Top 10 Movies That Were Supposed to Be Amazing
Top 10 Movies That Should Have Been Amazing
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Oh, come on! What the heck happened!? Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 10 Movies That Should Have Been Amazing. For this list, we’ll be looking at movies that were extremely hyped before release thanks to their franchise’s history and the legacy of its characters. We aren’t saying that all of these movies are terrible (although some certainly are). We’re just saying that they were massive letdowns after the incredible hype that preceded their release.
#10: “Terminator: Dark Fate” (2019)
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Oh, how silly we were to put our hope in “Dark Fate.” Let’s be honest, “The Terminator” series has been on the decline since 1991. And despite the abomination that was “Genisys,” we held out hope for “Dark Fate” thanks to two things. Or should we say, names – Linda Hamilton and James Cameron. Both were returning to the series for the first time since “T2,” and “Dark Fate” was serving as a continuation of that story. In other words, it was doing the same “ignore all the sequels” thing that “Halloween” did the previous year. Only “Dark Fate” wasn’t nearly as successful. “Dark Fate” was just another mediocre “Terminator” sequel, and by this point, we should just terminate the franchise altogether.
#9: “Solo: A Star Wars Story” (2018)
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Disney’s track record with “Star Wars” has been hit and miss, but they really dropped the ball with “Solo.” Coming out on the heels of “The Force Awakens,” “Rogue One,” and “The Last Jedi,” audiences were starting to experience franchise overload by the time “Solo” hit theaters. The divisive response towards “Last Jedi” certainly didn’t help. Nevertheless, this thing should have been a cinematic event. Lawrence Kasdan was returning, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were directing, it had an amazing cast, and it told the origin story of an iconic movie character. However, the movie suffered a rocky production, most notably switching out directors, and the quality greatly suffered. It ended up grossing an abysmal $393 million - less than “Last Jedi’s” opening weekend.
#8: “The Last Airbender” (2010)
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“Avatar” fans still have nightmares about “The Last Airbender.” “Avatar” is a beloved animated series, both enormously popular and the winner of various prestigious awards, including five Annies, an Emmy, and a Peabody. Then we heard that M. Night Shyamalan was directing a movie adaptation and everyone let out a collective groan that could be heard the world over. Still, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko crafted such a phenomenal series. Surely some of the show’s drama, comedy, and excitement would find its way into this adaptation, right? Alas, “The Last Airbender” is notoriously awful. It’s one of those movies you probably haven’t seen, but you just know is terrible thanks to pop culture osmosis.
#7: “Suicide Squad” (2016)
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Despite two prior disappointments in the DCEU (more on that in a bit), we held out hope for “Suicide Squad.” After all, this was something different. In the midst of the MCU phenomenon, here was a superhero movie about anti-heroes. You also had Deadshot, The Joker, and Harley Quinn, three beloved comic book characters who were being played by acclaimed and popular actors. It could have been the DCEU’s twisted answer to “The Avengers,” but it was an embarrassing dud. The movie was horribly directed, Jared Leto made a terrible Joker, and the memes created from the movie quickly became more popular than the movie itself. It was yet another sore spot in the DCEU.
#6: “The Matrix Reloaded” & “The Matrix Revolutions” (2003)
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And here we have Exhibit A in unnecessary sequels tarnishing the legacy of a franchise. “The Matrix” is undeniably one of the best, most inventive, and most influential action films ever made. While “Reloaded” wasn’t a BAD sequel per se, it was disappointing, what with the PS2-esque CGI and bowling pin sound effects. The real travesty is “Revolutions,” a movie that even the “Reloaded” fans have trouble defending. This was nothing but a soulless, confusing, CGI-filled spectacle, and a large chunk of the movie was devoted to the Battle of Zion. Who cares!? It’s a perfect example of unnecessarily expanding on lore, so much so that the story gets bogged down in details and endless exposition.
#5: “Prometheus” (2012)
Oh hey, speaking of a story unnecessarily expanding on lore – “Prometheus!” Did we REALLY need a prequel to the “Alien” series? Not really, but we certainly weren’t going to say no. After all, there were enough hints and reveals in “Alien” to suggest an intriguing story. What we got instead was this horribly plotted mess. The movie gets way too bogged down on the concepts and lore, and the characters are little more than cardboard cut-out exposition dumps. Not to mention they are all pants-on-head stupid. It has Damon Lindelof’s DNA written all over it – cool ideas that are jumbled together into an incomprehensible and poorly thought out letdown.
#4: “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” (2016)
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It really is amazing how DC managed to bungle their IP so horribly. “Batman v Superman” should have been the movie event to end all movie events. You have Batman, you have Superman, and you have them fighting each other. How could that formula fail? Well, “Batman v Superman” is your answer. Maybe this isn’t the worst thing of all time, but it certainly wasn’t good. It was horribly plotted and paced, the characterizations were completely off, and the titular fight itself lasted like five minutes. Not to mention Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor! It had lofty aspirations, but it just couldn’t come together into a satisfying whole. (xref) Suddenly, we were all worried about “Justice League” and rightfully so.
#3: “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” (2008)
Some people were a little hesitant about a new “Indiana Jones” movie. It had been nearly twenty years since “Last Crusade” and Harrison Ford was in his mid-60s. Even with Grandpa Indy, though, it was still another “Indiana Jones” adventure! There was hope to be found, although those hopes were quickly dashed. These movies have always been silly, but “Crystal Skull” took the silliness way too far. You had that infamous monkey scene, the jeep driving off a cliff and landing in a tree, Indiana surviving a nuclear explosion by hiding in a fridge, and worst of all, aliens. Literal aliens. It was far too bombastic for its own good, and the horrible visual effects didn’t help. Some franchises should just stay in the past.
#2: “The Hobbit” trilogy (2012-14)
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“The Lord of the Rings” is a landmark – arguably the greatest film trilogy of all time, and three of the greatest movies ever made. Period. And then there’s “The Hobbit.” Now, some people were a little hesitant about “The Hobbit,” seeing as how Peter Jackson was adapting a roughly 300-page children’s novel into an eight-hour-long epic. But come on, this guy gave us “Lord of the Rings!” Have some faith, people! Unfortunately, people were right to be hesitant. The trilogy is not only laborious, but it’s filled with horrid CGI and filmed at a very controversial 48 frames per second. Granted, expectations were unimaginably high coming off “Lord of the Rings,” but these movies did themselves absolutely zero favors. Before we unveil our top picks, here are a few honorable mentions. “Spectre” (2015) “Spider-Man 3” (2007) “Fantastic Four” (2015) “Planet of the Apes” (2001) “Warcraft” (2016)
#1: “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace” (1999)
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Don’t let recency bias fool you. While “The Last Jedi” and “Rise of Skywalker” are polarizing, nothing compares to the debacle that was “The Phantom Menace.” If you were too young (or not born yet), then you don’t understand just how disastrous this movie was. The hype was unlike anything seen before or since. And yet it was completely and utterly reviled. People couldn’t believe what they had just seen. It was so bad that everyone was still talking about “The Matrix” long after “Phantom Menace” had come and gone, and “The Matrix” walked away with four technical Academy Awards. Meanwhile, “Star Wars” was nominated for seven Razzies. When it comes to the most disappointing movie EVER, nothing touches “The Phantom Menace.”