10 Fantastic Ensemble Casts Wasted In Bad Movies

High-profile movies tend to stack their casts with as many A-listers as possible, resulting in some that have amazing ensemble casts and completely waste them. In contrast to movies that handle ensembles well, these lesser movies act as though the mere presence of so many stars is enough to make it a success and ensure its longevity. However, screen time is divided poorly among the stars, individual characters aren’t complex enough to merit such an actor playing them, or the movie is just below the people who are in it.

The best ensemble TV shows of all time at least have the luxury of enough screen time to get to everyone eventually, while ensemble movies have to be more strategic about it. Screen Rant‘s Borderlands review, similar to other assessments, argues that the actors are making a huge effort, but the movie just isn’t that great. Such is the problem with bad movies starring too many great actors, not giving any of them the material they need to truly shine.

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10 Borderlands (2024)

Biggest Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis, & Jack Black

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It is no secret that the video game adaptation is a genre that has blown up in movies and TV, mostly giving rise to acclaimed TV shows like Arcane and The Last of Us. Movies like Borderlands are the outliers of this genre, trying to do something different with this cultural trend and not living up to its potential. Borderlands and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves both demonstrate more comedic tones, but the inherent goofiness of the premise doesn’t mesh well with the star-studded cast in the case of the more recent release.

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PG-13ActionComedy Sci-FiAdventure

Based on the video game franchise, Borderlands is a sci-fi action-comedy film that follows Cate Blanchett as Lilith, a treasure hunter who returns to her home planet, Pandora, to find a tycoon’s missing daughter. Together with a group of unlikely allies, such as a soldier, a teenaged demolitions expert, a wise-cracking robot, and an eccentric scientist, the group will work together to save the girl – all while learning to deal with each other’s unyielding quirks.

Director Eli Roth Release Date August 9, 2024 Cast Cate Blanchett , Kevin Hart , Jack Black , Ariana Greenblatt , Florian Munteanu , Jamie Lee Curtis , Edgar Ramirez , Gina Gershon Runtime 102 Minutes

Related 17 Best Cate Blanchett Movies Ranked

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Borderlands doesn’t take the time to properly delve into the video game lore, which might have resulted in a better blend of comedy and action. Cate Blanchett’s performance is the glue holding it together when it doesn’t have much else going for it. Critics are tearing the movie to pieces while the cast signed on either because of admiration for the game or a potential co-star, rather than the script giving them good arcs. Yet an additional 20 minutes in the movie might have fleshed out both the world and the characters.

9 Amsterdam (2022)

Biggest Stars: Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, & Robert De Niro

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Most of the people who got involved with Amsterdam probably thought they were in for another hit from David O. Russell. The acclaimed director previously took his movies Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle to the Oscars, in both cases working with a cast of four to eight major stars. It is possible that he simply recruited too many people to do what he is good at when it came to Amsterdam. Russell’s previous collaborators Christian Bale and Robert De Niro returned, along with about a dozen other people.

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RDramaHistoryComedy Where to Watch

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Amsterdam is a comedy/thriller written and directed by David. O. Russell centers around a political conspiracy in the 1930s known as the Business Plot, where it was said members of Wall Street sought to overthrow Franklin D. Roosevelt and set a dictator in his place. Three friends that met in World War I reunite fifteen years after they went their separate ways in Amsterdam under range circumstances. Burt (Christian Bale), now a doctor who serves veterans, is visited by his friend Harold (John David Washington) to help identify the cause of death of a United States Senator. Ruling his cause of death to be likely murder, the two bear witness to another murder. Framed for the death of the requestor of the autopsy, Burt and Harold will seek out their old friend Valerie as they discover they’ve accidentally been roped into a government conspiracy far beyond their wildest beliefs. 

Director David O. Russell Release Date October 7, 2022 Cast Andrea Riseborough , Robert De Niro , John David Washington , Matthias Schoenaerts , Christian Bale , Alessandro Nivola , Taylor Swift , Rami Malek , Michael Shannon , Timothy Olyphant , Chris Rock , Mike Myers , Zoe Saldana , Margot Robbie , Anya Taylor-Joy Runtime 134 minutes Expand

Many bad reviews agreed that the movie is a confused mess, which seems like an inevitable result with a cast this big (via Rotten Tomatoes). Trying to justify the inclusion of every actor in a relatively reasonable runtime is difficult, even if the individuals all give decent performances. Even Taylor Swift’s cameo in Amsterdam is serviceable, but Russell did not have enough experience with the whodunit story to pull off this ambitious take on the genre.

8 Movie 43 (2013)

Biggest Stars: Emma Stone, Richard Gere, Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet, & Halle Berry

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James Gunn’s notoriously bad and moderately meta movie of many individual but connected short movies shocked all of Hollywood when it first came out. It is not a good sign when The Guardian publishes an article titled: “Movie 43: why did so many Hollywood stars sign up for the humiliation?” Journalist Catherine Shoard attributes it to a “domino effect” of a couple of known collaborators signing on together, attracting more of their past co-stars and other admirers from within Hollywood, with no one realizing how bad the movie was until it was too late.

Maybe some can enjoy Movie 43 as a “so bad it’s good” watch, but it has few redeeming qualities.

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pg-13ComedyRomance Where to Watch

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The 2013 anthology comedy Movie 43 collects 14 comedy shorts starring A-list actors such as Hugh Jackman, Emma Stone, Kristen Bell, Uma Thurman, Halle Berry, Naomi Watts, and Richard Gere. All segments, connected by an overarching plot revolving around a frustrated screenwriter coming up with ideas for a film, are also directed by various directors, including Bob Odenkirk, Elizabeth Banks, and James Gunn.

Director James Gunn Release Date January 25, 2013 Cast Hugh Jackman , Emma Stone , Chloe Grace Moretz , Jeremy Allen White Runtime 90minutes

Movie 43 is an hour and a half of crude, not particularly clever jokes that are embarrassing for the actors delivering them and the audience watching it. Maybe some can enjoy Movie 43 as a “so bad it’s good” watch, but it has few redeeming qualities. It is one of the strangest events to happen in cinema when it secured such an impressive cast when it did not deserve a single one of these stars, given its lazy and uncomfortable writing.

7 Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore (2022)

Biggest Stars: Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law, Mads Mikkelsen, & Katherine Waterston

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The Fantastic Beasts series has been on a decline in quality, the effect on each new installment’s reception being compounded by controversies surrounding Johnny Depp and J.K. Rowling. The first movie does right by its core group of four characters and supporting cast; the second movie mostly continues this, but there is a clear divide between which new supporting characters are given their due and which are ignored. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore thought it was a good idea to add more supporting characters when none of them have substantial arcs.

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PG-13AdventureFantasyFamily Where to Watch

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In the third and final installment of the Fantastic Beasts trilogy, the threat of Grindelwald grows ever larger. To defeat him, Albus Dumbledore recruits Newt Scamander, along with other talented witches and wizards, to fight Grindelwald and his acolytes before their plans to destroy the non-magic world come to pass.

Director David Yates Release Date April 8, 2022 Cast Eddie Redmayne , Jude Law , Ezra Miller , Mads Mikkelsen , Dan Fogler , Alison Sudol , Callum Turner , Jessica Williams , Katherine Waterston Runtime 142 minutes

The storylines of the main characters, including Newt, Jacob, Tine, Queenie, Credence, and Dumbledore, become increasingly convoluted and redundant, disrupting the Harry Potter canon. Meanwhile, Newt’s brother Theseus returns seeming like the events of the last movie did not affect him, while Eulalie should be an interesting character but has no development. Yusuf, Bunty, and others are also underused. It doesn’t seem like there is any coming back from this, but Fantastic Beasts 4 is still in development.

6 Cats (2019)

Biggest Stars: James Corden, Judi Dench, Francesca Hayward, & Idris Elba

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Another infamous event in cinema, the Cats movie is so bad almost exclusively because of the CGI. When the show is performed on stage, the practical cat costumes have an almost bohemian quality that makes them very interesting and beautiful. Cats made the fateful, doomed decision that, because it is a live-action movie, it should feature actual “cats” who are also people, resulting in the nightmarish final product of many amazingly talented actors being cast as humanoid cats.

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PGMusical

An adaptation of the stage musical by the same name, Cats boasts a star-studded cast playing the Jellicles, a tribe of street cats who make a choice once a year about which one of them will ascend to what they call the Heavenside Layer and be reborn to a new life. The original musical is itself based on a book by famous poet T.S. Eliot, and remains one of the longest-running Broadway shows. 

Director Tom Hooper Release Date December 20, 2019 Cast Rebel Wilson , Jennifer Hudson , Robbie Fairchild , Idris Elba , Taylor Swift , Laurie Davidson , Zizi Strallen , Ray Winstone , Ian McKellen , Jason DeRulo , judi dench , James Corden , Mette Towley Runtime 110 minutes

Cats also doesn’t have much of a story to begin with. On stage, it is a surrealistic experience that works by immersing the audience in the music and aesthetics. The movie tried to accomplish something similar, but because its visuals are so appalling this did not happen at all. The most disappointing part about it is that there are a lot of talented actors and singers in this movie, including some up-and-coming stars who could have used a hit, but its conception distracts from everything else.

5 Valentine’s Day (2010)

Biggest Stars: Julia Roberts, Jamie Foxx, Anne Hathaway, Kathy Bates, & Bradley Cooper

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Valentine’s Day is a less impactful and misguided attempt to be an American Love Actually, which isn’t as clever concerning how it divides up its time and connects all the characters. The individual storylines of Valentine’s Day aren’t as meaningful, failing to convey anything substantial about making marriages or relationships work. It’s essentially a mash-up of a bunch of the most empty, basic rom-com storylines ever, while several characters serve no purpose other than adding another big name to the billing.

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Valentine’s Day is a 2010 Comedy and Romance film by director Garry Marshall. The movie stars Bradley Cooper, Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, and Kathy Bates. The premise revolves around multiple couples during Valentine’s Day.

Director Garry Marshall Release Date February 12, 2010 Cast Julia Roberts , Jessica Biel , Anne Hathaway , Jamie Foxx , Bradley Cooper , Jennifer Garner Runtime 125minutes

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Gary Marshall directed a great rom-com in Pretty Woman and a great ensemble movie in A League of Their Own, and tried to bring them together in Valentine’s Day. Any one of the stars of this movie has the potential to lead a solid rom-com if they were the sole main character with a bigger story. Julia Roberts worked with Marshall before and did just this. As it is, Valentine’s Day flattens most of the stories so it can squeeze in as many of them as possible.

4 Pitch Perfect 3 (2017)

Biggest Stars: Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Elizabeth Banks, & John Lithgow

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Like Fantastic Beasts, Pitch Perfect is a franchise that did remarkably well with its ensemble cast but bungled it with the most recent installment. The first two movies managed to showcase funny interactions among the Bellas, giving all their personalities a chance to shine, while also spending an appropriate amount of time on the Treblemakers. The characters who essentially fill the role of the Treblemakers in the final installment go from completely unlikable to begrudgingly acknowledging their competitors’ talent in an instant and have no story of their own.

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PG-13ComedyMusical Where to Watch

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Pitch Perfect 3 is the final installment in a musical comedy trilogy. It features a final performance by the Barden Bellas on a USO tour right before graduation. Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Hailee Steinfield, Brittany Snow, Anna Camp, Hana Mae Lee, Ester Dean, Chrissie Fit, Alexis Knapp, and others reprise their roles, with Elizabeth Banks both acting and directing.

Director Trish Sie Release Date December 22, 2017 Cast John Lithgow , Anna Camp , Matt Lanter , Brittany Snow , Ester Dean , Rebel Wilson , Ruby Rose , Hana Mae Lee , Elizabeth Banks , Kelley Jakle , Anna Kendrick , Alexis Knapp , Hailee Steinfeld , Shelley Regner Runtime 93minutes

At this point, the gimmick of Elizabeth Banks and John Michael Higgins’ characters has grown stale, while the addition of John Lithgow as Amy’s father might have worked if it had not also led to a genre-inappropriate hostage scenario. Every other new character, like the Bellas’ competition in the new story, only takes up space on the screen. Pitch Perfect 3 is actually a serviceable conclusion when one only looks at the Bellas’ story, but everything else is a pointless mess.

3 Murder On The Orient Express (2017)

Biggest Stars: Kenneth Branagh, Penélope Cruz, Johnny Depp, Willem Dafoe, & Judi Dench

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All the recent movie adaptations of Agatha Christie’s novels follow the same format of a lot of impressive names but sloppy writing that doesn’t do justice to the source material. Murder on the Orient Express establishes the disappointing new status quo for this franchise, where Hercule Poirot is nothing like he is in the novels or previous adaptations, entirely missing the point of his character. Meanwhile, industry legends like Judi Dench and Penélope Cruz and promising newcomers like Daisy Ridley make the most of what they are given.

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PG-13Mystery

Based on the novel and series by Agatha Christie, Murder on the Orient Express is a mystery-drama film that follows a legendary detective known as Hercule Poirot as he finds himself in the middle of a major mystery. A lavish train ride unfolds into a stylish and suspenseful mystery; the film tells the story of thirteen stranded strangers forced to confront one another amidst rising tensions. in a whodunnit that will force Poirot to race to solve the puzzle before the murderer strikes again. 

Director Kenneth Branagh Release Date November 10, 2017 Cast Michael Pena , Michelle Pfeiffer , Penelope Cruz , Daisy Ridley , Kenneth Branagh , Johnny Depp , Leslie Odom Jr. , judi dench , Josh Gad Runtime 114 Minutes

This adaptation of Poirot wants to adjust the story to cater to today’s tastes but misses out on the carefully crafted intrigue of the source material. Meanwhile, Knives Out arrived a few years later to show what could be done to liven up an overtrodden genre, while more Kenneth Branagh-led movies stuck to the same old formula. Murder on the Orient Express is too basic of a whodunit that could have been transformed by giving the supporting cast more original material.

2 Men, Women & Children (2014)

Biggest Stars: Jennifer Garner, Dean Norris, Judy Greer, & Emma Thompson

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Men, Women & Children is a cringey movie that wants to say something meaningful about the advent of the internet, but the result is just weird. It also tries to copy the Love Actually format of a bunch of normal, loosely connected families all simultaneously coming to emotional epiphanies about their lives. However, most of the parents are so objectively awful that it is hard to sympathize with their fears about how their children use the internet. Meanwhile, the teenage characters are all over the place.

Most of the parents are so objectively awful that it is hard to sympathize with their fears about how their children use the internet.

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Men, Women & Children is a drama directed by Jason Reitman that explores the effects of the internet and social media on the lives of high school teenagers and their parents. Featuring an ensemble cast led by Adam Sandler, Jennifer Garner, and Ansel Elgort, the film delves into the challenges of communication, self-esteem, and privacy in the digital age. The narrative intertwines multiple storylines to highlight the complexities of modern relationships.

Director Jason Reitman Release Date October 17, 2014 Cast Adam Sandler , Jennifer Garner , Rosemarie DeWitt , Judy Greer , Dean Norris Runtime 116 Minutes

Kaitlyn Dever and Ansel Elgort lead a wholesome teen romance storyline, constantly interrupted by the frankly disturbing scrutiny of Dever’s character’s mother. Two of the kids’ storylines are tragic, with their resolutions failing to make up for what they went through. Most of the characters in Men, Women & Children are downright detestable, and as people in real life have become more accustomed to the internet and adept at finding a middle ground in how it is used, these actors are completely wasted on a meaningless story.

1 Ocean’s Twelve (2004)

Biggest Stars: Geroge Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, & Catherine Zeta-Jones

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Ocean’s Twelve is generally regarded as the worst of the Ocean’s Eleven movies, at least of the George Clooney era. The first sequel following the smash hit of Ocean’s Eleven inherently lacks the novelty of the first. Additionally, there is something much less satisfying about having to steal money to pay back the money they stole in the first movie. The heist itself doesn’t work as well in execution because it is spread out: Rather than a single, contained adventure, the group is moving across Europe over two weeks.

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PG-13Crime Where to Watch

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Ocean’s Twelve is the sequel to Steven Soderbergh’s 2001 heist film Ocean’s Eleven. Released in 2004, the film reunites the ensemble cast including George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Matt Damon, as they undertake a series of heists across Europe. The plot centers on the group attempting to repay a large debt to a vindictive casino owner. Catherine Zeta-Jones and Vincent Cassel join the star-studded cast, adding new dimensions to the intricate heist narrative.

Director Steven Soderbergh Release Date December 10, 2004 Cast George Clooney , Brad Pitt , Matt Damon Runtime 125 Minutes

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This doesn’t allow the audience to appreciate the individual tasks and skills, translating into less emphasis on the characters and the people who play them. Catherine Zeta-Jone is a worthy addition to the cast, but her being a love interest to Brad Pitt only pads the runtime. Ocean’s Twelve isn’t the worst offender when it comes to misusing a great ensemble cast, but its mistakes still stand out where the franchise is concerned.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes, The Guardian

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