Believe me when I say that there is a good reason why half of my favorite movies and TV shows from 2022 weren’t actually from 2022. There were so many releases that I was so excited about. Unfortunately, they only seemed to either disappoint or trigger me.
So, here are some movies and shows from 2022 that I consider some of the worst the year had to offer.
1. Thor: Love and Thunder
Another Thor movie by the guy who made Thor: Ragnarok with Batman as the villain? Sign me up! I was ready at the bus stop with the biggest grin, only to have it slowly fade as I watched the beaten-down vehicle pulled by a screaming goat come into view.
Seeing Christian Bale play a character who had lost faith in his deity and was going after him was supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime event. Gor, Christian Bale’s character known as the “God Butcher,” did everything but butcher any gods, which was another big disappointment. Combining that with the Lady Thor story had the potential to be a great and fun MCU installment. How pointless it was…
The same man who gave Thor a character arc in the last movie and shot him to the top of many “Favorite MCU Character” lists is the same man who demoted him to an absolute joke. What a previous character arc Thor had in his earlier movies consisted of him stepping down from his pedestal to learn what it really meant to be a hero. Now he’s leaving holes in refugee’s rooftops.
I was convinced that the question of deities’ roles in the lives of their followers would lead to an engaging story, but it turned out to be anything but! The movie did have one neat moment in the end with children that I would’ve been all over if I was 15 years younger.
Other than that…this movie is a big skip.
2. Rings of Power
I went on a weird roller coaster with this show. When I saw the announcement, I was very excited. But I became skeptical when I began hearing through the grapevine some changes behind the scenes to the lore. The first trailer dropped six months before the show aired and it looked to be anything but a Tolkien-based story.
Interrupting to share this pro-tip: If you do not see the first trailer for anything until six months out, then there’s probably a good reason. And more often than not, that reason is that it’s not a very good movie.
I went in with an open mind knowing some things would probably have to be changed, but not to the extent that they had been. The first episode left me somewhat hopeful, but it was all downhill from there. It wasn’t a fun time watching the bastardization of the lore Tolkein already established.
Some examples of bastardization include but are certainly not limited to:
- The Balrog of Kazad-Dum is already awake and moving around in the second age.
- Hot Sauron with no mention of Annatar (they have “justification” but, if we’re being honest, they’re reaching further than a T-Rex trying to touch the ground).
- And my personal favorite, an unnamed wizard (but totally Gandalf) arriving in Middle-Earth going through some form of a midlife crisis.
Rings of Power is a billion-dollar nothing burger. That money does go toward showing some amazing visuals but…that’s it. All flash and no substance. Skip it and use the time to watch the fourth season of Stranger Things.
3. Don’t Worry, Darling
I hope my wife doesn’t see this last entry, because she enjoyed the film and shushed me when I tried to point out plot holes. This movie really hammers home the Alice in Wonderland theme, only for it to suddenly lead off a cliff. I use the word “suddenly” because the movie ends with no warning. There’s no wrap-up with the music swelling and a satisfying conclusion to the story. As soon as it cuts to black, you wonder why you went to see the movie in the first place.
The trailer sets up a mind-boggling adventure with so many cryptic shots that Kubrick would be sweating — but that’s the biggest problem with the movie. The problem doesn’t lie in the acting or in setting up the mystery, but in its execution.
Olivia Wilde is really trying to create a story that packs a gut punch, but the only punch you feel is in your wallet. Don’t Worry, Darling leaves you asking more questions than you might have been halfway through the movie. The movie is just sloppy writing with poorly executed ideas.
And those are my biggest disappointments of 2022! I hope you enjoyed reading because I have the most anticipated movies of 2023 coming soon. Stay tuned!
Featured image via Marvel & Disney+
The acting and mystery setup are both fine; the fault lies in how they’re put together.