Total Film has taken a poll and assembled a list of the Top 50 most disappointing movies of all time – films for which there was a certain or even considerable amount of expectation and which, frankly, turned out to be fairly terrible.
Practically every household name filmmaker is on this list – Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Stanley Kubrick, Francis Ford Coppola, David Fincher, Oliver Stone, Peter Jackson, Quentin Tarantino, Michael Mann, Steven Soderbergh, Tim Burton, Sam Raimi, the Wachowskis, M. Night Shyamalan, Ridley Scott, Cameron Crowe, Ang Lee, Zack Snyder, Roland Emmerich, Robert Rodriguez, Kevin Smith and many more.
Topping the list was Spielberg’s “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” with Lucas’ “Star Wars: Episode One – The Phantom Menace” not far behind. Both were returns almost twenty years later to franchises that were the gold standard of many who grew up in the late 70’s and 80’s, and both returns landed with decisive thuds.
Almost all of the entries on this last are since the turn of the millennium (the earliest is 1989), but only one entry from this year so far has made it – Ridley Scott’s “Prometheus”. Some placements seem oddly high, was “Sucker Punch” really that anticipated? Others such as “Quantum of Solace” or “Alexander” deserve to be higher. Here’s the list for your perusal, for the full version with analysis check out Total Film:
- Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull (2008)
- Star Wars: Episode One – The Phantom Menace (2001)
- X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
- The Godfather Part 3 (1990)
- Spider-Man 3 (2007)
- The Hangover Part 2 (2011)
- Sucker Punch (2011)
- Superman Returns (2006)
- The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
- Ocean’s 12 (2004)
- Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
- Terminator Salvation (2009)
- Green Lantern (2011)
- Quantum Of Solace (2009)
- Fantastic Four (2005)
- The Golden Compass (2007)
- Planet Of The Apes (2001)
- Alien 3 (1992)
- Batman and Robin (1997)
- Troy (2004)
- Kill Bill Part 2 (2004)
- Iron Man 2 (2010)
- Prometheus (2012)
- Jersey Girl (2004)
- Southland Tales (2006)
- Godzilla (1998)
- Miami Vice (2006)
- Hulk (2003)
- The League of Gentlemen’s Apocalypse (2005)
- X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
- The Spirit (2008)
- Catwoman (2004)
- Vanilla Sky (2001)
- Alice In Wonderland (2010)
- The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
- Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World’s End (2007)
- Once Upon A Time In Mexico (2004)
- Sex And The City 2 (2010)
- The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)
- Jennifer’s Body (2009)
- Public Enemies (2009)
- Alexander (2004)
- Ghostbusters 2 (1989)
- The Avengers (1998)
- The Lady In The Water (2006)
- The Lovely Bones (2009)
- Speed Racer (2008)
- Shrek The Third (2007)
- Congo (1995)
- The Tourist (2010)
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