Top 10 worst superhero movies
As I said in my Top 10 best superhero movies, I'm quite a big superhero fan, and have seen a lot of the movies, and I have always tried to enjoy them and appreciate them. However, there are some superhero movies out there that even a die hard superhero fan like me can't defend. And today, we're going to look at those movies. One final word though, I haven't seen all the bad superhero movies. I've never seen Catwoman, Steel, Elektra, Hulk, and there are a couple that are supposed to be bad that I actually like, so... obviously those won't be on here.
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- DirectorSidney J. FurieStarsChristopher ReeveGene HackmanMargot KidderThe Man of Steel crusades for nuclear disarmament and meets Lex Luthor's latest creation, Nuclear Man.This one is too often over-looked. I know Batman & Robin is the popular pick for worst, but Superman IV is way worse than that. Seeing all of the original cast back and being this bad is painful. The effects are horrible (Superman repairs the Great Wall of China with his eyes), and the villain, Nuclear Man is born from a strand of Superman's hair that was attached to a missile and launched into the sun. You could say that it has action, but it doesn't really, since all Superman and Nuclear Man really do is just grab each other and grit their teeth and flail around. However, why this movie really rates the worst spot is that it isn't even fun to watch in a so bad it's funny kind of way.
- DirectorMark NeveldineBrian TaylorStarsNicolas CageCiarán HindsIdris ElbaJohnny Blaze, tortured by the Ghost Rider's curse, gets a chance of redemption through protecting the Devil's son, whose father is pursuing him.I'm a little soft on this one just because it stars Cage, but it's complete garbage. Watching a movie with effects this bad is always painful, and the acting... the acting... Watching the Devil contort his face like that is not what I would call scary, or funny, or whatever this movie is supposed to be! Plus, can I just talk about the camera work. I'm not like a professional critic who pays attention to the way things are shot, but this movie... Random cuts and zoom-ins and speed ups, and shaky-cam, and a camera looking up from people's shoes at their faces. Why? This is just ahead of Superman IV because it's at least funny (because of Nic Cage).
- DirectorJoel SchumacherStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerGeorge ClooneyChris O'DonnellBatman and Robin try to keep their relationship together even as they must stop Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy from freezing Gotham City.This is it, the quintessential bad superhero movie, and the one that completes the trinity of terrible. George Clooney as Batman?! Are you kidding me? Who thought this was a good idea?! Uma Thurman could've been Ivy if she'd been given some decent material. Schwarzenegger would've been perfect to play some cheesy super-villain, but a scientist? Not to mention, having him just say one-liners wasn't the best approach. I've actually heard the count for Mr. Freeze's ice puns. 23. And he makes about... I don't know, maybe half of them. The garish lights everywhere make this movie just look like some kind of neon nightmare. All that being said, I do have a bit of a soft spot for Batman & Robin because it's so ridiculous and insane, that it's still very funny.
- DirectorMartin CampbellStarsRyan ReynoldsBlake LivelyPeter SarsgaardReckless test pilot Hal Jordan is granted an alien ring that bestows him with otherworldly powers that inducts him into an intergalactic police force, the Green Lantern Corps.I honestly don't know what to say about this movie. It's just so... boring, and joyless. It won't commit to a dark and mature tone like the Dark Knight did, but at the same time it won't just be fun, like Iron Man, and this movie tries to rip them both off. The acting is bad, but to be fair, they had no reason to care... this was just a bad movie from start to finish. Ryan Reynolds could've worked as Hal Jordan, but this movie sure killed that. The effects for the Lantern constructs are also good, but there's far too little action for that to matter.
- DirectorMark Steven JohnsonStarsNicolas CageEva MendesSam ElliottWhen motorcycle rider Johnny Blaze sells his soul to the Devil to save his father's life, he is transformed into the Ghost Rider, the Devil's own bounty hunter, and is sent to hunt down sinners.Well, this movie is certainly far from joyless. Nicolas Cage once again makes a terrible movie worth watching, but it's still y'know a terrible movie. Wes Bentley as Blackheart is so over-the-top, at times he seems crazier than Cage (no small feat), and Eva Mendes is not good as his girlfriend. Cage is oddly subdued at times in this movie, but at other times he's screaming and making faces at himself in the mirror (seriously, both of those are real scenes). What makes this so much better than Ghost Rider 2 is that the effects aren't nearly as bad, and it's shot competently, we're not randomly jump-cutting around when two people are talking in a car.
- DirectorJoel SchumacherStarsVal KilmerTommy Lee JonesJim CarreyBatman must battle former district attorney Harvey Dent, who is now Two-Face and Edward Nygma, The Riddler with help from an amorous psychologist and a young circus acrobat who becomes his sidekick, Robin.I have a confession to make. I loved this movie the first time I saw it. Then I watched it again... and I wondered what I had just watched. I'm not going to fault Val Kilmer or Chris O'donnell here, they did the best they could. Jim Carrey, well I just don't like him, he really gets under my skin, especially in this movie, and Nicole Kidman as the psychiatrist is painful. Tommy Lee Jones would've been really good as Two-Face, if he'd had the Tim Burton treatment, instead of... whatever Joel Schumacher was doing. While it isn't nearly as bad as what was coming next, Batman Forever is by no means a good movie.
- DirectorRichard LesterStarsChristopher ReeveRichard PryorMargot KidderSynthetic kryptonite laced with tar splits Superman in two: good Clark Kent and bad Man of Steel.Sometimes I don't hate Superman III that much, because it has so ridiculous it's funny, but at other times, I can't stand it, because this isn't a Superman movie, it's a Richard Pryor movie. There are about ten minutes of movie that feels like real Superman. The other 110 minutes are Richard Pryor and Robert Vaughn clowning around, and Clark and Lana hanging out in Smallville and awkwardly flirting with each other. That's the movie, oh and the ten minute showdown where a giant computer in the Grand Canyon gains sentience and turns a woman into a cyborg. What...? The one redeeming quality is Christopher Reeve, who is still trying to make this work, and even gets to turn in a really good performance as evil Superman. Why couldn't that have been the movie instead of a fifteen minute sub-plot?
- DirectorTim StoryStarsIoan GruffuddJessica AlbaChris EvansThe Fantastic Four learn that they aren't the only super-powered beings in the universe when they square off against the powerful Silver Surfer and the planet-eating Galactus.Fantastic Four 1 is not a good movie, but still manages to entertain. Fantastic Four 2 is a terrible movie, but is so bad, I still enjoy it. In fact I enjoy every single one of these movies (with the possible exception of Superman 4). Jessica Alba and the Doom impostor are still having a contest to see who can act worse, and the writers had a contest to see if they could butcher a villain worse than they did Dr. Doom. Well, whoever said they could was right. Galactus, the devourer of worlds, the guy who can destroy the Fantastic Four with one punch, the guy who is so powerful, humans are like insects to him, comes in for the big finale... as a cloud. Who is quickly dispatched by the Silver Surfer... his servant, who only serves him so Galactus won't kill his girlfriend! So he just didn't feel like using his full power and saving his planet?!
- DirectorGavin HoodStarsHugh JackmanLiev SchreiberRyan ReynoldsThe early years of James Logan, featuring his rivalry with his brother Victor Creed, his service in the special forces team Weapon X, and his experimentation into the metal-lined mutant Wolverine.This movie isn't quite as bad as people say. Yes, it's cheesy, once again they overload the movie with mutants, and yes parts of the movie drag. That is all true, but Hugh Jackman is a great Wolverine, and there are some truly spectacular action scenes, even if they are over-the-top. That being said, it was much better not having Wolverine's origins explained, and the X-men franchise would be better off, if this movie never happened.
- DirectorShane BlackStarsRobert Downey Jr.Guy PearceGwyneth PaltrowWhen Tony Stark's world is torn apart by a formidable terrorist called the Mandarin, he starts an odyssey of rebuilding and retribution.I know a lot of you will disagree with this pick, but I think my opinion here is justified. The butchery of the Mandarin was a slap in the face to fans, why did they even put him in here?! Killian is a lame replacement of the Mandarin, and the notion that somehow this Iron Man movie would be personal... was a lie. His friend gets injured, but Tony stops being angry about twenty minutes later. Just... too many dumb jokes and there are some seriously stupid plot-points. This was the most disappointing on the entire list, but over time I have come to accept this movie's flaws and still enjoy it in some ways, even though I still think it is a very lazy movie.