Top 10 Worst Movies of 2021

Can we please leave the “Home Alone” franchise alone already? The original is a Christmas classic. Whether you think “Home Alone 2” is the same old thing or a misunderstood gem, it’s better than everything that followed. As awful as the subsequent three sequels were, they at least understood one thing: we’re supposed to root for the kid and against the home invaders. In this Disney+ reboot, Ellie Kemper and Rob Delaney’s characters are oddly empathetic while Archie Yates’ Max is a little jerk from start to finish. So, even as far as soulless retreads go, this film couldn’t retread properly. Wasting its talented cast and a popular IP, they should’ve just made “Stoned Alone” with Ryan Reynolds. Whatever happened with that project anyway?

To anyone who thinks the “Fast & Furious” movies are mindless action escapades, we give you “The Misfits.” This is what a “Fast & Furious” flick would be like without any innovative action or appealing characters. You wouldn’t guess this based on the cast, which includes Jamie Chung, Tim Roth, and Pierce Brosnan - a former James Bond for crying out loud. At least Brosnan looks like he’s having fun, but the same can’t be said about the audience. We’re stuck sitting through painful one-liners, such as: The plot, meanwhile, recycles from every other heist movie ever made without an ounce of self-aware charm. The characters wanna be modern Robin Hoods, but “The Misfits” robs from richer storylines and gives nothing to us poor suckers.

Remember in the early 2010s when every studio was trying to cash in on the Young Adult craze? Well, even if “Voyagers” wasn’t at least seven years too late, it still would’ve tasted stale. The idea of “‘Lord of the Flies’ in space” sounds promising, but “Voyagers” is devoid of any interesting characters, visuals, or twists. The promising cast of up-and-comers, which includes Tye Sheridan and Lily-Rose Depp, do what they can with one-note roles. Director Neil Burger has made some good films like “The Illusionist,” but the studio clearly just wanted him to replicate the success of the first “Divergent.” Where the “Divergent” franchise at least made it to three movies, we can’t imagine “Voyagers” even getting a straight-to-video sequel with half the budget.

We’re not sure what happened between LeBron James’ memorable turn in “Trainwreck” and this cinematic trainwreck, but he obviously didn’t spend a semester at Juilliard. The Looney Tunes aren’t able to compensate for James’ shortcomings, as they get lost in a sea of product placement and references, half of which feel like they were written in 1999. To be fair, there are some genuinely fun cameos… when you can see what’s going on. The movie’s second half is so crowded and poorly lit that most of the time, it’s hard to make out all the little details. After the spectacle of “Ready Player One” and the unexpected heart of “The Lego Movie,” an IP-packed “Space Jam” sequel could’ve worked, but the results are “le pew.”

With Amy Adams starring, Joe Wright directing, and the plot echoing “Rear Window,” this psychological thriller initially sounded like a potential Oscar contender. Between the negative test screenings, re-editing, and getting sold to Netflix, though, we knew something was wrong. Still, we didn’t think it would be this wrong. While Adams and Julianne Moore naturally turn in solid performances, many of the actors behave as if they’re from another planet. Maybe that was the idea, but it comes off as unintentionally hilarious. Although we’re trying to save you 100 minutes, we won’t give away the twist ending. However, we will say that this melodramatic mystery could’ve been quickly solved if the authorities put any effort into their job, making the explanation feel cheap and unearned.

You can usually tell if a Melissa McCarthy movie is going to work based on its director. If anyone other than Ben Falcone is behind the camera, there’s real potential! If Falcone is helming the project, prepare to laugh maybe once every twenty minutes give or take. Don’t get us wrong. We love Falcone and McCarthy as a real-life couple and co-stars. For whatever reason, though, things never click when Falcone directs McCarthy. “Thunder Force” is no exception, adding virtually nothing new to the superhero satire or buddy picture formulas. Well, except for casting Jason Bateman as a henchman with crab arms. That’s inspired! Otherwise, the film is sadly another step backwards for McCarthy, who drags Octavia Spencer down with her.

In this face-palming-ly awful action thriller, Ruby Rose’s Victoria is forced out of retirement when Morgan Freeman’s Damon takes her daughter hostage. Here’s the thing, though. Damon keeps her daughter in his house, which Victoria has access to. So, instead of going on a wild goose chase laced with death, why doesn’t Victoria ever think to just search every room and take her daughter back? Perhaps we could forgive this baffling plothole if the performances were charismatic and the action wowed. Alas, Victoria is a below-average action heroine and you’d never guess Freeman is an Oscar winner based on his uninvested work here. Visually, it’s an ugly movie with nonsensical editing choices and cinematography draped in putrid colors, desperately attempting to stand out.

Even after numerous delays and reshoots, we held onto hope that Tom Holland, Daisy Ridley, and Doug Liman might be able to salvage this adaptation of Patrick Ness’ acclaimed novel. Unfortunately, the experience of sitting through this hollow dystopian film is indeed chaos. In all fairness, this source material isn’t easy to adapt. The premise centers on a world where everyone sees and hears each other’s thoughts. While this idea is well-suited for literature, it doesn’t necessarily translate to a visual medium. Cinema is about showing rather than telling, but “Chaos Walking” is constantly telling… even when it doesn’t need to. Lionsgate executives reportedly deemed the movie’s first cut “unreleasable.” We’re still wrapping our brains around the notion that an even worse version might exist.

You know “The Fifth Element,” that one-of-a-kind sci-fi film with a charismatic performance from Bruce Willis? “Cosmic Sin” is the bizarro version with no style whatsoever and Willis sleepwalking through his performance. Or maybe “squint-walking” is more accurate, as he barely opens his eyes here. Everything about this production feels bored and half-assed. None of the characters have identities, not a single visual is unique, and there’s barely any action. Even the opening text looks like something thrown together on iMovie. We know that’s a nitpick, but when the audience is more focused on the font than the characters or story, you know something’s seriously off. You might even call it a cosmic sin. With 3% on Rotten Tomatoes, we think critics were too kind.

If you want to make a movie about the autism experience, more power to you. If you want to make a musical based on Sia’s songs, sure, that could be fun. Why in the world would you combine these two ideas together, though? Sia’s colorful direction and peppy music doesn’t at all go with this film’s serious subject matter, which also tries to tackle drugs, death, and divorce. Granted, musicals like “Rent” balanced serious issues with uplifting music, but that musical understood the subjects at its core. “Music” has no real understanding of autism, coming off as emotionally manipulative and kind of infuriating. We’re sure the filmmakers meant well, but “Music” deserved all three of its Razzies, including Worst Supporting Actress, Actress, and Director.