Worst Blockbusters Ever (5-1)

5. 'The Matrix Revolutions' (2003)
One thing you can say about those Wachowski brothers, they sure know how to time their movies. After giving us four years to digest how bloody brilliant part 1 was, they crammed two sequels together, not giving us a moment to ponder how bad part 2 ('Reloaded') actually was. This one, part 3, got saddled with delivering a disappointing ending that lacked ambiguity or any of the philosophical musings of its predecessors.

• Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 37%
• Box Office Gross: $139 million

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4. 'Batman & Robin' (1997)
Otherwise known as the Filmmaker's Guide to Ruining a Franchise. Key points: Tack on a sidekick, and then a sidekick to the sidekick (preferably female); heap on villains without regard for infamy, or lack thereof; casting -- try a dartboard; ramp up the camp and, especially, the homoerotic innuendo; and above all: codpieces and rubber, pointy nipples for your superhero.

• Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 12%
• Box Office Gross: $107 million

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3. 'Pearl Harbor' (2001)
Michael Bay's first crack at a mega-blockbuster failed on too many levels to count -- but we'll try. Bay's all-star cast failed to pack any punch, the side-story love triangle lacked emotion, the dialogue fell painfully flat and none of the crucial action sequences (which many war veterans complained to be grossly inaccurate) could match the power of, say, the Normandy invasion scene in 'Saving Private Ryan,' which had arrived three years earlier.

• Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 25%
• Box Office Gross: $198 million

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2. 'The Cat in the Hat' (2003)
Who was this one was supposed to appeal to? Kids were scared of Mike Myers' freaky cat makeup and probably didn't get that he was just doing Austin Powers -- or, more accurately, Jim Carrey -- in a fur suit. Parents, meanwhile, were turned off by all of the fart and belch jokes, and they recoiled at the mere presence of go-to moppets Spencer Breslin ('The Kid') and Dakota Fanning (every cute movie ever).

• Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 12%
• Box Office Gross: $101 million

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1. 'Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace' (1999)
Be honest: George Lucas could have delivered a three-hour documentary on the mating habits of dung beetles and you still would have attended the first new 'Star Wars' movie since 1983. (In reality, could 'The Phantom Menace' have been much worse?) Among Lucas' more egregious offenses were the jive-talking Jar-Jar Binks, a goofier Yoda and child actor Jake Lloyd (as baby Vader) who's been pleasantly AWOL ever since.

• Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 63%
• Box Office Gross: $431 million

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