10 Worst Fantasy Movies Of The 2010s According to Letterboxd

10 Worst Fantasy Movies Of The 2010s According to Letterboxd

There were many fantastic fantasy films released in the 2010s – this was the decade, after all, that saw the conclusion of the main Harry Potter saga and the introduction of Newt Scamander to the big screen. However, the decade also saw its fair share of fantasy movies that failed to find success, either at the box office or among the critics.

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The users at Letterboxd have helpfully provided their own rankings of these movies, allowing for a fuller understanding of just which fantasy movies from the 2010s should probably best be avoided.

10 The Last Airbender (2010) – 1.1

Aang Katara Sokka The Last Airbender Movie (1)

M. Night Shyamalan has been responsible for some great movies during his time in Hollywood, and it’s easy to see why he has a solid reputation as a director. Unfortunately for him, The Last Airbender was a bit of a misstep. Though it clearly tried to capture something of what had made the first season of the very popular series so magical. Making matters worse was the fact that it featured acting that was widely regarded as uniquely bad and a plot that was far too convoluted to be comprehensible.

9 Cats (2019) – 1.39

The big screen has been graced by many great musical movies, but it seemed from the beginning that Cats was going to be a disaster. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened, in large part because the movie failed to capture some of the strange magic that had allowed the stage production to be one of the most enduringly popular and successful stage musicals. Most unfortunately, the CGI for the movie ended up being far more off-putting than dazzling, sapping it of what little magic it might have had.

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8 Jonah Hex (2010) – 1.7

 

Josh Brolin as Jonah Hex

Even though he is one of the most successful actors in Hollywood and has been in many great movies, Josh Brolin is no stranger to movies that aren’t successful. This includes Jonah Hex, which emerged at the very start of the decade. Though it tries to capture a blend of superhero movie and western, somehow the movie ends up not succeeding in either regard.

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The fact that it is such a short movie–coming in at a very abbreviated eighty-two minutes–means that it doesn’t have enough time to develop what little plot it contains.

7 The Smurfs 2 (2013) – 1.9

smurfs 2 characters

In the history of animation, there are few animated characters that have been as beloved as the Smurfs, so it’s not surprising that they would find a rebirth on the big screen. While it is easy to see how this movie could have gone in a productive direction that maintained the spirit of the original while also setting out on its own course, it ultimately fails to capture even a glimmer of the magic that made the Smurfs so popular, with crass humor, overly broad characterizations, and humor that never fully lands.

6 Gods Of Egypt (2016) – 1.9

Anubis being summoned from the afterlife

Many movies have sought to make movie gold out of ancient myths and mythology, and that of the Greeks has been especially successful. Gods of Egypt clearly wants to capture some of that power for itself, but it is hampered by a number of creative decisions that ultimately keep it from becoming anything more than just a generic magic action movie. Adding to its problems is the fact that most of the Egyptian characters are played by White actors, a creative choice that is befuddling at best and incomprehensible at worst.

5 Tooth Fairy (2010) – 1.9

The Rock is another star who is very beloved, and his filmography has many important and very entertaining movies. With Tooth Fairy, he clearly wanted to break out of the action star box that he’d been put into, but the results were quite mixed. Though the movie has some charming moments, much of the story feels more than a little generic. However, its lackluster reception among critics (and users of Letterboxd) didn’t keep it from being an unexpected financial success.

4 Gulliver’s Travels (2010) – 1.9

Jack Black is arguably one of the funniest actors of his generation, and his filmography is full of hilarious movies. While Gulliver’s Travels might have gone on to be one of those–with its updating of the classic story about a man who journeys to a land populated by diminutive people known as Lilliputians–but unfortunately it relies far too much on both subpar special effects and juvenile humor. Even Jack Black’s considerable star charisma isn’t quite enough to save it from feeling like an unneeded update of a classic work of literature.

3 The Mummy (2017) – 2.0

As with so many other properties, The Mummy is one that has gone through several different interpretations during various periods of Hollywood history. Most recently, it was rebooted again in 2017, with Tom Cruise in the leading role.

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Intended as a movie to set up a new cinematic universe, it ultimately spends too much of its time setting up future entries and not enough on its central story. What’s more, it also lacks the irreverent sense of humor that made its immediate predecessors such an enormous success.

2 Season Of The Witch (2011) – 2.1

 

Nicolas Cage in Season of the Witch

The mark of a strong and good fantasy movie is its ability to craft a compelling universe and interesting characters. Unfortunately, Season of the Witch manages to do neither of these things. Though it has some potential in its setup–in which two knights are charged with transporting a woman accused of being a witch–it all too frequently becomes nothing more than a drab and generic movie. Even Nicolas Cage, often noted for his willingness to sink his teeth into a mediocre role, does little to save it from its own mediocrity.

1 Jupiter Ascending (2015) – 2.1

The Wachowskis are some of the most respected directors working in Hollywood, but despite their successes they’re still capable of producing movies that ultimately fail to hit the mark. One of their more unfortunate outings was Jupiter Ascending, which focuses on Mila Kunis’ Jupiter, a seemingly normal cleaning woman who gets swept up in interplanetary politics. Though it is a visually stunning movie, it is ultimately far too generic to set itself apart from the many other fantasy offerings of the decade.

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Split image of Dolores Umbridge and Bellatrix Lestrange

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About The Author

Thomas West
(1002 Articles Published)

Thomas J. West III earned a PhD in film and screen studies from Syracuse University in 2018. His writing on film, TV, and popular culture has appeared in Screenology, FanFare, Primetimer, Cinemania, and in a number of scholarly journals and edited collections. He co-hosts the Queens of the B’s podcast with Mark Muster and writes a regular newsletter, Omnivorous, on Substack.

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