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Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
When it comes to fantasy, it should theoretically be pretty hard to mess up. By definition, anything goes in a fantastical realm, allowing movie makers to bring their own creative touch to their stories and transport audiences to worlds that are much cooler and more interesting than our own. Even though it sounds hard to mess up, a substantial amount of films have proven that it might actually be easier than it sounds.
Many fantasy movies that have come out since 1999 have fallen way below the mark, crashing and burning both with critics and at the box office. These are the worst fantasy movies of the past 25 years, which have earned their rightful places on account of the fact that their worlds are supposed to be grand and interesting, but come off as much more boring.
10 'The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies' (2014)
Directed by Peter Jackson
Image via Warner Bros. Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy is widely regarded as the finest fantasy movie series ever created. The Hobbit trilogy however, not so much. The first two movies in the trilogy are no comparison to the movies that came out ten years prior, but many fans find them either good, satisfactory, or disappointing. The third and final movie however, was genuinely bad for anyone who watched it.
To its credit, the titular battle is portrayed better than it is in the book by J. R. R. Tolkien. In the novel, Bilbo (Martin Freeman) is knocked out, and doesn't regain consciousness until the battle is over, which is super lame. At least the movie had the decency to actually show the battle. The problem is, like its predecessors, there was just way too much fluff and padding, and the action was super cartoony. On top of that, the film lacked much of the stylistic charm that The Lord of the Rings had. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies isn't awful, but it isn't good either.
Release Date December 17, 2014
Runtime 144 minutes
Tagline The Defining Chapter.
Distributor(s) Warner Bros. Pictures
9 'Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters' (2013)
Directed by Thor Freudenthal
Image via 20th Century Studios The Percy Jackson movies got off to a pretty rocky start with the release of the first film in 2010. This flick starred Logan Lerman, who was totally fine as Percy, if a lot older than the character described in the original novels than Rick Riordan. There were some cool sequences, but the movie changed so much that it was basically unrecognizable from the novel. Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters continued with that trend, and barely resembled its source material.
At face value, it has a promising premise, being about the human children of Greek gods and goddesses that live and train at a camp to fight the forces of evil. Unfortunately, the movies wasted this concept entirely, with Sea of Monsters undoubtedly being the worst of the duology. In fact, it was so bad, that it halted any plans for a third film. Instead, ten years later, audiences were treated to a Disney+ original TV series. Fans of the books should stick to that and forget about the lackluster movie adaptations. The show is so much better and way more faithful.
Release Date August 7, 2013
Director Thor Freudenthal
Runtime 106
Writers Scott Alexander , Marc Guggenheim , Larry Karaszewski , Rick Riordan
Budget 90000000.0
Studio(s) Sunswept Entertainment, 1492 Pictures, Fox 2000 Pictures, TSG Entertainment
IMDb ID tt1854564
TMDB User Rating 6 .039
8 'Alice Through the Looking Glass' (2016)
Directed by James Bobin
Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Tim Burton's 2010 film Alice in Wonderland was a painfully average adaptation of Lewis Caroll's novel, though it still found its following due to its darker tone and more modern visual effects. Maybe it was because of this following that filmmakers thought a sequel would be a good idea. Thus, Alice Through the Looking Glass was born, coming out six years after its predecessor.
Even those who have seen Alice Through the Looking Glass will likely have trouble remembering a single significant thing from the movie.
One of the major players in this movie, Johnny Depp, who plays the Mad Hatter, seems to know how bad the film is, because his regular enthusiasm and charm that he previously brought to the role is no longer there. The main criticisms stem from its practically non-existent story, and from how poorly the characters were treated, coming as shadows of their original selves. It was a movie that quietly released and was quickly forgotten about. Even those who have seen it will likely have trouble remembering a single significant thing from the movie.
7 'Eragon' (2006)
Directed by Stefen Fangmeier
Image via 20th Century Studios Eragon is based on a novel of the same name by Christopher Paolini. However, the novel is about 700 pages long, and the movie is only 100 minutes long--there was just no way this was going to be even remotely faithful to its source. The story follows the titular Eragon (Ed Speelers), who finds a dragon egg in the mountains, throwing him into a war between the resistance and the oppressive Broddring Empire. Except the movie did away with just about every major plot point possible.
It also never included room for a sequel, as they resolved some plotlines that weren't complete until the second or third book, while other plotlines were omitted completely. Worse still, at the end, there is zero sense of accomplishment, and it feels like the characters didn't achieve anything. It was handled so poorly that it feels like it's based on a completely different book, leaving novel fans and fantasy fans thoroughly disappointed in it.
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Eragon
Release Date December 15, 2006
Director Stefen Fangmeier
Runtime 104 minutes
Writers Peter Buchman , Christopher Paolini
6 'The Seeker' (2007)
Directed by David L. Cunningham
Image via 20th Century Fox The Seeker is very, very loosely based on a 1973 novel by Susan Cooper, which is already the first major flaw of bad movie adaptations of novels. When movies can't even be bothered to at least try to adhere to the source material, it's almost always a recipe for disaster. The other main flaw with the movie was that there was very little heart and soul in it, and the dialogue was often clunky and awkward.
Featuring an adolescent who finds out he has been chosen to lead a crusade against the forces of evil, the story felt pretty similar to about a million other stories already out there, and ruined everything that made the original books unique. Main actor Alexander Ludwig really gives it his all, but his performance could not save this disaster of a movie, and in the years since its release, it has passed into obscurity, rarely ever mentioned anymore, even in passing.
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The Seeker: The Dark is Rising
Release Date October 5, 2007
Director David L. Cunningham
Runtime 94 Minutes
Character(s) Will Stanton , Merriman Lyon , The Rider , Max , Mary Stanton , Dawson , Maggie Barnes , James , John Stenton , Miss Greythorne , Old George , Gwen Stanton , Robin Stanton , Paul Stanton , Stephen Stanton , Saleswoman , Security Guard #1 , Security Guard #2
Writers Susan Cooper , John Hodge
5 'Dungeons & Dragons' (2000)
Directed by Courtney Solomon
Image via New Line Cinema Just take a second to look at the CGI for the 2000 Dungeons & Dragons movie. Does this CGI imply a movie that oozes quality and that is worth every second? If you answered "no," you'd be right. Making a movie based on a tabletop RPG sounds like a pretty weird prospect, but to its credit, it has seen some pretty good works, most notably the 2023 film, which received rave reviews. The 2000 film though, not so much.
The actors in the movie are talented, to be sure, but that's pretty much the only thing going for it, because everything from the set design to the visual effects to the costuming looks incredibly cheap, almost like the people working on the movie didn't care. They probably did care, but if they did, it doesn't show. Fans of the game could easily come up with a better story in their imaginations or with their paper and pencil than the one the movie delivered, so it's best to just avoid it at all costs.
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Dungeons & Dragons
Release Date December 8, 2000
Director Courtney Solomon
Runtime 107 Minutes
Main Genre Drama
Character(s) Profion , Ridley Freeborn , Empress Savina , Damodar , Marina Pretensa , Snails , Azmath , Mage , Elwood Gutworthy , Norda , Orc #1 , Three Eyes , Xilus , Orcs , Vildan Vildir , Halvarth , Uncredited
Writers Topper Lilien , Carroll Cartwright
Producers Allan Zeman , Joel Silver , Kia Jam , Nelson Leong , Thomas M. Hammel
Budget 35000000.0
Studio(s) New Line Cinema , Silver Pictures , Sweetpea Entertainment , Behaviour Worldwide , MDP Worldwide , Stillking Films
Distributor(s) New Line Cinema
Sequel(s) Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God (2005) , Dungeons & Dragons: The Book of Vile Darkness
Franchise(s) Dungeons & Dragons
IMDb ID tt0190374
TMDB User Rating 4 .358
4 'Dragonball Evolution' (2009)
Directed by James Wong
Image via 20th Century Studios Dragonball Evolution is basically how to screw up an adaptation 101. It is supposed to be based on the Dragon Ball anime and manga series, but utilized some of the most questionable casting choices imaginable. With it making the jump from cartoon to live-action, it changed the tone completely, and lacked anything unique or new whatsoever. And the script? Oh, that script... it was really something else, and not in a good way.
A big problem is that it went through development hell for a while, which is almost never a good sign for a movie, because it often leads to the crew behind the scenes becoming fatigued of working on the same project and cutting corners just to see it through. This happens to be exactly how the movie feels. It also took itself way too seriously to be an adaptation of a series that is generally pretty uppity with plenty of comedic aspects, though not without its serious moments. In short, it's best to pretend this movie never happened if you're a Dragon Ball fan, because watching it will only lead to disappointment.
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Dragonball Evolution
Release Date March 12, 2009
Director James Wong
Runtime 85 Minutes
Writers Ben Ramsey
Budget 30000000.0
Studio(s) World Film Magic , Dune Entertainment , Star Overseas , Big Screen Productions , Ingenious Media , 20th Century Fox
IMDb ID tt1098327
TMDB User Rating 2 .893
3 'Son of the Mask' (2005)
Directed by Lawrence Guterman
Image via New Line Cinema Son of the Mask was supposed to be a sequel to the iconic 90s comedy flick The Mask starring Jim Carrey. While the latter is a 90s classic treasured by many, this sequel was truly terrible, and it wouldn't be wrong to call it one of the worst movies ever made. It's got a lot of the same plot points, following a man who finds a mysterious mask that turns him into a wacky superhero-type character, only this time, plotlines about Norse deities are thrown in for some reason.
By far the worst part of this sequel was that it lacked Jim Carrey, but other than that, it is horrifically unfunny, and at times, just plain horrific. Some of the visuals are clearly intended to be funny, but come off as insanely creepy, freaking out kids and adults alike. It's bland, uninspired, boring, and downright traumatizing at times. If it weren't for the terrifying visuals that need to be seen to be believed, this flick wouldn't even hit the bargain bin at a thrift store.
Release Date February 18, 2005
Director Lawrence Guterman
Runtime 94 minutes
Character(s) Tim Avery , Loki , Tonya Avery , Jorge , Daniel Moss , Dr. Neuman , Museum Redneck , Alvey , Museum Boy , Museum Security Guard , Museum Person , Chris , Clare , Chris & Clare's Child
Writers Lance Khazei
2 'In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale' (2007)
Directed by Uwe Boll
Credit: 20th Centruy Studios Director Uwe Boll has never, ever made a good movie, or at least hasn't made a good one that is based on a video game. Unfortunately, movies like that make up a hefty chunk of his filmography, In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale is based on the Dungeon Siege series of role-playing video games. Or at least, allegedly it is. Fans of the games likely wouldn't recognize it with how different it is, though.
With how poorly this movie was received, it's baffling that Boll thought it deserved not one, but two sequels. What's even more baffling is that these sequels were actually better than the first. But that isn't saying much because the bar was so low it was practically a tripping hazard at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Rest assured, these sequels are still awful. In any case, the first movie is a testament to how badly an actor like Jason Statham can be totally wasted on bad writing, and to how bad video game-to-movie adaptations can actually be with the wrong person at the helm.
Release Date November 29, 2007
Director Uwe Boll
Runtime 127 Minutes
Writers Jason Rappaport , Doug Taylor , Dan Stroncak
Budget 60000000
Studio(s) Boll Kino Beteiligungs GmbH & Co. KG , Brightlight Pictures , Herold Productions
1 'The Last Airbender' (2010)
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan
Image via Paramount Pictures Anyone unfortunate enough to have seen The Last Airbender will have no doubts that it is the worst fantasy movie of the last 25 years, and possibly even of all time. The movie was made by M. Night Shyamalan, who has produced some cinematic gems here and there, but tends to be pretty inconsistent with his work. The Last Airbender is by far the worst thing he has made. It was supposed to be based on the popular Nickelodeon cartoon series Avatar: The Last Airbender, but it did away with just about everything that made the show so popular.
The characters feel totally foreign and alien when compared to how they were originally conceived, losing their standout personality traits, senses of humour, and general likability. The CGI was terrible, the costuming was unintentionally laughable, and the writing was unapologetically cringy. Many theatre-goers physically walked out of the film at the time of its release, which is no surprise. The cartoon was meant for kids, but many adults enjoy it too. The movie however, is meant for no one at all.
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The Last Airbender
Release Date July 1, 2010
Runtime 103 minutes
Main Genre Fantasy
Tagline An M. Night Shyamalan film
KEEP READING: 10 Worst Fantasy Movies of the 2010s, Ranked
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