Highlander II: The Quickening
The original 1986 “Highlander” was an iconic fantasy action-adventure film that helped turn Christophe Lambert into a worldwide star. The film was initially panned by critics and received moderate financial success but has since garnered a dedicated cult following. It also spawned several sequels, with the first, “Highlander II: The Quickening,” being considered one of the worst.
The sequel contained gaping plot holes and was panned by both fans and critics of the franchise. In fact, the film was so bad that it had multiple different versions of it released just to try and make up for the original release’s horrible editing. “Highlander II: The Quickening” received a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with many calling it a joke and urging fans to avoid it.
Max Payne
Another film that proves why fans are so disappointed with film adaptations of popular video games is "Max Payne." This 2008 film is based on a highly successful shooting game franchise of the same name. By the time the movie was released and reviews were in, it was clear to everyone that this wasn't going to be a fun ride.
The movie was panned by critics for having an illogical plot and terrible acting, while the fans hated it because there were almost no similarities between the film and the video games that it was supposedly based on. Even the game's maker, Scott Miller, was a huge critic of the film, citing that the film's story makes him shake his head in bewilderment.
Mortal Kombat: Annihilation
One of the earliest examples of just how bad films that are video-game adaptations can be is the sequel to 1995's fantasy martial arts film "Mortal Kombat." The movie was the number one best-selling film for its first three weeks and earned $122 million worldwide. This prompted the studio to make a sequel called "Mortal Kombat: Annihilation."
"Mortal Kombat: Annihilation" was very different than its predecessor and was overwhelmingly hated for having some of the worst acting and dialogue of all time. The film was much less profitable than the first movie, which led the studio to cancel a third sequel. It received a 2% approval rating from 41 critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Emoji Movie
Sure, emojis are part of daily life, so much so that Hollywood actually thought, "Why not make a movie about it? Let’s use ALL the CGI! Let’s make a blockbuster!" Unfortunately, it was a flop. Despite calling on the star power and credentials of James Corden, Patrick Stewart, Anna Faris, Maya Rudolph, and the fabulous Christina Aguilera, it was still a failure.
Making $217.8 million at the box office, but we’ve got a feeling the next time someone suggests a film about emojis, it’s going straight into the trash. Helen O’Hara from Empire gave a review that is cutting but most probably deserved – “it’s tempting, to sum up in thumbs down emoji.”
Fantastic Four
With a review from Rolling Stone as searing as “'Fantastic Four' is a pile of something, too. You fill in the blank,” really, there isn’t much more to say, is there? After the initial reboot in 2004, starring the likes of Jessica Alba and Chris Evans, the studio decided that “ah, ten years have passed, people have forgotten, let’s make another one!”
Some films, no matter how many reboots, just aren’t going to do well. Anyway, it seems that even Captain America was shaking his head at his role as the “Human Torch” – regardless, if he hadn’t signed on to the film, perhaps he wouldn’t now have been recognized as Captain America.