17. Island Of Dr. Moreau (1996)
This is one film shoot you would have loved to have been a fly on the wall. It was a disaster from the beginning to the end and it was mostly Val Kilmer's fault. Island Of Dr. Moreau was originaly being directed by Richard Stanley who spent four years working developing the project. Before filming started, Val Kilmer suddenly wanted his part reduced by 40% for no reason. Unable to meet his demand, his role was switched from the UN diplomat Edward Douglas to Moreau's assistant. Three days into the shoot, Richard Stanley was fired as director and John Frankenheimer brought in as his replacement. No reason was given for the firing but it's assumed it was down to difficulties with Val Kilmer who ruined the first few days of shooting by refusing to read the words on the script as they were written. Frankenheimer had similar problems with Kilmer and when he finished the last scene with him, he said;
"Now get that bastard off my set"
Frankenheimer later went on to say that;
''There are two things I will never ever do in my whole life. The first is that I will never climb Mt. Everest. The second is that I will never work with Val Kilmer ever again."
But the main reason anyone would go watch this film is due to it also starring Marlon Brando, in fact, the chance to work with Brando was the reason most of the cast and crew took the job. But the constant rewrites were pissing off the bloated megastar and he had to resort to having his lines fed to him via a small, concealed radio. However, the radio had a tendency to pick up transmissions from the local police and Brando would repeat them as he heard them. Co-star David Thewlis recalls;
"Marlon would be in the middle of a scene and suddenly he'd be picking up police messages and would repeat, 'There's a robbery at Woolworth's.'
Brando also had problems with Kilmer and the two butted heads with Brando reminding Kilmer of his place with the ultimate, actory put down;
"You're confusing your talents with the size of your paycheck".
The film crashed and burned at the box office and won a number of Razzie awards, including Worst Picture and Director.
16. Death Proof (2007)
Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof was released with Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror as a double bill in the US and Canada but separately, internationally. Starring the ever watchable Kurt Russell, he played stunt man Mike McKay who attracts attractive women into his car, Death Proof, and then murders them in staged accidents. The plot sounded great but unfortunately the film wasn't. Slow and boring, Tarantino's script wasn't the high standard we expect it to be. The action was good but even the very attractive lady cast that included Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Rosario Dawson could save this film from dragging. Tarantino has labeled it as his worst film.
15. Batman & Robin (1997)
Batman Forever was no classic but watchable and it took the franchise in a more family friendly direction from the darker tones of Tim Burton's two films. But Warner Bros desire to move the series even further into kid-friendly territory with their next Batman film resulted in one of the worst films ever made. The camp was turned up to 11 with George Clooney hamming it up to the max as the Caped Crusader. He was joined again by unpopular Chris O'Donnald as Robin and another pointless addition in the form of Batgirl, played by Alcia Silverstone. Cheesy one liners, boring plot and a nauseating colour pallet, the only saving grace was Arnold Schwarzenegger who put in the best performance as Mr Freeze. Yes the script failed him but the man had screen presence. This entry killed the Batman Franchise until it was resurrected by Christopher Nolan.
14. The Avengers (1998)
Believe it or not, there was a time when every other film was not either a remake or a reboot, so when a reboot did come, there was some genuine excitement. So when an updated version of 60's television series The Avengers was in production staring Ralph Fiennes, Uma Thurman and Sean Connery, people were excited by the prospect. But just like the other reboot to come out that year, Lost In Space, it was a huge waste of time and money. Camp doesn't come close to describing the un-amusing tosh that ended up being released. A dumb plot that involved Connery trying to control the weather and bizarre stereotyping of the British with cars that serve tea at a touch of a button (I'm sure if the Avengers was set in India, the films producers would have had it dispensing curry) the film was not even bad enough to laugh at. But the warning signs were there, Warner Bros canceled all preview screenings for the press and made last minute cuts that included removing scenes that featured in the trailer. Overall, a major disappointment for any fan of the awesome TV show.
13. Superman IV: The Quest For Peace (1987)
If Superman III was panned for being unfunny and camp, this one was just s**t. The Salkinds sold the film rights for Superman to Golan-Globus Productions who managed to convince Christopher Reeves and Gene Hackman to reprise their role but I bet they wished they hadn't. In a crap plot where Lex Luthor is not only a criminal mastermind, he's also a super geneticist who makes Nuclear Man to take on Superman, the story was loaded with anti-nuclear statements. But that wasn't what made the film rubbish, its biggest problem was that Golan-Globus Productions had so many films on the go at the same time which meant their already thin budget was stretched even thinner, and don't think Superman IV got any special treatment. The incredibly tight budget meant that director Sidney J. Furie had to cut corners on everything, including the special effects which are shockingly bad. This film killed the Reeve-Superman era once and for all.