Top 20 Worst Movies of the 2000s

#20: “FeardotCom” (2002)

Legend says anyone who visits this eponymous website will meet their grisly end in 48 hours. As it turns out, the movie itself does the same thing in two - just from boredom instead of a vengeful ghost. Despite its intriguing digital setup, “FeardotCom” is a lifeless affair devoid of any real scares, thrills, or intrigue. Neither the script nor the actors are up to the caliber needed to pull off the film’s weighty techno ambitions, which makes the dark twists feel more gratuitous than powerful. So take it from us: you’re better off doom scrolling just about anywhere besides “FeardotCom.”

#19: “Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li” (2009)

Deep in the vault of horrible video game adaptations lies a truly mind-boggling gaffe for the ages. Looking at you, “Legend of Chun-Li.” This “Street Fighter” origin story takes both the “street” and the “fighter” out of its iconic source material. Chun-Li can try and unleash her iconic Spinning Bird Kick all she wants, it won’t save this movie from the laughably bad fight choreography. A “Street Fighter” movie. With bad fight choreography. How did they mess that up? To say nothing of the script, acting, story… Yeah, if you want your Chun-Li fix, just go to an arcade.

#18: “Basic Instinct 2” (2006)

A tittling tale of carnal desire, the original “Basic Instinct” beautifully toed the line between explicit and entertaining. The same cannot be said for the 2006 sequel. It spent many long years in development limbo, and you can see every one of them in the muddled script. Sharon Stone returns as Catherine Tramell to give more longing stares into the camera. But clearly, the spark in this relationship has long-since died. At best, “Basic Instinct 2” is a pointless rehash of the original. At worst, it’s a laughably over-the-top erotica more likely to leave you snoring. Either way, it’s worth avoiding like a bad ex.

#17: “The Cat in the Hat” (2003)

Unhinged, crass, absurd… No, we aren’t talking about a horror film. We’re talking about the live-action “The Cat in the Hat.” Adapted from Dr. Seuss’ beloved children’s story and starring Mike Myers, this take on the character goes beyond whimsical into full-on fever dream territory. It’s bright, it’s loud, and it makes absolutely no sense. The end result is a frantic mess of a film from start to finish. We’d say only a kid could enjoy it, but given the overwhelming number of double entendres, they’re probably out of luck, too. So, who was this made for again?

#16: “Freddy Got Fingered” (2001)

Co-written by, directed, and starring Tom Green, this movie follows a slacker named Gord as he pursues his dream of becoming an animator. We think. Honestly, it goes off the rails so fast, it’s hard to even piece together what’s happening in “Freddy Got Fingered.” Extremely unfortunate name aside, this story never rises above eye-rolling potty humor and gross-out gags. It certainly evokes a reaction - it’s just usually disgust, incredulity, or, in some cases, both at the same time. Let’s just say if you don’t laugh at the movie’s title, then you’re out of luck. That’s about as clever as “Freddy Got Fingered” ever gets.

#15: “Norbit” (2007)

Do you like Eddie Murphy? Hope so, because “Norbit” has more of him than you’ll need for a long, long time. He plays not just one, not just two, but three separate characters, and somehow, they’re all mind-numbingly grating in their own special ways. The worst is Rasputia, a walking, talking stereotype who spends the whole movie attacking your eardrums. It’s not funny, it’s simply annoying. Since the whole movie hinges on its casting gimmick, “Norbit” fails as a comedy, a diversion, or even a showcase of Murphy’s talents. Instead, the only thing it accomplished was flushing his career goodwill straight down the toilet.

#14: “Swept Away” (2002)

Being lost at sea is an apt metaphor for how this whole movie feels. Madonna may be the undeniable Queen of Pop, but her work on screen has been decidedly mixed. Here she’s hopelessly out of her depth, especially since “Swept Away” only works if you buy into Amber’s change of heart from a spoiled socialite into a loving romantic partner. To be fair, Madonna was fighting a losing battle with this script, which robs the original of all its nuance and gravitas. Which then begs the question, why even bother remaking “Swept Away” in the first place? No one took a bow for this reimagining, that’s for sure.

#13: “I Know Who Killed Me” (2007)

Someone or something killed poor Lindsay Lohan’s acting career, and the list of suspects includes this dreadful film. It could be the tone, which aims for a grounded mystery thriller, but falls flat on its face. Or maybe it’s the nonsensical plotting, which adds ludicrous twists atop ludicrous twists until the whole thing collapses on itself. But in actuality, the real problem is that “I Know Who Killed Me” just isn’t all that entertaining. With Linday Lohan’s unconvincing performance at the center, escaping from a serial killer has never been so dull. In a way, we guess that means Lohan killed off her own credibility.

#12: “Glitter” (2001)

On a stage, Mariah Carey commands an audience like no other. On screen, though, it’s a very different story. “Glitter” sees the Songbird Supreme as down-on-her-luck Billie trying to make it as a singer in the cutthroat music industry. Love, music, and every cliche imaginable follows. We’d break down the plot more, but you’ve literally seen it done a million times before in a million better movies. Usually with a better lead actress, too. Carey was clearly passionate about “Glitter,” having workshopped the film for years and even wrote the movie’s soundtrack. We just wish any of that showed in the exceptionally cringey final cut.

#11: “Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever” (2002)

The only thing exploding here is the career of everyone involved. Well, that, and a whole lot of cars. No, it’s not as cool as it sounds. Most of the runtime is actually spent on poorly choreographed fight scenes between the namesake agents, Ecks and Sever. The rest of the plot is basically incomprehensible. The script was fully rewritten right before filming, and then later edited down to a 90 minute explosion-fest that lacks anything resembling character, tension, or rising action. You can practically see the haphazard production before your eyes in every scene. It’s a wonder how Lucy Liu and Antonio Banderas ever bounced back.

#10: “The Fog” (2005)

The noughties were notorious for giving us dozens and dozens of sub-par horror remakes and sequels. Although these films can populate their own Worst Movies list, the biggest offender was clearly this mess of a film. “The Fog” is an epic slap in the face to horror-legend John Carpenter and his classic ghost story. It fails on all grounds, as we watch people run away from vapor for 103 minutes. It doesn’t scare you, thrill you, or make you feel any emotion except boredom. It is literally as interesting as watching fog roll by.

#9: “Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd” (2003)

There’s a golden rule when making a sequel: don’t mess with the original. But there’s also a second, oft-forgotten one: never, under any circumstances, recast Jim Carrey. Somehow, someway, “When Harry Met Lloyd” strikes out on both accounts. It takes a very specific vision to make dumb-as-bricks humor work for two hours, but here, the jokes grow tiresome within the first scene. It’s all exacerbated by the very noticeable absence of Jim Carrey, whose comedic timing might have elevated the thin script into something halfway decent. Instead, “Dumb and Dumber” fans are left with a detestable prequel that dumbs things down in all the wrong ways.

#8: “Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2” (2004)

Changing diapers and saving the world before nap time is definitely a unique spin on the superhero genre. Sadly for this film, “unique” doesn’t mean “good.” Not even close. For one, seeing actual toddlers take down bad guys is too uncanny to come off as anything other than bizarre. Oh, and the villains? They’re evil Germans led by a comically overblown Jon Voight. Yeah, this movie is all kinds of insane, to the point you can’t help but wonder how it ever got made in the first place. Let alone released in theaters. Unless you’re in diapers, too, you’ll agree “Superbabies” is the opposite of heroic.

#7: “The Adventures of Pluto Nash” (2002)

Very few comedic actors have risen so far only to crash so hard later on - and “The Adventures of Pluto Nash” marked the beginning of Eddie Murphy’s meteoric decline (although as we’ve seen, “Norbit” was still to come). In “The Adventures of Pluto Nash,” Murphy stars as a club owner/ex-con living in a futuristic colony on the Moon. Then more stuff happens with gangsters, androids, and clones that nobody cared about. Does anybody even remember the plot of this movie? Although Eddie Murphy seems to be having fun, you can tell that he knew this was going nowhere. It’s too silly to be a sci-fi adventure movie, but also shockingly lacks any actual form of comedy.


#6: “Son of the Mask” (2005)

We’ve already had one example of the dangers of re-casting Jim Carrey. This sorry excuse of a movie just proves the point again. Lacking any sense of charisma, style, or actual laughs, this sequel to “The Mask” decides to appeal to a younger audience, and features crude humor and silly, obnoxious characters instead. With Loki back on Earth looking for his mask, it of course falls into the wrong hands and we are then introduced to one of the most unlikeable lead characters ever portrayed on film. Jamie Kennedy and his terrifying toddler just pretty much scream and drool throughout this very inadequate sequel, and needless to say that does not make for a very compelling movie.

#5: “Catwoman” (2004)

Here’s a movie executive board meeting we can’t imagine happening: “Hey guys, the campiness of “Batman & Robin” was such a success, let’s create the same cheesy atmosphere for this “Batman” spin-off and not use Batman at all.” Extra points to Halle Berry for agreeing to do this fresh off her Oscar win though. It won Razzies for Worst Picture, Screenplay, Actress, and Director, and everybody, even Halle Berry, agreed that this was a piece of garbage. Not only did it have barely anything to do with the DC Comics characters, but it also lacked any strong female characters, action sequences, or even a compelling plot. Where is Michelle Pfeiffer when we need her?


#4: “Gigli” (2003)

Thanks to Bennifer 1.0, this monstrosity received way more attention than it deserved. However, that didn’t stop the movie from being among Hollywood’s most expensive bombs ever. In “Gigli,” Ben Affleck is a mobster who needs to kidnap a prosecutor’s brother in order to help a crime boss - played Al Pacino - avoid prison. You all guessed right; this is clearly a romantic comedy. This movie is offensive to those with mental disabilities, to lesbians, and to any audience members with eyes or ears. After winning six Razzies, it later won a seventh for Worst Comedy of the Razzies’ First 25 Years. Well deserved.

#3: “Dragonball Evolution” (2009)

The decision to make this film adaptation of the beloved anime and manga live-action at all was the first major mistake. Telling you that they cast Caucasians in Asian roles and employed horrible special effects doesn’t even come close to explaining everything else that went wrong. “Dragonball Evolution” pretty much ignored its source material, and created an alternate Americanized universe as we follow a bored and annoying Justin Chatwin as he delivers some of the worst dialogue ever written… oh and there’s something about Dragonballs thrown in there just in case. Fans just want to forget this, and we apologize for bringing back traumatizing memories.

#2: “Alone in the Dark” (2005)

Especially known for his video game adaptations, Uwe Boll has built a reputation for directing some of the worst movies of all time, with most of his productions becoming critical and box office disasters. He also doesn’t care what you think. Although “House of the Dead” deserves a special mention, it’s his other video game adaptation that is our runner-up. In “Alone in the Dark,” Christian Slater uses his special powers to chase after these demonic creatures that used to be worshiped by an extinct civilization. And it. Is. Epically bad.


#1: “Battlefield Earth” (2000)

Many of our entries can be seen as career-killers, but “Battlefield Earth” brought John Travolta to an all-time low. Although most actors are forced to take these steps-down for a paycheck, Travolta spent years bringing this movie to the world, claiming its source material was better than “Star Wars.” Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard wrote the book in an attempt to bring the religion to younger audiences, and that book serves as the basis of the sci-fi action flick. Needless to say, the world wasn’t interested. When the most horrible acting you’ve ever seen is topped by camerawork that will give you a cramp in the neck, it’s not surprising that you have a recipe for unintentional hilarity.




Are you willing to go to bat for any of these misfires? Argue for your favorite in the comments below!