10 Great Movies with Weak First Acts

Movies need to have strong first acts to hook audiences. This is especially important in an era where the supply is higher than demand. Thanks to streaming services, cinephiles have a large buffet to pick from, so they are unlikely to be too patient. Unfortunately, only a few directors and screenwriters ever manage to create perfect introductions. There are several cases where films started badly, but got much better in the second and third acts.

There are likely to be millions of people who pressed the stop button on the remote or walked out of theaters while these movies were playing, but they sure did make the wrong choice, because there are great rewards for the patient viewers. For many of the films, the slow starts made the entire project weaker than it ought to have been, while for others, it was beneficial as it ensured proper world-building before things got rolling.

10 Sleepaway Camp (1983)

In Sleepaway Camp, young Angela is forced to live with her aunt and cousin when her parents are accidentally killed. Years later, her aunt sends her to Camp Arawak, and soon after her arrival, strange murders begin happening. All clues point to her as the suspect, but the confirmation on whether she is doing it, and why, is reserved for later in the movie.

Takes a While Before Things Get Bloody

Sleepaway Camp is undoubtedly one of the scariest horror movies of the ‘80s, but the first 30 minutes will make anyone question why it’s held in high regard. The accident, followed by the mischief the teenagers engage in at the camp, doesn’t do much to get audiences excited. Once the introductory phase is over, the events get very bloody. One minute, a person is getting shot in the neck with an arrow, and the next, someone is unleashing a swarm of bees on a bully while he is in the bathroom. The ending is even more mind-blowing, as it reveals that Angela was never a girl. Stream on Peacock

9 Taken (2008)

Taken

Release Date

February 18, 2008

Rating

PG-13

Runtime

91

Former Green Beret, Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson), already has a big enough headache at the start of Taken. He is trying to reconnect with his teenage daughter, but just as he thinks he is making strides, she gets kidnapped by sex traffickers. Angry, he goes on a mission to find out who did it and make them pay.

A Slow Set-Up

It’s not until Bryan utters the iconic words, “I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you,” that the film truly comes to life. Before that, it’s all a daddy-daughter argument contest, and it’s impossible to tell that Bryan will turn out to be such a cool action hero later on. Still, this first part helps to highlight the deep connection that the protagonist has with his daughter. He loves her dearly, hence the reason he quickly morphs from a humble man to a killing machine when she gets taken. Stream on Netflix

8 Groundhog Day (1993)

Groundhog Day

Release Date

February 11, 1993

Rating

PG

Runtime

101

Groundhog Day is about the TV weatherman, Phil Connors (played by Bill Murray), who finds himself reliving February 2 again and again after heading to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to cover the annual Groundhog Day event. After a few days, he begins using the loop to his advantage by engaging in activities such as robberies, one-night stands, and binge-eating, knowing he won’t have to pay for any of his actions.

Phil Is a Whiny Protagonist

It’s hard to tell how great the movie is going to be while watching the first act. Phil is snobbish and full of lamentations, complaining about everything, including a job that pays him well. The first act doesn’t prepare audiences for the loop either. It just happens suddenly, but once it does, events get exciting. The film dives into both the good and the bad, exploring themes like suicide and irresponsibility, and when Phil becomes a better man, audiences get to see him doing his best to change the world and learn to appreciate love. Stream on MGM+

7 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

Rogue One

Release Date

December 14, 2016

Rating

PG-13

Runtime

133

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, received mixed reviews at first, but it has developed a cult following. James Gunn even called it the most underrated Star Wars movie. In it, the life of the former scientist, Galen Erso, is turned upside down when the villain, Orson Krennic, kidnaps him. Galen goes on to become a high-ranking engineer for the Empire, with his main task being to construct the deadliest weapon in the galaxy. Soon, his daughter teams up with resistance fighters to stop the Empire from using the weapon.

No Action Until We Reach Scarif

The Star Wars franchise is partly known for the jargon (aliens, weapons, and planets have interesting names) and the plot, but it mostly thrives because of the action sequences. Sadly, Rogue One deprives fans of this element in the first act. It’s only until a section of protagonists heads to Planet Scarif to acquire some schematics that things get interesting. However, the slow build-up isn’t necessarily a bad thing in this case, because the extended dialogue helps explain plenty of subplots that would have been hard for even staunch franchise fans to understand. Stream on Disney+

6 Death Proof (2007)

Death Proof

Release Date

May 22, 2007

Rating

R

Runtime

113

It’s a shame that Quentin Tarantino hasn’t done more action-horror movies, given how unique Death Proof is. The plot revolves around the deranged Hollywood stuntman, Mike (Kurt Russel), who makes a habit of crashing his death-proofed car into other motorists, killing them in the process. Soon, he finds his match, courtesy of a group of young fearless women.

45 Minutes Where Nothing Happens

Death Proof’s first 45 minutes are part of the reason why it’s one of Quentin Tarantino’s lowest-grossing movies. Nothing much goes on. All that Mike or the women do is banter and gossip, leaving audiences wondering what the film is all about. Their conversations don’t add any value to the plot, so they ought to have been scrapped. Thankfully, the pace picks up and remains consistent to the final act, where one of the most exciting chase sequences in cinema happens. Stream on Paramount+

5 Act of Valor (2012)

Act of Valor

Release Date

February 24, 2012

Cast

Alexander Asefa , Drea Castro , Jason Cottle , Aurelius DiBarsanti , Timothy Gibbs , Carla Jimenez

Rating

R

Runtime

111

Act of Valor’s protagonists are Navy SEALs, who discover a plot to conduct a terrorist attack on U.S. soil. With assistance from the CIA, they work hard to bring down the terrorist ring, with their mission taking them to the Mexico border. During this time, they also do their best to juggle unforeseen family issues.

Casting Real-Life Navy SEALS

The majority of the film’s cast are active-duty U.S. Navy Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen and U.S. Navy SEALs, so they can all be forgiven for their lack of proper acting abilities. Unfortunately, the first act dwells on their interactions, so the performance-related weaknesses become glaring. Once they are thrown into their playground and start firing guns, the movie becomes a thrilling ride until the very end. Stream on Max

4 To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

To Kill A Mockingbird

Release Date

December 20, 1962

Director

Robert Mulligan

Cast

gregory peck , John Megna , Frank Overton , Rosemary Murphy , Ruth White , Brock Peters

Rating

NONE

Runtime

129

Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book of the same name by Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird centers around a white lawyer, Atticus, defending a Black man named, Tom, against a rape charge. The movie explores racial tensions in America and is held in high regard by many parties. At the time of its release, it was nominated for eight Oscars, winning three.

Scout in the Spotlight

To Kill a Mockingbird dedicates most of its early minutes to Atticus’ daughter, Scout. The film initially focuses on her experiences growing up and what life with her widowed father was like. This makes little sense, considering that she doesn’t play any major part in the main plot, which involves the trial. A better approach would have involved focusing on Tom’s background story, showing the kind of man he was before fate threw him a curveball. Rent on Prime Video

3 The Mist (2007)

Adapted from the Stephen King novella of the same name, The Mist follows David Drayton (Thomas Jane) and his son as they and several other townsfolk try to battle monsters while trapped inside a supermarket. The situation develops after the military conducts a dangerous classified experiment, opening a portal that causes a mist and attracts several deadly creatures.

A Dull First 40 Minutes

The adaptation’s first 40 minutes are extremely dull. David spends his time bantering with his wife, bonding with his son, or arguing with his neighbor. When a deadly storm suddenly occurs, it creates the impression that this is going to be a natural disaster movie. When David and his son head to the supermarket to get supplies, the tension picks up, followed by full-blown horror.

The Mist’s dark ending is even more iconic, and it has been widely praised by both genre buffs and King himself. In it, David shoots everyone he had escaped with (to spare them a harsher death from the claws of the monsters), only to learn that the military was seconds away from saving them. Stream on Starz

2 Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)

kingsman

Release Date

December 13, 2014

Rating

R

Runtime

129

In Kingsman: The Secret Service, life is initially tough for youngster Gary “Eggsy” Unwin (Taron Egerton) until he is approached by a dapper man to join a spy organization. He soon learns that his father was a member of the same secret agency, and after completing his training, he is given the tough task of stopping the eco-terrorist, Richmond Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson), from wiping out half of the world’s population.

A Visual Spectacle with Little Substance

The spy flick starts strong, but it’s all very confusing because there is no explanation given as to why certain characters are fighting stylishly or why Eggsy is committing crimes. It’s only after the introduction of a senior agent known as Harry that things start to make sense, and that doesn’t happen until 30 minutes into the film. Thankfully, it’s a smooth cruise from there on, and the film serves one amazing action sequence after the next. Harry’s battle with a religious hate group inside a charge is awe-inspiring. Stream on Max

1 One Cut of the Dead (2017)

One Cut of the Dead

Release Date

November 4, 2017

Director

Shin’ichirô Ueda

Cast

Takayuki Hamatsu , Yuzuki Akiyama , Harumi Shuhama , Kazuaki Nagaya , Hiroshi Ichihara , Mao

One Cut of the Dead follows members of a film crew as they are shooting a zombie movie at an abandoned water plant. To make the events as realistic as possible, the director comes up with strategies to revive zombies that are rumored to have resided in the plant years ago. His wish becomes a reality, and they start attacking, but a major twist is thrown in later on, revealing that things aren’t exactly as they seem.

Seemingly Baffling Character Motivations

In the film’s first section, audiences are never informed why the director takes such a drastic approach. It all seems very idiotic on his part, and what’s more baffling is that the crew members go along with the ridiculous plan. However, things aren’t exactly as they seem. Several twists pop up later on, including one that reveals that this particular film crew was being filmed by another crew. There are also several behind-the-scenes revelations, notably that all this is being done to help launch a Zombie network on television. Stream on AMC+