Some lines of dialogue are bad because of delivery or how poorly they aged but other times the writing is just so bad, they were never going to work.
There is a slate of films on the schedule for fall 2022 and winter 2023 including blockbusters like Avatar: The Way of Water, Halloween Ends, and many more. This should come as a relief to fans who have had to suffer through a summer of few releases, but they would be wise to remember that these films are still unreviewed and that odds are some of these films are not going to end up being well-received.
One of the potential reasons for these films flopping could be the dialogue. There are many aspects that go into making a good film but when the dialogue is just plain bad, it can be difficult to take a film seriously, not matter how it's delivered. Redditors love to write about the worst pieces of dialogue, both in good and bad films and each points to how even studio films can look amateurish if they don't put enough thought into the writing.
2022's Morbius has grown into something of a cult film thanks to the many memes surrounding the film in regard to its strange dialogue and directorial choices. Reddit user valkdoor posts one of the lines from the film as the worst piece of dialogue they've heard, "It's lethal to bats….but deadly to humans".
The line is made even more terrible by the fact that the speaker, Morbius, is supposedly a scientist. It's a completely illogical line and definitely missed a step in rewrite, because lethal and deadly have the same meaning. There's no need to separate those two points.
Deep Blue Sea is best remembered as the film that unceremoniously killed Samuel L. Jackson, but it's also important to point out that the rest of the film is a mess with some horrendous dialogue. Redditor Positive-Source8205 posts, "We made their brains bigger. As a consequence, they got smarter."
The scientists in the film have been developing ways to combat Alzheimer's disease by testing in sharks. They end up increasing the intelligence of the sharks to the point that the sharks start hunting the humans. Instead of revealing over the course of the film what is happening or showing instead of telling, the dialogue simply states it in very matter-of-fact way.
Even Michael Bay's best movies have never been the go-to examples of good film writing, he tends to focus on action and set pieces rather than dialogue. But Reddit user Ruffian00012 posts a particularly egregious example from Pearl Harbor, "I think World War 2 just started." The events of Pearl Harbor, which are shown in the film, happened on December 7, 1941, two years after the war's official start.
It doesn't get much more jingoistic than Americans deciding World War II didn't start until they got involved. It's also a completely unnecessary line, anyone watching won't have the need for any character to spell out the repercussions of Pearl Harbor.
Roland Emmerich has made some of the best disaster movies. But when it comes to the dialogue that tries to explain the disasters, audiences are often left wanting. In fact, it might be better if the director just chose not to explain why a catastrophe is happening rather than make something up.
Redditor Parkimedes posts an example of when Emmerich probably should have just left the science alone, "The neutrinos coming from the sun have mutated into a new kind of nuclear particle. They're heating up the earth's core and suddenly act like microwaves." This is complete gibberish. 2012didn't need to explain the reason behind the events of the film and when it tries to, the dialogue just gets ridiculous.
Amazon's The Tomorrow War is one of the most expensive films ever released on a streaming platform and actually performed fairly well for critics considering many called it paint-by-numbers for the genre. But the CGI, clever premise, and effort that seemed to be put in the film were all pluses.
Reddit user McRambis, however, posts some laughable dialogue as the reason the film doesn't completely work, "If protecting my family means saving the world, then that's what I'm going to do." The implication from this line is that if protecting his family did not require saving the world, then Chris Pratt's character would decline to do so. Not what most audiences want from their action hero.
Plan 9 From Outer Space is widely considered one of the worst films ever made and often makes the number one spot on ranked charts. It is a fiasco from every possible angle, special effects like spaceships made of paper plates, technical errors, and wooden acting. And, of course, the dialogue is atrocious.
Redditor truckturner5164 gives a few examples such as, "Future events such as these will affect you…in the future". Absurd dialogue like this is as painful to hear as it is to read. The story itself is incredibly convoluted and terrible dialogue like this does not help to orient any viewers attempting to watch.
One of the fantastic reveals of the second Doctor Strange film was the introduction of the Illuminati in another universe. The Illuminati, as any Marvel fan knows, is an organization of Earth's most powerful heroes. They are very prevalent in the comics and in no way a minor part of the universe. However, they have never appeared in the MCU so when it appeared, it marked a big moment.
And it's why Reddit user Sagzmir thinks Doctor Strange's line to them is so bad, "The Illumin-what-i?" The word Illuminati is not a particularly unusual word in any universe so why he had trouble with it is odd. But the real issue is how obvious it was the filmmakers were trying to make sure audiences understood what the organization was.
Choppy dialogue is almost a trademark of Christopher Nolan films. His characters don't always speak like real people, instead issuing out lines that are meant to be expository rather than character revealing. Redditor paulinuhhh points out one of his worst lines from Tenet, "Everyone will die. Including my son!"
It's stating the obvious, but if everyone dies, Elizabeth Debicki's character's son would be included under "everyone". It's a redundant and useless line that only serves to remind the audience the character has a child and doesn't belong near a high budget sci-fi thriller.
The three prequel Star Wars films were the only three to be directed by George Lucas save for the original film in the series, A New Hope. He has proven himself time and again a much better producer and world builder than scriptwriter and director of actors. Reddit user Norwester77 points to one of his worst lines in the series, "From my point of view, the Jedi are evil!"
This line has been mocked roundly for its self-seriousness and ridiculous tone. A general rule of writing is to show a character's emotions rather than tell them. Anakin rattles off his exact feelings here in a way no one ever would.
The Last Airbender, the live-action film version of the beloved animated Avatar: The Last Airbender show was criticized for many reasons, not least of which was its terrible dialogue. Redditor MrLee723 mentions a particularly ridiculous line, "It’s time to show the Fire Nation that we believe in our beliefs as much as they believe in theirs".
M. Night Shyamalan has never been excellent at writing dialogue, but this line is one of his worst. The structure of the sentence wouldn't pass a high school English class. With three uses of "believe" right in a row, it looks like the editors missed this line.
Zach Moser is a 28 year old Philadelphia native who loves films, television, books, and any and all media he can get his hands on. Between catching up on the latest tv shows, films, and sports, Zach can be found exploring the hidden restaurants and bars found throughout the city. Zach has had articles published on satire sites like Flexx, Boston Accent, Robotbutt, and The Needling. Zach’s particularly enjoys writing ScreenRant Lists about film and actor accomplishments for Lord of the Rings and horror films.
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