7 Most Disappointing Movies of 2025 So Far

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2025 is nearly over halfway, and it’s been a fairly prosperous year for cinema. Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” made a significant impact at the box office, Celine Song’s “Materialist” resonated with audiences, and “Thunderbolts” was a well-received critical success for the MCU. There are still many exciting films to look forward to this year, such as “Superman”, “The Fantastic Four: First Footsteps”, and “Wicked: For Good”, along with movies from esteemed directors like Paul Thomas Anderson (“One Battle After Another”), James Cameron (“Avatar: Fire and Ash”), and Edgar Wright (“Running Man”).

Sometimes, despite high anticipation, a movie may not live up to the expectations that come with it. This doesn’t necessarily mean the film is poor; it could simply mean it didn’t meet the lofty standards built around it. Expectations are difficult to avoid as they stem from various sources such as a director’s past work, a franchise’s history, and external influences.

When evaluating a movie, considering its unique aspects is crucial, but context also plays a significant role. For instance, some movies are unlikely to impress (such as a Minecraft movie, given that it wasn’t expected to be exceptional), yet these seven films appeared promising and, despite having all the right elements, surprisingly fell short.

7
‘Captain America: Brave New World’

Fans were worried about the delayed release of “Captain America: Brave New World” due to repeated delays and talk about major reshoots. However, with some fantastic trailers that resembled a Tom Clancy-style spy thriller, there was plenty to be enthusiastic about. The fact that Anthony Mackie would finally headline an MCU film as Captain America, alongside the iconic Harrison Ford playing The Red Hulk, and the long-anticipated comeback of Tim Blake Nelson as Samuel Sterns/The Leader, suggested that Marvel Studios was fully utilizing its shared universe to combine disparate elements into something fresh and distinct.

Regrettably, what viewers received wasn’t something fresh or original, as Captain America: Brave New World seemed more like a repetition of the plot structure of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, complete with inappropriately placed exposition and some noticeable CGI that hinted at reshoots and suggested the film was held together with makeshift materials such as rubber bands and tape.

In “Captain America: Brave New World,” there seemed to be an inconsistency about its identity – from transforming the Serpent Society into a nondescript black ops military group instead of the intended superpowered weapon bearers, and altering the Leader’s design to tone it down. Even with Anthony Mackie’s captivating portrayal and impressive visual effects on the Red Hulk, “Captain America: Brave New World” struggled in its debut in 2025, but fortunately, the Marvel Cinematic Universe managed to bounce back swiftly from this initial setback.

6
‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’

Impossible franchise. The series has historically been one that improvises as it goes, frequently shooting action scenes and structuring films around them. This approach worked well for several movies, but in “The Final Reckoning,” the consequences of past mistakes within the franchise became apparent, regardless of how swiftly Tom Cruise might run.

The film skips over important details from the previous movie, makes sudden alterations near the end, and appears overly focused on appeasing fans of earlier films. Approximately a quarter of the runtime is dedicated to flashbacks and explanations about the other movies for viewers who may have forgotten the long-running series’ events. The action scenes are impressive, but they come after an hour of setup. Despite not being the worst in the Mission: Impossible franchise (that title goes to Mission: Impossible 2), following outstanding films like Ghost Protocol, Rogue Nation, and Fallout, this supposed final installment can’t help but be a letdown.

5
‘Death of a Unicorn’

From the trailers for the film “Death of a Unicorn“, it seemed that A24 had produced something truly exceptional. A blend of dark fantasy and comedy, boasting an impressive ensemble cast including Paul Rudd, Jenna Ortega, Will Poulter, Richard E. Grant, Téa Leoni, and Anthony Carrigan, the concept of reinventing the classic unicorn as a fearsome slasher creature was intriguing and daring. This original movie, with its unique premise, appeared capable of standing out amidst the sea of remakes, sequels, and adaptations. However, having an original idea doesn’t exempt one from critique.

The film’s attempts at humor are overly exaggerated and unfortunately, not very amusing. It appears the script is on auto-pilot, with only Will Poulter and Anthony Carrigan’s performances inciting genuine chuckles. Death of a Unicorn, in numerous aspects, visually echoes Steven Spielberg’s work in Jurassic Park and The Lost World: Jurassic Park, yet it falls short of being anything more than an imitation.

In the film, opting for Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) to depict the unicorns may be problematic, given the limited budget doesn’t allow for convincing motion portrayal. On the other hand, there are instances where a real unicorn could have heightened the illusion effectively. The blend of practical and CGI effects in Jurassic Park from 1993 was successful, but Death of the Unicorn seems to have overlooked this lesson. Consequently, the movie falls short of living up to its intriguing title.

4
‘Jurassic World Rebirth’

In 2025, Jurassic World Rebirth, the seventh film in the series, was not the only movie that echoed Jurassic Park and fell short of expectations. Like its predecessors, it seems to reinforce the question whether the Jurassic Park franchise should continue. Compared to Jurassic World Dominion, Rebirth is a slight improvement, but this is more of a knock against Dominion than an endorsement of Rebirth.

Fallen Kingdom” have used. It seems like we’ve seen it all before.

In the same vein as Garreth Edwards’ other directed films, it boasts an impressive visual depiction of scale that often overshadows the seemingly dull characters and plot. This could be classified as style over substance, contributing to a growing list of underwhelming Jurassic sequels.

3
‘The Life of Chuck’

One of the biggest letdowns of the year could be “The Life of Chuck,” a film that garnered significant hype due to its adaptation from Stephen King’s short story by director Mike Flanagan, premiering at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). The movie won the People’s Choice Award at TIFF, a feat that since 2012 has been followed by Best Picture nominations at the Academy Awards for every film. Given its summer 2025 release date and Flanagan’s past successful works like “Doctor Sleep,” “The Haunting of Hill House,” “The Haunting of Bly Manor,” and “Midnight Mass,” audiences were eagerly anticipating a potential Best Picture contender during the summer movie season. However, the final product has been met with mixed reviews and disappointment for some fans who had high expectations.

As a film enthusiast, I must confess that the final product of Life of Chuck, unfortunately, missed its mark for me. The extensive narration by Nick Offerman gave it a feel more akin to an audiobook than a movie. It seems that Director Flanagan may have been so captivated by Stephen King’s prose that he found it challenging to trim the excess, resulting in the film delivering information rather than allowing the audience to engage and infer.

In essence, “Chuck” is a puzzle, and while Tom Hiddleston is prominently featured in the promotional materials, he appears infrequently in the film itself. The movie, titled “The Life of Chuck“, aspires to make profound remarks about life and the discovery of meaning in everyday beauty. However, it teeters on being overly sweet while failing to communicate anything substantial, other than vague sentiments. If no other outstanding films are released for the remainder of the year, “The Life of Chuck” has a strong chance of surpassing TIFF’s People’s Choice Award record, suggesting it as a likely contender for Best Picture nomination.

2
‘Lilo & Stitch’

In simpler terms, the original “Lilo & Stitch” is often overlooked but could be one of Disney’s finest animated films. This made people anticipate the remake, especially since viewers seemed to be losing interest in similar movies following lackluster box office performances for films like “Dumbo” and “Snow White”. However, the director of a highly-praised 2022 film, “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On”, was tasked with directing “Lilo & Stitch”. This raised expectations that he would bring his unique touch to the classic animation.

Regardless of the laudable efforts to avoid a carbon copy of Lilo & Stitch, the modifications in this adaptation are, at best, perplexing and, at worst, bewildering. The casting of Zach Galifianakis as Jumba was questionable, and transforming a once lovable character into the film’s main antagonist did not sit well with viewers. Additionally, eliminating the original villain, Captain Gantu, and reworking significant scenes involving Lilo and her sister Nani early in the movie were decisions that seemed to stray from what made the original so endearing. With a sequel on the horizon, there’s optimism that it may rectify some of the remake’s flaws; however, the disappointment felt by many will likely linger given its potential as one of Disney’s most anticipated live-action remakes.

1
‘Star Trek: Section 31’

It could be considered questionable to combine a streaming movie like “Star Trek: Section 31” with traditional theatrical releases due to its unique status. However, Paramount+ has heavily promoted “Star Trek: Section 31” as a potential new direction for the franchise, making both theatrical and streaming productions important. Being the first “Star Trek” movie in nine years, it carries high expectations, but unfortunately, “Star Trek: Section 31,” starring Academy Award-winner Michelle Yeoh, has underperformed significantly and might even challenge “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier” and “Star Trek Nemesis” for the title of the worst Star Trek film. In fact, it currently holds the distinction of being the lowest-rated “Star Trek” film or television series on Rotten Tomatoes.

Star Trek: Section 31 appears to deviate significantly from the essence of traditional Star Trek, leaning more towards an inferior imitation of Guardians of the Galaxy. It forsakes many captivating aspects of Star Trek and instead offers a run-of-the-mill action plot. Regrettably, even this action is poorly executed, and the central enigma involving one of the criminals betraying the rest fails to capture interest.

Star Trek: Section 31 premiered on Paramount+ on January 24, 2025. Unfortunately, it started the year off on a disappointing note and was perhaps the second-most disappointing event of that week, after a specific inauguration. The show failed to live up to its talented cast and even managed to be a low point in a series known for its low points. Star Trek’s legacy can only be thankful that most people probably didn’t watch it since that would necessitate having Paramount+.

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2025-07-05 21:35