Uncover the Worst Action Movies of All Time

While many moviegoers love watching action-packed films, not all of them are created equal. Like The Last Airbender, some films are so riddled with bad dialogue, horrible acting, and awful special effects that it's hard to follow the storyline.

Keep reading because here are the action film genres most epic misfires.

Batman & Robin

batman-robin_01214355
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.

Joel Schumacher has since apologized for his epic failure in the Batman franchise, Batman & Robin. Even so, people won't be soon to forget the anatomically correct bat-suit, the campy dialogue, and one too many ice-related puns coming from Mr. Freeze.

Oh, and let's not forget Alicia Silverstone giddily stating "I'm Batgirl" with no formal introduction to the character.

ADVERTISEMENT

Solarbabies

ADVERTISEMENT
solarbabies_bBf9XI
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
ADVERTISEMENT

First off, if a director wants to rip off every post-apocalyptic movie out there, they might want to make it a bit better. Solarbabies, on the other hand, was too riddled with every end-of-the-world cliche and stereotypical '80s dialogue that it's really nothing more than horrible.

ADVERTISEMENT

When Jami Gertz's character Terra screams, "Get out, you creature of filth!" she might as well have been speaking of the film.

ADVERTISEMENT

Backtrace

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
backtrace_kgQZWK
Lionsgate Premiere
Lionsgate Premiere
ADVERTISEMENT

With a lame and boring plot, not even action film-veteran Sylvester Stalone could make Backtrace good. Film Inquiry writer Kevin L. Lee reviewed the movie, saying, "It is no exaggeration to say that Backtrace was the cinematic equivalent of a headache."

ADVERTISEMENT

"It's too ridiculous and underwritten to be a full-fledged crime thriller and too self-serious to be an enjoyable B-movie."

ADVERTISEMENT

Virus

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
virus_6b7c74af
Universal Studios
Universal Studios
ADVERTISEMENT

One of the worst action films to come out of 1999 is arguably Virus, a film about an alien entity bent on making the human race cyborg slaves. While the action scenes were alright, the plot was very predictable. Even lead actress Jamie Lee Curtis thinks it's a bad movie!

ADVERTISEMENT

According to Curtis, she even tried to get director John Bruno fired because she thought the movie was that bad!

ADVERTISEMENT

Zoom

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
zoom_3d40cc3f
Revolution Studios Distribution Company
Revolution Studios Distribution Company
ADVERTISEMENT

The superhero film Zoom might have been advertised as an action-comedy, but it noticeably came up short on laughs. It followed the story of a ragtag group of teenage and child superheroes as they're trained by Tim Allen to be Earth's new heroes.

ADVERTISEMENT

In theory, the film sounds great! But it was a major flop at the box office, only making $12.5 million from a $75 million budget.

ADVERTISEMENT

King Kong Lives

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
king-kong-lives_a7e300a9
De Laurentiis Entertainment Group/MovieStillsDB
De Laurentiis Entertainment Group/MovieStillsDB
ADVERTISEMENT

Even if a person can look past the absurd plot of King Kong finding a mate and starting a family in King Kong Lives, there really is nothing going for this action film.

ADVERTISEMENT

The special effects look to be done by an amateur, and the actors look beyond bored with what they are doing onscreen.

ADVERTISEMENT

Supercross

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
supercross_a606I7
20th Century Fox/MovieStillsDB
20th Century Fox/MovieStillsDB
ADVERTISEMENT

Besides staring at an early 2000s cast of Sophia Bush, Channing Tatum, and Aaron Carter, the only thing Supercross has going for it are the stunts. Otherwise, it's nothing more than a horrible movie with underdeveloped characters and a mediocre plotline.

ADVERTISEMENT

And "mediocre" is putting it mildly! The film is another "we have to win this race and get the bad guys off the track" story.

ADVERTISEMENT

Beverly Hills Cop III

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
beverly-hills-cop-3_d827a2b1
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
ADVERTISEMENT

When the star of a film goes on record calling it "atrocious," that's never a good sign. But that's exactly what Eddie Murphy said about Beverly Hills Cop III.

ADVERTISEMENT

A joyless storyline that sees the wisecracking character of Detective Axel Foley fall short, it's no wonder Cop III was nominated for two Golden Raspberry Awards.

ADVERTISEMENT

Beyond The Poseidon Adventure

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
beyond-the-poseidon-adventure_ScoMXH
Warner Bros. Pictures
Warner Bros. Pictures
ADVERTISEMENT

When Beyond the Poseidon Adventure was released in 1979, people weren't thrilled with how similar it was to the original. Even so, it would have been alright if it was at least good. (It wasn't).

ADVERTISEMENT

According to film critic Gene Siskel, the movie was "virtually the same story as the original disaster film, with shoddily painted sets; tiny studio-created fires all of the same size; and dialog that could be written by a 1st-grader."

ADVERTISEMENT

Dark Tide

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
dark-tide_0wqYGe
Wrekin Hill Entertainment/MovieStillsDB
Wrekin Hill Entertainment/MovieStillsDB
ADVERTISEMENT

Even Academy Award-winning actress Halle Berry couldn't make the action thriller Dark Tide good. Shallow and lacking anything that would make a daring dive into shark-infested waters suspenseful, the movie received the rare rating of 0% on Rotten Tomatoes.

ADVERTISEMENT

Seriously, how in the world is a movie about sharks boring?

ADVERTISEMENT

Fantastic Four

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
fantastic-four_1yyJcE
Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment
ADVERTISEMENT

The 2015 superhero action film Fantastic Four was so poorly received that the sequel was canceled in favor of redoing the first film!

ADVERTISEMENT

Dull, boring, and lacking any of the color and fun that makes the Fantastic Four fan favorites, the film completely flopped and currently holds a 9% on Rotten Tomatoes.

ADVERTISEMENT

Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
turbo-a-power-rangers-movie_UGiwSi
20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
ADVERTISEMENT

Considering all of the source material Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie had to work with, one would think it would be a pretty epic action flick. Wrong!

ADVERTISEMENT

Not only were the special effects and acting nothing to write home about, but the fight sequences were so poorly choreographed that Joe Leydon of Variety called it "high-camp cheesiness."

ADVERTISEMENT

Max Steel

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
max-steel_oDQ5CF
Open Road Films
Open Road Films
ADVERTISEMENT

When it comes to the film Max Steel, Christy Lemire for RogerEbert.com says it best, "For a movie about developing the greatest energy source in the universe, Max Steel is surprisingly bland... a movie based on a toy should be a whole lot more fun than this."

ADVERTISEMENT

The action film lacked, well, good action, and the underdeveloped characters did the story no favors.

ADVERTISEMENT

Extraction

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
extraction_x4HIYt
Lionsgate Premiere
Lionsgate Premiere
ADVERTISEMENT

The 2015 film Extraction was too generic to be considered good. Yes, the movie has decent action and fight sequences throughout, but they weren't good enough to overshadow the poor dialogue.

ADVERTISEMENT

Upon its release, the Bruce Willis-led film was met with negative reviews, a 9% on Rotten Tomatoes, and a staggeringly low $710,636 at the box office.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Last Airbender

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
the-last-airbender_7a8cc070
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
ADVERTISEMENT

Amazingly, M. Night Shyamalan wasn't kicked out of Hollywood after releasing his 2010 film The Last Airbender. Almost unwatchable, the movie takes a beloved cartoon and completely butchers its content.

ADVERTISEMENT

Between the horrible acting, insanely bad special effects, and eye-roll-worthy attempt at re-creating bending, more than one person wishes the movie didn't exist.

ADVERTISEMENT

Universal Soldier: The Return

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
universal-soldier-2_fb07f553
TriStar Pictures
TriStar Pictures
ADVERTISEMENT

When it comes to horrible action films, Universal Soldier: The Return is one of the "best." Literally, nothing went right in this movie, even though all Jean-Claude Van Damme had to do was reprise the character.

ADVERTISEMENT

Alas, the subpar performances, boring plot, and mind-numbing fight sequences almost had film critic James Berardinelli dozing off twice!

ADVERTISEMENT

Getaway

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
getaway_06024a
Warner Bros. Pictures
Warner Bros. Pictures
ADVERTISEMENT

The 2013 film Getaway was so focused on making a fast-paced, action-packed movie that it forgot about everything else, including character development, deep dialogue, an engaging plot, and even coherent editing.

ADVERTISEMENT

IGN reviewed the film, saying, "Not even the gruffly likable Ethan Hawke can make the murky, messy car chase movie Getaway worthwhile thanks to its inane script and poorly conceived action sequences."

ADVERTISEMENT

211

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
211_CPZkit
Millennium Films
Millennium Films
ADVERTISEMENT

As far as Nic Cage movies go, the action film 211 is one of the worst. The film is so riddled with cliches and action movie stereotypes it's almost as if director and screenwriter York Shackleton meshed together every cop sequence he'd ever watched.

ADVERTISEMENT

Currently, the film holds a solid 4% on Rotten Tomatoes.

ADVERTISEMENT

Wing Commander

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
wing-commander_1841d4
Twentieth Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox
ADVERTISEMENT

When Freddie Prince Jr. auditioned for the role of First Lieutenant Christopher "Maverick" Blair in Wing Commander, it was a totally different script. The first day on set, the entire thing had been rewritten for the worst.

ADVERTISEMENT

A simple story with all of the sci-fi action cliches known to humankind, this particular film is one that the lead actor "can't watch one scene of."

ADVERTISEMENT

Cannonball Run II

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
cannonball-run-ii_BoNzci
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
ADVERTISEMENT

According to film critic Roger Ebert, "[Cannonball Run II] is one of the laziest insults to the intelligence of moviegoers that I can remember. Sheer arrogance made this picture." That's not exactly the words of someone who enjoyed the action film!

ADVERTISEMENT

In fact, this is one of the worst to come out of the 1980s.