Before getting into the list I wanted to preface it by saying making films is by no means easy. Let alone making a good film is hard, if it were easy there would never be a bad one. I’d also like to say no one sets out to make a bad movie — there is an untold amount of thought and care that goes into these productions, and I won’t sit here and act like I could or would do better. This is my own list and if yours is different that’s awesome; that’s the beautiful thing about stories, they all hit us differently. With that all said, let’s get into my five least favorite films of the year.
5. Antman and the Wasp Quantumania
While I have never been partial to the Antman films, the marketing for this one did an incredible job of getting me enthused to see it. For the first time I was looking forward to not just seeing Antman, but also the villain he’d be squaring off against: Kang the Conqueror, Marvel’s new Thanos level threat. Unfortunately, this film ended up being a dull, interesting slog that lived up to none of what the trailers had promised. From an antagonist whose aura and words were more threatening than anything he actually did. The continued push of the confusing multiverse plot further diluted the focus of the film, creating an unsatisfying experience. This was another disappointing Marvel adventure.
4. Shazam! Fury of the Gods
I expected nothing of this film, and that is exactly what I got. This was yet another feckless, bland superhero experience having nothing new to say nor anything new to show. The characters are unremarkable and unmemorable. The plot is incoherent and the cast of villains that are as unthreatening as they are boring. The best thing that came out of this film is that we won’t likely be seeing this incarnation of the character again. This felt like more of a product than a movie.
3. No Hard Feelings
Perhaps it’s just me, but I can’t stand when a comedy doesn’t commit to its bit until the bitter end; instead choosing to cower at the last minute to string together some moral or lesson. A comedy’s function is to be funny, any misgivings or drawbacks can be glossed over if the stomach churning laughter endures. Yes, this movie is funny, but it just didn’t maintain its premise all the way to the finish line which made it frustrating. A bad ending ruins the whole experience for me because unlike life, it is not about the journey, it is about the destination. Had this film kept up the laughs and ridiculousness till the end it would have not ended up on this list.
2. 65
A human crash lands on Earth during the time of the dinosaurs, and must survive the prehistoric wilds. The concept is sadly more interesting than the execution. This film is boring, which is the worst thing a story can be. At least if it was a bad film then I would feel an emotion or at least have a reaction beyond indifference. Aside from the concept, there is not anything memorable about the film. Disappointing.
1. Meg 2: The Trench
Even a bad joke can be funny if it is delivered well because there’s conviction, there’s belief in the material. Meg 2 is a bad joke ill-told, and is such a bad joke it doesn’t even enter the “so bad it’s good territory.” Instead it’s chum, it’s outlandish in a way that is alienating to the audience, leaving the film to be crushed underneath the weight of its own mediocrity. Normally, I would not be so hard on a film like this, but it didn’t even feel like it was trying to be entertaining, but just ludicrous. It was actively so bad I had to struggle to not just walk out of the theater.
