11 Awful Opening Scenes In Otherwise Awesome Movies

2. Too. Much. Everything - The Deer Hunter

The Movie: This Best Picture-winning masterpiece may be a tough sit at 183 minutes in length, but it's hard to argue with the excellent performances, evocative direction and devastating script, all of which conspire to make The Deer Hunter one of the quintessential war movies, about Vietnam or otherwise, ever made.

The Scene: After the opening credits, the film introduces the audience to all of the principal characters during their work at a steel mill, engaging in banter as prep continues for Steven's (John Savage) upcoming wedding, and Nick's (Christopher Walken) girlfriend Linda (Meryl Streep) has to deal with her drunk, belligerent father. Alright, so it's a few scenes, but given the film's length, it's basically all the intro.

Why It Sucks: The film's opening hour is easily the most problematic aspect, with the wedding sequence not finishing until about 50 minutes in, while the men don't arrive at Vietnam until well past the hour mark. Those opening scenes, where De Niro talks about clouds and the guys try to screw with a lorry which cuts them off, just aren't all that interesting, and the film could easily enough open at the 14-minute mark, where the guys are at a bar, counting down their time before heading to war. That way, there's just a short lead in to the start of the wedding sequence, and it makes the first act feel a little less brutal while retaining most of the initial required context. If there's ever a movie that feels over-burdened with character scenes, it's The Deer Hunter.