5. Max Payne
The Buzz: I may not have been in Hall H that day, but as a massive fan of the Remedy video game franchise, I was a) extremely nervous about it being made into a movie, given the reputation for these pursuits, and b) cautiously optimistic from the footage that was eventually shown off. Director John Moore was smart to ensure that most of the clips shown off at SDCC 2008 were action-orientated.
Regular Audiences: More to the point, he made sure to show off basically all the action in the movie, because for a film about a John Woo-inspired detective seeing vengeance, this one's curiously light on gunplay and visceral set-pieces. Though the film's box office doubled its budget, it was hardly a major success, and the film was ripped to shreds by both critics (who likely haven't played the game) and video game fanboys such as myself. Much like the Con attendees, I was drawn in by the grungy, stylistically faithful aesthetic of the trailer, but when it came to the final product, the narrative was a mess, and it somehow lacked the most crucial, impossible-to-screw-up element of the game. John Moore then went on to direct A Good Day to Die Hard, so go figure.