Science fiction as a genre has had a long and varied history in the world of cinema, laying its mark on some of the best and most iconic films of all time, staying a landmark core genre for audiences around the world. However, for every amazing and groundbreaking science fiction film that is created, there are also a multitude of films that fail to meet the mark and come across as major disappointments for audiences.
The 2010s had its fair share of both amazing groundbreaking Sci-fi stories and painfully disappointing stories that failed to leave any positive impact as well. While the decade will more often be remembered for its iconic sci-fi masterpieces such as Interstellar and Blade Runner 2049, not every sci-fi release was regarded with such high graces. As Letterboxd gained and grew prominence throughout the 2010s and into the modern day, their community acts as a great reflection of audiences’ opinions and generalizations on the worst Sci-fi had to offer in the 2010s.
10 ‘After Earth’ (2013)
Letterboxd Average Rating: 1.65/5
After Earth takes place in a future over a thousand years after a cataclysmic event forced humanity to leave the planet Earth and find refuge among the cosmos. During a standard expedition, legendary general Cypher Raige (played by Will Smith) and his 13-year-old son, Kitai (played by Jaden Smith), are stuck by an asteroid storm and crash-land on the now dangerous and hostile planet Earth. It soon becomes up to Kitai to travel across this dangerous new earth and its hostile new lifeforms in order to save his father and escape the planet.
While the intentions for After Earth‘s intentions came from a genuine place, acting as a true jumping-off point for Jaden Smith’s career and seeing him act alongside his father once again, the film failed to be anything more than incredibly generic and bland. The film simply doesn’t do enough with its interesting setting and concept to make the film stand out, instead falling back on generic tropes and confusing choices that fall apart when thought about beyond a surface level. The film also fails to utilize the talents of Will Smith, who while normally well-known for his cheery and lovable attitude, is cast as a character literally defined by his ability to hide all his emotions.
9 ‘Inhumans: The First Chapter’ (2017)
Letterboxd Average Rating: 1.64/5
Inhumans: The First Chapter was a combination of the first two episodes of the MCU’s Inhumans TV show in ABC, which premiered in IMAX theaters and was treated like a cinematic event. The film follows an isolated community of metahumans known as the Inhumans, who are constantly fighting to protect themselves from persecution following a military coup.
The Inhumans property was one that faced a large deal of difficulty from Marvel leading up to the release of The First Chapter and the ABC television show. Long-time fans may remember that Inhumans was originally supposed to be an actual film released in phase three, yet a multitude of development issues lead to it becoming a television series instead. While The First Chapter was supposed to be a consolation for fans who still wanted to see the Inhuman on the big screen, the film failed to prove its worth on IMAX screens, and the show itself would be canceled after one season.
8 ‘Doom: Annihilation’ (2019)
Letterboxd Average Rating: 1.63/5
Doom: Annihilation is a straight-to-video sci-fi horror action film based on the legendary video game series, and follows a group of space Marines as they respond to a distress call from the Martian moon Phobos. When they arrive to the secluded base, they find that it has been completely overrun by demonic entities, and they find themselves soon fighting for survival.
Doom: Annihilation wasn’t the first adaptation of the classic video game franchise, yet like the original 2005 film, Doom, it failed to capture the excitement and hectic demon-killing chaos that the original series was famous for. Especially with the popularity of the series’ 2016 reboot, it became very transparent to fans that Doom: Annihilation was simply just using the once-again-popular Doom name to make a quick buck from unsuspecting audiences.
7 ‘Birdemic: Shock and Terror’ (2010)
Letterboxd Average Rating: 1.60/5
Birdemic: Shock and Terror sees a small town suddenly attacked by any and all birds in the vicinity, as squads of eagles and vultures have their way and get revenge on all of humanity. The film follows a small group of survivors as they attempt to survive the unexpected and unpredictable birdemic.
Birdemic has gone down as one of the most iconic and hilarious so-bad-it’s-good films in recent memory, as the mix of hilariously bad CGI, comical acting, and bewildering editing decisions has made it a true cult classic. Letterboxd is just one of the many communities that have fallen in love with the film and its many issues, as the film continues to cement its legacy as an all time legend for all the wrong reasons.
6 ‘Green Lantern’ (2011)
Letterboxd Average Rating: 1.54/5
Based on the classic DC character, Green Lantern follows the story of Hal Jordan, a cocky test pilot who is chosen by a mysterious green ring to join the legendary Green Lantern Corps. As they have been tasked with protecting the galaxies and keeping them in order, their recruitment of Hal comes just as a powerful enemy known as Parallax threatens to destroy the balance of the universe.
By 2011, comic book movies and adaptations were in full swing, with the MCU being underway, yet Green Lantern felt like a complete regression back to the cheap CGI-filled disappointments of the 2000s. The film has surmounted a massive legacy of being a colossal disappointment, to the point where it becomes a constant punchline for star Ryan Reynolds, who has no shame in tearing his own movie to shreds constantly.
5 ‘Birdemic 2: The Resurrection’ (2013)
Letterboxd Average Rating: 1.52/5
The sequel to Birdemic, Birdemic 2: The Resurrection sees the onslaught of killer birds honing their sights once again on humanity, this time taking on the much larger locale of Hollywood. A combination of survivors from the first film as well as brand-new faces are forced to join together once again in order to try and survive the avian apocalypse.
As is the case with many so-bad-it’s-good movies, Birdemic 2 attempts to recapture the unintentional comedy and hilarity of the original in hopes that lightning would strike twice. While some fans were able to still find a multitude of so-bad-it’s-good comedy in the film, others have written off the film for being too self-aware, losing the charm and innocuous tone that made the original so iconic. Director James Nguyen has since made a Birdemic 3 in 2022, with both Birdemic 4 and 5 currently in development.
4 ‘Left Behind’ (2014)
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Letterboxd Average Rating: 1.42/5
Left Behind follows a small group of survivors who find themselves left behind after millions of people around the world suddenly vanish during a biblical rapture. The remaining people are forced to scrounge the remains of planet Earth, as it plunges further and further into chaos and destruction.
Letterboxd as a community has always been more hesitant and negative towards films with a more evangelical angle, but even aside from the site’s inherent biases, Left Behind fails to accomplish even the basics of sci-fi disaster filmmaking. The film’s mix of terrible writing, painfully below-average effects, and lackluster performances made even fans of evangelical films disappointed by the film’s portrayal of a possible rapture. Even Nicolas Cage in the leading role couldn’t save this film from disaster and disappointment.
3 ‘Jurassic Shark’ (2012)
Letterboxd Average Rating: 1.37/5
Jurassic Shark follows the story of an oil company that accidentally unleashes a dangerous prehistoric shark from an icy prison, unleashing the dangerous creature upon humanity. The shark soon sets its sights upon a group of art thieves and a group of college students on an abandoned island, wreaking havoc and getting revenge upon humanity.
Shark movies have always been a tried and true staple of low-budget, cheaply made sci-fi movies, with Jurassic Shark standing out among many as the bottom of the barrel in this regard. Many audiences didn’t even find the film particularly so-bad-it’s-good, as the film barely focuses on the shark and instead focuses on the much more boring and uninteresting human characters. Especially with the multitude of shark movies that are made, both high-budget and low-budget, nearly every other option would be more worthwhile than Jurassic Shark.
2 ‘Atlantic Rim’ (2013)
Letterboxd Average Rating: 1.37/5
Clearly ripping off and attempting to siphon sales from the blockbuster Pacific Rim, Atlantic Rim also sees a group of giant robot pilots protecting humanity from giant monsters who emerge from the ocean floor. Eventually, the stakes are raised and the pilots are racing against the clock to defeat the giant monsters before a nuclear strike is launched that threatens the entire city.
Studio The Asylum is no stranger to blatant straight-to-video ripoff movies, yet something about the comical renaming of “Pacific Rim” to “Atlantic Rim” had made this film stick out to Letterbox users among all of The Asylum’s ripoff creations. As is standard for The Asylum productions, the film promises a comical, low-budget, so-bad-it’s-good alternative to the original film. However, it instead uses 90% of its runtime on generic exposition and only 10% on actually delivering low-CGI hilarity, in order to save on production costs and get the film out to audiences as fast as possible.
1 ‘Fantastic Four’ (2015)
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Letterboxd Average Rating: 1.30/5
Based on the classic Marvel Comics characters, Fantastic Four (aka FANT4STIC) follows the origin story of the iconic superhero team, as they obtain their powers from an alternate universe exploration gone wrong. As the team’s lives are irreversibly changed forever as a result of their mutations, they must put aside their differences and work together to save the world when a format friend turned enemy threatens humanity.
As far as modern-day superhero movies go, it’s hard not to get more disappointed and wasted potential than Fantastic Four. A multitude of development issues and corporate meddling resulted in a film that failed to impress in a climate filled to the brim with many creative and powerful superhero origin stories. Between the campy original 2000s adaptations of the characters and the upcoming MCU rendition of the characters, Fantastic Four will continue to be the disappointing worst rendition of the characters, only to be remembered for all the wrong reasons.
