Sometimes the log line of a movie (a one or two-line description of the story) is enough to reveal the plot's flaws.
And sometimes the movie gets made anyway. Here's the log line for "Geostorm":
The story follows a satellite engineer and former space shuttle commander who heads back into space to prevent climate-controlling satellites from creating a man-made storm of epic proportions. At the same time, he and his brother learn of a plot to assassinate the President.
Hmm, sounds like somebody had two familiar plot ideas and decided the way to refresh them is to mash them together. The Rotten Tomatoes summary of how the critics responded:
"Lacking impressive visuals, well-written characters, or involving drama, Geostorm aims for epic disaster-movie spectacle but ends up simply being a disaster of a movie."
My favorite line from the reviews: "Watching Gerard Butler solve a whodunit is like watching...chimpanzees move a piano downstairs." - Robbie Collin, Daily Telegraph
Apparently the production budget was $120 million (that doesn't count distribution/marketing costs, which often are double the production cost). One analyst estimated it would lose $100 million.
If only somebody had read that log line and said, "Wait a minute..."
