There have been some truly terrible movies in 2016. They've come from all angles, too. Serious dramas like Demolition and Money Monster that aimed to be profound ultimately proved to be mortifyingly tedious. Comedies like Bad Grandpa and Zoolander 2 pushed cinephiles to the brink of tears, while the summer was peppered with blockbuster sequels that were just meh.
But in amidst the wave after wave of drudgery were films that, while still awful, actually had one or two scenes that were genuinely great. So much so that they made the films passable. Unfortunately, though, these scenes were usually just fleeting moments, and the films quickly returned to their normal ineptitude. Still, we here at CinemaBlend believe that these scenes shouldn't be lost and forgotten, and need to be rightfully remembered. So join with us as we celebrate 5 great scenes from really, really bad movies over the last 12 months.
Mechanic: Resurrection - Pool Assassination
Most of Mechanic: Resurrection is truly awful. Sure Jason Statham gamely puts his muscle-bound physique to the extreme in a number of death-defying scenes, but they're all so poorly executed and constructed that you just don't care. Then comes the pool sequence, which sees Jason Statham (his character has a different name but I prefer to think that Mechanic: Resurrection is a documentary of Statham on a Sunday afternoon) tasked with murdering Adrian Cook, who runs an underage trafficking ring in Sydney. The problem is Cook is completely guarded by tight security, and all Statham knows is that Cook swims at a specific point every day in his penthouse pool that hangs in mid-air around 100 stories in the air. That's all the opening Statham needs, though, as we're then meticulously shown how he gets into position to drill a huge hole in the glass that empties the pool and sees Adrian Cook fall to his death. It's wonderfully entertaining to watch.
The Bronze - A Very Flexible Sex Scene
The Bronze isn't funny. It's the cinematic equivalent of a 10-year-old boy that's learnt his first curse word and then repeatedly drops it into conversation for no reason other than to shock. But, towards the end of the film, there comes a moment where Melissa Rauch's Hope Ann Greggory drunkenly has sex with Sebastian Stan's Lance Tucker, her long time foe. What unfolds is akin to Team America: World Police's doll sex scene, as the duo use their flexibility and athletic prowess to do the no pants dance. It might legitimately be The Bronze's only funny moment, and it produces a series of hearty laughs. Even the revelation that Hope's boyfriend Ben Lawfort (Thomas Middleditch) spots them partaking in coitus doesn't wreck proceedings. It's just a shame that everything before and after does actually ruin The Bronze.
Suicide Squad - Deadshot's Arrival In Midway City
Suicide Squad was a tremendous disappointment. Not just that, though, it was also proof of how an abundance of cinematic potential can be squandered and ruined in the edit as the film's choppy rhythm resembled a music video with ADD. But it still had its moments, with Margot Robbie, Will Smith, Jai Courtney, Viola Davis, and, yes, even Jared Leto proving their monies worth in their roles. It was Smith as Deadshot that was particularly impressive, especially in the shootout sequence when the Suicide Squad actually arrive in Midway City and were becoming overwhelmed. Deadshot then comes in and saves the day, with Smith precisely bringing down the horde of monsters that were threatening to bring their quest to an early end. It's swift, cool, and the one moment where you think Suicide Squad could actually be good. Which makes it all the more depressing that it ultimately turned out to be such a colossal mess.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows -- Plane Jumping & Using A Tank As A Surfboard In The Jungle
No one ever expected Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows to actually be impressive, as the first film, while sometimes enjoyable, lacked the personality or humor to make it standout. Out Of The Shadows was more of the same, just with all of the villains from the Turtles' history stuffed in there. It's both bloated and idiotic, with underwhelming action scenes. All except for one, which sees Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Donatello jumping from one plane to another to confront BeBop and Rocksteady. In their subsequent fight the plane crash lands in the Brazilian jungle. But the fun doesn't stop there as BeBop and Rocksteady basically use a tank as a surfboard in pursuit of the turtles and the MacGuffin required to drive the plot forward. It's very, very stupid and always verging on being overly preposterous, but in the end it avoids them to just be a whole lot of fun.
Now You See Me 2 - Card Throw Scene
2016 was the year of the pointless sequels. Zoolander, Turtles, and Independence Day were just three of numerous follow-ups that were a complete waste of time. Now You See Me 2 was another that just seemed a little superfluous. But there was one scene in Now You See Me 2 that made it worthwhile. This saw the Four Horseman breaking into a facility to steal a data-mining chip, which they have to hide behind a card in order to sneak it out. Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), McKinney (Woody Harrelson), Wilder (Dave Franco), and Lula (Caplan) pass this card between the four of them with mesmerizing skill and deception, while the scene is peppered with humor, mystery, and tension, too. It's 10 minutes of pure joy. Just a shame that the remaining 2 hours is the complete opposite.
