Producers may not have the same creative input as writers or directors; however, they do have the power to overtake a director and control how a production runs. Nevertheless, the point is that a producer is also an important position in the filmmaking world and this list will run down the biggest blemishes on the record of these top-tier producers. This list will also include bad movies from executive producers as well, as long as they also have producing credits in their filmography. Let’s get started with the first movie:
Elektra (Kevin Feige)
When you look at Kevin Feige’s filmography, the famed producers string of credits is nearly flawless. However, just like the top directors and actors, even Feige has a blemish on his record and that comes from the mostly hated Elektra stand-alone film in 2005. Feige is the executive producer here, so he doesn’t fully share the blame. Elektra is a spin-off of the 2003 Daredevil film that saw enough success to warrant the Jennifer Garner vehicle. It’s essentially an origin story on the assassin-for-hire’s upbringing in the organization, the hand. Elektra is not a bad film, it’s just a boring one. Jennifer Garner gives it her all in this spinoff feature; however, the movie is a formulaic and predictable feature that doesn’t give the title character much meat to chew on. Easily the best film on this list, but still not something worth recommending.
The Last Airbender (Frank Marshall)
Frank Marshall is one of the three producers credited for one of the worst movie adaptations ever made. Marshall has been a producer and executive producer for classics such as The Sixth Sense, The Color Purple, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Back to the Future, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; however, he’s also one of the people responsible for this atrocity. The Last Airbender is about Aang, who must restore the balance of the world by taking down the Fire Nation. The issues regarding The Last Airbender stem from choosing the wrong director, bad casting, a poor script, terrible and cringeworthy dialogue that’s performed by bland acting. The Last Airbender feels like cliff notes of the popular source material mixed in with bland CGI. Let’s hope the live-action television adaptation turns out better than this irredeemable mess.
The Flintstones (Kathleen Kennedy)
I’m sorry Star Wars fans, I know you want me to put The Last Jedi on this list but it’s not even close to as bad as The Flintstones. This live-action adaptation of the 1960 classic sees Fred Flintstone getting a promotion after Barney swaps his IQ test during an executive search program. Not surprisingly, shenanigans ensue after Fred gets the big promotion. The only bright spot of the film is the clear effort that the actors put into their characters; however, it’s kind of hard to go wrong when John Goodman, Rick Moranis, Kyle MacLachlan, and Elizabeth Perkins are apart of the cast. The production design is also top-notch here; however, the cast is let down by a severely unfunny and pedestrian script. The spirit of The Flintstones show is there, it’s just a shame that the humor is better served in the classic cartoon.
Survivor (Irwin Winkler)
Irwin Winkler has a very impressive resume that includes Goodfellas, The Irishman, Creed, Rocky, and Raging Bull; however, the talented producer has a couple of stinkers on his list including Survivor, a generic and lifeless feature about a foreign service officer who must race against time to prove her innocence and stop a deadly event from taking place. The 2015 feature is loaded with a good cast that also includes Pierce Brosnan, Angela Bassett, and Robert Forster; however, it’s a convoluted spy thriller that fails to be intense or compelling despite its promising subject matter. A decent cast can help boost the energy of a film, but no matter how talented an actor is, there’s simply no way to overcome a terrible script.
Cats (Steven Spielberg)
Steven Spielberg is infamous for directing classics such as Jaws, E.T. (The Extra-Terrestrial), Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and The Color Purple, and Jurassic Park; however, the filmmaker also worked in multiple positions in the producing field since the 1980s. Spielberg was the executive producer of one of the biggest bombs in recent years, Cats. Adapted from the popular Broadway musical, the film centers around a bunch of cats who must decide to ascent to the Heaviside Layer and come back to a new life. One of the biggest issues with Cats is that it virtually doesn’t have a narrative. The actors sing and dance with much structure or reasoning behind it. Plus, the CGI cat/human costumes are bad. The all-star cast do give it their all and Jennifer Hudson’s performance proves why the actress deserves her Best Supporting Actress Oscar, but they’re letdown by a script that fails to proper tell a cohesive story.Steven Spielberg
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