The 20 worst films of 2016 inflicted on Hong Kong cinema-goers ... so far
From brainless thrillers to unfunny comedies, shambolic sequels, shameful racism and Chrissie Chau’s mind-numbingly dull turn as a sexbot, these are the movies we sat through so you don’t have to
And so 2016 is nearly half over. Here are 20 of the very worst movies released in Hong Kong in the past six months that we had the misfortune to sit through.
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip
Annoying and unfunny, this fourth instalment in the Chipmunks film series highlights everything that’s bad in children’s films. Read the full review
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
It was nice of Zack Snyder to keep our expectations in check with the bombastic nonsense of 2013’s Man of Steel. Read the full review
The Bodyguard
The Captive
Canadian director Atom Egoyan’s child abduction drama revels in its own nastiness and makes for a highly unpleasant watch. Read the full review
Criminal
Nothing makes sense in this slapdash brain-swap thriller, which comes alive only when Kevin Costner punches someone on the nose. Read the full review
Dirty Grandpa
Robert De Niro and, heck, even Zac Efron deserved better than this gruesome attempt at a gross-out comedy. Read the full review
The Divergent Series: Allegiant
The young-adult dystopian adventure film genre has had its moment. This tiring latest might just have sounded its death knell. Read the full review
Fifty Shades of Black
Could Fifty Shades of Grey get any worse? Yes, seriously. Just check out Marlon Wayans’ latest crime against modern cinema. Read the full review
From Vegas to Macau III
It’s cringeworthy to see Chow Yun-fat, Andy Lau Tak-wah, Jackie Cheung Hok-yau and Nick Cheung Ka-fai line up for this shambolic C-movie by Wong Jing. Read the full review
Galaxy Turnpike
How the maker of The Magic Hour and The Kiyosu Conference ended up churning out this sluggish garbage is beyond us. Read the full review
The Gigolo 2
Nobody was looking for a sequel to the 2015 Hong Kong erotic comedy, but one arrived, all limp and flaccid, anyway. Read the full review
How to Be Single
An insult to its own title, this dismal rom-com turns out to be just a dumbed-down Sex and the City tale about finding the right mate. Read the full review
iGirl
No movie casting Chrissie Chau as a sexually obliging robot should be allowed to be this mind-numbingly dull and unsexy. Read the full review
Kidnap Ding Ding Don
If you want a glimpse of the inadvertently racist and sexist frame of mind some Hong Kong Chinese, look no further than this hapless “comedy”. Read the full review
The Last Race
What was Joseph Fiennes thinking? This unofficial sequel to Chariots of Fire may well be recognised as the worst movie of the year. Read the full review
London Has Fallen
This xenophobic sequel to 2013’s Olympus Has Fallen is dope for fans of American supremacy and excessive, racist brutality. Read the full review
Neko Samurai – A Tropical Adventure
Plenty went wrong in this cat-centric samurai tale. The tedious sequel is only for fans of felines ... and flatulence. Read the full review
Regression
Alejandro Amenabar was great at conjuring supernatural chills for 2001’s The Others. Now he’s apparently lost his magic. Read the full review
Survivor
Pierce Brosnan hams it up alongside Milla Jovovich in this ridiculously implausible action thriller. Read the full review
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows
Not even the kinetic violence and bizarre aliens could liven up this very daft, Michael-Bay produced sequel. Read the full review
Want more articles like this? Follow SCMP Film on Facebook
