12 Terrible Movies That Blew Awesome Concepts

1. Downsizing

The Pitch

A sci-fi dramedy from Alexander Payne (Sideways, The Descendants), where Paul and Audrey Safranek (Matt Damon and Kristen Wiig) decide to undergo an experimental new procedure, shrinking themselves down in order to escape their financial problems and live a more prosperous life.

But when Audrey bails out at the last minute, a miniature Paul is now forced to re-evaluate his life choices.

Given the current state of the global economy and the growing trend of families taking drastic measures to secure their economics futures, Payne's film came jam-packed with satirical promise - especially given his prior Oscar-winning success, not to forget his fantastic cast.

As such, Downsizing was widely expected to be a major Best Picture Oscar threat in late 2017.

What Went Wrong

After a compelling first act establishes the premise and places Paul in this wacky predicament, Payne finds himself lost as writer-director, unable to pull the alluring scenario in any further interesting direction.

Rather, the bulk of the movie's bloated remnants are needlessly devoted to Hong Chau's Vietnamese activist character, in a subplot that's more grating, charmless and misguided than politically relevant.

Rather than serve as a stinging satire about late capitalism that makes the most of Damon and Wiig's charms, it's a ham-fisted piece of environmental hand-wringing that feels like somebody making a half-baked effort to emulate Payne's style above all else.

Despite releasing barely a year ago in most markets, Downsizing has already been long-forgotten.

What do you make of these movies and their neat ideas? How should they have been improved? Shout it out in the comments!