Critics. You can’t live with them, and we will survive and share our thoughts even if the masses band together in an attempt to crush us. Jokes aside, critics get a bad rep, but in reality when it comes to movies that absolutely bombed in the eyes of critics, very few movies in cinematic history have hit that mark. Forty-three movies in the Rotten Tomatoes database have gotten a solid 0% rating since the 1980s, and we’ve gotten thirty-two of the worst.
These movies have the rarefied air of being the worst of the worst, and most of them readers will remember or recognize. Let’s dive in, and remember some of the worst movies and why critics rightfully tore them to shreds in reviews.
Staying Alive (1983)
It took six years for the sequel to Saturday Night Fever to finally get John Travolta on board, and while Staying Alive was a commercial success, the movie was universally panned. The movie’s biggest problem was taking away all the realism and grittiness of living in Brooklyn during the disco era and made it all about dancing. Critics were not impressed, to say the least.
Simon Sez (1999)
It’s well known that Dennis Rodman changed his image after seeing Demolition Man, so I think it’s a bit funny he plays a character in Simon Sez with the same first name as Wesley Snipes’ character. I also find it funny this movie features Dane Cook before his real big break, as well as another notable comedian, John Pinette. All the potential for laughs, and it’s an action movie that failed to resonate with anyone upon release.
The Ridiculous 6 (2015)
Critics have never been too kind to a majority of Adam Sandler’s comedy work, but The Ridiculous 6 remains his worst-reviewed movie. The movie was dropped by Warner Bros. only to be picked up on Sandler’s big deal with Netflix.
Highlander 2: The Quickening (1991)
Highlander is such an iconic movie, it’s a shame that Highlander 2: The Quickening is one of the worst sequels ever. If there’s any consolation, the failure has little to do with the cast and crew but was rather the result of the economy collapsing in Argentina, where the movie was shot. Even if you’re a big fan of the original movie, I’d suggest going directly to the TV series and skipping the second movie entirely.
The Nutcracker In 3D (2010)
The bar is often low for movies deliberately made to release on the holidays, and if The Nutcracker In 3D was just a carbon copy of the iconic ballet show it would’ve been fine. Unfortunately, this star-studded affair was panned for lacking ballet, adding lyrics to the iconic songs, and drenching the movie in heavy World War II symbolism that was borderline too frightening for children. It was, surprisingly, a movie that made a bad decision on every level.
Left Behind (2014)
Nicolas Cage has some unique choices for the best movies he ever made, but thankfully Left Behind is not one of them. The second attempt to bring the popular Christian apocalyptic books to theaters resulted in a movie that received as many negative reviews from critics as religious organizations. Its biggest sin, according to many, was being terrible.
Look Who’s Talking Now? (1993)
They say the third time’s a charm, but that was certainly not the case with Look Who’s Talking Now?. It’s not exactly uncommon for an audience to realize the premise for a movie is thin when the sequel comes out, but I would say it is uncommon to see producers then push for a third movie knowing that’s the case. Not even John Travolta and the late Kirstie Alley could save this one from flopping.
Killing Me Softly (2002)
Reading the description for Killing Me Softly makes it sound like a solid thriller, but the plot itself is not the issue. The issue in this Heather Graham and Joseph Fiennes movie is the choppy dialogue and over the top plot twists that just make an interesting premise turn pretty ridiculous fairly quickly.
Pinocchio (2002)
What happens when you try to shop a Pinocchio adaptation in which a 50-year-old Italian actor plays the lead character and then the American dub enlists Breckin Meyer to make him sound like a younger boy? Well, the movie is a disaster panned by critics for a weird movie made even weirder by being poorly dubbed.
Jaws: The Revenge (1987)
Jaws: The Revenge was born partly out of a want to promote Universal Studios’ now-retired Jaws ride, which is never a solid basis for justifying a movie. That, in addition to a rushed production schedule, is also noted to compromise the quality of the movie. The one positive is that it led to the now-famous movie tagline, “This time, it’s personal,” which makes it all worth it.
A Thousand Words (2012)
As CinemaBlend’s review of A Thousand Words points out, this movie’s failure is more because of a terrible plot centered around a solid premise and cast. A magic tree that will kill a man if he speaks too much sounds simple enough, but then it spirals out of control, and the rules of the movie are never clear. Eddie Murphy does his best to save it, but it’s not enough.
Police Academy 4: Citizens On Patrol (1987)
Police Academy 4: Citizens On Patrol is the result of a franchise that some would say exhausted its potential in the first movie. By the time they reached the fourth installment, the result was a movie desperately trying to be funny, but just wasn’t unless you’re of a vastly younger audience than what it was possibly made for.
Gotti (2018)
Gotti might be the first movie in Hollywood history to call critics “trolls” to combat the negative reception to the film. What John Travolta would believe to be an awards contender ended up being called a dud of a movie accused of glorifying a crime boss and painting him in a favorable light.
The Disappointments Room (2016)
Making a horror movie based on an HGTV home-buying episode is probably not the way to make a quality movie, but that’s not the worst offending part of the movie. Calling the movie The Disappointments Room really teed it up for critics in their reviews, which were scathing.
National Lampoon’s Gold Diggers (2003)
The 2000s were far removed from the prime era of National Lampoon movies, and Gold Diggers is evidence of that. Two young men set out to try and get rich quickly via small crimes and end up marrying two old women they intended to mug. Critics indicated the movie was painfully unfunny, and crass to the point it made other less acclaimed shows and movies look better in comparison.
Redline (2007)
Redline is a bad movie, but that’s because the premise for making it was questionable. Per Autoblog, millionaire Daniel Sadek funded the movie and featured his own auto collection for the movie. Sadek even had greenlit, allowing his expensive Porsche Carrera GTs to be totaled, which may not have been worth it in hindsight, given the audience’s reception.
Stolen (2009)
Josh Lucas and Jon Hamm are, unfortunately, put to waste in Stolen, a drama about a cop looking to solve his son’s murder and ends up getting involved in the murder of another child that took place decades prior. It sounds interesting, but critics said the movie is weighed down by tired tropes of genres and lacks the amount of thrills one might expect from a story.
Bolero (1984)
Bolero is a movie whose premise might cause a reader to shudder in the modern day. A young woman looking to find an ideal first lover to take her virginity after her sexual awakening is the plot. Critics likened it to a mainstream version of an adult movie, with the dialogue being just as painful as one might think.
Hard Kill (2020)
Hard Kill is a bad action movie from an actor with a supremely solid body of work in the genre, Bruce Willis. The movie was panned for being bad, but also because many were confused as to why Willis signed onto it. Of course, the movie may get a pass in the modern day, with the knowledge the actor worked on this and others in light of his aphasia diagnosis.
Problem Child (1990)
I think what readers most need to know about Problem Child is that it was originally pitched as a horror movie similar to The Omen, and then turned into a comedy. Critics really laid into this movie with a solid cast, and it was so poorly received the television version removed references to adoption that seemed too harsh. Strangely enough, it still spawned two sequels, despite panning from critics.
John Henry (2020)
The Terry Crews-led John Henry follows a reformed man who takes justice to gang members with a sledgehammer, with the imagery clearly meant to draw to the American folk hero of the same name. Unfortunately, the movie itself borders between cartoonish and incredibly serious, without ever really picking a lane the entire time.
Return To The Blue Lagoon (1991)
The Blue Lagoon didn’t necessarily get glowing reviews, but it was well-received enough as a movie some might view as a guilty pleasure. Whatever audiences saw in that movie was not present in the sequel, as the movie was torn to shreds by critics.
Beneath The Darkness (2011)
It seems the biggest sin any horror movie can commit is taking itself too seriously, and that seems to be the issue with Beneath The Darkness. Sometimes a horror movie can be so scary and ridiculous that it teeters into something comical, and despite a big performance from Dennis Quaid, this movie about a man dancing with his dead wife who he murdered is just that.
Wagons East (1994)
Wagons East might be known as a poor attempt to make a western comedy in 1995, had it not been made infamous by a much darker headline. Comedy actor John Candy died on the set in the final days of filming, forcing the movie to finish with re-writes and CGI. The movie was panned upon release, with some expressing displeasure that it was the final movie of Candy’s career.
London Fields (2018)
Amber Heard plays a clairvoyant who knows one man will end her life, so naturally, she begins an affair with three to try and figure out which it will be. Critics noted the movie was exceptionally hard to follow, even when reading the book it was adapted from. If that’s not a sign this movie is a dud, I’m not sure what is.
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever (2002)
Believe it or not, there is a worst of the worst even when it comes to 0% ratings on Rotten Tomatoes. Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever holds the title for the worst-reviewed movie in the history of the site, with over 119 reviews panning this movie. There’s no shortage of bad things to say about this action thriller, though it’s humorously pointed out that Ecks and Sever actually work together to fight a common enemy in the movie and are not opposed to each other as well. Perhaps that tells you all you need to know.
Precious Cargo (2016)
Precious Cargo is another Bruce Willis-led action film from his latter years that, I would imagine many now view in a different light given is aphasia diagnosis. The movie was ripped apart by critics for its “direct to video” type of vibe, and for just overall being an action film that’s fairly light on thrills.
Cabin Fever (2016)
Horror movies seem to get dumped on by critics more than other genres, but it’s warranted in the case of Cabin Fever. This movie contains a scene in which a child yells “pancakes,” proceeds to do a well-choreographed karate segment, and then bites a lead character on the hand. It’s not done for laughs, and it doesn’t really make sense even in the context of seeing the movie. To this day, I wonder if the whole movie was a joke setup for that scene.
Derailed (2002)
Jean-Claude Van Damme had a magnificent run of mainstream success as an action star in Hollywood, but by the year 2002, it felt as though he had overstayed his welcome. Enter the movie Derailed, which is broadly considered one of the worst of the actor’s career. Fortunately, he was able to bounce back years later with JCVD, which had high marks all around.
Homecoming (2009)
There’s definitely a type of movie that ends up on this list merely because critics seem worn out by the premise. Such is the case with Homecoming, an obsession-thriller type movie that seems to have a big problem of not being original to previous entries in any way.
Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2 (2004)
You know Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2 has to be bad when critics are calling out the acting in a movie that primarily stars babies. The sequel didn’t have a high bar to surpass the first movie, and it didn’t clear it. There are some movies that are so bad they’re good, but this is not it.
Max Steel (2016)
Before there was Barbie, Mattel tried to make a franchise with a male action figure, Max Steel. Unfortunately, the character wasn’t nearly as popular as the doll played by Margot Robbie and others, and neither was the movie. The movie was labeled as “bland” and certainly not something that would drive kids to run to toy stores.
Check out these movies at your own risk, though I’d imagine those who made it this far and are still interested will not heed my warning.
