Getting a movie right isn’t easy. All things need to be good in order to make the film a success. Evidently, this is hard. Successful movies, usually, have many things going for them at the same time. Be it good performances by the cast, good direction, amazing storylines, and technical excellence. However, getting most of these aspects right can be tricky. Some films manage to do just that and go on to make big bucks at the box office. Others struggle to get any of them right and fade into oblivion as failures. Then there are ones who get some aspects perfect but are let down in other departments. Alas, in the harsh world of Hollywood, such imperfect movies don’t make the cut. We list 5 such movies that are visual treats but severely lack proper, coherent storylines.
1. Sucker Punch (2011)
The best thing about this movie, as is often said, is that the director of photography of the film managed to make the movie look just like a video game. In fact, the visuals represented the peak of technological achievement of the era. Alas, this is where the film’s high point begins and ends. There isn’t much to commend about the film’s story or script. The plot of the film contemplates a world where inmates of a mental institution who get transported to another universe and embody the lives of a sex worker, fighter jet pilot and samurai warrior. It was sold as a rollercoaster of fun and adventure. However, the story is a huge dud and makes for a very boring watch. Ouch!
2. Jupiter Ascending (2015)
This film is widely regarded as the best visual delight of the director Wachowski. It is truly stunning and makes for a fun watch…. visually, that is. The plot of this film is crazy complicated and makes no sense. It suffers from a bad storyline and pacing. This spoils the fun and handicaps, which is otherwise a beautiful film. Nevertheless, the spacecraft in the film are beautiful to watch and for all the sci-fi geeks out there, this film is worth the watch if only for the amazing visuals. Just don’t bother about the story and dialogues.
3. Speed Racer (2008)
Speed racer is magnificent to watch. The visuals are probably the best in this list and make for an amazing appearance. It excels in visuals and aesthetics. All praise of this film centers around how amazing the film looks. Alas, as is the case with all other entries on the list, this is where it ends. The story is absent and makes for a one-dimensional experience. So much so that part from the visuals, everything else is dismal, the lowest of which is the story. Clearly, a lot could have been done to redeem this film.
4. Australia (2009)
This film has amazing shots of the Australian countryside. It is truly beautiful to watch. However, this film is unidimensional, all about style and substance, without any coherent storyline. This handicap doomed the film, and it garnered terrible reviews and was a major flop of the year. It seems that this fact was not hidden from the director and the cast. Nicole Kidman is on record for saying that she was very embarrassed to be a part of the film. So much so, that she left Australia soon after the premiere of the film, to avoid reading any reviews the day after.
5. Transcendence
This film was the directorial debut of the director and held a lot of promise. After all, the director Wally Pfister has an amazing and stellar resume. The film did, in fact, meet its expectation, however, that was the case only with the visuals. The story was truly horrid and slow-paced. This sci-fi film had a very complicated plot and was a pain to watch. The cast also underperformed and added to the woes of this film. With the only redeeming aspect of the film being the visuals and being bad in virtually every other area, this film is best forgotten.
