6. Jupiter Ascending
What's it about? The Wachowski siblings returned to the big screen this year with yet another attempt to build a new franchise, delivering a gargantuan space opera in which, predictably, nothing less than the fate of the human race is at stake. Channing Tatum plays half-man half-wolf Caine Wise, who rescues Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis) and tells of her destiny to rule the galaxy. Then he rescues her again. And again several more times until the movie finally - and thankfully - ends. Why was it doomed to fail? Let's be honest - have the Wachowskis made anything great aside from The Matrix and Bound? With the awful Matrix sequels and the flops Speed Racer and Cloud Atlas littering up their filmography since Neo first kicked his way onto the screen in 1999, it's tempting to put the failure of Jupiter Ascending down to their lack of writing talent. As directors they are often in their element when it comes to visualising unique and strange worlds, but increasingly the absence of narrative originality coupled with a tendency towards clunky exposition has become unforgivable. Throw some truly lacklustre performances into the mix (although to be fair much of the cast do the best they can with the lifeless material), a bloated budget and the directors' reputation for self-indulgence, and only a miracle would've made Jupiter Ascending a hit.