Have you ever shown a friend a movie only to hear them say "I don't get it," as the
credits roll?
Look, everyone has their own tastes and that’s great — but sometimes the confusion and
disconnect actually comes from the movie itself being intentionally confusing, high-concept,
or just clumsily made.
Let's go over some of these films that make people say "huh?", and pat ourselves on the
back for the ones we know inside and out.
Spoilers ahead!
"Now that’s a proper introduction"
Arrival
This 2016 alien invasion film offers a twist on the popular genre by focusing the plot
on efforts to communicate with the aliens across a very tricky language barrier.
It's a slower, more low-key storyline.
We spend most of the movie with Amy Adams’ world renowned linguist character as she tries
connecting with the interstellar beings — and begins to understand their complex language.
As the movie goes along, we also get to see flashes of her character in another life,
caring for a daughter that, we as the audience, know is doomed to die young.
While it’s natural to assume that what we're seeing are flashbacks, it turns out we're
witnessing a tragedy that actually hasn't happened yet.
We learn at the film's climax — along with Adams' character — that the aliens have
their own more circular way of perceiving time, and the bond that they build with Adams
ends up allowing her to see into the future as they do.
While it's among 2016's most critically acclaimed wide releases, Arrival earned a B Cinemascore,
suggesting a decent number of people walked away somewhat confused.
With its complicated, somewhat challenging plot-twist, that's understandable, but ultimately
a shame.
This flick is truly a cinematic joy.
And then, on the other side of the spectrum...
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Oh boy.
This movie isn't confusing because it's too smart for the audience or anything like that
— it's mostly that it just doesn't make any sense.
From Wonder Woman's motivations to the basic structure of the plot — Batman v Superman
is a movie that barely hangs together, and only scrapes by thanks to sound and spectacle.
The heavily criticized Martha moment wasn't just a head-scratching failure because it
was weird — even though it totally was.
The real problem was that it just wasn't enough to explain why Batman would suddenly decide
to not fulfill a mission he'd pursued obsessively to this point.
This movie does a lot to convince us that Batman believes, with absolute certainty,
that Superman is a danger to the world.
So, it really doesn’t make sense that having a mother with the same name would be enough
to deter Batman — and even have him describe himself as Superman's "friend" just a few
scenes later.
"I'm a friend of your sons."
"I figured.
The cape."
This, coupled with the movie's unexplained dream sequences and Jesse Eisenberg’s nutso
version of Lex Luthor makes the film feel fundamentally illogical, incomplete, and frustrating.
Lots of longtime fans of these characters were pretty upset with how the movie handled
the source material.
And if Batman v Superman was someone's introduction to the DC universe, they probably left the
theater wondering what the hell they just got themselves into.
Only God Forgives
Nicolas Winding Refn and Ryan Gosling followed up their dreamy and fantastic film Drive with
a hard left turn into the abstract with 2013’s Only God Forgives.
Taking the action to Thailand, Gosling stars as, essentially, a way less interesting, non-driving
version of his character from Drive.
He spends a big chunk of the movie wandering through the dreamy Bangkok cityscape, leaving
audiences to wonder "What the hell is going on?"
If that wasn't weird and off-putting enough, we're also treated to surreal karaoke sequences
from a character called both Lieutenant Chang and the Angel of Death, and described by the
director as, quote, "a mythological creature that has a mysterious past but cannot relate
to reality because he's heightened and he's pure fetish."
Uh, okay.
The entire movie is kinda like that, and it's not hard to imagine that some folks left the
theater feeling worried that they weren’t smart enough to understand it.
Well, here's some good news: there’s not actually much going on in this over-blown
film.
For anyone who left the movie feeling confused, don't sweat it: you were totally justified.
None of this makes any sense.
Prometheus
Fans and critics alike have talked about this movie’s puzzling failures quite a bit, but
there are plenty of good reasons to do so — especially when you consider just how
much potential Prometheus had.
The film is an ambiguous prequel in the Alien film franchise, but it unfortunately confused
audiences with everything from it characters' basic motivations to its strange conclusion.
"I think there might be some confusion about our relationship"
The truth is that Prometheus almost works — but it falls short as it spends a lot
of time hinting at plot and story, while failing to actually deliver the necessary parts that
make an audience care.
Even longtime fans were unable to connect to anything happening in front of them during
Prometheus.
It was so weird and fundamentally unsatisfying that it's no surprise the franchise is eager
to get some distance from this one.
Prometheus 2 has been renamed Alien: Covenant, and fans' hopes are high that it can bring
the franchise back to form.
The Butterfly Effect
Serious actor Ashton Kutcher's The Butterfly Effect is one of the dumbest movies ever to
remain essentially watchable while being completely illogical at the same time.
While you might think the movie makes sense, if you take even a second to really think
about the plot, it totally falls apart.
Kutcher's protagonist is blessed — or perhaps…cursed — with the ability to use old personal tokens
to phase back through time to memorable moments in his life.
And so he spends the bulk of the movie trying to fix his mistakes, usually only to emerge
in situations that are even worse.
The premise and baseline rule of the movie — that the slightest change can alter the
course of your life entirely — gets thrown out the window time and time again whenever
the script deems it necessary.
In one scene, as Kutcher tries to defend himself inside a violent prison, he goes back in time
to stab his hands, frightening the other inmates with his sudden new wounds.
But if going back in time to change the slightest thing changes everything, then why is Kutcher
still in jail?
Why did the wounds appear as if by magic, instead of appearing scarred over after what
should have been an entire life of having them?
Is it really worth it to try and figure out this movie's logic?
Well… no.
So if you don't get this one, don't worry too much — no one really does.
It's a great example of a pretty good idea that ultimately was poorly executed and left
much to be desired.
Ah, well.
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