Cinema is all about action; movement, change, and energy are all the basis of the Seventh Art, so it’s no surprise that for many decades, the action movie genre has been one of the most popular. But while some of history’s greatest films have been action movies,some of the worst of all time have also belonged to the beloved genre.
Over the past 25 years in particular, with the increasingly commercial nature of Hollywood, the advancement in special effects and other technology, and audiences' growing interest in big-budget action flicks, many more of these films have been made than ever before. This increased number represents a higher probability that an action movie will be less than ideal. Indeed, since 1999, there have been plenty of outings in this genre that might be counted among the worst films ever made.
10’Attack Force' (2006)
Directed by Michael Keusch
He’s not without a fanbase (though, admittedly, most of its members like his movies ironically only), butSteven Seagalis usually agreed to be one of the most boring action heroes of the 21st century. The title of “worst Steven Seagal movie” is a highly contested one, but the straight-to-DVD fiascoAttack Forceis a very strong contender. It’s about a U.S. military commander who discovers the development of a new drug that turns people into killers. He must stop its inventor before it’s thrown into the market.
With some of the worst acting, the worst combat sequences, and themost embarrassing writing that action has ever seen,Attack Forceis an incomprehensible mess that’s too bad even for the straight-to-video market. Monstrous editing, laughably bad dubbing, and action scenes so poorly crafted that it’s impossible to keep up with them all make this one of the worst action movies of the 21st century.
Attack Force
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9’Catwoman' (2004)
Directed by Pitof
The years between the turn of the millennium and the birth of the MCU in 2008 were a rough patch for the superhero genre. Its popularity boomed with 2000’sX-Men, but then movies as atrocious asCatwomancame along and gave superheroes a bad name. It’s the story of a shy woman who’s endowed with the senses and reflexes of a cat, following her as she walks the thin line between criminal and hero with a detective hot on her tail.
Catwomanis one ofthe worst blockbusters of the 2000sby far, an ugly-looking, strange-feeling,all around unsettling experience even for the biggest superhero film fans.Halle Berryis criminally underrated in the lead role, but everything else about the movie is impossible to like. Somehow managing to be both clichéd and uniquely bad, it’s a mismatch of strange creative choices that results in an altogether unpleasant cinematic experience.
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8’Alone in the Dark' (2005)
Directed by Uwe Boll
Based on the popular video game of the same name,Alone in the DarkcementedUwe Bollas one of the 21st century’s most unfortunate directors.Unfortunate for all those who had to suffer through this terrible sci-fi/fantasy/horror action thriller, that is. It’s the tale of a detective of the paranormal, who slowly starts unraveling mysterious events with deadly results.
One of the most poorly-written andmost poorly-directed sci-fi movies of all time,Alone in the Darkis an affront to the source material, to its fans, and to audiences all around the world who had to suffer through it. It feels like it was made by someone who had never seen a single movie before, with the most incomprehensible action, the worst-possible pacing, and the cheapest production values imaginable.
Alone in the Dark
7’BloodRayne' (2005)
Throughout history, there have been some filmmakers who have admirably put out two incredible movies in the same year.Then, there’s Uwe Boll, who somehow madetwoof the worst films of all time in 2005. Also based on a video game franchise,BloodRayneis set in the 18th century, when a vampire escapes from the freak show and teams up with a gang of vampire slayers to kill the man who abused her mother.
There was no director worse-fitted to deal with the kinds of serious themes thatBloodRaynetouches upon than Uwe Boll. This is one ofthe worst fantasy horror movies of all time, an offensively poor attempt at a campy exploitation movie with none of the charm that those films usually have. It’s at least semi-serviceable for those who enjoy these kinds of trashy movies, but everyone else should avoid it like the plague.
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6’The Crow: Wicked Prayer' (2005)
Directed by Lance Mungia
Legendary largely because ofBrandon Lee’s unfortunate death during filming,Alex Proyas’sThe Crowis an exceptional action movie.Sadly, the franchise it spawned is a lot less good. An awful lot. The worst installment is universally agreed to beThe Crow: Wicked Prayer, where a gang leader on his way to becoming an immortal demon orchestrates the murder of an ex-con and his girlfriend.
One ofthe worst R-rated superhero movies ever made,Wicked Prayeris an offense to the legacy of the original. Unbelievably dumb (particularly in its incomprehensible third act), atrociously lazy, and incoherent in every bit of its story, it’s a complete reinvention of the mythology ofThe Crowthat, instead of re-building its lore, completely demolishes everything that had come before.
The Crow: Wicked Prayer
5’Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever' (2002)
Directed by Wych Kaosayananda
One of the few movies that have a whopping 0% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes,Ballistic: Ecks vs. Severeffortlessly lives up to its reputation, and then some. One ofthe worst mystery movies ever made, it’s about an FBI agent and a rogue DIA agent who have been tasked with destroying each other, but they soon discover that a much bigger enemy is at work.
The audience never gets a real sense of why on Earth these two characters are fighting.
Most problems with the picture start from the fact that the audience never gets a real sense of why on Earth these two characters are fighting. The way the action is shot and edited is inept at best, the story and characters are paper-thin, andthe endless barrage of self-serious noise means that there’s not a single moment of fun to be hadin this embarrassing flop.
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Severis currently not available to stream, rent, or purchase in the U.S.
4’Dragonball Evolution' (2009)
Directed by James Wong
Based on the beloved anime and manga mythology ofDragon BallandDragon Ball Z, the much-less-belovedDragonball Evolutionhas long been considered the worst thing that has ever happened to fans of the franchise. It’s about the young warrior Son Goku, who sets out on a quest against time and the vengeful King Piccolo to collect a set of magical orbs that grant their wielder unlimited power.
Dragonball Evolutionis by far one ofthe worst movies of the past quarter-centuryoverall, andnot just because of how badly it messes up the story, characters, themes, and concepts of its source material. The lack of energy and vibrancy makes the movie surprisingly boring, even in spite of its breakneck-speed pacing. Poorly written, poorly acted, and poorly directed, it’s one of the worst films of the 2000s.
Dragonball Evolution
3’The Last Airbender' (2010)
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan
Once upon a time,M. Night Shyamalanwas one of the most exciting new voices in Hollywood. Nowadays, he’s one of the most divisive and inconsistent. Sometimes he makes something terrific, other times he makes…The Last Airbender. Based on the iconic Nickelodeon animated showAvatar: The Last Airbender, it’s about a boy from a long line of Avatars, who must master all four elements to stop the Fire Nation from enslaving the other tribes.
On every single thing it sets out to do,The Last Airbenderfails. It doesn’t work as a fantasy adventure movie,because its fantastical elements are laughably silly and its sense of adventure is nonexistent. It doesn’t work as an action movie, because all of its action scenes are visually unappealing and horrid in their choreography. It certainly doesn’t work as an adaptation of the beloved show, because it bastardizes and destroys everything that made it so popular in the first place. The only thing it succeeds at being is one ofthe worst fantasy movies of the 2010s.
The Last Airbender
2’Battlefield Earth' (2000)
Directed by Roger Christian
Battlefield Earthis the kind of bad movie that needs no introduction. After all, its reputation as one of the few films that can stand shoulder-to-shoulder withThe Roomas one of the worst of the 21st century precedes it. Based on a novel by scientology founderL. Ron Hubbard, it’s about an alien race that conquers Earth and enslaves humanity, but humans eventually start plotting the uprising of a generation.
Every superlative that can be applied toBattlefield Earthis a negative one. It has some of the ugliest cinematography ever, some of the worst writing ever seen in a sci-fi film, and one ofthe worst movie villains of all time.Its action scenes lack any excitement or compelling elements, and when an action movie is so uninteresting in every sense, it has failed at the most primordial thing that might have justified its existence.
Battlefield Earth
1’Foodfight!' (2012)
Directed by Lawrence Kasanoff
Derided by pretty much everyone who has seen it as one of the worst movies ever made—if nottheworst—, the animated fiascoFoodfight!feels like a monster that escaped from a terrifying nightmare and managed to insert itself into the carnal realm. It’s a mystery movie where the evil Brand X joins a supermarket that becomes a city after closing time, leaving Dex Dogtective and his friends as the only ones who can stop them.
Saying thatFoodfight!isthe worst animated movie ever madeis such common knowledge that it pretty much goes without saying. The animation is beyond terrifying, the script feels like it was written by a primitive Artificial Intelligence, and the abundance of product placement (clearly the film’s main source of funding, because how else could they have gotten a voice cast with the likes ofCharlie SheenandEva Longoria?) is truly unsettling. Never has there been an action movie more irredeemably terrible than this one.
