Great directors, terrible films: The biggest misses from Hollywood's heaviest hitters

Australian director-writer-producer Baz Luhrmann is an auteur known for his lavish productions, including , , and . With 2008’s , starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, Luhrmann seemed to be aiming for his country’s but he ended up with thinly drawn characters walking around in expensive costumes on expansive sets. Luhrmann’s films are an acquired taste, but even if you have it, you must admit that Australia is not the director’s most satisfying work.

Full disclosure: I actually like David Lynch’s and every single one of his movies. That said, Dune was a notoriously troubled production that cost too much, had too much story for one movie, and featured clunky special effects. When you consider that Lynch is the man behind , , and , a wannabe blockbuster like Dune sticks out like a giant sandworm. Denis Villeneuve tackled in 2021 and the movie received more accolades than Lynch’s version, but Villeneuve was given the breathing room needed to tell the epic story over two movies.

Michael Mann’s signature style is evident in movies such as , , and . His 2006 big-screen adaptation of TV’s Miami Vice also has a stylish look and frenetic action sequences, but leading men Jamie Foxx and Colin Farrell lack the chemistry and charisma of their TV counterparts, Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas. This and the “meh” story make watching Mann’s a hollow experience akin to observing two great actors dodge bullets in a slick production. The TV series aired for five seasons and helped define the style and sound of the 1980s, while the idea of a sequel to Mann’s forgettable movie version seems sillier than one of the pastel suits that Johnson used to wear on the show.

Director Roman Polanski’s is a horror classic about a woman whose unborn child is literally the spawn of Satan, so it probably made sense for the director to dance with the Devil again in . The 1999 horror-thriller stars Johnny Depp as a rare-book dealer who tries to authenticate an ancient tome that purports to hold the secret for summoning the Devil. Unlike in Rosemary’s Baby, there is no real emotional connection to any of the characters, so we’re left with religious mumbo jumbo and Depp running around with a concerned look on his face. The last time we checked, even “elevated” horror movies are still supposed to be scary, right?

The trailer for 1972’s informs us that the titular outlaw played by Barbara Hershey has a “taste for lovin’ and a boxcar for a boudoir.” The premise and tone of Martin Scorsese’s second feature film seems sillier and lighter than later signature movies such as , , and . Produced by cult-film king Roger Corman, Boxcar Bertha was dismissed by most critics as a “training exercise” for future Oscar-winner Scorsese, who went on to become one of cinema’s greatest directors.

Ridley Scott, the director of , , and , is what some of us have instead of church. Given that he has made more than a few of the most seminal sci-fi movies in history, it’s not surprising that putting star Russell Crowe in the 2006 romantic comedy disappointed long-time fans who worship at the temple of Scott. The sappy rom-com tanked with critics and audiences who, shockingly, would rather see Crowe in a Roman arena battling tigers instead of finding love in a French vineyard. So Scott thankfully returned to the action and sci-fi genres where he continues to thrive. In Ridley we trust … just not with romantic comedies.

When one of a director’s early films is so good, every movie after that seems disappointing. This is the curse of M. Night Shyamalan, whose 1999 psychological thriller is unquestionably his masterpiece. Subsequent movies such as , , and often relied on a third-act twist that elicited more groans than thrills. This brings us to 2008’s , a movie starring Mark Wahlberg in which trees revolt against humanity and put something into the air that causes mass suicides. First of all, the idea of trees killing people is laughable, not scary, which is probably not the reaction you want in a thriller. The movie bombed and even made some “Worst Films Of All Time” lists, although more recently some forgiving fans suggested that we should revisit The Happening as a camp classic. In 2019, Shyamalan said about The Happening, “I think it’s a consistent kind of farce humor. You know, like .” So maybe it WAS supposed to be funny? What a twist!

Steven Spielberg has made some of the most acclaimed and biggest blockbusters of the past 50 years, which is why it’s easy to forgive him for 1991’s , a Peter Pan sequel of sorts that Spielberg seemed to direct on autopilot. It’s probably a coincidence that several of the worst movies by great directors on this list star the late Robin Williams, but we’ll let you draw your own conclusions. In 2018, Spielberg told Empire, “I felt like a fish out of water making Hook … I didn’t have confidence in the script. I had confidence in the first act and I had confidence in the epilogue. I didn’t have confidence in the body of it.”

Quentin Tarantino’s “worst” movies are still better than 99 percent of other directors’ best movies. The man behind , , , and has never made a truly bad film. If you were forced at gunpoint (like a Tarantino character!) to pick his worst directorial effort, you’d have to go with his “The Man from Hollywood” segment from 1995’s . The anthology black comedy based on stories by Roald Dahl has four different directors and, to be fair, Tarantino’s segment and Robert Rodriguez’s were reviewed more favorably by critics than those directed by Allison Anders and Alexandre Rockwell. Since Four Rooms as a whole disappointed critics and bombed at the box office, it’s the only stain on Tarantino’s otherwise killer career.

After directing , three movies and the ambitious , sisters Lilly and Lana Wachowski made the visually stunning space opera starring Channing Tatum as some kind of half-human, half-canine engineered soldier. As stupid as that sounds (and it IS stupid), that’s nothing compared to galactic emperor Balem Abrasax, played by a bonkers and unhinged Eddie Redmayne as some kind of listless royal who’s prone to inexplicably angry outbursts. The film was released one year after , for which Redmayne won a Best Actor Oscar. We’re thinking maybe he should mail the trophy back to the Academy and write an apology to the Wachowskis. Sure, Jupiter Ascending would have crashed even without Redmayne, but the Oscar-winning actor clearly needed a director to reel him in here. Now this expensive misfire can only be appreciated as high camp.

Oscar-winning director Robert Zemeckis is the man who helmed the trilogy, , and . Pretty impressive résumé, right? This is why his 2022 live-action remake of is so disappointing. This unnecessary remake was criticized for being soulless and inert. The musical fantasy film was nominated for five Razzies, including Worst Picture, Worst Actor and Worst Director. Even if you’re made out of wood, that has to hurt!