10 Sci-Fi Movies That Wasted Incredible Premises

10. Cowboys & Aliens

Premise: In the Wild West, a frontier town's inhabitants, led by an outlaw (Daniel Craig) and the town's sheriff (Harrison Ford) face off against invading aliens.

That title alone is pretty irresistible and this seemed destined to be a complete blast, especially since it was directed by Jon Favreau and had Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig in leading roles. Alas, Cowboys & Aliens sucks.

The fatal blow here was the tone. Cowboys & Aliens takes itself very seriously and plays everything completely straight rather than embracing the campy fun the title initially suggested. The clash between this serious tone and the inherent ridiculousness of the concept sucked any fun or joy out of the movie and torpedoed the entire thing.

This is possibly the worst recent example of a film ruined by taking itself too seriously and, unsurprisingly, this bombed at the box office.