Rotten Tomatoes is an inescapable fixture of film criticism, but sometimes they get it wrong. The bright green splat of a low Tomatometer rating hasn't stopped these movies from being awesome, so get out your watchlist.
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00:00What's up, everybody? Griffey here. The bright green splat of a low Tomatometer rating hasn't
00:05stopped these movies from being awesome, so get out your watch list.
00:09All you people are so scared of me. Most days I take that as a compliment.
00:172000's Pitch Black is an impressive sci-fi horror flick that gave the world Richard B.
00:22Riddick, one of Vin Diesel's first major roles. As Riddick, a notorious criminal with
00:26sci-fi supervision, he's a charismatic anti-hero whose physical prowess is matched only by
00:32his ironclad determination. Is he really that dangerous?
00:37Only around humans. Pitch Black turned to profit, Vin Diesel
00:40wowed audiences, and thus, a sequel was born. 2004's The Chronicles of Riddick.
00:46Chronicles' budget was five times that of Pitch Black, ultimately landing at $105 million.
00:53But it backfired. Critics savaged the film, but we feel it's simply misunderstood.
00:58Unlike Pitch Black, the focus here is entirely on Riddick, and the world of the movie leans
01:02more into science fiction than horror. You're not afraid of the dark, are you?
01:09It's sweeping, strange, and hella fun if you take it on its own merits.
01:13And a fun bonus fact, while making Chronicles of Riddick, Diesel taught Dame Judi Dench
01:18to play Dungeons and Dragons.
01:21In the case of Kung Pao! Enter the Fist, the reviews are terrible, and it's not hard to
01:26see why. But quality of awesomeness is not limited to films of awesome quality. Kung
01:31Pao! might not be good, but it sure as hell is awesome.
01:35I must apologize for Wimp Lo. He is an idiot. We have purposely trained him wrong, as a joke.
01:43Steve Odekirk wrote, directed, and stars in this comedy, which mixes footage from the
01:481976 Hong Kong action movie, Tiger and Crane Fist, with original material.
01:54Together they tell the ridiculous story of The Chosen One and his search for the man
01:58who killed his family, known only as Master Payne, aka Betty. Sounds great, right? There's more.
02:05Yes, a tiny net is a death sentence. It's a net, and it's tiny.
02:10The Chosen One fights a CGI cow who's also a karate master. French aliens make a surprise
02:16appearance. There are faces where there shouldn't be. There's a Lion King send-up. It's overflowing
02:21with love for martial arts movies and unafraid of getting utterly cataclysmically weird.
02:27It's odd. It's silly. It's a little bit dumb. And above all, it's awesome.
02:33The dismal reception of Godzilla King of the Monsters isn't a mystery. The film's just
02:37not interested in conventional storytelling. If you want to watch nuanced characters struggle
02:42with and ultimately transcend life's difficulties, this ain't the movie for you. If, on the
02:48other hand, you want to see Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan, King Ghidorah, and about 300 other
02:54classic kaiju duke it out, you've come to the right place.
02:58If you are a true Godzilla fan, there is no way you watched Rodan emerge from that volcano,
03:05fly over that town, and attack those human beings, and were not immediately recognizing
03:09you were watching one of the greatest spectacles in the entire history of Godzilla's franchise.
03:16I saw that, and I was just dribbling it on my face like I was at an old country buffet.
03:20I couldn't get enough of that. This is the big-budget Godzilla movie you've always wanted.
03:25This is a dangerous path. You are meddling with forces beyond our comprehension, gambling
03:32with a life of billions.
03:34Now in fairness, the story does fall apart if you look at it for too long, but there
03:38are plenty of strong actors working hard to keep it together. Bradley Whitford, Kenwanna
03:43Nabi, Millie Bobby Brown, and Vera Farmiga are all here doing their best.
03:49So her and Godzilla, they got a thing going on? That's kind of messed up, right?
03:57Let's get real. You come to Godzilla for Godzilla, not Godzilla's human friend. And
04:02King of the Monsters delivers on that front.
04:05It's hard to believe Hocus Pocus got trashed by critics, considering how iconic it is now.
04:11But a lot of today's Hocus Pocus fans probably watched it as kids, and there's a reason
04:16kids don't get hired as film critics.
04:18Let's barbecue and filet.
04:21Still, Hocus Pocus Fever isn't just a nostalgia bump. It's a genuinely delightful movie.
04:27I mean, you put Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy on screen together
04:32and you're going to be entertained.
04:34The main reason we think this movie drew the ire of critics is because it was released
04:38in July 1993. Bad decision. A family-friendly movie with a loaded cast and gentle spookiness
04:45would have cleaned up around Halloween. Instead, it had to compete with Jurassic Park, the
04:51original.
04:52Do yourselves a favor, save this one for October.
04:55Do you know that's the only movie my nana ever came out of her trailer to take me to
04:59in her whole life? And then when my mom found out she took me for my birthday, we didn't
05:04talk to her for like six months. Because my mom thought she had indoctrinated me into
05:08actual witchcraft. And that was the only thing I didn't like about the movie, is I did not
05:12gain the powers of a warlock.
05:14Tokyo Drift is the ugly duckling of the Fast and the Furious franchise. It's caught somewhere
05:20between the series' grounded beginnings and the total insanity of the more recent installments.
05:25But who cares? It's entertaining.
05:28There's no wax on, wax off for drifting. Learn by doing it.
05:32Tokyo Drift is a major departure from the first two films. There's no Paul Walker or
05:36Ben Diesel in sight until the final shot, and we leave the American muscle car scene
05:41behind for the neon-drenched glitz of Tokyo.
05:44Tokyo Drift has some of the coolest driving sequences in the entire franchise, and also
05:49begins to shift into a self-aware tone. It turns out that change has allowed Fast and
05:54the Furious to become about something more than the super niche world of underground
05:59street racing. It's cool, it's fast, and it's not too hung up on plot. Tokyo Drift
06:05aims to impress, and it does.
06:09When it comes to film adaptations of video games, Warcraft admittedly lacks in the department
06:14of interesting characters, but it still manages to bring the world of Azeroth to life with
06:18impressive visuals and sweeping cinematography. Critics, however, were unimpressed.
06:24Find these beasts, or whatever they are.
06:28Director Duncan Jones' talent and appreciation of the source material shows, almost to a
06:33fault. In fact, most of the film's shortcomings come where it's too faithful to the games,
06:38and if you're not already familiar with Azeroth, you might miss out. On the other
06:42hand, if you're in the know, you're going to find tons to enjoy here.
06:46So if you don't play Warcraft, you might want to start there. But for Warcraft fans,
06:51this is a fine movie that absolutely brims with love for the original game.
06:56Phoebe Cates is an icon, but one thing she does not get enough credit for is her comedic
07:02acting chops. And there's no better demonstration of said chops than Drop Dead Fred, an oft-forgotten
07:081991 comedy. Sure, the reviews were terrible.
07:12The very worst film of 1991 is, according to me, Drop Dead Fred.
07:18Okay, really terrible. But hear us out. Drop Dead Fred is about a woman for whom everything
07:23has gone wrong. That's Cates. Her marriage falls apart, so she moves back in with her
07:28mother and that's where the magic happens. She's reunited with her imaginary childhood
07:32friend Drop Dead Fred, played by the phenomenal Rick Mayle.
07:38I just remember watching it all the time. And trying to slide under the stalls at public
07:47restrooms because that's what Drop Dead Fred did and I got in big trouble. Yeah, I did
07:50it in an Arby's once and got in big trouble.
07:53Fred sets out to fix Elizabeth's relationships. Unfortunately, he's not very good at it.
07:58Drop Dead Fred is an extremely dark comedy, which threw 90s audiences for a loop. It's
08:03no rom-com, it's a biting, surprisingly heartfelt story of adulthood gone wrong. As producer
08:09Mike Medavoy put it at the time, it's a children's movie on drugs. And that's what fans love
08:14about it.
08:15It's tough to match the pedigree of legend. It's a Ridley Scott-directed dark fantasy
08:20starring a fresh-faced Tom Cruise as the Robin Hood-esque Jack, and Tim Curry as the Lord
08:26of Darkness. Sure, legend might be eclipsed by contemporaries like Labyrinth and The Dark
08:31Crystal, but it's a remarkably well-made film with some serious darkness at its heart.
08:36Fool me, this tender morsel.
08:41Legend is a beautiful watch, brimming with elegantly realized worlds, costumes, and creatures.
08:46Tim Curry as the Prince of Darkness is one of the all-time coolest costumes in movie
08:52history, my favorite version of Satan ever on film. Cruise is polarizing now, but few
08:58actors commanded the screen like he did throughout the 1980s. And Mia Sara is wonderful as the
09:03impetuous, good-hearted Princess Lily. Why did she go touch that unicorn? There's one
09:08rule in this whole utopia, it's don't touch the unicorn, and she can't not do it.
09:14Add the intriguingly dark tone, and you've got an absolute classic. Whether you're a
09:18starry-eyed kid or a savvy adult, Legend is one fairytale you can believe in.
09:24If you were a child of the 80s or 90s as I was, you most certainly loved Teenage Mutant
09:28Ninja Turtles the movie. It was an earth-shattering weekend at the theaters. Sometimes those movies
09:34do not hold up when you return to them. I would argue if you go back and watch Teenage
09:38Mutant Ninja Turtles the movie now, you will find way more endearing moments than you remember.
09:44What the heck was that?
09:48Looked like sort of a big turtle in a trench coat. You're gonna look wild here, right?
09:54Take the action sequences. Sure, they're a bit stiff, but the choreography is genuinely
09:59thrilling. And the story is more mature than you might expect. Add to that some good performances
10:04like James Saito as Shredder and Sam Rockwell as a street thug, his first role in a major
10:09motion picture.
10:10You got any cigarettes?
10:14Regular or mental?
10:17But putting all that good stuff aside, the best reason to see Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
10:21the movie is the impressive Jim Henson-designed costumes. Those costumes were so good that
10:27you probably got taken by your parents to that trash Ninja Turtles on-stage performance
10:33where they just had Jazzercise guys running around to look like those turtles. That's
10:37how good those costumes were. Just cads and charlatans everywhere trying to steal our
10:43money doing that in front of our faces.
10:45Sure, they may lack some of the detail that CGI can offer, but their real-world heft has
10:51a charm all its own. Teen horror films prioritize pretty faces and high body counts over skillful
10:57execution, often employing questionable logic to get its stars to their bloody ends.
11:03And Final Destination might be the most creative of all of the horror movie franchises in how
11:08they deploy kills. The first film in the five-film series, with the sixth on the way in 2025,
11:15Final Destination has a killer premise. Once death has chosen you, there's no escape.
11:21September 25, 925. Your birthday is the same as your departure time.
11:28A high school student named Alex boards a plane, then foresees the plane exploding,
11:33killing everyone on board. After several people exit the plane, including Alex, his premonition
11:38comes true. But pretty soon, everyone who got off the plane starts dying. And rather elaborately.
11:44Yup, they didn't cheat death, they just delayed it.
11:47Now you have to figure out how and when it's coming back at you.
11:53Final Destination kills never phone it in. It's not arthouse horror, but it's impossible to watch
11:59and not be entertained. Save Midsommar and the Witch for when you're feeling highbrow,
12:04and watch Final Destination with good friends, a few drinks, and permission to scream.
12:09For years, the Saw franchise ran like clockwork. A new film every year,
12:14complete with intricately designed traps and fiendish plot twists.
12:18I know what you're doing. Doctor.
12:22The first film, 2004's Saw, continues to reign supreme. Saw is the film that put director James
12:28Wan and writer Lee Wannell on the map after they met in film school. Saw made over $100 million
12:36on a tiny budget of just $1.2 million. It's no wonder that the film spawned so many sequels,
12:42despite critics' tepid response. Saw is about a serial killer who traps his victims inside
12:48elaborate puzzles in an effort to test their will to live. There are a few great kills,
12:53and a jaw-dropping twist, all brought to life by the likes of Ken Leung, Danny Glover,
12:58Cary Elwes, and, of course, Tobin Bell as Jigsaw. It's bloody, disgusting, and twisted,
13:04and that's why fans love it. National Treasure showcases Nicholas Cage at his goofy best.
13:10Considering how many people have a love-hate relationship with the actor,
13:14it shouldn't come as a huge surprise that this film proves so divisive with critics.
13:19The film follows Ben, a noted historian and treasure hunter, who sets out to discover a
13:23hidden secret at the heart of United States history. It delivers a healthy dose of conspiracy
13:29theory as both the Knights Templar and Freemasons have roles to play, while the Declaration of
13:34Independence is central to the plot.
13:36A toast, yeah? To high treason. That's what these men were committing when they signed the declaration.
13:44It's the sillier elements that guaranteed National Treasure a hefty serving of critical disdain.
13:49The story's way too outlandish for the serious mind of a film connoisseur.
13:54But do we care? No. It's the kind of wacky fun that makes for great escapism.
14:00Throw in a stellar cast that includes Diane Kruger,
14:03John Voight, Sean Bean, and Harvey Keitel, and National Treasure is a great way to spend a
14:08couple of hours, especially if you don't want to think too hard about what's actually going on.
14:13In fact, we recommend you don't at all.
14:16The fact that The Mummy Returns didn't get rave reviews when it came out in 2001
14:21might not shock most people. It was always going to be tough to
14:24meet the high expectations set by The Mummy, but that doesn't make its return a bad film.
14:30Sure, it has some clunky dialogue, and it's not nearly as memorable as the original installment.
14:35And yes, there's some pretty awful CGI that goes into Dwayne Johnson's Scorpion King character.
14:41Get past those issues, though, and The Mummy Returns is a hell of a lot of fun.
14:45They once again removed the creature from his grave.
14:47I don't mean to point fingers, but isn't it your job to make sure that doesn't happen?
14:51A lot of us saw this in our teenage years, and things were happening. The Rock, hot.
14:56Brendan Fraser, hot. Rachel Weisz, hot. Everyone was in cool, sweaty outfits. It was just a hot
15:01movie. Add to that the sequel's series of exhilarating action sequences, from a bus
15:07chase through the streets of London to an attack by cannibal pygmies, and you've got
15:11a solid afternoon's entertainment on tap. It's hard work to make a good parody. Take
15:17the 1987 comedy Spaceballs. It was the latest in Mel Brooks' series of film genre send-ups,
15:23meant to be a spoof of the original Star Wars trilogy and a smattering of other sci-fi series.
15:29The film fell short of a fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but it still had more good reviews than
15:34bad. What it didn't do was inspire audiences at the box office. It barely made back its budget,
15:40earning just $38 million. But time has been good to Spaceballs. It's now a cult classic,
15:46and is even arguably Mel Brooks' most popular release. The film is packed with excellent
15:52sight gags, hilarious quotes, and some warm-hearted chemistry between Bill Pullman and John Candy.
16:02I can't breathe in this thing!
16:04Meanwhile, Rick Moranis delivers one of the best performances of his career as the not-exactly
16:09dastardly Dark Helmet. Yeah, I still to this day say ludicrous speed every time I try to go
16:16past someone on the freeway, much to my wife's chagrin. It is not a turn-on to quote Spaceballs
16:22in front of possible love partners. The first Sister Act won widespread praise from critics
16:28and was a box office hit, making a sequel a foregone conclusion. But when Sister Act 2,
16:33Back in the Habit, arrived a year later with much of the same cast, the box office was meh,
16:39and the reviews were universally negative. Perhaps the major problem with Sister Act 2
16:44is that it pretty much abandons everything that made the first film a hit. In the original,
16:48Whoopi Goldberg's sister Mary Clarence goes into witness protection to avoid a violent mob boss.
16:54Just the idea is funny. But in the sequel, Whoopi's back to help stop a school from
16:58shutting down by winning a singing contest. Yeah. Oh remember, nothing ever as bad as it
17:05seems at first. But while critics didn't embrace the film's shift to focus on the school kids
17:10rather than Goldberg, the movie's full of fresh energy. There are a number of great musical
17:15performances, and although the plot is fairly, I mean actually completely run of the mill,
17:21it's a decent vehicle for the songs and the cast's comedic talent. Yes, there are laughs,
17:27and some excellent music, and cute kids. That's a recipe for a pleasant few hours with no
17:32nasty surprises. There are very few films that successfully blend live action and animation.
17:39Think Mary Poppins, think Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and Space Jam. That's right, Space Jam works,
17:45even if the critics didn't exactly see it that way when it hit screens back in 1996.
17:51But the idea is golden. Michael Jordan and the cast of the Looney Tunes are on a mission to
17:56save the Toons from being enslaved by defeating an alien team at basketball.
18:02You, all of you, are now our prisoners. The idea of watching this movie, and the fact that it played
18:11almost to our young minds as a historical document of what actually happened when Michael Jordan
18:16left the NBA, was mind-blowing. No, it was not the gambling. It was intergalactic slavery, and he won.
18:23Jordan might not be a brilliant actor, but his energy and general likability give the movie a
18:28lighthearted feel that makes it a good choice for the whole family. Who wouldn't like to see all
18:33their favorite cartoon icons come to life in the real world? That's why Space Jam has been a fan
18:39favorite for decades, and now pretty much qualifies as a cult hit. Plus, cameos from the likes of Bill
18:45Murray make this movie a delight, and who doesn't want to be delighted? There are hundreds of movies
18:50set in medieval times, but few that are actually good. Of course, there are older classics like
18:55Monty Python and the Holy Grail, but it's difficult to think of a recent option that's not a fantasy film.
19:01Bless this thy hand grenade, that with it thou mayst blow thine enemies to tiny bits in thy mercy.
19:08But if knights in armor and ladies in cone hats are your thing, we've got you. Released in 2001,
19:14Brian Helgeland's A Knight's Tale stars Heath Ledger as a peasant squire who seizes an opportunity
19:19to compete as a knight in a series of jousting tournaments. Along with his friends Roland and
19:24Watt, played by Mark Addy and Alan Tudyk, he impersonates a noble in an effort to win the
19:29championship. Well, I am Sir Ulrich von Lichtenstein from Gelderland, and these here are my faithful squires.
19:37At its heart, A Knight's Tale follows the Rocky formula. Lowly underdog rises to take on the world,
19:43win the girl, and achieve the fame and fortune he deserves. So it's understandable why some
19:47critics might not have loved it when it was first released. And the movie's a bit odd, but we think
19:52in a good way. The modern day soundtrack might put some people off at first, but aren't dulcimers
19:58and minuets the obvious snooze-worthy choice? We think the song choices perfectly complement
20:04the on-screen action. What's more metal than jousting? The script is funny, and the actors are
20:10funny in it, constantly stealing the show. And it is wonderful to go back and spend time with an
20:16in-his-prime-heath-ledger. En garde! Film comedies often have a rough go at critics. Even some of the
20:23best and funniest don't move their needle, despite being hugely popular with audiences.
20:28Consider Step Brothers. It missed out on a fresh rating, even though it's widely considered to be
20:33one of the best comedies of the last two decades. Maybe critics thought the antics of Will Ferrell
20:38and John C. Reilly's characters were too lowbrow or mean-spirited. But we're here to say there's a
20:43place for that, when it's done right. Forget the reviews. Step Brothers is fondly remembered by
20:48most people who've seen it. Coming quickly on the heels of Talladega Nights, The Ballad of Ricky
20:52Bobby, the film features much of the same cast and crew, and has the same sort of chaotic energy.
20:57Plus, it is endlessly quotable.
21:00Did we just become best friends?
21:01Yep!
21:02Not a week goes by that I don't claim that my wife has locked me in a prison on the planet
21:06bullshit, or that I have a belly full of white dog turds and should be left alone. Perhaps the best
21:11part about Step Brothers, though, is that it isn't trying to be something it's not. The ridiculous
21:16family-based feuds aren't trying to preach to viewers. They're just there to make people laugh.
21:20And that's something this 2008 movie still manages to do remarkably frequently.
21:26Empire Records is an insanely quotable 1995 coming-of-age comedy. This was the era of clerks.
21:32This was the era of indie movies that you felt like you could make. People talking about things
21:37that I would talk about, even though it was clearly written by older people that didn't
21:40understand us. It's both a throwback to similar films from the previous decade,
21:45and an attempt to channel the indie music-loving children of the 1990s.
21:49Teen comedies are hit or miss with critics, and Empire Records
21:53mostly miss. But as the audience score shows, it landed with its target viewers.
21:58You know what, Joe? One of these days, I'm gonna show you little people.
22:03The story isn't terribly original. A group of weirdos who work in a record store fight to
22:07stop a takeover by a major chain. They're plucky underdogs, they learn about each other,
22:12and they argue over who has the best music taste. It's exactly what you'd expect,
22:17but in a very good way, thanks to a spectacular cast, including Liv Tyler,
22:22Renee Zellweger, Robin Tunney, Anthony LaPaglia, and Rory Cochrane.
22:31Welcome to Music Town. May I service you?
22:34The story goes that Michael Nathanson, president of Regency Pictures, greenlit this film the day
22:39before he heard the pitch for Clueless, which he turned down since he already had a teen movie in
22:44Empire Records. Regrets? He has a few. Yes, Clueless became a massive hit and part of the
22:51cultural zeitgeist, and Empire Records, well, bombed. But in the end, Nathanson turned out
22:56an era-defining cult classic. So there you go, rotten tomatoes be damned. Go check out some of
23:02these movies that are definitely better than they're getting credit for.