Though recent movies like Jurassic World Dominion have managed to make quite a lot of money at the box office, their lackluster reception suggests that there are still some who regret spending their money going to see it in a theater. Indeed, given how much it often costs to go see a movie, it makes sense that people would want to enjoy their experience, in order to feel as if they’ve gotten their money’s worth.
As the s of Reddit have pointed out, it is actually quite common for people to end up regretting spending money to watch on the big screen.
Cats (2019)
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At first, it must have seemed like Cats might become one of the great movie musicals, considering the enormous success of the stage version. Unfortunately, the movie fell spectacularly flat, thanks in no small part to both strange direction and the choice to have the title creatures portrayed via CGI rather than in costumes. It was an overwhelming failure, and many Redditors pointed out their dissatisfaction with having invested in seeing it.
Medianbailey bluntly states: “Cats was the worst thing I have ever experienced.” It is a sentiment shared by many of those who sat it when it was released. It is the type of film adaptation that ultimately fails to capture anything of the magic that made the original musical such a long-running hit with audiences. Far too many simply couldn't get past the CGI and its uncanninness.
Holmes And Watson (2018)
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Sherlock Holmes is, of course, one of the most famous literary detectives, and his stories have appeared various times in both movies and TV. Unfortunately, Holmes and Watson fell flat for many, in large part because it takes so many liberties with the story and because it wastes the great talents of John C. Reilly and Will Ferrell with a weak script and jokes that already felt dated at the time of release.
OK-Kaleidoscope-2785, was one of those who was particularly distressed by how bad it was. “Possibly the closest I've come to walking out of the cinema,” they wrote. Unfortunately for fans like this one, the movie simply never rises above many of its jokes, most of which are in poor taste without the signature bite that makes the work of its two actors so typically entertaining.
Prometheus (2012)
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Though the works of Ridley Scott have tended to receive critical praise, some have struggled to gain the love of audiences. One of these is Prometheus, which sometimes labors under its ponderous script and the looming legacy of the other entries in the Alien series. It certainly left many Redditors wanting more.
PrometheusIsFree, for example, had this to say: “I had such high hopes and it was dreadful. It didn't even make sense. The trailers were great, such a disappointment.” Clearly, it is sometimes difficult for even a successful franchise to continue creating the same magic. What's more, it also reveals the extent to which trailers often have to be careful not to sell a movie that ultimately cannot live up to the expectations that have been set for it.
Suicide Squad (2016)
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The DCEU has often struggled to attain the heights of success of the MCU, and though it has many good entries, some, such as Suicide Squad, suffered from a lack of originality and from lackluster performances. This is particularly disappointing since the Suicide Squad is one of the more interesting creations of the original comics.
Pooey_canoe says of the movie: “Definitely the worst film I've ever seen in the cinema. The one positive was my friends I watched it with, who generally are pretty film illiterate, could really recognise the terrible editing.” It is fortunate that the follow-up movie managed to restore the title characters’ good reputations. This particular iteration of the story ultimately becomes a mish-mash of comic book influences without managing to convince the viewer why they should invest themselves in either the story or the characters.
Eragon (2006)
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There are many great fantasy movies that have made it to the big screen, but Eragon is, alas, not one of these. Though based on the hugely popular fantasy novel by Christopher Paolini, it failed to capture the unique magic that made the source material so beloved, leaning instead into a generic fantasy aesthetic that left many viewers disappointed and disenchanted.
SpiffingAfternoonTea puts it this way: “They got it so bad that they departed from the books in a way that made it impossible to do later films even if it hadn't tanked, simply because characters died that shouldn't have, others lived that shouldn't have, etc.” The movie is, thus, a cautionary tale. It suggests that there are simply some changes that fans of a particular novel are not willing to tolerate, even in a big-budget adaptation.
Jurassic World Dominion (2022)
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The Jurassic Park series is, in many ways, one of the most successful franchises in Hollywood. The most recent entry, Jurassic World Dominion, while it brings back some of the original cast, ultimately can’t quite capture the magic of the original, in no small part because the dinosaurs seem like bit players in their own movie.
Chocolate_Kettle is usparing in their view: “I knew it was gonna be a trainwreck but I watched it anyway. Definitely the worst movie of the whole franchise.” Unfortunately, it does seem as if the magic has gone out of this particular franchise. This latest iteration doesn't seem to know what to do with either the new characters introduced in the previous two movies or with its returning veterans. And, most vexingly, the dinosaurs themselves seem almost an afterthought.
The Happening (2008)
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Throughout his career, M. Night Shyamalan has made a number of very notable movies. While some of these have been highly regarded, others have relied too much on the twist, and so they have come to feel predictable. This is true, for example, of The Happening, which wastes an intriguing premise about plants turning against humans and becomes a bit ridiculous by the end.
Martyn_x_86 writes scathingly: “When my friend and I walked out after enduring the entire film, we both just looked at each and exchanged a 'WTAF was that look.” The fact that it is plants that have caused humans to suddenly start taking their own lives may seem profound from a certain light, but unfortunately, this doesn't translate to the film itself. It is, ultimately, too silly to take very seriously.
Morbius (2022)
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Though many of the movies in the Spider-Man universe have been highly regarded, the same could not be said of Morbius. The movie was an unfortunate disaster, particularly since its special effects seemed so paltry given how much of a budget it had been given. Just as importantly, it also struggled to get a firm handle on its own story. Viewers were also not fond of the movie.
Northern_Apricot puts it this way: “Waste of petrol driving to the cinema.” Clearly, it takes more than a marquee name like Jared Leto and a large budget to make a movie into a true success. More than anything else, this particular movie reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of what makes a superhero movie work and for this reason it never really lands.
Taken 2 (2012)
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Liam Neeson has been in many great movies, and of late he has particularly excelled at creating men who are determined to save their loved ones. This is true in Taken, as well as its sequel. While Taken 2 has many of the elements that made the first movie such a success, it really struggles to do anything new with them, and so it ends up strangely inert for a movie with so many kinetic action sequences.
Royalblue1982 has this to say: “Taken 2 was one of the worst cash-grabs in cinema history. The sheer lack of effort they put into it was amazing.” Even though it's clear Liam Neeson is still delivering his usual strong performance, the script fails him in many important ways, so it's difficult to see why this movie took such a turn for the worst.
Battleship (2012)
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One of the strangest, and intermittently successful, trends in Hollywood was the taking of classic boardgames and turning them into movies. This might have worked with Battleship, but unfortunately, it tries to substitute bombast and predictable plot elements for strong writing, and thus the entire movie leaves the viewer wondering why, exactly, it was made in the first place.
Redditors were free with their sarcastic comments about the movie, with sniffybees writing, “The worst part of that film was that they didn't make Liam Neeson at any point say "you sunk my battleship.” Despite the fact that it is based on a board game, the movie ultimately fails to attain the sense of humor and magic that one would expect of such an adaptation.
