From the dawn of cinema (and even many, many centuries before it) one of the most important aspects of storytelling has been the messages embedded within the narratives. Presenting meaningful life lessons, they are often solely responsible for taking a film from being exciting escapism to being something more lasting that audiences can reflect on.
However, there have been plenty of films which have preached one thing then practiced another as they invested heavily in an idea only to contradict themselves with jarring results. From modern blockbuster epics to animated fantasy adventures, these 10 films were viewed as having missed the point they wanted to make by r/AskReddit.
10 ‘Hotel Transylvania 2’ (2015)
While Marxbrosburner – the Redditor who commented about Hotel Transylvania 2 – did mistake it for being a latter sequel, they did bring up a valid criticism of its thematic ambitions. Focusing on Count Dracula’s (Adam Sandler) anxiety surrounding his hybrid grandson’s lack of vampire abilities, the majority of the film flaunts a strong message of family acceptance and unconditional love.
The redditor took aim at the film’s rather hypocritical conclusion, stating “Dracula is about to learn to love his grandson even though he doesn’t have vampire powers… then the kid suddenly gets vampire powers at the very end and Drac doesn’t need to learn anything at all.”
9 ‘Natural Born Killers’ (1994)
A bewildering crime thriller, Natural Born Killers focused a young American couple unified by their mutual love of violence and the bizarre manhunt which follows them. It’s arresting style ensured it was a striking and unforgettable picture, but it’s satirical, intrinsic analysis of violence as entertainment may have strayed too close to the bone to be poignant.
This was the view of many critics at the time and has proven to be a resonant opinion with moviegoers as well. Willem_Dafuqcommented “I always thought Natural Born Killers, which is ostensibly a critique on society’s glamorization of violence, is itself a glamorization of violence.”
8 ‘Encanto’ (2021)
A hit Disney animated film, Encanto thrived as a fantasy musical following a young Colombian girl who struggles with being the only member of her family without magical powers yet becomes their last hope when their enchanted homeland’s magic is jeopardized. For the most part, it explored its message of self-acceptance really well, imbuing it with Disney animation’s trademark warmth and charm.
However, some fans were left perplexed with how the movie’s conclusion engaged with that core message. Last-Faithlessness-6expressed their dissatisfaction, saying “It would’ve been a significantly better movie if they didn’t get their magical powers back but instead learned that their value as people/family members isn’t tied to their special abilities.”
7 ‘The Hobbit’ Trilogy (2013-2015)
An interesting example where the motivation behind making the movie was in conflict with the film’s core message, The Hobbit trilogy was nominated by 25willp as a film which contradicted its own point through its very existence. Based on J. R. R. Tolkien’s children’s novel, it follows a hobbit who joins a group of dwarves on a quest to retrieve the mines they call home from a dangerous dragon.
The redditor noted how the trilogy’s creation was solely to capitalize on lingering audience interest in The Lord of the Ringsby making another Middle Earth fantasy adventure. They wrote “the book is a warning against greed, and the value of sharing one’s riches… The film trilogy is a product of studio greed stretching across three overlong movies.”
6 ‘Soaked in Bleach’ (2015)
Decades on since the ground-breaking grunge band Nirvana last released a studio album, the music group remains embedded in the modern pop-culture psyche, as does the tragic death of group’s iconic frontman Kurt Cobain. Soaked in Bleach was a docudrama film made in response to ongoing conjecture surrounding the rock star’s demise.
With interview footage and dramatic recreations, it follows private investigator Tom Grant (Daniel Roebuck) as he looks into the alleged suicide. The film was criticized for taking liberty with the facts, and seemed at odds with its conspiracy angle, as was opined by mchappeewho said it “tried really hard to make me think that Kurt Cobain was murdered, wound up convincing me that it was suicide.”
5 ‘Black Panther’ (2018)
Across the vast span of the MCU, the hit superhero franchise has never produced a film which soared to such heights as Black Panther. It follows T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) as he ascends to the throne while a vengeful enemy seeks to take over Wakanda to reutilize its resources for his own political ideologies.
The conflict sees the film reach an interesting end, one where T’Challa is somewhat swayed by Killmonger’s (Michael B. Jordan) desire to use the secluded nation’s power to change the world. infitsofprintused the phrase “political backwardness” to describe the film’s conclusion, citing T’Challa’s ambition to share Wakanda’s “way of life” rather than their knowledge and resources as an example of the film missing the point of why exactly Wakanda is such an advanced nation.
4 ‘Watchmen’ (2009)
Written by Alan Moore, the Watchmen limited series graphic novels were a stark change of pace for superhero comics which spawned from Moore’s own disdain for the medium’s engagement with fans. It made Zack Snyder’s adaptation of the story immediately contentious, even though it was quite faithful in terms of its plotting and overall moodiness.
Set in an alternate 1980s with the paranoia of the Cold War at its peak, it follows a violent vigilante as he investigates the mysterious death of one of his former colleagues. bluejester12mentioned their appreciation of the film, but conceded one reason why the film misses its point is because Snyder “sensationalized the action and thereby the heroes when the comic did the opposite.”
3 ‘Jurassic Park’ Sequels & the ‘Jurassic World’ Franchise
Released in 1993, Jurassic Park has become a cherished classic, taking place in a soon-to-be unveiled dinosaur theme park as its security system breaks down leaving its guests in peril. In addition to being a thrilling and wondrous adventure movie, it also engages with themes of technology vs. nature and the dangers of human beings playing God.
In a bid to capitalize on the blockbuster flair and deliver on visual excitement, the film’s successorshave failed to explore the same themes quite so gracefully. That seemed the belief of Zarathustra143 who commented “I feel like every new Jurassic Park/World movie misses the point, or at least the irony, of forcing back to life something that should have died years ago.”
2 ‘I Am Legend’ (2007)
A post-apocalyptic action-thriller following the last man on Earth, I Am Legend had an interesting premise which was bolstered by the star power of Will Smith in his prime. Loosely based on Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel of the same name, it runs as an enticing end-of-the-world movie with US Army virologist trying to develop a cure for a disease which has turned humanity into vampire-like mutant cannibals.
JellingtonSteelebrought attention to how the film differed from the book, commenting “the whole point is that through his hatred of the vampires, which is now everyone, for being monsters that kill you in the night, he has become the very monster he despised.” The redditor then lamented how the film veered away from the original ending to give a more Hollywood-style conclusion.
1 ‘Wonder Woman’ (2017)
Despite now being over five years old, Wonder Woman is, for many, still the crowning achievement of the DCEU to date. The origin story hit all the right notes while being surprisingly poignant as a pseudo war film, following Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) as she ventures into the human world to help an American pilot in the midst of the First World War.
The film’s thematic punch was both bold and intriguing, which was noted by _PM_ME_PANGOLINS_who praised its eagerness to actively criticise mankind’s belligerent nature. The redditor commented “and then the God of War pops up and says it was him all along and she kills him and the war just stops” to highlight how the film somewhat nullified its thematic point.
