2021 was no regular year. The world reeled under the new variants of the coronavirus, suffered harsher, scarier waves of COVID-19, and yet, managed to find joy when things got a little better. The one lesson we have learnt from this year is that every moment matters, and that there is absolutely no time to waste. As 2021 comes to an end, we help you with just that. Here’s a list of some of the worst movies of the year, and why you shouldn’t spend your precious minutes on them.

1. Music

The musical drama starred Kate Hudson as the newly sober Zu, who is suddenly made the sole guardian of her half-sister, Music, played by Maddie Ziegler.

Apart from the controversy surrounding its inaccurate and stereotypical depiction of autistic individuals – especially for the decision to cast an able-bodied, neurotypical person to play one of the protagonists – the movie has also been criticised for its lousy direction and creative misses.

“I found myself caught between wanting the songs to end and the drama to return; then, when the drama returned, wanting the songs to start up again,” film critic Luke Buckmaster wrote for The Guardian. 

2. Space Jam: A New Legacy

The sequel to the 1996 hit film ‘Space Jam’ earned a meagre 4.4 rating on IMDB. The plot revolves around a father-son duo who are trapped in a virtual world. The only way to escape is for the father, LeBron, to team up with the Looney Tunes Squad and win against the algorithm in a basketball match.

“Unfortunately for Warner Bros, Space Jam: A New Legacy does not nearly measure up to the eccentricities, meta-humour or sheer sense of joy of the original film,” Aditya Mani Jha wrote for Firstpost. Other critics called it a feature-length advertisement of two hours, which should actually have ended in about 20 minutes.

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3. Locked Down 

Starring Anne Hathaway and Chiwetel Ejiofor as the couple attempting a high-risk jewellery heist, the film, which has the lockdown as its context, falls flat in evoking any interest or drama.

A review in The Guardian, for instance, said, “Undeniable movie star charisma can’t save this torturous misfire about a couple who plan a heist during the London quarantine.”

The combination of these actors and renowned director Doug Liman, in a film set in lockdown while the world still suffers from the virus, could have led to an interesting watch. But despite its potential, the movie only disappointed.

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4. The Woman in the Window 

A woman suffering from agoraphobia lives alone, cocooned in her apartment in New York. As she starts spying on her new neighbours, the former child psychologist, played by Amy Adams, witnesses a bloody act of violence. 

The movie was found repetitive and marred by cliches, hardly offering anything new to the classic thriller trope. “It’ll leave you with a shrug rather than a gasp,” Christy Lemire wrote for RogerEbert.com. 

5. Hitman’s Wife Bodyguard 

Despite a stellar cast including Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L Jackson and Salma Hayek, the action-comedy was received as a ‘needless sequel that relief on forced laughs and endless chaotic action’, according to Meghan Cook on Insider.