12 Movies That Were Ruined By One Dumb Decision

7. The Length - Avatar

You could put any film that's way too long here, but Avatar stands out because it does very little to justify its 161 minute run time. It's not a terrible movie, but lacks the oomph of some of James Cameron's other films. It's now customary for movies to skew longer, helping create the illusion of worth; the only film in the ten highest grossing films of all time to come in at less than two hours is Frozen. But often it is just padding to ensure audiences think they're seeing something big.

This is painfully true with Avatar, a film that really doesn't have a second act. Oh sure, it adheres to the three-act structure, but between Jake meeting the Na'vi and the humans gearing up for a final assault on the Tree of Souls there's little narrative drive. There're lots of musing and walks through pretty scenery, but that's really it; you could leave the cinema for an hour and not struggle to catch up. For all its majesty, Avatar is a pretty simple story.

This is something that was picked up on and mocked relentlessly in the months following release, although it was always in reference to originality, not actual entertainment. That Cameron's sci-fi has an identical plot to FernGully doesn't matter when it's a good presentation of that story. What does matter is when it's over double the length and adds little additional stuff to proceedings.