11 Movies Critics Hated, But Audiences Loved
You know that feeling when you finish an amazing movie, rush to see if everyone else loved it as much as you did, and find critics wish it had never been made?
I’ve felt that way more often than I’d like to admit (the same goes for my books, too. Curse the reviewers of Goodreads!).
So I was relieved to read the responses to u/Mad_Season_1994′s post, shared to r/movies.
“What movie that has a low score on Rotten Tomatoes do you actually enjoy?” the Redditor asked.
As it turned out, a lot of the comments correlated to audiences’ (Popcornmeter) rather than critics’ (Tomatometer) Rotten Tomatoes scores.
Redditors who thought their critically maligned movie deserved better were usually in agreement with non-professional reviewers on the site.
Here are some of the most-upvoted replies:
1) Super Fuzz (1980) ― 14% Tomatometer score
“Grew up watching this repeatedly on HBO in the ’80s. Killer theme song too!” [deleted]
Writer’s note: the Popcornmeter for this movie is a far more respectable 55%.
2) Man On Fire (2004) ― 38% Tomatometer score
“It has a horrible rotten tomato score but I love that film.” Dangerous-Hawk16
“Peak Denzel, Peak Tony Scott, deserves better.” Bobby_Haman
The critic’s score is only 38% on Rotten Tomatoes, but audiences scored it a whopping 89%.
3) What Dreams May Come (1998) ― 52% Tomatometer score
“I’ve told people this is one of my favourite movies and it’s always met with extreme hostility. Love, loss and mental illness are where it’s at.” u/Rthepirate
Again, critics (who gave it 52%) and audiences (who awarded it 84%) disagree with this on-site.
4) The 13th Warrior (1999) ― 33% Tomatometer score
“It scored just 33% and it’s one of my all-time favourites. The atmosphere and the ensemble cast are fantastic. I quote it every day.” u/Beardopus
At 66%, Rotten Tomatoes audiences enjoyed this twice as much as critics.
5) Out Cold (2001) ― 8% Tomatometer score”
“It’s SUPPOSED to be a ski resort romp like those from the ’80s. I think the whole Casablanca parody made people think it was taking itself seriously.” u/Negative_Mancey
This is truly remarkable; the critic’s score on Rotten Tomatoes is just 8%, but audiences gave it a whopping 84%.
6) Tank Girl (1995) ― 45% Tomatometer score
“It was such a fun and wild comic book adaptation that went over the top in every way.” u/flyyywhiteguy
The audience score is almost a third better at 62%.
7) Joe Dirt (2001) ― 9% Tomatometer score
“It’s really dumb, but I always catch myself laughing whenever it comes on and I never fail to finish it.” u/flyyywhiteguy
“I legitimately assumed Joe Dirt had at least a solid score [in the] 60s or maybe 70s. I’m blown away. It’s a completely solid movie and probably one of David Spade’s best.” u/TheresNoAmosOnlyZuul
You guessed it ― audiences, who gave the movie a more than 700% higher score, reckoned it deserved a score of 64%.
8) Kingdom Of Heaven (2005) ― 39% Tomatometer score
“The theatrical release was cut down against Ridley Scott’s wishes. The director’s cut version was much better received.” u/The_Meemeli
The audience score on Rotten Tomatoes is 72%.
9) The Butterfly Effect (2004) ― 34% Tomatometer score
“It has a 34% [score] but I still liked it a lot. Wasn’t groundbreaking by any means but had an entertaining premise and I liked the early ’00s nostalgia.” u/ingebeastly
The audience score is 81% on Rotten Tomatoes.
10) Oblivion (2013) ― 53% Tomatometer score
“It’s great sci-fi with amazing visuals. The story isn’t perfect, but keeps you hooked till the end. I don’t really understand how it only has a 54% on RT. Also, the credits song SLAPS.” u/YellowTopaz14
This one’s gap is a little narrower with audiences giving the movie 61%.
11) Vanilla Sky (2001) ― 42% Tomatometer score
“Tom Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Kurt Russell. Star-studded cast.” u/iaminvisible1978
Its Popcornmeter score is a significantly higher 72%.
Do you disagree with any of these or have a title to add? Let us know!