With two days left till the Oscars, thus one day left till If I Ruled the Oscars, I wanted to discuss one last category: Most Disappointing. These films are not necessarily bad. Some are quite watchable. Just, for one reason or another, they were a disappointment. My nominees were:
- Godzilla
- The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
- Interstellar
- The One I Love
- The Tale of Princess Kaguya
Most disappointing is going to be a more subjective category than the others since it is partly based on expectations. It also includs different kinds of disappointment coming from different sources. So let me take them one by one.
Godzilla. This was disappointing based on the rapid, fanatical announcements from both the filmmakers and fans-supposedly-in-the-know that this film was going to remedy problems with previous Godzilla films. It was set up to be an antidote for the 1998 American film, and was said to be going back to the franchise’s roots. So the expectation was set that this was going to be a substantive film related to the brilliant 1954, Gojira. Or, possibly, it might be a fun romp, like the 1964 Godzilla vs Mothra. But no. What they did is go back to the early ’70s ridiculous snooze-fests, with Godzilla as the savior of mankind and far too much time spent on humans who either watch a screen or take part in pointless military action. If they just said they were replicating the bad old days of Godzilla films, it wouldn’t have been disappointing.
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. OK, It seems strange to call this disappointing when, after five films, it was clear what we’d be in for. It was going to be long. It was going to be slow. It was going to be slow. Wait, I said that already. Oh, it was worth repeating. It was going to get off track. So, no surprises. But The Hobbit 3 was disappointing (or rather, part of a three film disappointment) in a different way—in what it could have been. With so much talent on board, The Hobbit could have been an excellent film, if someone would have had a long conversation about restraint with Peter Jackson. But they didn’t, or he didn’t listen, so, it is a nominee.
Interstellar. Here’s a film that earned its nomination the old fashioned way: hype. Confused film critics (who somehow didn’t understand it) and mislead early audience members just got it wrong, and then shouted about how great it was. “Oh, it is so smart.” “Oh, it is so sciency.” “Oh, it’s 2001.” But it’s not. It is slow, and dim, with more exposition than any film I’ve ever seen. Over and over characters spell out everything that is happening. Did Nolan think he was making a radio drama? No, it is not a terrible film. Far from it, but it does not live up to its hype.
The One I Love. This one’s on the list for the same reason as Interstellar, just within a smaller group. Plus, it is actually a good film. Perhaps the best film of the five nominees. But in the indie, hipster, crowd it’s the second coming. It’s good, just not that good.
The Tale of Princess Kaguya. A nice animated feature that could be improved with editing, The Tale of Princess Kaguya got it’s nomination as a disappointment for the same reason it got an Academy Award nomination for best animated feature. It was made by Studio Ghibli. That’s Hayao Miyazaki’s company, and people, myself included, assume that things connected to Miyazaki deserve our attention. But this isn’t his film, and while nice, it is not up to the level of Howl’s Moving Castle or Spirited Away.
And that’s it. Which was the greatest disappointment? That’s for tomorrow.