10 Upcoming Blockbusters That Could Massively Disappoint

3. Interstellar (November 6, 2014)

As one of the biggest directors in the industry that has seen his last three movies earn almost $3bn at the box office, Christopher Nolan is pretty much free to make any kind of movie he wants. After three hugely expensive blockbusters in a row, you'd think that maybe he'd scale down for his next project. Not a chance. Instead, Nolan has adapted an original sci-fi project that his brother had originally written for Steven Spielberg to direct, based on the ideas of theoretical physicist Kip Thorne. While Nolan is yet to make a truly awful movie, there are still several reasons why Interstellar could turn out to be a disappointment. On paper at least, Interstellar looks highly promising. Nolan himself has become one of the biggest brands in Hollywood, and the air of secrecy that surrounds his projects always builds up plenty of anticipation. Then there is the incredible cast, led by the resurgent Matthew McConaughey that also features Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Casey Affleck, John Lithgow, David Oyelowo, Matt Damon and of course, Michael Caine. The marketing materials so far have teased some spectacular visuals, that look to tell an intimate and personal story against an epic backdrop with the footage having a distinctly Kubrickian vibe. However, it remains to be seen how the absence of Nolan's longtime cinematographer Wally Pfister will impact the visuals, if at all. One of the major problems with Nolan's movies is that they tend to lack genuine emotion, and with Interstellar looking to be a lot less action-oriented than the director's recent efforts this could pose a serious problem in engaging audiences and creating emotional attachments to the characters. Then there is the premise of the movie itself; one of the weakest points of Nolan's writing is the way in which he delivers exposition, with the characters often delivering it in a blatantly obvious and heavy-handed manner. Sci-fi requires an awful lot of world building, and if the plot becomes too bogged down in explaining everything then the narrative can lose much of its dramatic power. While the movie will likely earn a massive amount of money at the box office, there is every chance that it could turn out to be one of the most underwhelming entries on the director's filmography.