4. Hancock
Poor Peter Berg, the guy just can't seem to catch a break on any project he directs, but to be fair to him, he had a pretty decent framework for the superhero drama Hancock, starring Will Smith. The film had a huge degree of intervention on just about every level, ensuring the final product was always going to be a compromised, uneven, messy husk of the original script. Originally, Hancock's reckless superhero protagonist was a far darker, more complex individual, who promoted lascivious activities and flagrant law-breaking, an ironic inversion of the role models these extraordinary individuals typically become. Columbia Pictures sought to remove any incisiveness the film had, transforming it from an irreverent R-rated postmodern superhero film into a neutered, safe PG-13 blockbuster. The result was a massive financial success, mostly due to Smith's involvement, though received a mixed critical reception, and all I can think about is how much this was a missed opportunity to make something truly special indeed.