Mubi/Uproxx

00s | 90s

5 Awesome Movies That Prove Critics Don't Know Anything

Mubi/Uproxx

What is the difference between a great movie and a terrible movie? Well, I guess it all depends on the individual people who see it. Sometimes movies hit the big screen and are resoundingly hated by critics and fans, even though when you sit back and think about them, they are awesome movies.

For this list we are going to look at movies that were resoundingly hated by critics and most audiences, yet when you actually watch them for their pure entertainment value, they were actually amazing movies. Here are 5 of the best "terrible" movies from the 90s and early 2000s.

1. Alien 3 (1992)

Everything seemed to be going wrong for the third installment of this popular science-fiction and horror series. They were behind schedule, they were losing millions of dollars, and the script wasn't even finished when they hired first-time director David Fincher. Fox studios were trying to micro-manage FIncher, and when the movie finished at three hours long, the studio made him cut out an additional 30 minutes of content.

Fans were initially pissed about the deaths of Ripley and Newt, but once you get past that, the imagery and story line are actually amazing. But hey, the xenomorphs didn't die out, and we have seen multiple new installments in varying degrees being added to this storied franchise.

Bloody Disgusting

2. Hook (1991)

The story of Peter Pan seemed played out, even back in the early 90s. Seriously, what else could they possibly bring to the characters that Disney hadn't already done? The first thing they did was include the legend himself, Robin Williams. If you haven't seen it in a while, you need to watch it over the holiday season. William's trip to Neverland was absolutely epic. Sometimes the critics have no idea what they are talking about.

Mubi

3. National Treasure (2004)

When was the last time you saw an adventure movie that was made simply to be just that, an adventure movie. We are so caught up in making "critically acclaimed" movies, that we forget that they are supposed to be entertaining. Nicholas Cage was ripped apart for National Treasure, as he played Ben Gates on his search for the Templar's lost treasure.

I found the movie to be clever, educational, thoughtful, and most importantly, good clean fun that you didn't need to stress yourself over if you were getting the "true meaning" behind the film. It was actually a great movie, and if it wasn't, why the hell did they make a sequel?

Uproxx

The next couple of movies on this list were just as amazing as well.

4. Constantine (2005)

This is one my absolute favorite movies of all time. Loosely based on the graphic novel series, Hellblazer, John Constantine is a perfect anti-hero who is looking to earn his way back into God's good graces by ridding the world of demons. Because he committed suicide as a child, before being revived by paramedics, he saw Hell for what it really was, and he knew that he would be going back there when he died later in life because suicide is a cardinal sin.

If you are a fan of movies that have dark and demonic story lines, Constantine is the perfect blend of the two. It is enjoyable and entertaining without being too hard to understand. I don't know about you, but this movie made me want to head out and start battling the forces of darkness.

The Agony Booth

5. Anaconda (1997)

After Jaws came out in the early 80s, everyone was reasonably fearful of heading out into the open water of the ocean, leading people to start swimming in rivers and lakes. Anaconda made us just as fearful of those rivers and lakes as Jaws did about the ocean.

Sure, the acting was borderline terrible, and the backstory revolving around greed was a bit overdone, but the actual monster aspect of this "monster movies" was fantastic. Traveling through the Amazon jungle being hunted by a man eating snake on its own turf actually makes your skin crawl as part of the audience. For everything that was wrong with the movie, the basic concept of it all made up for everything else.

Scared Stiff Reviews

Share this if any of these movies make it onto your guilty pleasures list.