10 Terrible Movies That Would Have Been Much Better Off With A Different Director

Bad movies aren't always the fault of the director, but as the ones that are supposedly calling the shots they usually end up taking most of the blame.

There are so many people that a movie has to pass through for approval on the way to the big screen that countless things can go wrong from the script to the performances, not to mention the ever-looming shadow of heavy-handed interference. Sometimes the studios are more content to hire a yes-man that will deliver their intended vision with minimum fuss instead of opting for a less cooperative but more creative partner.

Over the years we've seen many movies that failed to capitalize on their undoubted potential for a variety of reasons, and for many of them the finger of blame can be aimed squarely at the person behind the camera. Whether they're doing it for a paycheck, they're unmotivated and uninterested or simply the entirely wrong fit for the material, some projects would have turned out much better if they had been made by almost anybody else.

On paper, Gangster Squad had all of the ingredients for success. The fictionalized story of one of Los Angeles' most celebrated law enforcement units had the potential to be a show-stopping blend of crime thriller and action blockbuster, and boasted one of the finest ensemble casts that had been assembled in a long time.

The script had been floating around Hollywood's Black List for years, and was clearly good enough on the page to convince an exciting and eclectic mix of veteran character actors and rising stars to sign on, but while director Ruben Fleischer certainly created a stylish movie, he simultaneously forgot to make a good or even interesting one.

Both the reviews and box office were tepid to say the least, and Fleischer seemed more content to focus on the visuals at the expense of plot or character, which is pretty unforgivable when Gangster Squad boasted such a killer concept that presented the ideal opportunity to put a fresh spin on a familiar genre, not to mention a star-studded cast that included Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Anthony Mackie, Michael Pena, Nick Nolte, Giovanni Ribisi and Sean Penn.