Today marks the 25th anniversary of Batman and Robin, not just one of the most infamous superhero/comic books movies ever made but one of the most infamous overall movies ever made. This move has been hated and ripped apart by everyone and is considered to be the absolute blackhole of superhero/comic book movies. The one movie that nearly killed the entire sub-genre for an extended period of time and has its rightful place on the Hollywood Hall of Shame. Batman fans hate it, moviegoers hate it, and even the people behind making the movie hate it. However, while Batman and Robin is no doubt a very bad and even plain terrible movie but I would not call it the worst superhero movie ever made. Heck, I won’t even put it in my top 10 or even 20 on my list of worst superhero movies. I know some of you all are rushing into the comments and my mentions on Twitter to tell me how crazy I am but hear me out.
While Batman and Robin is no doubt the exact textbook definition of a bad movie, it’s at least a movie you can watch and have a good time with it’s badness. It has such an absolute camp value to it that you just can’t help but laugh at it. Not laughing WITH it mind you but AT it! There’s a difference! That is a big reason as to why I can’t call it the worst or even my least favorite superhero movie ever made. It’s just too much fun to watch the pure awfulness that is this disaster! To celebrate the 25th birthday of this beautiful disasterpiece, I’ve decided to name 25 superhero movies that I believe to be worse than Batman and Robin.
Before I start the list, here’s a couple of disclaimers.
1.) I’m only going to be counting movies that are strictly an adaption of a superhero or comic book of some sorts.
2.) I’m only going to be referring to live-action superhero movies, so animated superhero movies like say Batman: The Killing Joke doesn’t count.
3.) These movies will not be ranked in any particular order and is only going to be in the order of the release dates.
4.) This is strictly my opinions. If you somehow happen to like any of these movies, and/or still think that Batman and Robin is the worst thing to ever exist, then more power to you!
Here we go!
Supergirl (1984)
Did you know that they made a Supergirl movie one time? No?! Well, lucky you because it sucked pretty hard! This was basically nothing more than a poor attempt to cash in on the Christopher Reeve Superman movies without any of the heart and passion that the good ones had. It’s cheap, poorly made, and is absurdly forgettable! Melissa Benoist run as Supergirl may be over but she can at least sleep well knowing she played no part in what is easily the worst Supergirl adaption ever.
Howard the Duck (1986)
Believe it or not, there was actually a time where George Lucas was involved in a Marvel movie of some sort. Ok, he was actually just an executive producer but still. While this has (shockingly) gained a cult following, I can’t for the life for me stand this film. This is almost like the Marvel version of Cats, the kind of a movie that makes you wonder why anyone behind the production didn’t think just because you CAN doesn’t mean you SHOULD. It’s incredibly unfunny, the acting is terrible, it can’t make up it’s mind if it wants to be overly funny or serious, and Howard the Duck himself is just an absolute abomination of a thing that is hard to look at. Thank god for James Gunn and Guardians of the Galaxy for being able to redeem the character in just a simple post credit scene.
Superman IV: The Quest For Peace (1987)
If you thought Batman and Robin was a hard rock bottom for the character, then you should check out Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. Not only is this easily one of the worst superhero movies ever made, it’s by far one of the worst main big budget movies ever made. Even at the time of it’s release, it’s looks and feels incredibly cheap with obvious green screens, lazy editing, and awful transaction. Throw in an absurdly stupid script, laughable dialogue, no logic, sense, or flow to anything happening, and incredibly phoned-in performances and you get the big shitty picture. It can be argued that this also can be qualified as a “so bad it’s good” kind of movie but at least B&R had some passion from some of the people involved with it. With Quest for Peace, it’s very clear that no one cared about the movie and Christopher Reeve especially was just over with. What a crappy end to arguably the best Superman ever!
Captain America (1990)
It’s hard to believe there was a time that DC was much better at making movies than Marvel. Just a year after DC came out with their smash hit that was Tim Burton’s Batman, Marvel’s answer to that was with this piece of crap that is Captain America (1990). This doesn’t feel like a Hollywood feature but more like a fan film. Hell, even most fan films out there are better than whatever this is. It lacks pretty much anything a superhero movie or just plain movie in general needs to be worthwhile. It lacks a required budget, actual directing, a cohesive plot, or even any form of entertainment value of it. Seeing Captain America steal a car is kinda funny, I guess. Other than that, Marvel sure did have a rough early 90s.
Steel (1997)
Coming out in 1997, the same year that Batman and Robin came out, Steel was yet another failed attempt to make a big sports athlete into a Hollywood star and man does it all fall flat on it’s face. As if that Shaq Fu game wasn’t terribly enough, we had to suffer seeing Shaq in a movie as well. It’s sloppily made, terribly acted, and Steel himself is one of the lamest superheroes ever in any form of fiction. Shaquille O’Neill may be one hell of a basketball player but someone must’ve took too many basketballs to the head to make this movie a reality. Not only does this movie help support the fact that Batman and Robin isn’t the worst superhero movie made, it wasn’t even the worst superhero movie released in 1997. That honor gladly goes towards Steel. I’ll take Arnold’s cheesy puns any day over anything in this abomination!
Catwoman (2004)
If you thought things couldn’t get bad enough with DC with Steel, then oh boy Catwoman surely deserve a seat at that table! What is there to say about this movie that hasn’t already been said? It’s a complete trainwreck from top to bottom! The direction is wrong, the writing is atrocious, the dialogue is a joke, the CGI is painfully unfinished, the costume design is some of the worst ever put to film, the pacing is so slow that it makes it 104 minute long runtime feel like 104 hours and it doesn’t even come close to capturing the spirit of it’s title character or her source material. Poor Halle Berry tries to make it all work but everything else lets her down badly. It really sucks that for a long while, this was really the best that Hollywood could come up with in making female-led superhero movies.
At least it gave us this glorious Razzie acceptance speech from Halle Berry herself!
Blade: Trinity (2004)
Before X-Men: The Last Stand and Spider-Man 3, folks got their first glance at a disappointing three-quel from Marvel with Blade: Trinity. Like a number of Part Threes, Trinity biggest problem ranges from trying to be bigger and grander than the other two Blade movies and it ends up just being louder, messier, and more obnoxious. Not to mention, it tries to be the campiest of the Blade movies that somehow mangers to be more awkward and unfitting than even what Joel Schumacher and WB did with B&R. This ended up being the first of the failed trilogy of superhero movies that somehow managed to star Ryan Reynolds. Boy, was he in for a rough one!
Elektra (2005)
Marvel’s equivalent to Catwoman! Taking a spin-off for a side strong female character that had been in development hell forever, finally gets released after several years too late, wastes the talents of it’s lead actress, and has no idea why it’s title character was appealing in the first place or just why they even bother to make a movie in general. While you can least argue that Batman and Robin and even Catwoman was at least bizarre in it’s badness, Elektra manages to be just plain boring in it’s badness. I might not have hated the Daredevil movie as much as most people (which is why that is not on this list) but this was just an absolute chore to get through. Thank goodness for Marvel Netflix to revive Daredevil and Elektra themselves!
The Spirit (2008)
If you ever look the definition of “tryhard” in the dictionary, I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to find a picture of this movie. I can’t think of much movies out there that feels as contrived and forced as this movie does. From every single creative decision made to every single line of dialogue to every single performance in the movie, there is nothing about it that feels natural, organic, and in any way coherent. Frank Miller’s adaption of the comic strip of the same name shows that writing a script for a comic book is not entirely the same as writing a script for a movie. It showcases Miller’s flaws as a story writer on full display, right from the glorious oversexualization of women, too focus on being broody than depth and shock value for the shake of shock value. There’s nothing fun, entertaining, or even anything to laugh at here like with B&R! It’s nothing but torture!
There’s not many movies out there that I can say that is as legit painful to watch as The Spirit.
X-Men: Origins Wolverine (2009)
The worst that the X-Men franchise has gotten in Origins: Wolverine shows what happens when a comic book movie tries to do too much with such little effort. This glorified attempt at making an compelling origin story for it’s main character falls flat in every single way. With too many characters, overloaded subplots, endless retcons and contrivances, and insulting logic, this was about as rock bottom as it could come with this series! Not even the pitch perfect casting of Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool and Huge Jackman’s always reliably compelling performance as Wolverine could save this trainwreck! And don’t get me started with what they did with Deadpool! It makes me sick to my stomach!
The X-Men franchise has been very hit or miss with it’s quality but Origins: Wolverine is about as much of a miss as you can get.
Jonah Hex (2010)
Before Josh Brolin took on the role of the Thanos and Cable, he started off superhero/comic book movies with this. The best thing you can say about Jonah Hex is that unlike with a number amount of movies on this list, it has the decency to be just under a hour and 21 minutes long, including credits. That’s about where the praises end.
This is one of those movies which you can tell was rushed during the whole production to get it done exactly on it’s scheduled deadline. Everything feels chaotic, rushed, and forced that it’s impossible to get into it because the movie itself never allows the audience too. At least Megan Fox is nice to look at, I guess.
Green Lantern (2011)
If you wanna talk about superhero movies that were an absolute disappointments, it’s hard to think of many as disappointing as Green Lantern. How in the world did this movie turn out the way it did will all this talent on and off the camera? This could not have been a more bad and painfully generic superhero movie if it tried. The writing is incredibly cliche, the CGI is lackluster, the themes and messages are complete BS and constantly contradict themselves, and the constant sequel bait gets tiresome from the first moment on. And the fact that this was suppose to help kick off a cinematic universe for DC and show prove they could do superhero movies other than Batman is the real nail on the coffin.
Thankfully, Ryan Reynolds went on to eventually find a superhero role that worked for him five years later and even got together with his future wife with the lovely Blake Lively. I guess that’s something.
The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)/ The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
Have you ever had movies you knew deep down were really bad but you were in constant denial of it because you’re such a big fan of the character? That as my experience with these two Amazing Spider-Man movies. This incredibly ill-conceived duology shows how everything can go wrong when trying to build a foundation without first checking to see if it’s a foundation that anyone wants any involvement in. Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone’s talent are greatly wasted here with two movies that don’t understand why Spider-Man has been a compelling character the way he is for all these years and can never bother to hide it’s absolute cynical nature for itself. These two movies are so bad that not even the good things in it are worth bringing up. It doesn’t matter that they feature arguably the best romance, web swinging, and Spider-Man costume out of any of the movies because none of those elements are put to good use or mean anything in the long run.
When you get to the endings for both films that changes the status quo for Peter after losing a loved one only to pull a switch-a-roo and have things go back to where they were before those incidents, it makes you wonder what the point to either one of these movies were other than to cockblock Marvel from owning the rights to Spider-Man.
Poor Andrew Garfield, you deserved much better! At least you got your chance to shine in No Way Home!
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)
Anyone remember when Michael Bay produced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (and he is apparently doing it again)? Yet again it’s another try at taking a silly and wacky property and trying to make it dark and serious! Just like most of those that foolishly try to do that, those elements stick out in a really bad way. These fun and goofy turtles doesn’t mesh well in a realistic world whatsoever, they are hideous to look at, the script is poorly written and somehow manages to come across as an even worse version of The Amazing Spider-Man, there’s way too much on April herself, and it’s constantly feels the need to answer origin story questions that no one demanded answers too.
There’s a couple of fun moments in here (most notably the elevator scene) and even Megan Fox is not that bad as April O’Neil but this was an absolute turd. Despite Out of the Shadows being a mild improvement, this reboot series of TMNT was an absolute waste of time!
Fant4stic (2015)
Yes, I’m referring to it as Fant4stic because that is what it was referred to in the marketing! This is one of those movies that is not just terrible but it’s just flat out embarrassing! It’s embarrassing that a movie that is clearly unfinished and hacked to the bones can actually be released into actual theaters! It’s embarrassing that the people involved with it tried to make something completely dark and edgy onto completely kid friendly material! It’s embarrassing that they got this hugely talented cast and gives them nothing to work with! It’s embarrassing that Doctor Doom was able to happen at all! It’s embarrassing that the ending was allowed to happen the way it did! This movie is just a flat out embarrassment!
Fant4stic is not only a black hole for superhero movies but filmmaking in general. This is one of those movies that when watching it, you can’t help but ask, “How did this actually get released in theaters?” That is a question that I still have yet to get a full answer to.
Batman v Superman (2016)
I’m still in awe how you take a crossover like Batman and Superman and make it so long, dull, and joyless. The plot is an absolute convoluted mess no matter which version you watch and the conflict between Batman and Superman is so incredibly ridiculous that it hard to take it seriously. It’s a film that wants to comes across as the most grand and ambitious movie every made, but really doesn’t have much to say on anything it’s talking about. Other than trying to cram two to three movies worth of material into one film, there’s nothing really risky or daring about Dawn of Justice.
Ben Affleck is fine in the role and there’s a few standout moments here but that’s nowhere near enough to save this failure. Even the ultimate edition which some claim “saves” the movie is really just has more of the same things that were wrong in the first place save for being slightly better paced and edited.
X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)
How do you follow up with one of the best and most exciting X-Men movies in the series with Days of Future Past? By wasting Oscar Isaac in an incredibly boring villain role, that’s how! After the last X-entry, the series was free to go where ever it chose and do whatever the hell it wanted. Where did it go exactly? In the absolute wrong direction! What an absolute slog this turned out to be!
The pacing is way too slow, the middle act is practically non-existent, nearly every X-Men character is wasted, the CGI and green screen effects are incredibly poor, and Apocalypse is just an absolute disaster of a villain! A couple of good character moments spread throughout regardless, this was an absolute wasted opportunity.
It’s baffling how the one X-Men movie that Bryan Singer did strictly as an obligation (Days of Future Past) turned out to be a million times better than the one X-Men movie he actually wanted to make from the start (Apocalypse).
Also, f*ck that stab at Return of the Jedi!
And f*ck Bryan Singer as well!
Suicide Squad (2016)
It’s baffling how you can take a movie that has this fun and exciting premise and a superbly talented cast (outside of Jai Courtney and Joel Kinnaman) and somehow manage to execute it in the worst way possible. Attempting to take a page from Guardians of the Galaxy with it’s style and soundtrack, Suicide Squad is like to trying to build a puzzle with pieces that clearly don’t fit. It’s clear that this wasn’t what David Ayer had in mind when he first signed one for this as he clearly envisioned something more bleak and grounded.
It also doesn’t help that it has a rushed script that makes no sense, terrible AD-HD editing, pointless characters and subplots, cringe dialogue that sounds like it was ripped straight out of a 90s video game, and a premise that crumbles when you think about it for a split second. Not even the superb casting of Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Will Smith as Deadshot, and Viola Davis as Amanda Wallers can save this mess! At least two of these three folks would be better used in later DC properties.
Justice League (2017)
It’s unbelievable about how not only the first ever live-action JL movie doesn’t work, but it has to be one of the most average, lifeless, and forgettable superhero movies ever made. The course correction from BvS is painfully obvious on screen that it’s downright embarrassing. This came across as more of a straight-to-dvd Avengers knock-off that you would find at the bargain bin at the Dollar Store than an actual Justice League movie. A handful of moments (or at least the ones I can remember) are cool in their own right but it’s incredibly unforgiveable just how cheap, hollow, and unmemorable this whole experience is.
At least the other version is much better, right?!
Venom (2018)
I know this has it’s fans and was a clear box office smash but I just don’t see the appeal here. Even if you can get into Tom Hardy’s batshit crazy performance, way too much time is spent on a terribly boring origin story with awful pacing, writing, and editing to it. It’s only over halfway through the movie where we finally see Eddie Brock as Venom and transforming into a buddy-cop/bromance movie that there’s some amusement to it. That ultimately leads to a rushed villain arc and one of the most lackluster climax I’ve ever seen in any superhero movie!
Venom himself looks cool I guess but he just doesn’t work as his own villain without Spider-Man’s presence in the story. Bad guys are bad guys for a season! Sometimes it’s best to leave them as that or you get a turd like this as a result! A turd in the wind!
Hellboy (2019)
One of the most pointless reboots of all time! It doesn’t do anything that Del Toro’s films didn’t do better and hardly does anything that Del Toro’s films didn’t already do. But, hooray for f-bombs and more blood and gore, amirite?
This is yet more proof that going full R-rated won’t matter if the material you have is not good. It’s a complete mess with numerous subplots that go no where, way too much sequel setup, and action that only gets exciting until the last 20 or so minutes. And like Independence Day: Resurgence, the ending teases a movie that sounds much better than the one you just watch and makes you wonder why they didn’t just make that movie in the first place.
It makes me wish that WB just paid Guillermo however much he wanted to make his third movie happen. Can’t imagine that being worse or even a bigger bomb than this was.
Dark Phoenix (2019)
You can debate whether this or The Last Stand was a worse adaption of the Dark Phoenix saga but I’m putting my foot down with the 2019 release of Dark Phoenix itself. As underwhelming as Last Stand was, that at least had more effort put into it and had some sort of emotional investment from the first two X-Men movies to pay off of.
This movie on the other hand lacks any sort of groundwork or proper payoff. We are expected to care about versions of X-Men characters we just meet one movie ago and is expected to have the sort of gravitational emotional weight that Endgame provided. It doesn’t even come close to capturing a quarter of that since these are the versions of the characters we have spent the least amount of time with and there’s not much of a proper finale to build to. Not to mention the cheapness of the filmmaking on display despite it’s massive budget and actors that are clearly over this franchise. Sophie Turner and Han Zimmer bring their A-game here but no one else does. Even the usually reliable James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender phone it in hard!
Sad to see such a long-running franchise go out with a complete whimper.
The New Mutants (2021)
If it wasn’t for Kick-Ass 2, this would probably take the cake as being the most forgettable superhero movie I’ve ever seen. The New Mutants had an interesting idea going for it by being more small-scale than most superhero movies and going with a more horror tone. Too bad there’s nothing even remotely interesting, scary, or even memorable about this movie.
Way too much time is spent at the hospital and characters explaining their motivations and themselves to everyone one else instead focusing on the new mutants and their powers. Even had this movie not come out during the Covid pandemic and somehow made it’s way into completely empty theaters nearly three years after it’s first trailer was released, this is one movie that most of everyone would have likely forgot about the second the credits roll.
Between Dark Phoenix and this, I think it’s best to pretend that Logan was the true finale to the Fox X-Men series!
Morbius (2022)
I don’t care about all the glorious memes that this movie created or that it has Matt Smith hamming it up, it is still complete and utter crap. The worst thing about Morbius isn’t just that it’s poorly made, has no engaging characters, no exciting action beats, and has practically no identity of it’s own but that it’s mere existence inhabits everything that is wrong about modern superhero movies. The kind of movies that are not just bad but ones that studios try to force onto the mainstream audiences just to pretend that the movie they’re watching that they don’t like might lead them to want to watch another movie which they may or may not like. That awful post credit scene with Michael Keaton’s Vulture is suppose to be the main selling point of this entire movie and it’s not even the movie itself.
Say what you will about other recent superhero movies, those at least gives you something to chew on after the credits roll. Morbius doesn’t bother trying to give you anything! Even Batman and Robin gave you something truly special in it’s sheer awfulness that you would at least remember it.
It gives you nothing, nothing at all!
So, there you have it! That is 25 superhero movies that I would rather watch Batman and Robin over! Do you agree with more or think I’m crazy and that B&R is the worst abomination ever?! Let me know in the comments below and feel free to follow me through social media on Twitter, YouTube, and Letterboxd.
Also, feel free to check out the other piece I wrote about Batman and Robin doing my Batman marathon I did in preparation for the release of The Batman.
Here’s a link for that:
Batman and Robin (1997)- A Bad Movie, Now Calm Down!
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