Rachel Lutack December 31st, 2017 - 6:00 PM
Continuing with our coverage of the Best of 2017, we come to the films that left us the most disappointed this year. Always a category with interesting results, this year we have films that range from the downright terrible to ones that failed to dazzle after their hype. This year in particular, we see films that divided audiences, even one that made our Top Ten list, and two that scored spots on our Honorable Mentions.
A CURE FOR WELLNESS
Verbinski made a name for himself in Hollywood directing the chart-topping The Ring. Verbinski showcased an inherent ability to build suspense and tension with the precision of a master filmmaker. When hearing that the director was finally returning to his horror-inspired roots with A Cure for Wellness, many believed that the film would be an actualized passion project from the director who had become primarily known for his Pirates of the Caribbean films. Instead, it seems that Verbinski had focalized his attention on the production design, costuming, and visual aesthetic leaving audiences to sit through a sordidly predictable narrative that provided viewers with twists and turns that most could see coming from a mile away.
– Riyad Mammadyarov
ALIEN: COVENANT
Read our review here.
I love Alien. Ridley Scott created so much tension that resulted in one of my favorite sci-fi films of all time. Prometheus was unexpected in a good way and I was more than ready for the story to continue. Alien: Covenant suffers from an identity crisis. Is it an Alien film or a Prometheus one? I’m not sure and i don’t think the people who made this are either. This film lacks suspense, something that the franchise was built on, and features bloody scenes that are supposed to shock the audience. I felt nothing. I was bored and frustrated with the end result. Not to mention, they killed off a great character way too soon. I still can’t believe that 20th Century Fox passed on Neil Blomkamp’s Alien 5 for this.
– Rick Rice
In a year of many, many terrible films, Alien: Covenant might be the worst. (Read my earlier tangent here.) Director Ridley Scott (responsible for both 1979’s Alien and 2012’s first prequel Prometheus) took all of the interesting concepts from Prometheus (the Engineers, the birth of humanity) and wipes it away before the movie even begins. From incompetent scientists to twists you can see a million miles away to a shower scene death sequence straight out of a Friday the 13th film, it’s remarkable how much of a misfire this movie actually is, particularly from the director who gave us the original classic. While Michael Fassbender is a scene stealer as the androids David and Walter, the character is written so inadvertently poorly that he becomes more unintentionally comical than anything. Or have we forgotten the fingering?
– Brett Harrison Davinger
ATOMIC BLONDE
Read our review here.
I was extremely excited to see this film, considering that the trailers were absolutely entertaining and I had received suggestions from people. After watching the film, however, I found the film to be very lacking in substance. The action scenes were well choreographed and fun to watch, but the action is too far and few between. The scenes that focus on her espionage and other activity are much too boring and feel empty. The script has left much to be desired.
– Daniel Jungenberg
BATTLE OF THE SEXES
A movie designed for Oscar bait without any regard of what a good application of this story would actually be. Massive parts of true history are glazed over so the lead actress could make goo-goo eyes at her love interest for long extended sequences. Just a mess through and through.
– Raymond Flotat
THE BIG SICK
Though I enjoyed it, I went in with a little higher hopes on what the critics had said it would be. They raved at its diversity, but I found a lot of the subject matter to be similar to other movies or life and I think they could have gone another way.
– Julie White
BLADE RUNNER 2049
Read our review here.
I was so looking forward to Blade Runner 2049. Harrison Ford returns! Ryan Gosling! Arrival’s Denis Villeneuve to direct! And most of all a sequel to such a classic. Despite excellent graphics and visuals of this future world, I found the movie to be plodding, boring, uninvolved, and all together the biggest disappointment of the year.
– Karen Earnest
THE DARK TOWER
Read our review here.
Man this is a bummer of a movie. After years in development hell, the first volume of Steven King’s 4,000 page epic finally made it to the big screen in spectacularly disappointing fashion. Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey are great choices, but they’re given so little to do here. This film will piss off fans of the series and confuse those who haven’t read it. It’s a film for no one.
– John Wedmeyer
JUSTICE LEAGUE
I won’t say I had high hopes for Justice League, but it failed so profoundly that it didn’t even meet my low expectations. Warner Bros. needs to invest in writers and directors, not intellectual properties. Marvel, this year alone, has delivered several great superhero films (Thor: Ragnarok and Logan, for example), and DC must now confront the challenge of following Wonder Woman with an equal, if not better, film because it has been their only notable contribution to the genre.
– Sean Arenas
KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE
Read our review here.
Fox
While the more obvious disappointment of 2017 would have been Justice League, Kingsman 2: The Golden Circle hurt a lot more because it seemingly learned the wrong lessons from its predecessor. Kingsman: The Secret Service was great in how it paid homage to the Connery-era Bond films while never going too over the top. Yes, the bad guy’s plot was insane, as most spy films of the time were, but there still existed a grounded narrative that not only kept the film in check, but also showcased the development of its protagonist Eggsy (Taron Egerton). The sequel, however, veered too much into the realm of self-parody, focusing more on spy gadgetry and stylized action scenes at the cost of a strong narrative, to the point that old characters were sacrificed just to introduce new ones. That doesn’t mean The Golden Circle wasn’t somewhat entertaining, but it goes so far off the rails that you question why director Mathew Vaughn took this particular approach to world building.
– Ben Wasserman
STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI
Read our review here.
I definitely was disappointed in the direction it took, as well as its characterization of Luke Skywalker and Rey and its side-lining of former lead Finn.
– Emily Chapman
As a Star Wars fan, I thought this film was a huge disappointing mess. This may have also been the cheesiest film in the entire franchise, and that is saying quite a lot, especially after the prequels. Domhnall Gleeson as General Hux was a downright confusing performance, and it may have been some weird editing, but Laura Dern as Vice Admiral Holdo came off scatterbrained, hokey, and a severely odd commentary on female representation in action film. As a whole, the movie’s pacing and plot construction felt episodic and aimless for the most part. I won’t even get into how wrong they got Luke Skywalker’s character. At least Yoda made an appearance and saved some of the day.
– Rachel Lutack
THOR: RAGNAROK
Read our review here.
Thor: Ragnarok was an undeniably entertaining and comedic romp, finally turning the pompous God of Thunder into a relatable character and allowing Chris Hemsworth to stretch his comedy muscles for once. However, the film’s kooky visuals and goofy tone seemed strangely at odds with its central plot point – the total destruction of Thor’s homeworld, Asgard, the slaughter of hundreds of its citizens, and the displacement of thousands more. The movie is all laughs until the occasional scenes meant to remind viewers of the harrowing refugee crisis that Thor isn’t around to help with, and even at the end, when many of the characters manage to escape alive, there is the lurking sense that the film doesn’t know what tone it wants to strike. As funny as it the movie is, one can’t help but feel awkward when the destruction of Asgard is used as the setup for a punchline. Ouch.
– Parker Danowski
MXDWN Movies Best of 2017 continued coverage:
