Top 10 Movie Moments that Made Fans Rage Quit

Script written by Michael Wynands

Top 10 Movie Moments that Made Fans Rage Quit

Here’s a quick lesson in how to turn your audience against you. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the Top 10 Movie Moments That Made Fans Rage Quit.

For this list, we’ll be looking at the most cringeworthy, frustrating, insulting or otherwise unwelcome moments in films from popular franchises. If a moment made our list today, it was bad enough to drag the movie down with it, or maybe even cause the viewer to abandon the screening altogether.

#10: Wrecking Balls

“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” (2009)
The first Transformers film might have left something to be desired, but it was a mindless popcorn flick high on entertainment value. The sequel? Not so much. It’s as if director Michael Bay decided to throw away all semblance of effort and just appeal to the lowest common denominator. Quite frankly, we’re pretty sure there were tweenagers in the audience who felt this film insulted their intelligence. Skids and Mudflap were insufferable, but the real low point was when we were given a glimpse of Devastator’s clanking robotic testicles. The shot is as juvenile as the accompanying one-liner, and shows an obvious lack of respect for the source material.

#9: Galactus Is . . . a Cloud

“Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer” (2007)
Consider this an open letter to anyone in the film industry who works on a comic book adaptation: if you don’t think that a villain translates well from the page to the big screen, just leave them out of it and find yourself a more cinematically-suitable antagonist. We don’t care how iconic the villain is; we’d rather see a lesser one elevated to the big screen than a revered villain changed beyond recognition. Introducing the Silver Surfer in the 2007 Fantastic Four sequel was a solid move, and so too, we thought, was the inclusion of Galactus. Then they turned him into a dust cloud. The Devourer of Worlds deserved better.

#8: Talk to the Hand

“Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines” (2003)
Anyone who made it through the third Terminator film was likely a masochist, an experienced ragewatcher, or someone who already didn’t like the franchise. This movie was one rage quit worthy moment after another. In the previous films, when the T-800 comes to the present, there’s a great sequence where he acquires clothing. For the third film, the filmmakers decided to parody this tradition by having Arnie don sparkly Elton John shades. Or how about when they had the first female Terminator enlarge her breasts to emulate a Victoria’s Secret billboard? Of all the rage-inducing scenes though … it’s this cringeworthy line that hurts most. That’s the moment that the Terminator franchise died.

#7: The Mandarin’s True Identity

“Iron Man 3” (2013)
An open letter ... Part 2! The Mandarin is without a doubt one of Iron Man’s most iconic villains and yes, fans wanted to see him on the big screen. But here’s the thing: fans don’t always know what’s best. The Mandarin made his comic book debut in 1964, when racist caricatures were sadly commonplace. Over the decades, the character has evolved to become a much more well-developed and less stereotypical one, but his roots remain problematic. The solution? Leave the Mandarin out of the MCU. Because a bait and switch for something COMPLETELY different is something that NOBODY wanted. Rather than fixing the problem, it just added insult to injury.

#6: The Introduction and Continued Presence of Jar Jar Binks

“Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace” (1999)
Imagine the prequel trilogy without the Gungan menace. Sure, there’d still be bad dialogue, a weird focus on trade embargos, unnecessarily scientific explanations for the Force and, you know, too much SAND, but the films would be far more watchable. From the moment that Qui-Gon finds himself incapable of shaking the Gungan, the franchise is doomed. We get that Star Wars fans were insufferable in their demand for this trilogy, but were we so bad that George Lucas felt it necessary to punish us? Jar Jar Binks is a clown who isn’t funny, and who some claim was inspired by racist caricatures. Honestly, the only silver lining is that Sith Lord fan theory.

#5: Superman Kills Zod

“Man Of Steel” (2013)
The DC cinematic universe got off to a divisive start in 2013 with the release of Zack Snyder’s “Man of Steel”. Though undeniably stylish and beautifully shot, the film set itself apart from Superman films past with its dark tone, muted colors and inexperienced, reckless hero. Superman’s failure to take the battle away from Metropolis was frustrating for many fans. But it was the moment that audiences realized the hero was about to kill his foe that really broke hearts. For those with less emotional investment in the character, it was an interesting new direction for Superman. For those who idolize this pillar of morality however, it was sacrilege.

#4: Peter Parker: The Dancing Emo Kid

“Spider-Man 3” (2007)
Dear Sam Raimi, we get it - you were forced to cram Venom into the film. But did you need to go all Evil Dead/Army of Darkness on us in response with this campy take on Peter Parker? Armed with a new symbiote-induced sense of confidence, Tobey Maguire begins to act like a “cool guy”. Except he’s like a weird parody of a cool guy as interpreted by your deeply out of touch great uncle. It’s cringe cranked to 11. He dances, hits on random women, dresses like a Walmart emo kid and just generally acts like a jerk. This sequence completely shatters any suspension of disbelief, aggressively taking the audience out of the film.

#3: Nuking the Fridge

“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” (2008)
The fourth Indiana Jones film was reasonably well received by critics, but fans have a different opinion. You see, once upon a time, a beloved show called “Happy Days” tried to shake things up by having fan-favorite character Fonzie jump a shark on water skis. Since then, any such desperate, silly or gimmicky effort has been dubbed “jumping the shark”. Well, “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” has the dishonorable distinction of having given birth to a terminological successor: “nuking the fridge”. When Indy went from punching Nazis to riding out nuclear blasts in a refrigerator, it felt like an unfortunate departure from what made the franchise so great.

#2: Martha

“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” (2016)
Zack Snyder’s take on the DC’s greatest heroes was an uneven one to say the least. It started strong with some beautiful opening credits, and it certainly delivered on the action front. But the tone, convoluted plot and poor characterization seriously hurt the film. The dialogue was a problem from start to finish, but there was one exchange in particular that made fans quit. For whatever reason, Batman and Superman are incapable of talking things out until Superman says “save Martha”. Martha just so happens to be the name of both their mothers. We get what the screenwriters were going for, but it didn’t work, and it was the deathblow of an already floundering film.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions

Legolas Defies Gravity
“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” (2014)

Luke Throwing His Lightsaber
“Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi” (2017)

#1: Sewing Deadpool’s Mouth Shut

“X-Men Origins: Wolverine” (2009)
An open letter to filmmakers working on comic book adaptation Part 3 - the final chapter. When adapting a beloved character, feel free to make some minor changes and tweaks as demanded by the medium. What matters is that the essence of the character - what makes him or her tick - is preserved. You wouldn’t unkill Batman’s parents, or make Peter Parker a popular jock . . . so why would you seal the lips of a character known as the Merc with a Mouth?! The first Wolverine movie was all downhill after the excellent opening credits montage, but the reveal of Weapon XI was enough to make fans want to leave the theater.