5. Phoenix - X-Men: The Last Stand
Brett Ratner had a really easy job when he took over X-Men 3. Not only had Bryan Singer perfectly created the world and set up the film's plot in the previous two movies, but Matthew Vaughn, whod been attached to the project after Singer went to Metropolis, had already done a lot of planning. And yet he managed to mess it all up. The clear indication from X-Men 2, with Jeans sacrifice and that enticing final shot, was that the third film would tackle the fan favourite Phoenix Saga. And while The Last Stand had that element, it was pushed to the background in favour of a sudden, silly mutant cure (so long racial allegory, hello whatever sticks to the wall). Such an integral part of the first two films was pushed to the background because Ratner didn't have the chops to turn such a character based plot into something cinematic. We got the Phoenix, but it bookended the main focus of the film (just like Toy Story 3s moving on theme); it was there, but forced in around the story the director really wanted to tell. Whats depressing is that, even though Days Of Future Past will rewrite some of The Last Stand, it looks like Jean will stay dead. As X-Men tends to reboot within the same universe odds are well never see a better take on this story.