Top 10 Worst Movies of the 1990s

Top 10 Worst Movies of the 1990s

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In a decade that gave us Pixar, the rise of indie films, and the first billion-dollar movie, how could anything go wrong? Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’re counting down our picks for the top 10 worst movies of the 1990s. For this list, although we can all agree that there are different levels of “bad,” we will be looking at North-American big-budget studio productions. We’ll be basing our choices on a mix of critical and commercial success (or rather, a lack thereof), the quality of the films in terms of story, effects, acting and so on, as well as how they are generally perceived these days. This is part of a series of videos spanningthe decades.

#10: “The Avengers” (1998)

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No, you will not find Tony Stark here. A remake of the classic ‘60s British spy show, this major-budget production lost its way the moment thecameras started rolling. For 89 minutes, we watch as three amazing actors bore their way through what seems to be an incoherent MTV fever dream, or a rejected Miley Cyrus music video, with giant teddy bears and all. Director Jeremiah S. Chechik was able to bounce back with an impressive career in television, but you can practically see Sean Connery lose all faith in Hollywood and prepare for his decline. No wonder Warner Bros. refused to let critics preview this.

“Worst Movie” lists are usually riddled with remakes and sequels, but “North” in all honesty almost looked like heartfelt “Forrest Gump”-style Oscar-bait. Since it was directed by the brilliant Rob Reiner and featured an incredible ensemble cast, the world was shocked when they finally laid eyes on this snooze-fest. Elijah Wood stars as North, a child genius who goes searching for more suitable parents than the ones he has as he travels around the world. Even with a $40 million budget, it was impossible to sit through such boring, forced humor, with each scene seemingly rushed and incomplete. We can certainly see why one particular critic “hated, hated, hated, hated, hated this movie.”

#8: “Super Mario Bros.” (1993)

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We can sometimes understand Hollywood executives. The “Super Mario Bros.” games spawned a huge franchise that had spread successfully to all forms of media. A major motion picture should be inevitable, and a huge hit to boot, right? Then why did they offer it to these people? In this science fantasy adventure comedy, Mario and Luigi are plumbers that travel to another dimension, and it’s a dinosaur-filled “Blade Runner” world that has no connection to the games whatsoever. It was as if the filmmakers had never seen a Nintendo game before, or as if Mario had been explained to the team by a 3-year-old.

#7: “It’s Pat” (1994)

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“Saturday Night Live” has turned many of its characters into movies, with very few hitting it big. After the success of the “Wayne’s World” films, someone had the brilliant idea to turn Pat, one of the most annoying characters in “SNL” history, into a film star. Maybe we can chuckle at a 2-minute sketch of the gender-ambiguous character, but 78 minutes of him or her? Although Julia Sweeney starred in and co-wrote thefilm, she was always reluctant to bring Pat to the big screen. The film was such a box-office disaster that it was pulled after its opening weekend…thankfully. Quentin Tarantino’s probably glad his screenwriting contribution went un-credited as well.

#6: “Speed 2: Cruise Control” (1997)

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Take one of the biggest blockbuster action successes of recent memory, remove the 2 best things about it - those being the bus and Keanu Reeves, of course - and what do you get? You get audiences wishing the bus had killed everyone in the first film! Oh, and let’s throw a boat into the mix, because why not? Nothing says thrilling like a slow-moving cruise ship. Although Willem Defoe was cheesy perfection as thevillain, and the final crash scene, which was the most expensive stunt to date, was phenomenal, it seems nobody ever forgave director Jan de Bont for this “Speed” sequel… not even Hollywood.

After you see Shaquille O’Neal demonstrate his acting chops in this kids flick, Michael Jordan’s performance in “Space Jam” may start to look Oscar-worthy. The only thing you need to know about “Kazaam” to make you run away in terror is that it’s about a genie that comes out of a boombox. Maybe the fantasy musical comedy is actually a metaphor for Shaq’s terrible music career and how it should never have been unleashed onto the world. The b-ball player didn’t learn his lesson with this box-office bomb either, and brought us the equally disastrous “Steel” a year later.

#4: “Batman & Robin” (1997)

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What can be said about this film that hasn’t already been said? Director Joel Schumacher almost destroyed an entire genre with this campy nightmare. Although the previous flick, “Batman Forever,” had its merits, it’s almost blasphemous calling both of these movies sequels to theTim Burton films that preceded them. It was as if the production team only watched the old ‘60s Batman show, took a lot of acid, and started filming. With George Clooney as the most-miscast Batman in history, and everyone else hamming it up while trying to figure out if Schumacher was playing a joke on them, very few people found any humor in this slap in the face known as “Batman & Robin.”

#3: “Baby Geniuses” (1999)

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It’s shocking how a few toddlers can generate such hatred from audiences. With one single positive review on Rotten Tomatoes, “Baby Geniuses” is one of those comedic messes that completely embarrasses its major stars. It features Christopher Lloyd and Kathleen Turner as scientists who experiment on babies because they think that their babbling is a form of genius baby-language we cannot decipher. Its modest box-office return incomprehensibly inspired a sequel and a virtually unseen TV series. It also inspired us to shield our eyes for good…

Our runner-up is so notoriously hated by “Highlander” fans that the filmmakers have tried to recut it over the years multiple times. Call that a major apology. The film is riddled with so many continuity errors, no logical connection to the previous film, and countless awkward comedic moments featuring Sean Connery that we forget we are supposed to be watching a sci-fi action flick about immortals chasing each other through time. It’s like seeing Gandalf stopping to get a makeover. The director himself walked out after the first 15 minutes of the premiere. And they expected us to watch it? Before we reveal our top pick, here are a few honorable, or in this case dishonorable, mentions: “The NeverEnding Story III: Escape from Fantasia” (1994) “Bio-Dome” (1996) “Godzilla” (1998) “Body of Evidence” (1993) “Double Dragon” (1994)

#1: “Mortal Kombat: Annihilation” (1997)

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Not that the original film was a classic or anything, but it was at least guilty-pleasure fun. There is so much b-movie straight-to-video terribleness in the sequel that people were confused when they went to the movie theater. Denounced by “Mortal Kombat” co-creator Ed Boon, the video game adaptation was one of the worst reviewed films of all time. Starring another Caucasian portraying Lord Raiden, and more white-washing than laundry day after a clan rally, “Annihilation”’s terrible acting, script, effects, and completely boring fight sequences make us wish they would just finish us already. At least the planned sequel was cancelled. Do you agree with our list? What do you think is the worst movie of the 1990s? For more entertaining top 10s published daily, don’t forget to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.