Some movie directors seem to crack the formula for success from the get-go: with every movie that they add to their filmographies, they employ the same tropes and themes and stylistic choices, only to find that the public are happy to lap it up, time and time again, because, hey, it works, and why deprive them of what they want to see? But how long can a movie director repeat or recycle themselves before people start to get bored? Before people start to notice that, wait a minute, haven't we seen this before?And, hey, when are you going to do something different? This time period varies depending on the director, of course, though it almost always happens eventually: a director will push their luck, or get lazy, or make a movie that highlights all their worst traits at their most excessive, unnecessary and indulgent. Take the directors I've assembled for inclusion on this list, then, all of whom were at the top of their game until they pushed their luck at little bit too far, churning out motion pictures that made us feel like we were watching them on autopilot, or coasting on formulas that we'd already been exposed to years earlier... The lesson? You can't keep doing the same thing for too long, 'less you're prepared for the backlash...