Worst2First: The Worst Films of 2016

Worst2First: The Worst Films of 2016

Another year over, another list of movies that were absolutely terrible.  Thankfully it wasn't as hard narrowing the list down like it was last year, but its still disappointing that there were so many stinkers out there in 2016.

If you don’t see a review of mine on this site, it means I haven’t seen it yet, so I can’t include it in my best OR worst of 2016, since I haven’t seen them yet.

So here are the ten worst films of 2016, Worst2First…

**There will be no spoilers.**

#10

 Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice

One of the most anticipated films of the year was seeing the Dark Knight take on the Man of Steel in their first big-budget epic showdown.  After a series of rewrites and changes to include hints of the other Justice League members, what came out was a mitigated mess with a highly convoluted story, terrible acting choices (Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor?), and a far-too-bloated runtime.  When Batman and Superman finally came to blows, it was pretty awesome until the lame event that brought them together.  The only light in this otherwise dull film is the arrival of Wonder Woman.  DC is trying like mad to match Marvel's success in the theaters, but so far they're failing pretty epically.  Speaking of DC...

#9

Suicide Squad

A completely tired, seen-it-before story with lackluster action and a lame villain.  For anyone who wanted to see Jared Leto tackle the iconic Joker, you were greatly disappointed.  The only decent thing the film had going for it was Margot Robbie's terrific spin on Harley Quinn, but once again DC drops the ball when it comes to major cinematic outings.

#8

Keeping Up With the Joneses

A comedy featuring the talents of Isla Fisher, Zach Galifianakis, Jon Hamm and Gal Gadot (fresh off her stint as Wonder Woman)?  What could go wrong?  How about a film that's so simple in its writing a kindergarten's puppy could've written it, a film that's rather devoid of humor, and one where the best scenes are found in the trailer.  This story of a suburban couple who wish to be their super sleek, fashionable spy neighbors is as predictable as the sun rising.

#7

The Divergent Series: Allegiant

 When the first "Divergent" movie came out, it rode the wave of Young Adult Novel female-centric hero movies such as "The Hunger Games" and it was a massive hit.  Unfortunately, the YA Novel tide has seemed to turn, and when they brought out "Insurgent," it didn't fare nearly as well.  With "Allegiant," the franchise is officially dead, and they're considering releasing the final film in a direct-to-TV movie.  The film was a CGI mess, with way too much going on that distracted from the storyline (although there really wasn't much of one).  Even the actors seemed tired of the series, and the audience grew as tired with it as well.

#6

Sausage Party

Seth Rogen's group is this generation's Brat Pack, and they often churn out some downright hilarious work ("Knocked Up" and "Pineapple Express" especially), so when they announced the first R-rated animated comedy centering around food in a grocery store that come to life, it seemed like it'd be a surefire comedic classic.  Instead the film delivered jokes you'd see on "Family Guy" during their last few seasons (translation: not funny), crude humor that you'd chuckle at the first time you hear it but no so much the subsequent thousand times, and a movie that was far below the talent that produced it.

#5

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

A film about a group of war heroes who come home and are celebrated at a Texas football halftime show was strange from the getgo.  Directed by Oscar winning director Ang Lee, it should've been huge Oscar bait for the season, but instead was considered a laughingstock of a film where the story went all over the place, the acting was atrocious (when Kristen Stewart is near top billing, that's to be expected), and a humorous halftime performance featuring Destiny's Child (here only seen from their backs, clearly obvious that they were just standins).

#4

Zoolander 2

In 2001, the first "Zoolander" was a massive hit filled with truly laugh-out-loud moments as Ben Stiller poked fun at the fashion industry.  In 2016, the sequel no one asked for was released, and the jokes were now tired, dull, and sadly enough, not funny.  In a year that featured several sequels from long-dead franchises ("My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2," "Barbershop 3," "Bad Santa 2," etc.), "Zoolander 2" rose to the bottom of the depths of awfulness and permanently tarnished the good name of Derek Zoolander.

#3

The Darkness

An insult to both ghosts and the Native Americans, "The Darkness" centers around a family who unknowingly unleashed an ancient Native American spirit that inhabits their young son and terrorizes the family.  For a horror film, it should've been at least scary, but I found myself nodding off several times during the film.

#2

WarCraft

Arguably not my demographic (I've never touched a "WarCraft" game), I still hold this film as the second worst movie of the year because of its convoluted, messy, overly-complicated storyline, terrible acting, even worse makeup (Paula Patton looked like Gamora had gone through a buzzsaw), and CGI so over-the-top it passed the verge of absurdity.

#1

Incarnate

A film that takes "Inception," "The Exorcist," "Fallen," "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and "Insidious" and literally churns out the worst parts of each film is what "Incarnate" turned out to be.  I will always be baffled by such an acclaimed actor as Aaron Eckhart would lend his good name to such filth, as the movie about a man who goes inside the minds of possessed people to deliver them from their demons (or parasites, as the film states) doesn't seem like a bad idea on paper, but it was extremely poorly executed and easily deserves the title of Worst Movie of 2016.