Top 10 Worst Films of 2022

2022 turned out to be a surprisingly strong year in cinema with the continued recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic seeing global voices provide memorable and inspired cinematic efforts throughout the entire year. For every gem, however, there was a block of coal. As always, not every film was a masterpiece with plenty leaving a sour taste in the mouths of audiences. From established filmmakers dropping the ball to shocking degrees to quick cash grabs from greedy studios, 2022 has its fair share of trash. Continuing a yearly tradition, here are the 10 worst films of 2022.

If applicable click on a poster to see my full review of a film!

#10-Men

Following up both Ex Machina and Annihilation, arguably two of the strongest films of the last decade, Alex Garland naturally had a large expectations placed on him to deliver another classic; in hindsight, t should have been seen as a warning sign when A24 dumped his newest in the spring with little promotion or hype. Men is an awful execution of flawed ideas that is equally puzzling and boring as the film amounts to nothing with a tone-deaf confused yell. One can only hope this is a rare miss for Garland rather than a sign of what is to come

#9-Jurassic World Dominion

To say that the Jurassic World franchise has been a disappointment is one of the coldest takes anyone can have in relation to modern film with Jurassic World Dominion being the worst of the bunch so far. Rather than actually using the unique set up left by the previous film, Dominion crawls through a boring nostalgia filled narrative that fails its more politically relevant voice that could have added a needed gravitas to the overall project. Make no mistake that the shocking 147-minute runtime doesn't help.

#8-White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch

Netflix has forever left a mark on the documentary genre with White Hot being one of the worst examples of this influence. A completely hollow documentary that almost comedically unwinds to showcase just how lazy it is as the runtime progresses, White Hot fails its genuinely important and fascinating subject matter and proves to be the worst documentary of the year.

#7-Alice

Every Sundance Film Festival has a dud and this year it was Alice. A rather bold feature that takes risks that consistently fail to pay off, the film ends up as a total mess. Keke Palmer clearly tries, but even of the best of actors cannot overcome screenplays as illogical and questionable as this.

#6-Moonfall

While one might not expect any masterpiece to come from Roland Emmerich, normally at least his films are fun. Moonfall struggles to get through its 130-minute runtime as the film's only escape from dullness in the third act is a brief flash in the larger void that is the feature. This is simply lifeless and by the end, you will agree with the phrase "Fuck the Moon".

#5-White Noise

Similar to Alex Garland with Men, it is unclear how someone who has proven to be as talented as Noah Baumbach would produce work to the quality of White Noise. One of the messiest films of the year that truly feels like a film that purposefully removed any direction or craft in both style and substance, this feels embarrassingly amateur. While one might be able to overlook some of the flaws if this was a new filmmaker still learning, this is Noah Baumbach who has proven to be a master at filmmaking. There is no excuse for sloppy work like this.

#4-Pinocchio: A True Story

Beyond the TikTok memes it provided, Pinocchio: A True Story is a rather worthless feature. Coming in as the worst of 3 Pinocchio adaptations to come out in 2022, this one easily has the worst animation and the cheapest overall value. There is rarely any stakes or effective emotions as the film goes through the motions to provide a film clearly suited for the bottom of a Walmart direct-to-dvd bin.

#3-Purple Hearts

Purple Hearts might be one of the most popular Netflix films of the year but that doesn't stop it from also being one of the worst. Not only is the film comedically bad when it comes to production quality but the cheap political identity the film decides to embrace is also just off-putting. While one can definitely watch the film and laugh at the project, more so than any other film on this list at least, it doesn't stop the film from being a total disaster.

#2-365 Days: This Day

Considering the first 365 Days film was trash, there is no surprise that the first of two sequels to come out in 2022 also was. 365 Days: This Day is not just a failure of morals but also a failure of filmmaking with a incoherent plot and pacing that was at least wise enough to stop the third film from being seen and probably end up right on this list alongside this one.

#1-The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild

Leave to Disney to have the worst film of 2022. The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild is a cheap attempt to use the Ice Age franchise with genuinely some of the worst animation seen in the last decade. The film is neither funny nor interesting with nearly no sense of love or imagination being felt on any frame of the project. This was dumped as January filler for Disney+ and it deserves to be lost in the depths of the service.