25 Misfires From Otherwise Great Film Directors

by Jason Dietz, Metacritic Features Editor – April 22, 2018

Last week, we looked at 30 filmmakers who made only one well-reviewed movie over their entire careers. Today, we examine the opposite group: directors who have nearly flawless careers, with only a single misfire (with a Metascore of 60 or lower) standing in the way of a perfect record of all-green scores.

Note that we only looked at directors who have made at least five films since 1980.

24 of 26

David Yates

The one misfire:
44 The Legend of Tarzan (2016)

After working for over a decade in British television (where his notable achievements include The Girl in the Café, which won three Emmys when it later aired on HBO in the U.S.), Yates was given the reins to the final four films in the Harry Potter series, where he managed to helm the highest-scoring release in the franchise to date.

Yates was also enlisted to direct the Fantastic Beasts prequels (including the upcoming Crimes of Grindelwald), which means that his only recent film outside of the Potterverse is also his only poorly reviewed film. An expensive (and ultimately money-losing) reboot of the oft-filmed Edgar Rice Burroughs property, The Legend of Tarzan was dismissed by reviewers as "clunky" and "lifeless."

Note that an indie 1998 feature directed by Yates, The Tichborne Claimant, never reached theaters in the States and thus does not have a Metascore.

Everything else:
71 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
78 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
65 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I (2010)
87 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)
66 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)

Where To Buy