Is there anything worse than being disappointed by a movie? Sure, poverty, famine, and the fact that Adam Sandler is still allowed to work in Hollywood after making so many Godawful "comedies" are all probably worse, but for the sake of this article, let's pretend that there isn't. Given the levels of hype that can surround the release of new and long-awaited films, then, it's only normal that we often find ourselves feeling a little bit short-changed by those movies with a lot of built-in expectations. We spend so much time imagining what might happen - or what should happen - that it's difficult for filmmakers to match what we have conjured up in our heads. So join us now as we cast our gaze back across the last 14 years to bring you our definitive list of the 20 Most Disappointing Films of the 2000s. These are the films that - in the months before their release - kept us up at night just counting down the days until they were shipped into cinemas and our dreams could come true. Unfortunately, the final products didn't live up to anywhere near what we hooped they might, and we're still not over it. Not by a long shot. It's important to mention that many of the films here are not necessarily "bad" films; disappointing is a very different beast indeed, so try to keep that in mind as you peruse our choices...
20. Quantum Of Solace (2008)
Given how successfully Casino Royale managed to rebrand and reboot Bond for a new generation of fans, exorcising the majority of the hammy, dated and goofy elements inherent to the franchise in the process, there was much riding on is follow-up, the tragically named Quantum of Solace. Alas, it was not meant to be. Daniel Craig returned as 007, then, but the plot - more of an epilogue to Casino Royale - felt thinly drawn and weak. So what we got instead was a movie consisting of set-piece after set-piece, with no narrative meat to keep us all that invested in what was happening. And it didn't help that many of the action sequences were edited into incomprehension - almost as if to challenge the Bourne franchise in a shaky-cam contest. So whereas Casino Royale felt like something akin to an epic novel, Quantum of Solace came to us like a half-assed short story.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
