13 Overlooked Positives About 2015’s Worst Movies

5. Michael Mann Returns To Lower-Budget Films - Blackhat

The Movie: Michael Mann's Chris Hemsworth-starring cyber-thriller was dumped in the cinematic graveyard of January and failed to recoup even one-third of its $70 million budget, widely criticised for the poor performances, offputting retro style (complete with CGI journeys through wires and circuit-boards) and an excessive run-time. Most people who saw it will probably remember little of the experience. The Overlooked Positive: Blackhat's bombing marks the third straight big-budget film from Mann to flop, following on from the calamitous Miami Vice and underwhelming Public Enemies (which at least doubled its budget, but still flew far below expectations), and believe it or not, this just might be a good thing for the director. These three films cost $135 million, $100 million and $70 million respectively, while Mann's more successful films have tended to verge on the slightly more modest side: Heat tripled its $60 million budget, while Collateral also tripled its $65 million cost. Then we go back to Ali, which somehow came at an insane $107 million price tag and, true to formula, didn't even make its budget back. Mann clearly needs a producer willing to rein in his excesses and slash his budgets down, and so while his upcoming Christian Bale-starring Enzo Ferrari biopic will need some money behind it, Ron Howard's Rush recently proved that it's possible to make an exhilarating, good-looking racing film on less than $40 million. And let's face it, Mann will not be getting Miami Vice, Public Enemies or Blackhat money to make this film. If Mann doesn't drive the budget up with re-shoots and over-runs, this can only be a good thing for him, to learn a little more discipline and, like the Wachowskis, get away from the bloated productions.