couldn't stand all the training. Just spent too much time on it. The second half, thumbs way up.

"Grindhouse" - "Death Proof" brought the film to a screeching halt.

[filmerp]

I didn't mind the crispy astronaut but they didn't execute it correctly. If they had docked sooner so that he would have gotten on and caused the fire in the oxygen farm, it would have had a "whodunnit" element. The whole issue with the technician killing himself could have been a guessing game as to whether he did it or if the crispy dude did.

I love the score though.


While the third act of Sunshine did seem a bit weird, it was the first Danny Boyle film (Millions aside) that I forgave for having a weaker second half. I truly loved the first half of his earlier films, while loathing the latter half:

Trainspotting
A Life Less Ordinary
The Beach
28 Days Later

I'm quite glad he seems to have finally discovered how to complete a story with Slumdog Millionaire!

[GoldenJCJ]

Wanted had a really promising first half, then it died in the second half.
Interesting. I'd say the complete opposite. Although I didn't really have a problem with any of it, I'd say the first half was worse. The first ten minutes seemed like a complete ripoff of Fight Club and the training could have been shortened. IMO, once Wesley gets his first assignment the movie turns into nonstop awesome and doesn't look back.


I will however agree with:
Stripes
Full Metal Jacket
Jeepers Creepers - Everything after the police station is garbage.
The Lost World: Jurassic Park - once off the island.

[toddly6666]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b7/Greystoke.jpg

A totally thrilling first half with barely any dialogue, and then the film sucks when Tarzan comes to the "real" world.

[gmanca]

I hate to tell anyone to re-watch that particular film, but you're off on your chronology. The CGI-surfing actually comes about 3/4 of the way into the film, as it's near the end of the Iceland segment. It actually comes after the CGI solar beams. And it wasn't the Jaguar that had CGI-camo, it was the Aston Martin. Which, incidentally, appeared before either the CGI-surfing or the CGI solar beams...at about half-way through the film. The first half of the film is free of hokey CGI sequences.

Gotcha; last time I saw it was in theaters so I got some things mixed up. But there were CGI-solar beams after the CGI-Rocket IceSled scene, when the DMZ is being hit and the cargo plane, with it's own crappy CGI.

And while the beginning/Madonna-singing Intro was good, the segment where "Graves" skydives and has a fence-match with Bond and Madonna acts/trains Pike are bad IMO.

I really enjoyed Tamahori's The Edge but I really think Die Another Day is just bad all around.

[SPRBD]

The Dark Knight - Totally awesome until the hospital blew up. Totally sucked from that point onward.

[Michael Corvin]

Or I would say: *Note to filmmakers: Don't make movies with vampires in them

Sunshine -- once the former-astronaut/burnt-monster shows up the movie goes to sh*t

Speaking of Danny Boyle and monster flicks... 28 Days Later.

[Apple Gooncha]

The Dark Knight - Totally awesome until the hospital blew up. Totally sucked from that point onward.

In all fairness, that's almost 2 hours into the movie, not really half. ;)


I'd go with Sunshine, as well. Not a big Danny Boyle fan, but I was loving the movie until it turned into a horror movie.

[Arpeggi]

Wall-E-first half was the best film Pixar had ever done. 2nd half was crap.

[Drexl]

I don't dislike the second half, but City Slickers drops off when Curly exits.

[NIMH Rat]

Slumdog Millionaire.

When the teenage versions of our hero and heroine meet in the gangster's mansion, and have that long "romantic" scene of discovery and that super-long-drawn out hug, the whole movie jumps into a pile of shit.

[UAIOE]

"Last Action Hero" - When things move to the "real world".

The satire and fun from the first half slows to a trickle, and the when the action picks up it turns into the very action movie(s) it was meant to poke fun at (namely the fight on the roof).

[atxbomber]

The 5th Element. I absolutely love the the first half of the movie, and absolutely can't stand the second half, pretty much when Chris Tucker's character enters the storyline.

[JackBurton]

I'll echo what others have mentioned with Hancock, I am Legend & Jeepers Creepers.

[Michael Corvin]

Slumdog Millionaire.


I haven't seen it yet, but it appears business as usual for Danny Boyle?

[JANK]

Sphere had a great start but I was more intrigued by the "discovery" and not where the plot went with the enhanced mind powers.

[noonan4224]

The Ninth Gate. Great movie that had me hooked until the last 20-30 minutes. Then it turned to crap real quick.

[DVD Josh]

From Dusk Till Dawn. Like the film but enjoy the first half before the vampires show up. Once that happens its pretty bland.

FDTD is the prototypical answer.

Fight Club is amazing all the way through.

[moonraker]

More like 3/4 and 1/4 instead of half and half, but for me it would be... APOCALYPSE NOW. The boat trip is absolutely brilliant. But once they arrive at Colonel Kurtz's compound, the film completely unravels for me. Dennis Hopper just doesnt fit right in the film (for me), and the story just loses its intensity for some reason.

[RocShemp]

I'm going to get crucified for this one, but No Country For Old Men. Loved the first half, but the second half didn't work for me. I get what they were going for, I just didn't care for it.

I really was only invested in Sheriff Ed Tom Bell. After the the second motel encounter (before he crosses the border), Llewelyn Moss' story got boring since you could tell how he was gonna get screwed over by his annoying wife bringing her equaly annoying mother along. And Chigurh just never scared me. I dunno but I felt a total lack of menace from him despite everything he did.

I did love Tommy Lee Jones' monologue at the end about the dream.

[MinLShaw]

And while the beginning/Madonna-singing Intro was good, the segment where "Graves" skydives and has a fence-match with Bond and Madonna acts/trains Pike are bad IMO.

The fencing sequence is really the dividing part of the film. For some, such as yourself, it's the beginning of the end. For me, it's the last enjoyable part of the film, and one of the best sword fights I've seen in recent cinema. Brosnan and Stephens play it with such intensity, and it loses any semblance of civility, devolving into a rage-filled fit of absolute destruction....absolutely love it. Once Bond meets with M in the next scene, though, the movie becomes a video game.

[RagingBull80]

28 Days Later gets weaker when they get to the military base.
...It's not that the second half doesn't work, it just doesn't work with the first half. The first half gives us this 'brothers on the lam' story which is excellent drama and the second half throws all that out the window for B-movie vampire nonsense and some comedy. Put it this way, they could have left out the vampires altogether and spun the story in a different direction and had a compelling drama and it would have been a far better movie for it. The two halves just don't work together.
Agree completely.

[Misty Eyes]

There's a ton of movies like this.

Most recently, I Am Legend. Once the "vampires" show up, it's... not good.

I agree


Indiana Jones and the kingdom of the Crystal Skull, though I wasn't impressed with the film overall I think I disliked the second half the most.

[Torchur317]

In all honesty, I don't get why people have a problem with the 2nd half of "From Dusk Till Dawn". I love the entirety of that movie...
I agree with you 100%,That movie was over the top from the start....

[UAIOE]

Sphere had a great start but I was more intrigued by the "discovery" and not where the plot went with the enhanced mind powers.

I felt that way about the book, but mostly because certain details about the "discovery" are never fully answered.

[Shazam]

The 5th Element. I absolutely love the the first half of the movie, and absolutely can't stand the second half, pretty much when Chris Tucker's character enters the storyline.That's because his character is completely superfluous. You can take him out of every scene he's in, and it would make no difference to the story.

[Matthew Chmiel]

I disagree with 28 Days Later.

I feel the entire film is a large homage to Romero's (original) Dead trilogy.

The first act resembles that of Night, the second act resembles that of Dawn and the third act, when our heroes get to the military base, resembles that of Day.

Granted, the third act is not as high caliber of the first two acts, but it's a lot better than what was meant to be the original third act (as seen through storyboards on the DVD).

[Michael Corvin]

I'm unfamiliar with Romero's trilogy, all I know is that the first half of 28 Days Later was gripping then about halfway through it turned into a video game.