9. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith
The entirety of the Star Wars prequels was building up to one moment. Due to George Lucas decision to make the saga all about Anakin Skywalker, everyone in the audience was waiting for the moment when he would finally don the leather outfit and truly become Darth Vader. The teaser poster for The Phantom Menace had a young Anakin with his shadow becoming the Sith Lord. The teaser trailer for Attack of the Clones consisted of Vaders iconic breathing over enticing shots of the film. But by the time we got to Episode 3, the marketing campaign was entirely focused on Vaders presence. Which is fine, except that (even though Anakin technically does become him halfway through, Im talking about the suit) he doesn't make an appearance until one scene at the end that became iconic not for the reveal of a much loved character, but for an embarrassing exclamation. Aside from this decision weakening the first two parts (they both end up feeling like set up in the grand scheme of things, something episodes 4 and 5 never did), it meant audiences spent the majority of Episode 3 waiting for the climax, actually weakening what was the strongest entry in the prequel trilogy. Had Vader made his appearance earlier in the film (or the series), then Lucas dream of having the two trilogies tie together seamlessly would be a step closer. Instead, the marketing emphasised this problem. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0BWpIFZGDc