Derrich

Name a movie that seemed like it couldn't miss when you saw it on paper, but was complete crap when it hit the big screen.

Concept: A number of famous fictional characters join forces to battle evil. The Invisible Man, Dr. Jekyll, Captain Nemo, Alan Quartermaine all on the same team. Lots of effects and locations

Reality: LXG


Concept: Take the hottest actress around, dress her in leather, make her a superhero fighting crimes against women. Use an established character like Catwoman. Fill the cast with good looking people.

Reality: Catwoman


Concept: Chris Rock and Anthony Hopkins. Hopkins is a straight laced CIA agent. Rock is a wisecracking hustler. Rock gets recruited into the CIA to fight terrorism. Hilarity insues.

Reality: Bad Company


D

harosa

Judge Dredd, Stallone was dead on and the future world of the comic was realized for about 15 minutes and then he took his helmet off and ran around for the rest of the movie in a tank top and oh yeah, Rob Schneider also didnt die in the movie.

cleaver

Concept: We get Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman, out them in a desert, and hilarity ensues.

Reality: Ishtar

Concept: Since comic book movies are so hot right now, we make a movie starring one of the more popular characters, we make the only comic book movie ever directed by an Academy Award nominee, and we blow out the budget.

Reality: The Hulk

RevLiver

None of these sound like "can't miss" movies. The concepts alone make me not want to see them.

Jaymole

Plot: A down-on-his-luck American Indian who has been recently released from jail is offered the chance to "star" as the victim of a snuff film, the resulting pay of which could greatly help his poverty stricken family.

Result: The Brave

Heard about this script, a few years before it was filmed, when it was mentioned in Premiere as being one of the 10 best unproduced scripts. When I found out that it was finally being made into a movie, I was overjoyed. Resulting film is a major letdown.

Shannon Nutt

Take a popular science fiction blockbuster trilogy - go back in time and tell how it all started:

You get: THE PHANTOM MENACE


Take a popular science fiction blockbuster - turn it into a trilogy:

You get: THE MATRIX RELOADED and THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS

Duder

Concept: An action-filled story about a classically-inspired vampire hunter, played by one of the hottest new stars, as he fights not only vampires, but werewolves and Frankenstein's monster.

Reality: Van Helsing

Concept: An adaptation of a classic children's book starring a popular comic actor with some talented child actors and utilizing imaginative makeup and set-design.

Reality: The Grinch. The Cat in the Hat.

Robert

Concept: Giant flame-breathing dragons have taken over the earth and decimated the human population.

Reality: Reign of Fire.

Jason

Concept: take the largest international star of all time and put him in a big budget american movie so he can finally be accepted in the US.

Reality: Godzilla (1998)

tanman

bing bing bing bing bing bing!

We have a winner!

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Rivero

Tim Burton's Mars Attacks!. One of the best casts ever assembled. A great visualist at the helm. Material with plenty of potential. But in the end this turned into an amusing bore. It just feels like Burton's heart wasn't into it.

Also, Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Hell, Episode II as well. 'Nuff said.

Rivero

Jesus, no one has actually seen this thing yet. How bout we all reserve judgment until it actually comes out?? I mean, the movie looks incredibly silly but MAYBE THAT WAS INTENTIONAL. Maybe they were trying for outright camp????

flashburn

Concept: Take two of the most popular Sci-Fi creations ever, that have already been together in comics, novels and in several Video Games, and create a movie out of it!


Reality: Alien Vs Predator, Directed by Paul Anderson.

Hiro11

Concept:

1. Begin with an excellent short story from the master of cyberpunk, William Gibson. This is a story that establishes some of the characters and environs in the epic "sprawl" novels of Neuromancer, Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive. All of these books would make a truly fantastic films and would serve as an ideal sequels with a huge established fanbase. They are the Lord of the Rings trilogy of modern sci-fi: they established the basic language and tone.

2. Make the movie with a large budget just at the time the internet is starting to become cool. In essence, introduce the concept of the matrix five years before the Matrix.

Reality:

Johnny Mnemonic, a terrible movie that basically ruined Gibson's Hollywood credibility and ensured that Neuromancer will never be made into a movie.

Tom Banjo

Concept: We take an old tv show that was once a big hit and make a movie out of it, and we'll cast Sean Connery as the villian.

Reality: The Avengers

bothanspy

Concept: Take some of the greatest character actors of all time and have them play rogue cops in a small time. Throw in biggest action movie star of all time and have him play against type in an incredible performance.

Result: Copland

DRG

Concept: After a string of more serious fare, Steven Spielberg finally returns to fantasy adventure films with a re-imagining of a classic novel. Features Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, and the hottest new star on the horizon, Julia Roberts.

Reality: Hook

Concept: Top action hero Arnold Scwarzenegger finally plays a villain, against a classic comic book icon.

Reality: Batman & Robin

Abob Teff

Then you end up with another Batman and Robin, which was intentionally bad and succeeded very well at that.

Neeb

Woefully miscast film. Could have been good otherwise.

Yes, but I argue that 'Mr. Freeze,' while a popular character, is not a classic icon.

Kal-El

The "icon" being referred to is Bats, not Freeze.

Zodiac_Speaking

Concept: Ex-Vietnam vet goes out for revenge after his family is brutally murdered.

Reality: Punisher (2004).

Concept: Put an itelligent, modern take and director on the scifi movie to end all scifi movies.

Reality: Burton's Planet of the Apes remake. (although, I like it, it huge fails to the 1968 masterpiece)

PopcornTreeCt

Hmm...most of the concepts here don't sound too good. I guess it is all in the writing.

Concept: Take a group of oil-drillers and send them up to an asteroid careening towards Earth in order to drill a hole in the asteroid to then drop a bomb in it, thus saving the entire planet. Throw in conflicting love story involving oil driller father, daughter and boyfriend.

Result: Armageddon, but really that's about as good as that concept could of been.

RichC2

Concept: Take one of the best known and most loved comic books of all time and turn it into an action based movie with the latest most dynamic special effects.

Result: Spider-man

Sorry, I just didn't like it.

Concept: A thriller with an attractive, reasonably strong female lead.

Result: Anything with Ashley Judd.

Concept: Let's Remake Psycho!

Result: BAD.

Concept: High budget followup to a cult-loved sci-fi favorite starring the biggest star of 2001 (and I don't mean Kubrick's).

Result: Chronicles of Riddick (not saying it's bad since I haven't seen it, but I'm guessing just the same.)

Rival11

Concept: Take the most amazing action shots ever, an original look, Hollywoods most famous actors and some you never heard of but upon seeing them you say "he/she always plays the bad guy". Throw all the best parts of the movie into a 5 minute trailer........

Result: Every film Michael Bay has been involved with.

Dr. DVD

Concept: Take a book written by a reknowned sci-fi author who also happened to start a major religion, cast a star at the height of a major career comeback as the villain, and give it a major budget.

The result: Battlefield Earth

Concept: Take a long dead genre, the pirate movie, and put a well respected action director at the helm with a large budget. On top of that, cast his Oscar winning actress wife in the lead.

The result: Cutthroat Island

Concept: Take the team that brought some major dollars in with an erotic thriller, take away all ratings restraints, and let them tell a story about the seedy underbelly of Las Vegas. Give it a Flashdance type story to appeal to young girls!

The result:Showgirls