4) Underworld
With so many watered down action franchises clearly aimed at a young adult demographic, Underworld is a breath of fresh air as its R-rating markets it towards an older crowd. But just because it’s one of the few to do that does not earn it longevity.
The fact is, Underworld has chosen to take a semi-interesting mythology involving a war between vampires and lycans, and turned it into a lazy popcorn series clearly built for the purposes of showing off attractive actors in tight leather. While we’re not claiming that it’s anywhere near the level of disparity as the Twilight series, it’s truly saying something when a battle between werewolves and stylish humanoid vampires lacks any sense of gravitas or excitement.
With the last three entries getting worse and worse reviews, it seems clear that the sixth movie should either be a finale (as was done with the recent Resident Evil: The Final Chapter) or canned altogether.
5) Ice Age
The first Ice Age, released back in 2002, was, like the first Toy Story, a feat in computer animation. Combining a talented voice cast with a genuinely touching story involving returning a human boy to his tribe, Ice Age set itself up as being a potential rival for Pixar. Most viewers may particularly recall a scene in which a young Manny views a cave painting that reveals his horrifying backstory of losing his wife and child to a pack of hunters.
Alas, that level of heart was not to be seen in any other successor. Starting from the first sequel itself, Ice Age: The Meltdown, Blue Sky Studios evidently decided to substitute the heart of its predecessor with pointless gags that detracted from the drama, such as making Sid even more of a moron or adding unnecessary comic relief characters in the form of Crash and Eddie. While the first Ice Age had had many funny moments, they never took away from the serious parts like what happened here.
Every entry since then has continued to degrade the declining dignity of the original, to the point where the latest one, Ice Age: Collision Course, had the characters travel across the land to stop an asteroid. Absolutely ridiculous.
