X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
Typical Online Review: "The character development which was key to the other two's success was lost in the midst of this anti-climactic explosion. Goes against comic books, kills off wrong characters (although Fox did supervise it.) A let down to any fan of the original. I very much want to forget this movie ever happened." Nikhil N., Rotten Tomatoes
Aliens vs Predator (2004)
The Movie: Pitting two franchises against each other is a longstanding source of online fangasm. Paul W. S. Anderson does the sums - "whoever wins, we lose."
Why It Was Hated: Cross-breeding these two unique species required a deft storyteller; instead Anderson dropped everyone into a dimly-lit, scrappily-edited cluster-fuck.
Typical Online Review: "One of the stupidest and most disappointing movies I've ever seen in my life! If you thought Paul Anderson fucked up Resident Evil bad, just watch how he manages to flush both Alien and Predator franchises down the toilet in one spectacularly awful movie." Ian B, Rotten Tomatoes
Highlander 2: The Quickening (1991)
The Movie: Remember those mythical, sword-swinging immortals fighting to become only one? Well, guess what. They're aliens .
Why It Was Hated: Many sequels have tried to trash the reputation of their parent movie, but few succeeded as well as this. It took a whole TV series to retcon away the stench.
Typical Online Review: "Never in the field of human endeavour has there been an act of such instrumental, destructive, diabolical folly as this justifiably reviled, quasi-sequel to the original 1986 fantasy in which immortal warriors duelled throughout the ages until one remained. Yes, its Highlander II - a film so bad that Robert Mugabe refused to show it to white farmers on the grounds that it would be 'exceptionally cruel'." David Frames, IMDb
Love Actually (2003)
The Movie: Richard Curtis ropes in his A-list mates, plus Martine McCutcheon, into a rosy-hued, heart-on-sleeve celebration of Yuletide romance.
Why It Was Hated: Long a target for rom-com haters, Curtis drew flak for the sheer size of the bullseye he painted on his film:a sentimental commercial for chick-flick fantasyland.
Typical Online Review: "Love Actually was one of the worst films of all time, the only film I asked for my money back at the end of which I was forced to stay for. A collection of c**p actors and Liam Neeson playing out a whole pile of different cheesy awful plots yeah that sounds great. The prats who liked that film are the reason it has not been condemed." lgrayne, Total Film
Hulk (2003)
The Movie: Marvel risked his reputation for popcorn entertainment by unleashing award-winning auteur Ang Lee on one of its most famous comic creations.
Why It Was Hated: Fanboys revolted against Lee's cerebral, sensual take on superhero lore to such an extent Marvel rebooted the franchise in The Incredible Hulk . Except reaction to that was mixed, too.
Typical Online Review: "Do yourself a favor. If you haven't seen this movie... DON'T. I feel like I wasted 2 hours and 8 dollars on this piece of garbage. If you want to see a movie that has action or explosions, find a theater still showing Matrix Reloaded, or wait for T3. Either way, avoid this one." gavynhelfyre, IMDb
Catwoman (2004)
The Movie: A "quasi-spinoff" (as Wikipedia puts it) with Oscar winner Halle Berry donning the catsuit as completely new superheroine Patience Phillips.
Why It Was Hated: That "quasi" is the giveaway. With scant regard for the Batbrand, comic-book movie fans were quick to voice their disapproval.
Typical Online Review: "I still cant believe they actually put the DC logo on the opening credits... that movie could not have had to less with the Dc Catwoman if it was played by a guy......bad characterisation, really bad plot, make for a really, really bad movie!" Jade Chihuahua, Killer Movies
Avatar (2009)
The Movie: James Cameron's mega-bucks 3D extravaganza reinvented cinema for the digital age, en route to becoming the biggest box-office hit in history.
Why It Was Hated: Frustrated moviegoers couldn't square the combination of state-of-the-art technique and simplistic storytelling, amongst many other weird ironies. Such as…
Typical Online Review: "Here is a story with an alleged anti-corporatist message, underwritten by a huge corporation to the tune of $250 million plus. It preaches closeness with (outer-space) nature, but must have produced CO2 emissions at the rate of a dozen oil refineries. It alleges respect for women, who are shown to be uniformly, pornographically subservient to the alpha males. Its message is anti-violence, but it's also stuffed to the gills with the glorious super-lethal war machines from which toys and video games can and will be fashioned." Maria Bustillos, The Awl
Lady In The Water (2006)
The Movie: M. Night Shyamalan branches out by making a kid-friendly fantasy based on the bedtime stories he made up for his children.
Why It Was Hated: Never mind the muddled narrative and wet world-building. Shyamalan earned the biggest wrath for casting himself as a visionary writer whose work will save the world. Not on this evidence.
Typical Online Review: "Don't even get me started with "Lady in the Water". That was one of the worst excuses of a movie I've ever watched! You could have done something so much more worth the two hours you wasted! There is no story! Everything is so random!" Tabby, Yahoo Answers
The Happening (2008)
The Movie: M. Night Shyamalan's comeback after the misfire of Lady In The Water returns him to his spooky, twisty-turny roots. Right?
Why It Was Hated: Wrong. This was Shyamalan's second strike, achieved on the back of wooden performances, an unthreatening premise and that scene of Mark Wahlberg communing with the plants. One more strike and you're out, Night.
Typical Online Review: "The Happening is the absolute worst movie I have ever seen. I would rather watch a Spice-World marathon movie, 6 hours of Cabin boy, or my dog lick himself for 2 hours. This movie was ridiculous. We all waited for a "twist" at the end and all we got was a piddle ending that went out with a whimper. I would rather have learned that all the characters were aliens and the story took place on the moon. I want my $27 back for this garbage." Jason S, Yahoo Answers
The Last Airbender (2010)
The Movie: M. Night Shyamalan decides to play safe with a blockbuster adaptation of the much-loved animated fantasy series Avatar . No, no that Avatar .
Why It Was Hated: Shyamalan was accused of whitewashing the series' Asian characters, all the more galling because the director is Indian-American. Add to that shonky post-conversion 3D and a plodding pace and it was game over for 'three strikes' Shyamalan.
Typical Online Review: "I saw the movie. I went to the midnight showing. My friends and i dressed up. Half way through the movie my friend stood up, yelled "screw this shit" and left the theater. I've never been more proud of him. HOW CAN YOU MAKE A MOVIE AND NOT KNOW THE MAIN CHARACTERS NAME?!" nami647, YouTube
