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VOICE OVER: Ryan Wild WRITTEN BY: Jesse Singer
#10: “Suicide Squad” (2016)
Come on, how could a movie about a team of supervillains coming together to save the world, with Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, not be great? Well, 2016’s “Suicide Squad” managed to do just that. Despite having stars, a big budget and plenty of fan excitement, it fell completely flat. And you know how we know this movie could’ve been good? Because they made a much better “Suicide Squad” film just a few years later. While this 2016 installment scored a paltry 26% on Rotten Tomatoes, 2021’s “The Suicide Squad” stands at an impressive 90%. Even the first film’s spin-off, “Birds of Prey,” with Margot Robbie front and center, was more creative and interesting, earning a solid 78% on Rotten Tomatoes.
#9: “Downsizing” (2017)
To make an excellent film, you pretty much need three key elements: great actors, a visionary director and a fantastic, original concept. 2017’s “Downsizing” appeared to have all three: with award-winning actor Matt Damon, award-winning director Alexander Payne, and a unique idea about a man shrinking himself to start life in a new experimental community. However, this film, which should have been universally acclaimed, ended up polarizing both audiences and critics. While almost everyone praised the originality and ambitious ideas, opinions diverged on how effectively Payne brought those ideas to life.
#8: “Eragon” (2006)
This one is pretty straightforward. “Eragon” should have been a good movie, because it’s based on a great book. Granted, we acknowledge that the history of cinematic adaptations of books is filled with failures, but that doesn’t mean they all lack the potential to be great. In the case of “Eragon” though, there was potential. However, all of that was wiped away by a lazy screenplay that strayed so far away from its source material, it lost all the fantasy and awe that many readers came to love it for. Critics and diehard fans heavily panned the film after its release, resulting in the planned trilogy being canceled.
#7: “The Black Dahlia” (2006)
Few directors have experienced as many ups and downs in their careers as Brian De Palma. This is the guy behind classics like “Carrie”, “Scarface” and “The Untouchables”. But he was also responsible for flops like “The Bonfire of the Vanities”, “Snake Eyes” and, arguably his worst, “The Black Dahlia”. Based on one of the most infamous unsolved murders in US history, this had the potential to be a great film noir under De Palma’s direction. Unfortunately, a mediocre script and lackluster performances from stars like Josh Hartnett and Scarlett Johansson led to its downfall. Had the original director, David Fincher, remained on the project, it might have been as well-received as the crime thriller he made instead: “Zodiac.”
#6: “Timeline” (2003)
“Exhilarating entertainment” was how Entertainment Weekly described “Timeline” – the novel, that is! Now that’s a good place to start when making a movie based on a book, right? Especially since it was written by Michael Crichton (yes, the same author of “Jurassic Park”). To top that off, it was set to be helmed by director Richard Donner, known for making quality adventure and action films like the first “Superman” movie and the “Lethal Weapon” franchise. However, despite these promising foundations, the film adaptation of “Timeline” turned out to be a major disappointment. Not only did it end up with a 13% Rotten Tomatoes score and a C+ audience grade, it also lost nearly $50 million at the box office.
#5: “Don't Worry Darling” (2022)
Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut was the highly praised 2019 film “Booksmart.” Following its success, anticipation grew for her next project, sparking a bidding war for what became 2022’s “Don’t Worry Darling”. With Wilde as the director and acclaimed actress Florence Pugh in the lead, the film had a promising start. So, what went wrong? Well, in many of the reviews, Harry Styles’ name comes up a lot, and not in a good way. While Shia LaBeouf was originally cast as the male lead, he was later fired (or quit, depending on who you ask) and replaced with Styles. Critics described the singer and actor as “outmatched”, “utterly and helplessly adrift” and “the weak link”. Would LaBeouf have saved the film? Guess we’ll never know.
#4: “Tomorrowland” (2015)
After the critical and commercial success of “The Incredibles” and “Ratatouille” there were probably some who doubted Brad Bird could make the transition to live-action movies. Then he made “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol” and it looked like he could do anything. That is until, “Tomorrowland”. With a budget of almost $200 million, the studio clearly expected a hit, especially with Bird behind the camera and George Clooney in front of it. But while the film is visually appealing and full of promise, the end result just never quite matched its ambitions.
#3: “Spider-Man 3” (2007)
If you need proof that “Spider-Man 3” could and should have been really good, just look at the two films that preceded it. “Spider-Man” was great and its 2002 sequel is often regarded as one of the best superhero movies of all time. With the main cast returning and Sam Raimi directing again, “Spider-Man 3” seemed destined for greatness. However, whatever potential it had was seemingly compromised when Raimi was pressured by producer Avi Arad to add Venom to the script. This character was not included in Raimi’s original vision and the addition made the film, which already had two villains, seem crowded. For many critics, this was what really undermined the movie.
#2: “The Last Airbender” (2010)
The guy who directed “The Sixth Sense” might not seem like an obvious choice to turn a beloved Nickelodeon fantasy action show into a movie. But that’s exactly what production houses Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies decided to do. And hey, working with Emmy and Peabody Award-winning source material surely puts a great movie within reach. But not only did Shyamalan not reach greatness, he went the other way and made what many have called one of the worst movies of all time! Similarly, the excellent “Dragon Ball” manga series was poorly adapted into the terrible 2009 movie “Dragonball Evolution” (xref), another strong contender for the ‘worst of all time’ title.
#1: “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” (2016)
At the risk of angering the Zack Snyder stans out there, the rest of us can all agree that “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” could have been amazing, but ultimately fell short. Come on, the first live-action film featuring both Batman and Superman together? That has potential greatness written all over it. It’s like when Robert De Niro and Al Pacino appeared on screen together for the first time in “Heat”. Except that one lived up to, and even exceeded our great expectations. In contrast, “Batman v Superman” had a barely coherent script, was bereft of any emotional weight and failed to properly develop its characters. In fact, the only good thing this film gave us was the “Save Martha” meme.
Do you know any other promising movies that failed to live up to your expectations? Share them with us in the comments.
