10 Films That Don't Live Up To Great Premises

Upon its release, X2: X-Men United was considered one of the best superhero movies of all-time, right up there with the likes of Spider-man 2, which critics were already hailing as The Empire Strikes Back of comic book films. This was early in the comic film craze, and though both films still hold up reasonably well, expectations have shifted.

When X2 came out, though, it already appeared to comic fans they were finally on the right track - largely faithful to its source material, with an ending teasing the rise of the Phoenix arc, the most respected and well-known X-Man story in the comic's history.

Alas, the man with the temerity to believe we take comics seriously, Bryan Singer, was already on track to bring another classic property back. He and star James Marsden left X-Men: The Last Stand to take on Superman with Superman Returns. The former film was left in the hands of Brett Ratner, known for the Rush Hour franchise. Ratner didn't exactly have street cred when he took the project. At best, he was known for being capable of aping the style of more successful directors.

And for the most part, The Last Stand looks fine; not fantastic, just fine. What fails is the script, which foolishly tries to cram in an entirely separate subplot about a mutant cure alongside Dark Phoenix. Oddly, the same writer would screw up the Phoenix storyline again last year.

As for that Superman reboot...