With the increasing number of poorly written films out there of late, especially from big studios, I thought it might be good to see what particular bad writing element(s) tick us off the most.
In my case, I think the two worst are:
1) Plots where the only reason the antagonist achieves anything is stupidity on the part of the protagonists. I positively despise this type of lazy writing. This is stuff like the group of people with one of them being a secret baddie, and the only reason their identity is not immediately revealed is people not talking to each other and/or making obvious observations. A major example of this is the Star Wars Prequels where the only reason Palpatine succeeds is that every other character is outright stupid.
2) Heavy handed lecturing. Yes I know writers want to put "socially relevant" material in their screenplays. All well and good. But make your points without lecturing me. My tendency nowadays is to turn the movie off once I detect I am being lectured to. Commentary can be made but needs to be in the background. An example of a movie that lectures the viewer is Elysium, and it was one reason the film was unwatchable.
What do you think?
In my case, I think the two worst are:
1) Plots where the only reason the antagonist achieves anything is stupidity on the part of the protagonists. I positively despise this type of lazy writing. This is stuff like the group of people with one of them being a secret baddie, and the only reason their identity is not immediately revealed is people not talking to each other and/or making obvious observations. A major example of this is the Star Wars Prequels where the only reason Palpatine succeeds is that every other character is outright stupid.
2) Heavy handed lecturing. Yes I know writers want to put "socially relevant" material in their screenplays. All well and good. But make your points without lecturing me. My tendency nowadays is to turn the movie off once I detect I am being lectured to. Commentary can be made but needs to be in the background. An example of a movie that lectures the viewer is Elysium, and it was one reason the film was unwatchable.
What do you think?