Bottom Of The Barrel: The Worst, Most Loathed Films To Come Out Of The 2010s
With films being released at such a rapid pace, it's nearly impossible to keep up with them all. While some go on to become instant classics and fan favorites, others are mediocre and eventually forgotten in time. But we're not here to discuss the good or even the so-so movies.
Today, it's all about the bottom of the barrel and those horrible films like The Last Airbender and The Emoji Movie that almost ruined an entire decade of content because of how bad they were. Yes, we're talking about the worst, most loathed, movies that came out of the 2010s.
Zoolander 2
While the original Zoolander is pretty silly, it still managed to gain a cult following. On the other hand, the sequel, Zoolander 2, did nothing more than parade around a bunch of celebrities in funny costumes with little to no direction. Even the writers couldn't pull it together long enough to produce an original script, reusing the same old gags.
Justin Chang of Variety said it best, stating, "The results may delight those who believe recycled gags and endless cameos to be the very essence of great screen comedy, but everyone else will likely recognize Stiller's wannabe Magnum opus as a disappointment-slash-misfire, the orange mocha cappuccino of movie sequels."
The Twilight Saga
Technically, not all Twilight films were released in the 2010s, but we're going to group them all into the saga since most were released during the decade. Either way, each film left viewers with the blank stare of Kristen Stewart, a weirdly pale and contoured Robert Pattinson, and way too much teen melodrama for anyone's well being.
Honestly, the only sane one in the group is Charlie, and it's solely because he doesn't believe in high school marriages to supernatural creatures. Regardless, if anything says how bad these five films are, it's the fact that none of them got above 50 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
Cats
Arguably the most catastrophic failure to come out of the 2010s is the live-action film Cats. Based on the beloved Broadway play, even the star-studded cast of amazing singers couldn't make the adaptation less creepy in the minds of critics and viewers. Sorry, but a movie just can't be tone-deaf with a weird plot when creepy CGI cats are involved.
Now, the 2019 film is considered one of the worst of all time, with critic James Travers saying, "[Cats] easily scores as the bottom of the 2019 barrel—and arguably of the decade." Does anyone else feel bad that Academy Award-winning actors now have this film on their resume?
The Emoji Movie
Nothing screams "hot mess of a plotline," quite like a movie following the story of an emoji who wants nothing more than to be a different emoji. Taking place in a teenager's smartphone, The Emoji Movie plot is really nothing special, but it's the writing, voice acting, and blatant product placement that viewers and critics couldn't let slide.
With a seven percent on Rotten Tomatoes, The Emoji Movie is considered to be the worst animated movie in the history of cinema. The film even won Worst Picture, Worst Screen Combo, Worst Screenplay, and Worst Director at the 38th Golden Raspberry Awards, the first animated film to win in the categories.
Fifty Shades Of Grey
Just when people didn't think Twilight could get any worse, Sam Taylor-Johnson decided it'd be a good idea to direct the published Twilight fan fiction Fifty Shades of Grey. Not only is the on-screen chemistry between the two leads is cringe-worthy at best, but the misplaced laughter and horrible writing left much to be desired.
And viewers weren't the only ones who noticed Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan's awful romance; the 36th Golden Raspberry Awards did, too. The franchise's first installment wound up with six nominations during the annual event, walking away with five, including Worst Picture, Worst Actor and Actress, Worst Screenplay, and Worst Screen Combo.
Annie
One would think remaking a beloved tale such as Annie would be met with praise and love. Well, unless that remake is the 2014 version of Annie, and the over-use of cuteness and a strange message of commercialization and materialism was at the forefront of the movie instead of the title character's story.
Earning a 28 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, the site's general consensus regarding the film is that "The new-look Annie hints at a progressive take on a well-worn story, but smothers its likable cast under clichés, cloying cuteness, and a distasteful materialism." Long story short, the sun will not come out tomorrow for 2014 Annie.
Fantastic Four
Arguably the worst part about the 2015 Fantastic Four film is how hyped superhero fans were for the remake. Alas, it didn't live up to the hype, or even a fraction of it. Considered dull, slow, and confusing with all of the reshoots and non-linear video editing, the Fantastic Four landed a solid nine percent on Rotten Tomatoes and won more than one Golden Raspberry for its not-so-stellar efforts.
When it came to the critics, they held nothing back. Rolling Stones' Peter Travers called the film "the cinematic equivalent of malware," meaning he thought it was entirely useless and had no right to be on the silver screen. Ouch.
Dirty Grandpa
Zac Efron has been in his fair share of bad movies, but viewers and critics thought better of the legendary Robert De Niro when he took a starring role in Dirty Grandpa. With the gross-out and shock humor mixed with sentimental scenes, the film didn't have a solid direction, not to mention the script bordered on racist more than a few times.
Earning an 11 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and five Golden Raspberry Awards, Dirty Grandpa is definitely one of the worst films to come out of the 2010s. Mike Ryan of Uproxx even went as far as saying, "burn it!"
Dumb And Dumber To
It's never a great idea to produce a sequel to a beloved cult classic, especially if that original movie happens to be as ridiculous as Dumb and Dumber. But, the 2010s decided the world needed more of Harry and Lloyd and came out with Dumb and Dumber To.
The only issue is, no one asked to see middle-aged Jeff Daniels and Jim Carrey in their silly character haircuts acting like dimwits again. Critic J.R. Jones said it best, stating, "Seeing the two fifty-something stars in their idiot haircuts again is a little disconcerting, like watching your favorite old band on a desperate reunion tour."
Movie 43
The plot of Movie 43 is strange since it's an anthology telling multiple stories. But, have no fear, each of the plots is horrible in its own way. The film's awfulness is ironic, too, considering its star-studded cast of Kate Winslet, Emma Stone, and Hugh Jackman, just to name a few.
It goes to show that a good cast can't mask horrible writing! Vue Weekly writer Brian Gibson said, "An execrable waste cooked up by a hell's kitchen of directors and writers. It's death-of-laughter by committee. Its title? Because it's like one of those many asteroids out there—a dismal chunk of rock hurtling through an empty void, without purpose."
Jack and Jill
Adam Sandler might have starred in a few films that are considered less than outstanding, but nothing tops that of 2011's Jack and Jill. In the film, Sandler plays not one but two characters, both Jack Sadelstein and his twin sister, Jill, in a story that can only be described as going from bad to worse.
Viers and critics agree that the movie is one of Sandler's more heinous offenses, earning Jack and Jill a solid three percent on Rotten Tomatoes and a Razzie Award win for Best Actor as well as Best Picture. Those aren't exactly awards an actor wants in their trophy case.
The Last Airbender
The worst thing about The Last Airbender is that writer and director M. Night Shyamalan had an entire beloved universe to work from. Yet, he made so many bad creative decisions, the live-action Avatar telling wound up with a five percent on Rotten Tomatoes and is now wildly considered one of the worst films ever made.
Critic Charlie Jane Anders said, "Shyamalan's true achievement in this film is that he takes a thrilling cult TV series, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and he systematically leeches all the personality and soul out of it – in order to create something generic enough to serve as a universal spoof of every epic, ever."
Saving Christmas
Poor Kirk Cameron, all he wanted to do is show viewers how to put the "Christ back in Christmas" by saving his sister's Christmas party from his brother-in-law. Unfortunately, with the horrible acting and simplistic biblical tales, the message didn't stick with, well, anyone, and wound up irritating people.
The 2014 movie is so bad that it was nominated for a whopping six categories at the 35th Golden Raspberry Awards, winning four, including the Worst Picture and Worst Actor. Saving Christmas is now considered one of the worst films of all time, with a solid zero on Rotten Tomatoes.
Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2
If one wasn't enough, Kevin James had to come back a star in Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2. Seriously, how writers were able to construct a second story about an annoying mall cop is beyond us; oh, wait, they didn't. The lead actor leaves nothing to be admired, with his one-show-pony antics becoming old within the first five minutes.
Sara Stewart from the New York Post even said the film was "just an excuse for James to do his one trick over and over: Bluster, then screw up humiliatingly," while Christy Lemire of RogerEbert.com said, "there is not a single redeeming moment in director Andy Fickman's film."
Transformers: Dark Of The Moon
How the studio was able to produce more than one car-to-robot film is beyond us, but here we are, with one of the worst movies of the 2010s, Transformers: Dark of the Moon. The third installment of the franchise was criticized for pretty much everything but its stunning visual effects.
Critic A.O. Scott of The New York Times held nothing back when it came to the movie, saying, "I can't decide if this movie is so spectacularly, breathtakingly dumb as to induce stupidity in anyone who watches, or so brutally brilliant that it disarms all reason. What's the difference?"
Left Behind
Nic Cage is no stranger to starring in bad films that tend to be ripped apart by critics, and the apocalyptical thriller Left behind is no different. Based on a book of the same name, the film is set in a post-Rapture world and follows a group of people who try to survive.
The problem is, the bad acting and poor script did the film zero favors, earning it one percent on Rotten Tomatoes. And poor Nic Cage added one more Golden Raspberry Award nomination for Worst Actor to his resume, losing out to Kirk Cameron in Saving Christmas.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Mix together horrible acting, creepy CGI, and a lack of character development, and you have the 2014 live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. While you'd think the disturbing turtles were enough to keep people interested, viewers struggled to keep their eyes open with the film's absurdly boring storyline.
One thing most people agreed on was that the film felt half-done. Los Angeles Times writer Mark Olsen said, "there is something half-hearted about the entire film as if those behind it were involved not because they wanted to make it, not because they should make it, but just because they could."
Pixels
In a world fueled by nostalgia, the 2015 film Pixels tried to jump on the train but missed boarding, fell off the platform, and failed miserably. The film literally has aliens invading the planet after misinterpreting some classic arcade games as a declaration of war.
Needless to say, critics were a bit brutal when it came to the movie, saying unlike the games it portrays, the film isn't even worth a quarter. The critical consensus on Rotten Tomatoes says, "Much like the worst arcade games from the era that inspired it, Pixels has little replay value and is hardly worth a quarter." Talk about an inferno-level burn!
Carrie
The 2010s just wasn't the decade for classic remakes. And the 2013 remake of the Stephan King-inspired film Carrie is no exception. The slow and safe pace smothered the horror aspect that was praised in the original, with Chloe Grace Moretz not entirely grasping the oddball, outcast, and freakish character of Carrie.
Matt Zoller is one critic who didn't buy into the new film, saying, "The first Carrie was horror. This is tragedy. [It's] too adjusted, coming across less like the 'very peculiar girl' King described in his novel and more like the stealth babe of some nottie-to-hottie teen romance."
The Hangover Part III
One film that came out of the 2010s that no one asked for was yet another installment in the Hangover films, The Hangover Part III. Of course, the first two were pretty funny, so viewers had high hopes another comedy was coming their way. They thought wrong. For some reason, the film strayed from its original backward formula and took a turn into action territory. It didn't work out.
Andrew Barker of Variety critiqued just that, saying, "Ditching the hangovers, the backward structure, the fleshed-out characters and any sense of debauchery or fun, this installment instead just thrusts its long-suffering protagonists into a rote chase narrative."
