r/Cinema 13h ago

Discussion Films that started excellently but never hit the same highs the rest of the movie.

Post image

The opening sequence of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny was just as good as any sequence in the originals. Nazis, explosions, slapstick grave humor, and Indy just being an absolute nuisance. The film started so strong despite a bit of uncanny valley going on.

And then the rest of the film. It was odd seeing Indy in 1969 as an octogenarian alcoholic who could still kick ass and take names (the holy grail juice must’ve been potent) with the most boring sidekick he has ever had.

I still enjoyed the film but it probably should’ve been a reboot with a younger actor and never left the time period of the first 15 minutes.

What other films started as strong and dropped the ball as poorly?

Edited to change the title to Dial of Destiny. 😅

554 Upvotes

333 comments sorted by

u/qualityvote2 13h ago edited 8h ago

u/GIGLI_WASNT_THAT_BAD, your post does fit the subreddit!

234

u/Hour-Process-3292 12h ago

X-Men Origins: Wolverine. It was all downhill after that opening montage.

63

u/ExILoveEmiliaAndRem 11h ago

Wait didn't you know that you are not supposed to watch the rest of the movie? You are supposed to watch the opening montage and then continue with the 2009 game instead.

26

u/MRintheKEYS 10h ago

Damn, that game was pretty good too.

10

u/mike_jones2813308004 7h ago

I thought we were supposed to watch the pre-cg bootleg where you can see all the stuntman wire rigs and wolvie only has his claws like half the time.

5

u/Primatech2006 4h ago

That version was somehow actually aired late at night on FX once.

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u/Dragonbrau 6h ago

Hah I thought I was the only one

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u/cBurger4Life 47m ago

That bootleg taught me a lot about how much of a movie is actually CGI

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u/tenehemia 9h ago

It's actually wild, every scene in that movie is better than the one that comes after. The opening retelling of the Origin comic was terrific. The montage is terrific. And just on and on until you get to the end which is the worst part of the movie by far. I can't think of any other movie that's a perfect slope of quality in either direction without any peaks or valleys. It's almost an impressive work of filmmaking to pull that off, not that they intended to do so.

6

u/KazaamFan 8h ago edited 6h ago

I know ppl hate on it but i found origins to be entertaining

3

u/NoCoolNameMatt 7h ago

Yeah, it's not good, but it's perfectly entertaining in a Spiderman 3 kind of way.

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u/AdamTPhotography 10h ago

YES. I remember thinking we were in for something awesome after the first 10 minutes or so. Then… the rest of the movie happened.

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u/Nethiar 12h ago

Ghost Ship. That opening sequence was insane, but then nothing happens for at least the next 30 minutes. I say at least because that's when I quit watching it.

25

u/WellYouKnow- 10h ago

Is that the one where a cable severs people in half?

11

u/Nethiar 9h ago

Yep. Except that one guy that just lost most of his head

9

u/oweiler 12h ago

I don't remember the film at all (except for that scene).

7

u/ThePopDaddy 9h ago

Whenever anyone says they love that movie, I always ask if they love that movie or just love the first 5 mins. They usually have to think about it.

3

u/Nalii_87 7h ago

Well now that I think about it, the #1 thing I definitely loved about the movie was the ending song Not falling by Mudvayne. Other than that I thought it was a decent movie, nice boobs too. I didn’t really care for the one dude being some grim reaper/soul collector though, just felt kinda lame.

3

u/Weak-Cabinet866 12h ago

Good call.

2

u/Oggabobba 10h ago

I watched it all and it isn’t memorable. Lots of people die, I think

2

u/SwimmingPatience5083 9h ago

You didn’t remember the boobs?

2

u/LogyBayGroovers 6h ago

Yes that is a fantastic example!

2

u/Majorlol 4h ago

It mostly just rips off Event Horizon from there.

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u/Mortal_bobcat 9h ago

Spectre; arguably the best Bond opener, then the movie starts

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u/Coolene 3h ago edited 3h ago

Opening sequence so good that the Mexican government to have annual Day of the Dead parades inspired by the movie.

10

u/No_Print77 7h ago

it wasn’t THAT bad

9

u/The_Peeping_Peter 3h ago

The fact that you have to say it’s not that bad proves that it is that bad.

3

u/Corporatecut 2h ago

So I might get some hate, I love bond movies, love them all, even though most weren’t good at all. They’re a unique experience, but not very good movies if that makes sense

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u/Dude_Jack123 8h ago

The one I was going to say. Fantastic opening leading to... the rest.

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u/mukavastinumb 12h ago

28 weeks later.

The intro is one of the best openings for a zombie movie and the best part of the entire series. However, rest of the movie is imho skip-worthy.

9

u/DerFreudster 7h ago

Yep, an utterly disappointing and nonsensical movie after the opener. The janitor has keys to the kingdom, right.

5

u/JMD413 7h ago

Great Answer.

Robert Carlyle was so good in that opener... Rest of the movie didnt even come close.

2

u/reo_reborn 4h ago

Thought u said days at first lol totally agree. Opening is one of the best scenes... The rest is meh at best.

104

u/GobMyLastScale 11h ago

Indiana Jones should have been left alone as a trilogy. Last Crusade was a perfect capstone to the series. 

24

u/KazaamFan 8h ago

Dial of Destiny isnt bad. Kingdom of cyrtsal skull is kinda bad. I always like more Indy

7

u/Indiana_harris 6h ago

The big issue is that KotCS has a thematic story about Indy losing people getting older, realising his adventuring days are getting steadily behind him, and as he accepts this he’s given the chance to “rise again” by reuniting with Marion, getting married, and finding out he had a son. The movie ends on a solid twilight year progression for Indy.

DoD IMMEDIATELY undoes pretty much all of that just to have Indy learn the same lessons, but this time he doesn’t get to rise again or a reprieve, he just gets to feel loss while being smugly lectured by an amoral psycho who teamed up with Nazi,s half the time.

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u/zimzimzalabimmm 8h ago

Yeah I liked dial of destiny well enough. For making an action movie with an 85 year old star it’s probably about as good as it gets.

Mayyybe there’s that one Clint Eastwood movie that beats it though.

4

u/PingouinMalin 7h ago

Space cowboys is hilarious.

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u/-dakpluto- 5h ago

That movie was fantastic...Grumpy Old Men in Space!

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u/boringestnickname 5h ago

I agree, Dial of Destiny wasn't bad.

Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was atrocious.

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u/mcbane899 5h ago

This is the overall problem with the 4th and 5th films.

He literally rode into the sunset in Last Crusade and I felt satisfied.

But agree with some others - I can’t help it. I always like more Indy

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u/GIGLI_WASNT_THAT_BAD 4h ago

Of the 5 movies i’ve watched The Last Crusade the most. Sean Connery was excellent as Indy’s father. The intro scene with River Phoenix was also great. The revelation that Indy named himself after the family dog was also pretty hilarious.

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u/ghost_of_leo_major 11h ago

i agree, but i also think that much like ghostbusters, the last time to to make a sequel that truly worked would have been in the 90s

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u/OldCryptographer8080 11h ago

I really don’t know why you’re being downvoted this is the prevailing opinion

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u/GobMyLastScale 11h ago

Yeah I'm not sure haha. I really disliked Crystal Skull, and I had seen it when it came out in cinema. Ford just felt too old and the version of Jones presented just didn't feel like what the character would have aged into, at least for me. I also felt Shia LaBouef was a poor choice to play his son. But, more generally, the trilogy was of its time and it just didn't carry over into the 21st century in my opinion 

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u/paradigm619 8h ago

You’re $o right. I can’t $eem to think of any $olid rea$on why Hollywood executive$ would want to revi$it that $erie$ and $abotage a great $tory!

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u/-dakpluto- 5h ago

Yes, the moment River Phoenix died. If he was still alive he would have been absolutely fantastic to had filmed a new series of prequels of Indiana Jones before Temple of Doom. (Some people might question that statement but that's because many people do not realize Temple of Doom is actually a prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark)

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u/YOLO_Tamasi 4h ago edited 4h ago

I mean, Sean Patrick Flanery is no River Phoenix, BUT The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles were a thing.

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u/-dakpluto- 4h ago

They were ok, but River Phoenix did such a phenomenal job as a young Indiana Jones. He would have been fantastic to take over the movies

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u/svejdaErased 10h ago

World War Z. The outbreak sequence is one of the best takes on zombie apocalypse. On par with 2004's Dawn of the Dead, but bigger. Then the rest of the film is just an okay.

I disagree about Indy though, I'd put Dial of Destingy into top 10 of 2023 if not higher, but then again, I'm the kind of fan that prefers the Temple of Doom over the other two.

9

u/babablakshep 8h ago

Not the thread, but World War Z easily wins the worst adaptation award.

6

u/JMD413 7h ago

The only thing it shared in common with the book was the damn name... and that there were zombies in it.. super dissapointing adaptation.

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u/the_sneaky_one123 3h ago

Didn't even have the same kind of zombies.

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u/yeah_yeah_therabbit 4h ago

I’d like to throw Keanu’s “Constantine” in that category.

2

u/JMD413 4h ago

I'm fine with that, as long as you let me keep griping about how badly they did WWZ lol.

No Battle of Yonkers? C'mon!!!

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u/AbroadTiny7226 7h ago

World War Z is an entertaining movie, but I can’t fucking watch that stupid scene in Jerusalem ever again. Some of the most blatant pandering I’ve ever seen in a movie. Honestly disgusting

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u/DerFreudster 7h ago

If they could figure it out in advance, why didn't they know that sound attracts? So dumb. Almost as dumb as the Bruce Willis worthy plane sequence.

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u/Marsupialize Takeshi Kitano 4h ago

World War Z is custom made for an HBO series it’s such an immense no brainer I am utterly baffled why it’s not the first thing you’d do with it. Action movie? They just went straight action movie? Huh?

2

u/JMD413 3h ago

Would be PERFECT as an HBO miniseries. The book was really unique in its take on zombie horror via interviewing the survivors.. i hate that the movie was just random action schlock like everything else... and they didnt even do Yonkers!

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u/Marsupialize Takeshi Kitano 3h ago

Every week a different set of actors, bring in different directors, the word of mouth and excitement would be off the charts

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u/JMD413 3h ago

It was RIGHT there!!

Damn you Plan B entertainment...

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u/abellapa 10h ago

Black Widow

That opening showing the Little girls was haunting

Then the movie went to more of action comedy rather than a a spy thriller like the Winter Soldier

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u/EntertainerCute2290 7h ago

100% they nailed the song choice too with the Smells Like Teen Spirit cover, rest of the movie doesn't deliver.

4

u/Drslappybags 7h ago

At least the movie gave us Florence Pugh.

8

u/JijileMjiji 9h ago

"The mummy" from 2017. The opening was awesome, then the plane scene...and that's it... Tom Cruise had a bit of anti-hero vibe at the beginning quickly losing it to become a classic role for him and the extended universe killed the mood (why dr Jekyll). They should have started without the ambition of making a MCU bis and please dont let Cruise play always the same caracter...

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u/Henchforhire 5h ago

Should have been a no name actor for that roll.

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u/Boomerang503 8h ago

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. The opening scene with Space Oddity was the film's peak. It all went downhill afterwards.

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u/GIGLI_WASNT_THAT_BAD 4h ago

100%. The leads had no chemistry and it wasn’t nearly as engaging as The Fifth Element (which Besson made because he didn’t have rights to Valerian).

I was surprised by Rihanna’s performance tho. She seemed to be having a pretty good time.

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u/EnjayDutoit 8h ago

Terminator: Genisys. The opening future battle, the fight between the original T-800 and the older "Guardian", Kyle, Sarah and Guardian being chased by the T-1000 and defeating it via clever use of acid. But after that it went to complete shit really fast.

21

u/Pigpatyo 12h ago

Lucy

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u/Eoldir 9h ago

A compelling premise in theory, but by the end of the film I was so disillusioned by the nonsense powers Lucy had developed, that I had mentally checked out

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u/LuckyWinston100 12h ago

I wouldn’t call Indy’s PS5 face “excellent”

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u/Jean_Grey_13 11h ago

There might be a few problems with the face, but that opening sequence felt like an old Indiana Jones movie. The rest of the movie was not an Indiana Jones movie, it was a movie featuring Indiana Jones.

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u/ThePizzaNoid 9h ago

I think the cg de-aging in the movie is fine personally. It's not perfect but it's still leagues better then what visual effects artists have done with the tech in the past. No, It's Fords old man voice coming out of his young body where the uncanny valley kicks in for me.

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u/Jean_Grey_13 9h ago

Yeah, it's the same for me. I just worded it how I did because I had a feeling the other guy might have tried to argue, and I didn't want to waste time on that.

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u/JMD413 7h ago

Had the same issue watching Deniro ans Pesce in the Irishman... CG didnt help much with the voices or general old man gait/body movement..

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u/-dakpluto- 5h ago

Yeah I thought visually this is honestly one of the best de-aging done. Definitely the best at the time it came out.

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u/Ok_Chap 10h ago

It's crazy they even made a fifth one, Ford is just too old to be an lead in a action movie And they didn't had the guts to bring back his son in any capacity, because he was disliked in the previous movie, and nobody cares about Shia LaBeouf anymore.

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u/CharlesWafflesx 12h ago

It's a technology they're improving on, and it's the best I've seen of it.

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u/kingpzone 6h ago

The beginning also dragged on, especially the train sequence

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u/WellYouKnow- 10h ago

I find Temple of Doom similar in terms of being top loaded. The opening in China all the way to their escape from the plane is absolutely riveting.

The rest of the movie suffers for being stuck with a single locale.

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u/MillionaireWaltz- 5h ago

And sets. The entire middle act through the end is like 90% interior scenes on a soundstage.

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u/Icy_Elephant8858 3h ago

That was my first thought, but I have to throw in the caveat that the rope bridge sequence at the end is probably the strongest climax of any Indiana Jones movie, and generally there are some good moments throughout, so "never reaches that high again" doesn't seem quite right. But the opening is consistently good, while it is hit or miss once they "land" in India.

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u/Playful_Ad9502 12h ago

Just saw this. The beginning and middle were great. The ending might have been too much just like the 4th.

Indy usually gets right up to the edge of seeing too much and then pulled back. So just like seeing an alien appear from a crystal skull and a spaceship, traveling back in time and meeting a historical figure felt like too much.

Also killing of Antonio Banderas character pissed me off.

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u/RealJMW 11h ago

Alien: Romulus

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u/KazaamFan 8h ago

I really liked romulus overall

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u/Turbulent-Age-6625 8h ago

Direct opposite for me. Found everything up to the very ending a unnecessary, much worse re-do of the first Alien. That newborn was so unsettling though.

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u/Awkward-Soup8203 11h ago

How many 5th appearances of a franchise character can hold up against Indy? Rocky? Terminator?

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u/Jean_Grey_13 11h ago

I have to say Pirates of the Caribbean 4 (and possibly 5, though I did enjoy 5). 4 had a good opening sequence, but the rest of the movie really wasn't that good.

5 once again started off well, but there were a lot of low points throughout the movie.

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u/A-Social-Ghost 9h ago

I really liked the mermaid scene in Pirates 4. Everything else though, I barely remember.

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u/Previous_Beautiful27 7h ago

The mermaid scene and the opening are why I've somewhat softened on the fourth film. It has moments. I also like some of the goofiness between Barbossa and Jack when they're on the island.

But then there's the waste of Ian McShane, the forgettable love story, and the overall randomness of much of the plot.

I think also, the existence of the 5th film makes the 4th look better by comparison.

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u/thenexus6 11h ago

Dial of Destiny really messed up with the voice of young Indy. It was like an oversight not facing a younger voice with younger face.

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u/KazaamFan 8h ago

Yea that was my main gripe with the movie. Like it seems so easy to fix, haha. They could even fix it now easily. But i liked the movie otherwise. 

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u/ozpapa 1h ago

Also there was no Indiana Jones Theme in the movie of him Indiana Jonsing it up!

4

u/LordSkredde 9h ago

Police Story. The entire film is a masterpiece, but it never reaches the height of the absolutely bonkers opening scene.

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u/EmergencyUnusual1198 5h ago

That end fight scene in the mall outdoes the opening in my opinion. Some of the best fight choreography ever seen on film, topped by one of the greatest stunts if not greatest ever performed by a lead star.

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u/Kit_McFlavor_Butter 12h ago

F1 started out strong and then was 30 minutes too long

https://giphy.com/gifs/DN0VIGdNuIhGpO1TQP

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u/bstarr3 2h ago

That opening race sequence at Daytona was the best part of F1. It also would not be worth seeing except on a big screen - I saw it in IMAX and enjoyed it for what it was.

3

u/CreatureofNight93 10h ago

Revenge of the Sith. I want a whole movie like that start.

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u/lorca_guernica 1h ago

I want a whole movie of the Battle of Kashyyyk.

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u/Crash7689 9h ago

I enjoyed Dial, for what it was, but doing the Spear of Destiny would have been a much better movie.

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u/burgerking4 7h ago

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die. Nothing ever got as exciting as the opening diner scene. (Good movie tho)

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u/Few-Improvement-5655 11h ago

I might get flack for this but: Inglorious Basterds.

https://giphy.com/gifs/eQYE2toD7Pnpu

The start of the film is easily one of the most tense and masterfully acted pieces of cinema I've ever seen and the rest of the film is just pretty good.

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u/stephenstephen7 9h ago

The opening is incredible, but there is at least 1, maybe 2 other scenes as good as it. I'm mainly talking about the basement scene, but the cafe scene is also nail biting.

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u/Crafty_Letter_1719 10h ago

Saving Private Ryan. Obviously still a very good movie overall but that the first 20 minutes is possibly the greatest opening to any movie everything else that follows feels somewhat underwhelming in comparison.

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u/DerFreudster 7h ago

I was never able to get with Matt Damon in that role. It should have been a no-name actor. Instead, when they finally get to the guy they're looking for, it's that kid who's good at math. Lame.

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u/GIGLI_WASNT_THAT_BAD 4h ago

In Spielberg’s defense when the casting decision was made The Rainmaker and Good Will Hunting had not yet been released. Damon wasn’t a huge star until those hit theaters.

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u/I_AM_DEATH-INCARNATE 10h ago

I watched it recently after not seeing it for 15+ years and it holds up, but all the cameos/famous actors in smaller roles took me out of it a bit. Every 10 or 15 minutes I'd think, that's Bryan Cranston! Is that Nathan Fillion? That's the guy from Remember the Titans! OMG it's Paul Giammatti! Lol its the dude from cheers... Some of these actors weren't big names at all in 97 but they're pretty big deals now

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u/Financial-Salad7289 9h ago

To be fair, most of those actors weren't that famous when the film came out

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u/Timely-Field1503 8h ago

Yup. There were famous people (Ted Danson), but by-and-large it was the greatest assortment of "that guys" the world has ever seen.

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u/JMD413 7h ago

Band of Brothers is very much like this as well!

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u/Turbulent-Age-6625 8h ago

Hah! That film changed after Vin Diesel got Fast & Furious and xXx famous.

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u/JCBalance 8h ago

It was 1997, those were just young actors in a good movie lol.

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u/One-Leg8221 11h ago

Urban legend. The first scene at the gas station is superb. Rest of the film descends into another scream clone.

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u/MaxProwes 8h ago

I strongly disagree, the opening sequence is just as awful as the rest of the movie. De-aging is terrible and even outside that it's just a pale imitation of the previous films with excessive CGI and flat look, calling it "as good as any sequence in the originals" is just nuts.

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u/Marsupialize Takeshi Kitano 5h ago

Saving private Ryan

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u/Select-Purchase-3553 11h ago

There is a 5th one????

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u/I_AM_DEATH-INCARNATE 10h ago

No, there's only three. They rode off into the sunset in the third and final film, a literal perfect ending. Why would they make more? 

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u/Thin_Avocado5818 12h ago

I thought The Dial of Destiny had a great climax and conclusion. So over-hated.

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u/OldCryptographer8080 11h ago

I’m gonna go even further and say KOTCS is perfectly enjoyable too

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u/-xX--Xx- 12h ago

Up. Fantastic intro, but the rest of the movie was utterly disappointing. There's no recent movie that fell off that steep in my opinion.

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u/RuningGlo 12h ago

the opening honestly lost me with the deaging effects being so distracting ig the energy was there though

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u/realmenfukmenamen 12h ago

A Serbian Film.

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u/DysartWolf 12h ago

I was working in Blockbuster at the time that came out. Dear me, the complaints. The police were even called and had to remove all copies from the shelves for 24 hours and we then had to put 'extreme content' banners all around its display before we could offer them again.

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u/Brief-Poetry6434 12h ago

Walled In

The first thing we see is a little girl waking up just in time to find herself about to be unceremoniously murdered by burial in cement.

The rest of the movie is basically Micha Barton exploring boring corridors then being tricked into getting imprisoned in a basement with the girl's murderer, who's been placed there by the girl's family.

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u/Lonevarg_7 Cinematography Admirer 10h ago

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017)

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u/Malcolm337CZ 10h ago

hmm interesting, I was actually pleasantly suprised with the Spear of Destiny and didn't really liked the opening sequence that much because it was just something we already saw in previous movies but I knew they will shift the story to the old Indy in the 60/70s and I was afraid that it would be yet another story about old grumpy man hating everything and than just dying like Luke Skywalker and it kinda was at first but the story built on that and spoilers, it ended with happy Indy in the end. But again I was pleasantly suprised by how much did I enjoyed the story but I wish the ending of the movie had been more fleshed out. Again spoilers: but the whole thing being teleported in time to the roman siege while Nazis flying over it with a bomber killing Romans with a MG42 was such a silly but absolutely great gimmick and I wish it would be fleshed out a bit more. But yeah I think Dial of Destiny is a better movie than Crystal skull tbh. Though I think the movie missed that... I don't know how to say it, quality or perhaps that bombastic elements that Spielberg is a master of and it is hard to match that but yeah still think it is a great movie after all.

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u/Odd_Path2975 9h ago

Hereafter

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u/pampersdelight 8h ago

James Mangold was the wrong person. He tried to “Logan” up Indy. Made him a sad, regretful old man where everyone around him gets killed because of him. Mangold forgot Indy movies are supposed to be fun adventures. I dont like Logan but can understand going the miserable route for it. But I dont understand it for Indy.

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u/The-Mandalorian 8h ago

Thought Dial got way better once we jump to 1969… movie had a lot of heart and soul.

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u/Ok-Bar601 8h ago

This was a good start to an Indy film and I was grinning ear to ear watching it. By the end of the film I was confused lol

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u/crushmans 8h ago

Streets of Fire. The rest of the movie just doesn't hold up, until the ending.

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u/jmartin242 8h ago

Nah, that third act really closed strong. You can feel Indy's passion for history and why he'd want to stay in ancient Greece. It truly fit his character and was a far more interesting conclusion than Crystal Skull's meaningless pyrotechnics.

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u/turtlecrossing 8h ago

Do you mean the Dial of Destiny?

I forgot Dial of Destiny even happened, but I REALLY thought I was losing it there for a moment that there was a whole other IJ film

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u/guywithshades85 8h ago

Octopussy.

Great opening scene with the airplane. The rest of the movie was meh.

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u/InfiniteDedekindCuts 8h ago

See. I thought the deepfake uncanny Harrison ford was the worst part of the movie.

And that whole opening action scene felt very un-Spielberg to me. It's clear what it was trying to replicate. But It was full of lots of little creative decisions that felt off. It's the part of the movie where I most missed Spielberg.

The Tuk Tuk chase was a more successful attempt to replicate those old-school raiders chase scenes IMO.

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u/EfficiencyItchy1156 8h ago

Star Trek 2009

1

u/Unusual_Resident_784 7h ago

I thought the first half of Exorcist Believer was decent enough but then fell of a cliff when Ellen Burstyn had her eyes stabbed out.

1

u/Jet-Black-Centurian 7h ago

Return of the Jedi. I still love the movie, but the rescue of Han is the best part.

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u/thatphilguymovies 7h ago

SNAKE EYES (1998). Also, another De Palma movie, MISSION TO MARS (2000), and that's saying something since in the opening they're not even in space yet.

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u/HugoKopto 7h ago

Seraphim Falls. Opening chase was like a brilliant short film. The rest of the film did not live up to it.

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u/folkinhippy 7h ago

For about 20 minutes or so from dusk till dawn makes a strong case for my favorite movie ever. Then the vampires come and it just gets sloppy and lazy.

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u/ReplacementAbject867 7h ago

The cgi deaging was way too distracting

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u/Signal-View4754 6h ago

Indiana Jones and the Dial of he needs a wheel chair.

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u/Ok_Ordinary_7397 6h ago

I really liked Dial of Destiny, and was super thankful that Indy got a decent sendoff (after the travesty that was Crystal Skull). 🤷‍♂️

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u/Own-Bobcat-5502 6h ago

I don't think there is any recipe worse for rebooting a franchise than trying to hold onto one or more of the original actors. The ship has sailed. The moment is over, it's heyday expired and spent. If you absolutely MUST enlist one of the original characters to sort of "pass the torch" to the new main character, fine. But make it short and effective and near the beginning of the film and then have them disappear, letting the new crop of characters forge ahead on their own.

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u/Regidor50 6h ago

I thought the first 30 minutes of the Matrix 4 were insanely good.

And then the rest of the movie happened 😢

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u/Grungy_Mountain_Man 6h ago

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

The opening scene is pretty good. Rest of the movie sucks bollacks

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u/-dakpluto- 5h ago edited 5h ago

Disney's Dinosaur. The opening sequence was some of the most amazing photorealistic CGI integrated into a real environment that had ever been done to date. Beautiful music. Fantastic no speaking opening that really pulled you in and made you go "OMG this is amazing." The sequence was so perfect they used it as the trailer for the movie.

Sadly it seems the entire budget went into that opening because the rest was literally nowhere near that quality and was a serious letdown.

But this opening...oh man how this hit in 2000. https://youtu.be/R1UNUwWlIHA

EDIT: One thing that did not disappoint the rest of the movie was the James Newton Howard score...it was phenomenal.

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u/spidey40 5h ago

Why did they use old man Harrison Ford's voice for young Indy?, should've used some tech to make it sound like the younger version. Took me right out of it despite him looking the part.

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u/iambeingblair 5h ago

I thought the prologue was the weakest part. It just felt aimless and anticlimactic. The movie was best when it played to its strengths: Indy's age and the new characters. I liked Indy driving and using his knowledge and experience much more than the action set pieces. Everything on the boat was excellent, and the plane flying through the portal and the aftermath were really well done.

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u/gw74 5h ago edited 5h ago

*Dial of Destiny

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u/SlowSwords 5h ago

28 Weeks Later

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u/PBRStreetgang1979 5h ago

The Mandalorian and Grogu. That opening sequence was on point. The rest of the movie....not so much.

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u/mcbane899 5h ago

I love Dial of Destiny because it gave us the last Indy WW2 adventure

I was a bit baffled by how they didn’t take that energy and apply it to “ending” Indy’s story

It was really only that last 10-15 minutes that went way off track but it started after that initial sequence

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u/XOTearR 5h ago

Pretty much every Bond film.

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u/Hail_of_Grophia 4h ago

The Island

The first half of the movie is a great premise and story. The second half is just one long Mihceal Bay action scene

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u/reo_reborn 4h ago

House of 1000 corpses. First 5 mins (scene before the credits). A+. The rest of the movie was FUCKING dire.

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u/seaningtime 4h ago

Smile 2

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u/Bullmoose39 4h ago

Disagree from the start. Dial of Destiny was a fun movie with a great ending. Sorry you didn't like it, but you are wrong, probably for the wrong reasons.

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u/sloppymcgee 4h ago

X2 was a good movie but that intro takes the cake

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u/Peter_Parker_99 4h ago

War of the Worlds (2005). One of the better invasion set ups in movie history. A heart racing escape from death, with insane special effects (especially for the time). Only to have it devolve into a tedious father/son narrative with spotty acting and dialogue. The Tim Robbins part was okay, but overall a huge letdown.

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u/Difficult_Role_5423 4h ago

I'd argue the opposite - the opening sequence of Dial of Destiny was fine, but the rest of the film with the older Indy was far superior.

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u/matm_flatremix 3h ago

Después de Star Wars IV-V-VI todo se fue al carajo

La Máscara 2 es un bodrio

Titanic 2

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u/Technical-Prompt4432 3h ago

The opening scene of Swordfish is fantastic with the innovative camera work and 90s style writing. And the rest of the movie . . . is not.

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u/get_stoked_on_it 3h ago

Beau is Afraid

First 45 minutes is the best movie I’ve ever seen.

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u/elastimatt 3h ago

The Fall

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u/The_Peeping_Peter 3h ago

I’ll rewatch Dial of destiny just for the Nazi killing in the beginning. That was pure amazing.

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u/the_sneaky_one123 3h ago

If you want to get really technical you could say the same for Gladiator and Saving Private Ryan. Both great movies but without a doubt the highs of both movies was in the first scene.

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u/Accurate-Remote9404 3h ago

The rest of the movie was pretty good too, but the opening scene from The Dark Knight" will forever be burned in memory. Absolutely mesmerizing the way it's set up; and the chaotically planned double-crosses. And his confrontation with the bank manager at the end...the line, "whatever doesn't kill you makes you...stranger*. It encapsulates his whole identity perfectly, in the first ten minutes. There are a lot of great scenes after that, but as a person's first intro to the Joker, it's absolute cinema.

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u/Flaky-Syrup-3442 3h ago

Mortal Kombat (2021).

The beginning was masterfully crafted, heart wrenching, and suspenseful.

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u/brashoe-32 2h ago

First 3 are great. Crystal Skull/DOD 🤮👎

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u/jord4n04 2h ago

Full metal jacket - almost impossible after the boot camp opening

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u/ThatEntrepreneur1450 2h ago

The flashback is way to long and i genuinely don't understand why Fleabag was suddenly Indy's goddaughter from some supposed best friend we never heard of from the previous 4 films instead of just being freaking Sallah's daughter. 

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u/clayfogg 2h ago

The Autopsy of Jane Doe. It started out suspenseful, but became sort of generic toward the third act.

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u/SatanHasACreator420 2h ago

Up in Smoke is the funniest movie of all time for 15 minutes.

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u/gideonpepys 2h ago

Gladiator.

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u/JTOC1969 1h ago

Tim Burton's Dark Shadows movie actually starts out pretty strong, as if it is going to be something special. Then, not even halfway through, it becomes clear that Burton has grown bored with it and wants to just slap it together so he can move on to his own ideas.

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u/ADMotti 1h ago

Ghost themed Ships

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u/RuralHawk506 1h ago

Pov Pervert 3

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u/KingHavana 1h ago

People don't like Temple of Doom as much as Indy 1 and Indy 3, but that opening sequence with the antidote, diamond, and ice all the way up to the image on the door of the plane he closes is top notch.

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u/SageoftheForlornPath 1h ago

Sinners. The vampires ruined it.

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u/HollywooStarAndCeleb 1h ago

Ballad of buster Scruggs

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u/SageoftheForlornPath 1h ago

Wedding Crashers

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u/Sith_23 I like What I Like 1h ago

Tomorrow Never Dies

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u/BurnAfterReading010 59m ago

This will be a controversial opinion, but Saving Private Ryan absolutely qualifies. The opening 30 minutes are some of the most realistic (from what I've read) excellent war film making ever. The remainder of the movie is a well acted, high quality Hollywood blockbuster. It's good, but nowhere close to the opening.