17 Movies That Assembled Incredibly Talented Casts, Only To Completely Waste Them

"You could immediately tell most of the budget went towards the cast."

You know how it is when you read a stellar list of names on the cast for a film and think, "surely this is going to be great". Well, sadly, sometimes a ton of talent just ends up being wasted on a bad movie.

Netflix

Recently, u/duende_hunter_2000 asked the film lovers over at r/movies, "what movie has the biggest wasted potential with a star-studded cast?" Here are some of the best responses...

1. Amsterdam

20th Century Studios

"Just boring! Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Rock, Mike Myers, Timothy Olyphant, Zoe Saldaña, Rami Malek, Robert De Niro, Taylor Swift, and John David Washington, and directed by David O. Russell. How was this film mid or bad? I don't know, but it was, in my opinion."

–u/BaconOnMySide

Here's the trailer:

youtube.com

2. The Golden Compass

New Line Cinema

"I was so excited for this movie after devouring the books. I felt the adult leads – especially Daniel Craig, Sam Elliott, and Eva Green and the other pivotal characters – were such thoughtful choices. The movie was terrible."

–u/migitana

This is the trailer:

youtube.com

3. All The King's Men

Sony Pictures Releasing

"Sean Penn, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Anthony Hopkins, Mark Ruffalo, James Gandolfini, Patricia Clarkson, Jackie Earle Haley, with a screenplay by Steven Zaillian, writer of Schindler's List, Moneyball, and Awakenings. A 2006 remake of a classic 1940s film. The fact that most of you haven't heard of it shows how epic a waste it was."

–u/redblackyellowjinx

Here's the trailer:

youtube.com

4. The Dead Don't Die

Focus Features

"I get that I just don't 'get' this particular director, but with Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Tilda Swinton, Danny Glover, Selena Gomez, Steve Buscemi, Iggy Pop, and Tom Waits. I expected the film to be more than just 'people who like zombie films are fucking morons lol' for 1 hour 43 minutes."

–u/trying2Bkinder

Have a look here:

youtube.com

5. Cats

Universal Pictures

"There's some real strong actors in there. My favourites are Judi Dench pretending to lick her catgina, and Ian McKellen singing a song that basically comes down to 'I used to be a proper actor and now I'm in this fucking dross.' Yeah I know Ian!"

–u/trying2Bkinder

This is the trailer:

youtube.com

6. The Great Gatsby

Warner Bros. Pictures

"Lots of great stars and cameos, you have amazing source material (one of my favourite books from the American literature canon), and you also have Baz Luhrmann working on what looked like a Moulin Rouge! imitation. Did not come together at all. It was forgettable at best."

–u/TheGRS

Watch the trailer here:

youtube.com

7. The Counselor

20th Century Studios

"Beyond just the actors (Michael Fassbender, Penélope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Javier Bardem, Brad Pitt), it's directed by Ridley Scott and written by Cormac McCarthy. It's still basically unwatchable."

–u/abskee

Have a look here:

youtube.com

8. Gangster Squad

Warner Bros. Pictures

"It had Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Josh Brolin, Anthony Mackie, Giovanni Ribisi, Robert Patrick, Frank Grillo, Mirielle Enos, and Michael Pena and it was still a pretty bad movie."

–u/lykathea2

Have a look:

youtube.com

9. Holmes and Watson

Sony Pictures Releasing

"This movie is so bad it's almost an achievement. Like, put Ferrell and Reilly in a room with one camera and say 'go', and it would be entertaining. It's like it went out of its way to be bad."

–u/MegaSwampbert

Take a look:

youtube.com

10. The Monuments Men

20th Century Studios

"It's basically false advertising due to the stacked cast and bland ass plot."

–u/RiflemanLax

Here's the trailer:

youtube.com

11. Freejack

Warner Bros.

"It has Emilio Esteves, Rene Russo, Anthony Hopkins, and Mick Jagger as a bounty hunter. It fucking sucked. The set pieces and dialogue were absolutely horrendous and you could immediately tell most of the budget went towards the cast."

–u/ColonelSandurz42

Have a look:

youtube.com

12. Everyone's Hero

20th Century Studios

"I enjoyed the movie as a kid, but it didn't do nearly as good as it should have critically or financially to justify having this a-team cast. William H. Macy, Rob Reiner, Jake T Austin, Whoopi Goldberg, Mandy Patinik, Robert Wagner, Raven-Symoné, Richard Kind, Dana Reeve, Forest Witaker, and Ed Helms."

–u/duende_hunter_2000

Have a look here:

youtube.com

13. The Dark Tower

Sony Pictures Releasing

 "It's Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey acting one of Stephen King's coolest stories. The movie was depressingly terrible."

–u/Squints1978

Have a look:

youtube.com

14. Glass Onion

Netflix

"It's not that I think it's a bad movie (it wasn't), but it definitely failed to grab me in the same way the original did. The cast is phenomenal, with Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, and, of course, Daniel Craig being the stand-outs to me.

Truthfully, I don't even remember who else was in it and had to look it up a moment ago. There are tons of great actors that I normally love, but this one just fell flat for me."

–u/sayhellotojenn

Have a look here:

youtube.com

15. Absolutely Anything

Lionsgate

"It has an incredible cast – Simon Pegg, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Eddie Izzard, Kate Beckinsale, and it's no less than Robin Williams' final role!! Unfortunately, it's a godawful movie. It's a ripoff of 'Bruce Almighty', except without any thoughtfulness at all."

–u/lungflook

Here's the trailer:

youtube.com

16. American Hustle

Sony Pictures Releasing

"It should've been a lock for an Oscar, but for such a cast and such a stylish direction, the movie was beyond boring."

–u/WredditSmark

Here's the trailer:

youtube.com

17. Daybreakers

Lionsgate

"Would you believe me if I told you there's a movie with Ethan Hawke and Willem Dafoe in which Sam Neil also plays the bad guy and it absolutely sucks ass?"

–u/That-Stop2808

Have a look here:

youtube.com

H/T to u/duende_hunter_2000 and r/movies for having the discussion!

What other movies had talented casts but disappointed you? Let us know in the comments below!