6 Movies That Are Better Than Their Rotten Tomatoes Scores Suggest
Sometimes film critics get it wrong.
Have you ever seen a movie that you thought was really good only to read up about it afterwards and find that it was, for the most part, critically maligned? We’ve all been there. We’ve all seen harsh reviews about our most beloved films, causing us to wonder: “is there a growing disconnect between critics and general movie-going audiences”?
Now, this article isn’t going to delve into issues quite that philosophical, but I will be making a case for why the following six movies are better than their Rotten Tomatoes scores may suggest.
A quick note on how Rotten Tomatoes calculates its Tomatometer score for those who don’t know: Rotten Tomatoes uses reviews from verified film critics to create a score for a given film based on what percentage of reviews for that film are positive. So, for example, if a film has a score of 75%, that means that 75% of the reviews that Rotten Tomatoes collected from verified film critics were overall positive in their impressions of the film. Films above 60% are given a “fresh” status and films below 60% are given a “rotten” status.
For the purposes of this list, I’ve chosen movies that have all scored lower than 50% on Rotten Tomatoes, which puts them firmly in “rotten” status territory. I’m not saying that all of the below movies are masterpieces, but I do believe that their current Rotten Tomatoes scores do not accurately represent their quality as movies or the entertainment value they offer.
Here is my list for six movies that are better than their Rotten Tomatoes scores suggest:
National Treasure (46%)
I’ve never met someone who didn’t enjoy National Treasure. Nicholas Cage is actually somewhat normal in this movie, making him more palatable for those who don’t normally enjoy his films, and is a surprisingly likeable leading man who sets out on a quest to discover the mythic Templar Treasure before a team of ruthless mercenaries. Cage is aided by his two co-stars, Justin Bartha and Diane Kruger, and faces off against Sean Bean, who makes for a relatively low-key — but still very entertaining — villain.
In one of the film’s more memorable — and completely silly — sequences, Cage and his sidekicks actually put a carry out a heist to steal the Declaration of Independence! One critic described the film as being “simultaneously moronic and mildly educational,” and I would completely agree, but it’s also a highly entertaining, easy watch.
Poseidon (33%)
A remake of 1972’s The Poseidon Adventure, Poseidon follows a group of cruise ship passengers who struggle to survive after their ship is flipped upside-down by a massive tidal wave on New Year’s Eve. With fantastic effects and a cast of characters that are (mostly) not irritating, Poseidon makes for an entertaining way to spend an hour and thirty-nine minutes.
Josh Lucas plays the impromptu “leader” of the survivors (why didn’t Josh Lucas ever take off as a leading man?) and is backed by the always-fantastic Kurt Russell and his movie daughter, Emmy Rossum, among others. The character development is surface-level and nothing about the film is really groundbreaking, but there is loads of suspense to go around and some fantastic set pieces. Maybe skip this one if you’re claustrophobic though — the air vent sequence alone always has me squirming in my seat!
Sahara (38%)
“Fun” is probably the best word to describe Sahara. Based on the novel of the same name from Clive Cussler, Sahara follows Dirk Pitt’s (Matthew McConaughey) quest to uncover an American civil-war-era ship that somehow ended up in the middle of the Sahara dessert.
From the absolutely cracking soundtrack, the casting choices (McConaughy, Steve Zahn, and Penélope Cruz are all fantastic), and the action scenes, you can’t help but have a good time watching Sahara. Sure, elements of the plot are completely ridiculous and there isn’t much in terms character development, but, in one sequence, Matthew McConaughey literally uses a plane wreck to “surf” across the desert. What more can you ask for?
The Day After Tomorrow (45%)
I remember when my high school geography teacher rolled the TV cart into the classroom and fired up 2004’s The Day After Tomorrow, a climate disaster movie following a group of survivors in New York City. I loved it. Jake Gyllenhaal, Dennis Quaid, and, for the second time on this list, Emmy Rossum — they don’t do anything particularly outstanding here, but they’re all highly watchable and easy to root for. There have been a number of disaster movies that have come out in the years since, but none are have been able to top The Day After Tomorrow for me.
Some of the climate science is questionable and, yes, one sequence does involve an abandoned ship floating into downtown New York City with only ravenous wolves onboard, but these elements just add to the charm! Considering the film is almost twenty years old, the effects still hold up surprisingly well and, watching this film today, there are still plenty of thrills to be had. Director Roland Emmerich has just announced a new film that sounds similarly cataclysmic.
Knowing (34%)
I am prepared to die on this hill: Knowing is a good movie. The second movie on this list starring Nicholas Cage (albeit a more bonkers version of him this time around), Knowing follows a teacher as he attempts to makes sense of a page of seemingly random numbers taken from a time capsule decades earlier, soon finding that the numbers correspond perfectly to the date, time, and casualty numbers from disasters throughout history. Where the movie gets truly interesting, however, is when Cage discovers that the final numbers correspond to disasters that haven’t happened yet.
I’m hard-pressed to think of a movie with more scenes that gave me shivers down my spine. The first two thirds of the movie feature some great mystery and suspense, some chilling moments of pure tension, and several truly shocking events. The movie falls apart a little in the third act and once you start getting explanations for some of the mysteries you might find yourself wishing things were more open-ended. But, nevertheless, Knowing is still worth seeing and is by far the creepiest movie on this list.
Reign of Fire (42%)
Christian Bale, Matthew McConaughey, and Gerard Butler fight fire-breathing dragons in dystopian England. What more do you really need to know here? Reign of Fire might just feature the most grounded, gritty, and “realistic” depiction of dragons ever put to film. Outside of young adult fantasy fare, dragons don’t really get very much love on film, but why not? I’d much rather see the last remains of the human race struggle to survive in a world ruled by dragons than whatever the heck Pacific Rim is about.
Now, I honestly couldn’t tell you anything about the main characters in this film. I don’t remember what their flaws are or what they want or how they plan to get it. I do remember the movie ending and thinking: “that was cool” and then moving on with my life. But sometimes that’s all you want from a movie. The idea was original, the execution was exciting and I hadn’t seen anything like it before. After a long day at work, that sounds all right with me.
