Popular movies that got surprisingly bad reviews when they first came out

*CyberCubed* · 07-06-2017, 07:02 PM

So I was randomly browsing through rottentomatoes looking up the Home Alone movies, which as we all know are popular cult favorite films. I was shocked at the review scores:

Home Alone only has a 56% rotten, and this is considered one of the funniest and biggest comedies of the 90's:

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/home_alone

Home Alone 2, another favorite, only has a whopping abysmal 27% rotten (holy crap):

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hom...st_in_new_york

What the hell? I started to look up some other old favorite movies.

Rush Hour 1 only has a 60% fresh on rotten:

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rush_hour

Rush Hour 2 only a 52%:

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rush_hour_2

There were others, but the scores for the Home Alone movies shocked me. They're considered some of the most cult classic favorite comedies of the 90's.

*Cure* · 07-06-2017, 08:02 PM

"Popular movies that got surprisingly bad reviews when they first came out". Then you proceed to talk about Home Alone's reviews on rottentomatoes.com that has nothing but reviews that were written years afterwards.

*CyberCubed* · 07-06-2017, 09:03 PM

The dates on the rotten site aren't correct. For example Roger Ebert's review on the site says, "Jan 1st 2000" but his review is from Nov. 16th 1990 when the movie came out:

http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/home-alone-1990

He only gave it it 2.5 stars out of 5. A lot of the other reviews I've seen are surprisingly low for what has been considered one of the most popular comedies of the 90's.

*Spike Spiegel* · 07-06-2017, 09:19 PM

The moment I saw the title, I knew it was a CyberCubed thread.

Blade Runner, Psycho, and The Thing (1982) come to mind.

*CyberCubed* · 07-06-2017, 09:32 PM

Blade Runner has an 89% with 100+ reviews:

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/blade_runner/

*sdp* · 07-06-2017, 09:44 PM

Rush Hour 2 isn't a good movie, the first one is great. Some genres just don't get love from reviewers like martial arts movies or horror no matter how "fun" they may be. Same with kid comedies, when you are a kid you may love it but adults didn't "get it" and gave it bad reviews. In fact most kids movies that weren't Disney got terrible reviews in the 90s but we loved them and now we have nostalgia for them.

Many cult movies also get bad reviews and only years later do their scores change, shows how full of crap movie reviewers can be.

*CyberCubed* · 07-06-2017, 10:05 PM

Rush Hour 2 is still a great movie. Not as good as the first, but the action scenes, chemistry between Jackie Chan and Tucker, and the overall plot are still good.

*Coola Yagami* · 07-06-2017, 10:09 PM

I think some of the reviewers look deeper into the movies and that's why they may score low. I love Home Alone 2, and like it better than the first.... but it doesn't change the fact that it's basically the first movie all over again.

Aaronardo · 07-06-2017, 10:10 PM

Stanley Kubrick's The Shining got quite a few negative critical reviews when it first released.

*sdp* · 07-06-2017, 10:13 PM

The Chemistry of Chan/Tucker is still great but the action and story was a let down. I was huge into Jackie Chan when it came out and actually RH2 was my first DVD, I wanted to love it but even after giving it a few chances it never grew. RH1 is one of my favorite JC movies and that's saying a lot, even if the action is nowhere as good as his Hong Kong movies, Tucker made up for that.

RH3 I think I only saw once and while not awesome I remember it liking more than I thought it would be. I really need to watch the trilogy again, I own them all on DVD but I keep waiting for Netflix to add them instead

And to think switching DVDs used to be the norm.

No matter how disappointing the sequels are I still want Rush Hour 4 which apparently could happen. Not interested in ever watching that tv show they made 2 years ago or so.

*ProactiveMan* · 07-06-2017, 11:45 PM

Critics pooped on the Wizard of Oz when it came out.

Movie criticism isn't empirical data, it's just opinion - that's why Rotten Tomatoes isn't really a review site, it's just a review tracker. If enough reviewers have their heads up their asses then the tomato score stops being useful. There's a lot of pomp and grandstanding in movie criticism, and an aggregate score doesn't tell you how many edge-lords, contrarians, or shills contributed to the data.

I don't tend to read reviews before I see movies - everyone is too full of **** these days.

07-06-2017, 07:02 PM	#1
CyberCubed Overlord Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 43,883	Popular movies that got surprisingly bad reviews when they first came out So I was randomly browsing through rottentomatoes looking up the Home Alone movies, which as we all know are popular cult favorite films. I was shocked at the review scores: Home Alone only has a 56% rotten, and this is considered one of the funniest and biggest comedies of the 90's: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/home_alone Home Alone 2, another favorite, only has a whopping abysmal 27% rotten (holy crap): https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hom...st_in_new_york What the hell? I started to look up some other old favorite movies. Rush Hour 1 only has a 60% fresh on rotten: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rush_hour Rush Hour 2 only a 52%: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rush_hour_2 There were others, but the scores for the Home Alone movies shocked me. They're considered some of the most cult classic favorite comedies of the 90's.

07-06-2017, 09:44 PM	#6
sdp Detoxed Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Tokio, Italy Posts: 11,222	Rush Hour 2 isn't a good movie, the first one is great. Some genres just don't get love from reviewers like martial arts movies or horror no matter how "fun" they may be. Same with kid comedies, when you are a kid you may love it but adults didn't "get it" and gave it bad reviews. In fact most kids movies that weren't Disney got terrible reviews in the 90s but we loved them and now we have nostalgia for them. Many cult movies also get bad reviews and only years later do their scores change, shows how full of crap movie reviewers can be. __________________ *Trapt* *urself Page MiscRave!!!* Click to join The Drome Discord server

07-06-2017, 10:09 PM	#8
Coola Yagami Overlord Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 15,714	I think some of the reviewers look deeper into the movies and that's why they may score low. I love Home Alone 2, and like it better than the first.... but it doesn't change the fact that it's basically the first movie all over again. __________________ "I was down with TMNT once, but then they changed what TMNT was. Now what I was down with is no longer TMNT and what TMNT now is seems weird and scary. And it'll happen to YOU." Check out my blog for Comic Reviews and other things. https://markepicblogofrandomness.blogspot.com/ I also started The AEW Crew, the All Elite Wrestling Fan Club! https://www.facebook.com/groups/637508120044168/

07-06-2017, 10:10 PM	#9
Aaronardo Mad Scientist Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: :noitacoL Posts: 1,043	Stanley Kubrick's The Shining got quite a few negative critical reviews when it first released. __________________ "Shredder, you gotta listen to reason!" - Leonardo "Oh Turtles! Oh Turtles! Chew your gum properly." "If I miss this week's Kirby, heads are gonna roll." - Raphael "The Biosites have almost finished healing my flesh." - Shredder "Because we're takin' the heart and you're goin' to jail!" - Donatello

07-06-2017, 10:13 PM	#10
sdp Detoxed Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Tokio, Italy Posts: 11,222	The Chemistry of Chan/Tucker is still great but the action and story was a let down. I was huge into Jackie Chan when it came out and actually RH2 was my first DVD, I wanted to love it but even after giving it a few chances it never grew. RH1 is one of my favorite JC movies and that's saying a lot, even if the action is nowhere as good as his Hong Kong movies, Tucker made up for that. RH3 I think I only saw once and while not awesome I remember it liking more than I thought it would be. I really need to watch the trilogy again, I own them all on DVD but I keep waiting for Netflix to add them instead And to think switching DVDs used to be the norm. No matter how disappointing the sequels are I still want Rush Hour 4 which apparently could happen. Not interested in ever watching that tv show they made 2 years ago or so. __________________ *Trapt* *urself Page MiscRave!!!* Click to join The Drome Discord server

07-06-2017, 08:02 PM	#2
Cure Y'all need Jesus Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: New Jersey Posts: 8,938	"Popular movies that got surprisingly bad reviews when they first came out". Then you proceed to talk about Home Alone's reviews on rottentomatoes.com that has nothing but reviews that were written years afterwards.

07-06-2017, 09:03 PM	#3
CyberCubed Overlord Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 43,883	The dates on the rotten site aren't correct. For example Roger Ebert's review on the site says, "Jan 1st 2000" but his review is from Nov. 16th 1990 when the movie came out: http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/home-alone-1990 He only gave it it 2.5 stars out of 5. A lot of the other reviews I've seen are surprisingly low for what has been considered one of the most popular comedies of the 90's.

07-06-2017, 09:32 PM	#5
CyberCubed Overlord Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 43,883	Blade Runner has an 89% with 100+ reviews: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/blade_runner/

07-06-2017, 10:05 PM	#7
CyberCubed Overlord Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 43,883	Rush Hour 2 is still a great movie. Not as good as the first, but the action scenes, chemistry between Jackie Chan and Tucker, and the overall plot are still good.

07-06-2017, 11:45 PM	#11
ProactiveMan Spooky ghost Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Western Australia Posts: 2,266	Critics pooped on the Wizard of Oz when it came out. Movie criticism isn't empirical data, it's just opinion - that's why Rotten Tomatoes isn't really a review site, it's just a review tracker. If enough reviewers have their heads up their asses then the tomato score stops being useful. There's a lot of pomp and grandstanding in movie criticism, and an aggregate score doesn't tell you how many edge-lords, contrarians, or shills contributed to the data. I don't tend to read reviews before I see movies - everyone is too full of **** these days. __________________ ProactiveMan!