Top 10 WORST Films of 2018: Part 2 (#5-1)

Welcome back to Rhode Island Movie Corner’s big end-of-the-year list where I’m counting down my Top 10 Worst Films of 2018. This is the second half of a two-part post and today we’ll be looking at the not-so-great collection of films that make up the Top 5. If you haven’t checked out Part 1 of this list, where I address #10-6, just click here. Thus, without further ado, let’s get back to the list…

To kick off this half of the list at #5, we have a film that admittedly isn’t trying to be something it’s not but still ends up being a mediocre knock-off of far more successful action thrillers. 

5. THE HURRICANE HEIST

One look at this film’s poster makes it seem like a cheap spin-off of the Fast and Furious films. It’s only coincidence, then, that the film was directed by Rob Cohen, who helmed the original Fast and the Furious back in 2001. And simply put, this film is a primary example of why Cohen’s work as an action director isn’t quite up to par with that of his most prominent Fast and Furious successor, Justin Lin. While I’ve never seen Cohen’s adaptation of author James Patterson’s Alex Cross series from 2012, I’m well aware of its infamous action sequences that have been regarded by many as some of the worst filmed action sequences in recent years. Sure enough, The Hurricane Heist’s action sequences are of the same quality, suffering from frenetic camerawork and choppy editing. This is only made worse by the fact that most of the film is set during a raging hurricane, meaning that several of these action sequences became even more incoherent than they already are due to grimy visuals. And while the idea of an action thriller about a group of criminals who use an impending hurricane as cover for a bank heist could have potentially resulted in a ridiculous but decently entertaining film, it only ends up being the former in this case. Several of the film’s biggest action sequences end up going to ludicrous lengths (e.g. the main character is so traumatized by the destruction caused by a hurricane that he literally sees the image of a skull forming in the storm clouds) in a story that’s ironically very basic in terms of its plot and character development. Thus, while The Hurricane Heist tries its best to be the next Die Hard and/or Point Break, it’s ultimately an incredibly mediocre action flick that’s not very well-directed and not very well-acted, for that matter.

This next film was my #1 worst of the year for quite a few months, and while it’s since been overshadowed by the next three films, it’s still the weakest installment by far of its decently entertaining franchise.

4. THE FIRST PURGE

When it comes to the popular Purge franchise, I find that I’m generally in the same boat as most critics/audiences when it comes to the quality of the films. Despite good performances from Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey, the first Purge was an underwhelming home invasion thriller that decided to limit its action to a single suburban home, meaning that it never got the chance to fully capitalize on the potential of its premise. Thankfully, things started to improve with the sequels, The Purge: Anarchy and The Purge: Election Year. For starters, the second film introduced the series’ best character in Frank Grillo’s Sgt. Leo Barnes, who then made a welcome return in the third film. But perhaps the most relevant improvement that the sequels made was transitioning the action from a single location to out in the streets, allowing them to truly highlight all the insanity of a night where all crime (including murder) is made legal for 12 hours. The only possibly controversial opinion that I have on these films is that I prefer Election Year over Anarchy by a slight margin (and no, not because it was filmed near my hometown) for having arguably the most likable main protagonists of the series. Election Year did, however, end on a note that posed some serious questions about the future of the franchise, as it ended with the implication that ‘Purge Night’ would finally be put to an end. And yet, the way in which the franchise would ultimately continue was surprisingly simple; it would just go and do the one concept that fans of the series have been requesting consistently for the past few years. Thus, that is exactly what we got with The First Purge, which delved into the origins of this infamous annual ‘holiday’. This time, however, the film wasn’t directed by series creator James DeMonaco. While he still stayed on as the film’s writer, newcomer Gerard McMurray stepped in to take over as director. However, at the end of the day, it’s clear that this film probably would’ve turned out a lot better had DeMonaco stayed on to direct.

For one thing, DeMonaco handles action a lot better, as this film features some of the worst action sequences in recent years in terms of their cinematography and editing. The most egregious of the bunch is a scene that takes place in a darkened apartment complex with the only light source being the bright flashing lights of the building’s fire alarms. But perhaps the film’s biggest shortcoming is how it ultimately acts as a prequel to the other Purge films. Now when it comes to prequels, I’ll admit that I don’t rag on them as much as the rest of the internet because part of me genuinely has an interest in seeing how film franchises attempt these kinds of stories. But even with that said, they don’t always work, and this film is a prime example of that. Because it’s the newest installment of the franchise, it adds in some new story elements like neon-colored optics for those who partake in the Purge that allows the New Founding Fathers of America to access footage of everything that’s going on during the night. This would be fine… if this wasn’t a prequel to a series of films where this technology never once appeared. And then there are the film’s attempts to build up the conflict between the NFFA and those who oppose the Purge, namely the residents of Staten Island where the initial Purge Night is held. Simply put, this is nothing more than a rehash of what we saw in the previous films, and while the film may end with the main characters preparing to combat the Purge, once again the film’s status as a prequel makes it clear that it will be a long time before anything is done about it. Now to the film’s credit, there are some decent performances from its cast of general newcomers, including Y’lan Noel as a local drug lord who takes on the responsibility of protecting his community and Lex Scott Davis as his ex-girlfriend who leads the anti-Purge resistance movement. Still, the lack of awesome characters like Leo Barnes or even series regulars like Edwin Hodge’s Dante is certainly felt. And if you want to talk about one of the most thankless roles in recent memory, look no further than Marisa Tomei as the doctor who created the Purge but is then swiftly killed off by the NFFA when she starts to realize how terrible it is. Thus, despite what I said before about how the film probably would’ve worked better had James DeMonaco continue to serve as the series’ director, this is easily the weakest-written entry in the entire series.

Well, it was only a matter of time before this one appeared on the list…

3. FIFTY SHADES FREED

Yes, it’s the final installment of the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy adapted from author E.L. James’ best-selling book series. As I’ve noted in the past, this series was spawned from fan-fiction inspired by the equally popular Twilight series, which means that it features the same cheesy melodrama but without the occasionally cool supernatural elements involving vampires and werewolves. Instead, it’s an extremely dull romance plot and nothing else, and while the books became notorious for their overt erotic content, the films never go ‘that far’ to avoid being rated NC-17, meaning that they don’t even deliver on what is arguably the only notable aspect of the books. And to top it all off, this series features some of the most frustratingly indecisive characters in recent history. This is most apparent with main protagonist Anastasia Steele, who constantly grapples with the idea of being in a long-term relationship with the borderline abusive billionaire Christian Grey. And while their ‘will they, won’t they’ arc isn’t as prevalent as it was in the previous films due to them getting married, the arguments that they get into (e.g. Christian’s hostile reaction to Ana’s unexpected pregnancy) just reinforces the fact that this is one of the most toxic relationships that has ever been put on page and film. At the end of the day, though, this surprisingly isn’t the worst installment of the series. That distinction goes to the second film, Fifty Shades Darker, as it was the most obnoxious of the trilogy when it came to Anastasia’s inability to move on from Christian. And yet, even with that said, Fifty Shades Freed is still an apathetic conclusion to a mediocre trilogy that ultimately goes out with a whimper.

We’ve gotten quite a lot of great horror films these past few years, including but not limited to the recent adaptation of Stephen King’s It and Jordan Peele’s Oscar-winning psychological horror-thriller Get Out. It’s legitimately gotten to the point now where even someone like me who isn’t that big a fan of the horror genre is genuinely looking forward to some of its biggest upcoming releases. But, of course, there are still some horror films out there that exhibit the genre’s worst qualities, and this next one is a prime example of this.

2. BLUMHOUSE’S TRUTH OR DARE

In Truth or Dare, a group of college students find themselves targeted by a demon who forces them into playing a sinister spin on the classic party game ‘Truth or Dare’, where the punishment for not completing their task is death. On paper, this could’ve potentially worked as a decent psychological horror flick where the game forces these friends to spill some of their darkest secrets and effectively put their relationships to the test. However, the film stumbles hard when it comes to its execution as there are several instances where severe gaps in logic occur, mainly whenever the demon ‘cheats the system’ by forcing the current player into selecting one option over the other. It also doesn’t help that the demon’s kills are neutered by the film’s toothless PG-13 rating and were already spoiled in advance by the marketing. And from what I’ve read, the unrated cut that was released on home media doesn’t add anything major to the film as it seems like the only significant thing that was cut for the theatrical release were scenes of the main characters drinking. But easily the worst aspect of this film is something that ties into a point that I’ve mentioned several times this past year, and that is the argument that a horror film works a lot better when you have characters that you care about as they go through these sinister plots. And simply put, that is not the case with Truth or Dare. You don’t give a single crap about any of these people, and the scenes where they reveal each other’s darkest secrets makes the situation even worse to the point where the film often gives off a very mean-spirited vibe. In conclusion, Truth or Dare is the very definition of a ‘by-the-numbers’ teen-oriented horror flick.
 

And at last, we come to my #1 worst of 2018, which will admittedly be an obvious one as this film has undoubtedly appeared on many other folks’ ‘Worst of the Year’ lists. Calling this film one of the most notorious releases of the year would be a massive understatement. 

1. GOTTI

Directed by Kevin Connolly (AKA ‘E’ from Entourage), Gotti tells the story of the infamous New York mobster John Gotti, who rose up in the ranks to become the head of the Gambino crime family in the ’80s. The film also explores his relationship with his son, John ‘Junior’, who proceeded to take over his father’s position in 1992 when John Sr. was sentenced to life in prison. However, the film ends up being more like a hodge-podge of key moments in their lives, skipping around to different points in time in an extremely erratic fashion with the second half of the film focusing more on John ‘Junior’ as he plans on pleading guilty in an impending trial. As such, what we ultimately get is a generic and frustratingly dull gangster flick (with music from Pitbull, for some reason…) that often feels like a knock-off of other gangster flicks, especially Goodfellas. To his credit, John Travolta is at least trying his best in the title role, but it’s still not that good of a performance and everyone else in the film isn’t any better by comparison. But the weirdest thing about the film is how it tries very hard to humanize John Gotti. Despite all the various crimes that he commits, the film continually reinforces the argument that he’s a genuine ‘family man’ and a hero of his community. Now I’m fully aware that a common criticism of films of this nature (e.g. Goodfellas, The Wolf of Wall Street) is that they often tend to glorify the actions of their ‘protagonists’ even when they do something that’s completely immoral. However, the thing about those other films is that they are far more balanced than they’re often given credit for when it comes to their characters eventually getting the comeuppance that they deserve. But in the case of Gotti, it’s full-on adulation for its notorious main character.

I should also address the big post-release controversy that this film got into that involved Rotten Tomatoes. Upon its release last June, the film was savaged by critics, earning it the dubious distinction of maintaining a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. And yet, the ratings from the site’s audience review section during the film’s opening weekend were a different story, as that score was around 80%. For several people, the broad imbalance between these two scores seemed rather suspect, especially after the film’s marketing campaign started to boast that it was loved by audiences while simultaneously denouncing the ‘trolls behind a keyboard’ who were giving it poor reviews. And yet, as it turns out, several of these ‘positive audience reviews’ were revealed to have come from accounts that had just been set up that month and would end up being the only reviews posted there aside from ones for a film that was distributed by the same studio, American Animals (which, ironically, was well-received by critics). The studio in question is the film division of the subscription-based ticketing service MoviePass which, to put it lightly, ended up having a very rough 2018. So yes, it seems like this was indeed a case of ‘review manipulation’, and at the time of this post’s publication, the audience score on Rotten Tomatoes is now down to a generally more realistic 49% rating. In short, it’s hilariously ironic that the most notable aspect of Gotti ultimately wasn’t something that came from the film itself.

And that concludes this list of Rhode Island Movie Corner’s Top 10 Worst Films of 2018. I apologize for this one coming out later than anticipated, but I promise that I will do my best to get my ‘Top 12 Favorite Films of the Year’ list published before the 91st annual Academy Awards on February 24th. Until then, be sure to sound off in the comments below with your own personal Top 10 Worst of 2018.