Top 10 Decisions That Ruined the Movie
#10: Sewing Deadpool’s Mouth Shut
“X-Men Origins: Wolverine” (2009)
As far as rollouts go, Deadpool’s debut in “X-Men Origins” went less than smoothly. In a move that fundamentally undermined the character’s appeal, the Merc with the Mouth’s mouth was sewn shut for the final act. Why? Reportedly, the head of Fox thought it was “cheesy” for Deadpool to talk during the film’s climactic showdown. Though Ryan Reynolds was unhappy with how Deadpool was portrayed in “Origins,” the studio effectively made him play this version of Deadpool or risk giving up the chance to play the character in the future. Clearly, Fox didn’t know what they had with Deadpool at the time, but fortunately they didn’t completely ruin the image of the character, allowing Deadpool to get a much needed do-over in 2016.
#9: Making a Live Action Adaptation
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“The Lion King” (2019)
With Jon Favreau directing and James Earl Jones returning, Disney pulled out all the stops for this photorealistic computer-animated movie. Unfortunately, the estimated $250–260 million budget and the vocal talents of a multitude of high profile actors, did not please many. Yes, “The Lion King” was one of 2019’s highest grossing movies and it made more than $1.6 billion globally, but it basically rehashed the plot of the original and brought barely anything new to the table. Meanwhile, the special effects could only do so much when it came to making animal emotions believable - they made everything look more weird than anything else. Some critics and moviegoers would even go so far to say it insults the legacy of 1994 flick.
#8: Replacing Bryan Singer with Brett Ratner
“X-Men: The Last Stand” (2006)
Thanks to Bryan Singer’s direction, “X-Men” and “X-Men United” are highly regarded films in the franchise. However, Singer wasn’t able to direct the third “X-Men” film because he was busy with “Superman Returns.” After he left production, Matthew Vaughn was signed to direct, but personal reasons caused him to back out before filming. Brett Ratner then took over, and the quality of the franchise took what’s agreed upon by many as an immediate downturn. Further adding to this film’s woes, because of studio interference, the Phoenix storyline, which had been built up over the previous two films, was greatly diminished to make room for anew plot about developing a cure for mutants, ultimately leaving an unsatisfying ending to the original trilogy.
#7: Shoehorning in Stuff for an Expanded Universe
“The Mummy” (2017)
Trying to replicate the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Universal had ambitious plans to build their own Dark Universe, which would incorporate classic villains such as Dr. Jekyll, Frankenstein and the Invisible Man. The 2017 version of “The Mummy” was supposed to kick off the Dark Universe and set the plan in motion. However, the film spent so much time trying to build a cinematic universe that it forgot to put in effort where it most mattered - the actual movie. When “The Mummy” failed to deliver at the box office, Universal had to pull the plug on the entire project.
#6: Squeezing in Too Many Villains
“Spider-Man 3” (2007)
Besides Emo Peter, the most common complaint of “Spider-Man 3” is its lack of focus regarding villains. Originally, director Sam Raimi didn’t want to include Venom in the third film, on account of the character’s “lack of humanity.” Instead, he just wanted Sandman to be the main villain that Spider-Man fought. However, the producers pressured Raimi into including Venom because of the character’s popularity. The end result was a juggling act between Venom, Harry Osborn as the New Goblin, and the Sandman that came off as painfully uneven. As this film and other superhero movies have learned the hard way… when it comes to villains, less is often more.
#5: Most Celebrity Cameos
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“Zoolander 2” (2016)
One of the highlights from the original “Zoolander” was the many memorable celebrity cameos. To recapture the same magic of the first film, “Zoolander 2” crammed in even more familiar faces, with everyone from Benedict Cumberbatch playing a model who doesn’t identify by a gender to Neil DeGrasse Tyson dropping some scientific knowledge. While some of these cameos worked, many of them dragged the film down. Everyone agreed that “Zoolander 2” wasn’t as good as the first, and the movie ended up grossing only a little more than its budget. Unfortunately, celebrity cameos don’t automatically translate to laughs - or ticket sales.
#4: Switching from Tim Burton to Joel Schumacher
“Batman Forever” (1995)
Unhappy with “Batman Returns” underperforming at the box office, studio executives at Warner Brothers decided to replace Tim Burton. This was seen as a move to tone down on the violence that was found in Burton’s “Batman” films, and make something that wasn’t as dark. Joel Schumacher was brought in to direct “Batman Forever”; the end result was certainly lighter, but it tipped the scales to the point of being full-blown camp. Everything from the sets to the acting was outlandish, and these issues only got worse with the next film in the series, “Batman and Robin”. The franchise essentially collapsed under the weight of its own silliness.
#3: CGI Suit
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“Green Lantern” (2011)
To be fair, there probably was no single factor that derailed this film - its failure was the cumulative result of MANY bad decisions. But without a doubt, one of the biggest criticisms was making the suit CGI rather than spandex or leather. The CGI effects were overused and unconvincing. In interviews, “Green Lantern” star Ryan Reynolds said he hated the CGI suit in part because he reportedly didn’t even know what he would look like as the Green Lantern until the movie’s premiere. The infamous suit would later become a punchline in Reynold’s next major superhero outing, 2016’s “Deadpool.”
#2: Subverting All Expectations
“Star Wars: The Last Jedi” (2017)
Sure, “Star Wars” has made mistakes in the past, such as George Lucas’s decision to introduce Anakin Skywalker as a little boy in “Phantom Menace”, or create a character as insufferable as Jar Jar Binks. But with director Rian Johnson’s radical approach, “The Last Jedi” may have crossed an even bigger line. Fans waited two years after “The Force Awakens” to see how the storylines J.J. Abrams set up would be resolved. However, “The Last Jedi” director Rian Johnson essentially tore down or dismissed much of what J.J. Abrams established. Many fans weren’t happy with these resolutions, and as such, “The Last Jedi” is largely seen as the most polarizing “Star Wars” entry.
Before we get to our number one pick, here are a few (dis)honorable mentions.
Superman Reshoots
“Justice League” (2017)
Making the Remake ‘Family-Friendly’
“Robocop” (2014)
General Retooling
“Fantastic Four” (2015)
Superman vs. Zod: Metropolis’ & Zod’s Destruction
A Theatrical Ending That Deviated from the Director’s Version (& the Source Material)
“I Am Legend” (2007)
#1: Making It a Trilogy
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“The Hobbit” franchise (2012-14)
With his adaptation of “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, Peter Jackson was hailed as one of the most visionary filmmakers of his generation. Unfortunately, when he decided to adapt “The Hobbit” as a trilogy, his final product was not nearly as well received. Simply put, the 1937 Tolkien story was not an epic trilogy, but rather a short novel, and had no business being adapted into three separate films. To stretch the source material out, Jackson had to pad scenes by adding in stories from other Tolkien works. Although there are fans who like the “Hobbit” movies, the overall reaction is more mixed.
