Trailer Tuesday: good movies with bad reviews

There's no accounting for taste.

There you go, I’ve said it. But today, I want to do the opposite. I want to question others’ opinions and taste. More precisely, the opinion of those film critics who’ve written critical reviews about movies I think were fantastic.

What does «fantastic» mean? Not Oscar-worthy, but still great. Movies that are fun. Movies that know their target audience and make those people happy. It doesn’t always have to be the best ever film to be a good film, right?

Godzilla 2: King of the Monsters

Good example. The film completely failed with critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, a website that collects and compares audience and expert reviews, the film has a score of just 42 percent from critics, but 83 percent from the audience. That's what I mean: know your audience.

What's the movie about? A marine biologist believes that her technical apparatus – «Orca» – is capable of waking and controlling titans such as Godzilla or King Mothra. An eco-terrorist finds out about this, kidnaps the marine biologist and wants to use the machine to force the Titans to go to the sea.

Oh and then, blah, blah, blah, blah. Never mind the story. If you’re watching «Godzilla 2» because of its storyline, that's your own fault. All I’m interested in is monster action. Superbly over-the-top monster action that walks the fine line between spectacle and sheer ridiculousness. Yes, this also includes a Godzilla covered in lava, which becomes the Super Saiyajin Godzilla.

Cinema release: 29 May 2019
Total gross: $386.6 million

Hook

Film critics hate «Hook». On Rotten Tomatoes, it only gets 28 percent critics approval. Even director Steven Spielberg distanced himself from his own work. The audience isn’t as harsh and gives the movie 76 percent recommendation rate.

Yet, the premise of the film is wonderful: Peter Pan (Robin Williams) has grown up. He’s a real adult, with a suit, a mobile phone, a job, a wife and kids. His adventures in Neverland? Forgotten. Then the notorious Captain Hook (Dustin Hoffmann) kidnaps his children, and Peter has to find a way to get to Neverland and remember his adventurous childhood.

Granted, «Hook» is not Spielberg's best work. But I'm a child of the 1990s. I loved that movie. I loved the childish food fight scenes, the pirate scenery and Robin Williams, who flies, fights and crows. Today I love other things. John Williams' incredibly good film music, for instance. Or the more serious topics. Apparently, Spielberg's actual motivation to make this film was his own fear that his busy work schedule would mean he didn’t have enough time with his kids.

Cinema release: 11 December 1991
Total gross: $300.9 million

National Treasure

Yep, 46 percent of the nearly 180 film reviews collected on Rotten Tomatoes would recommend this film . How about the almost one million viewers who rated the film? 76 percent of them would recommend it.

Too bad for the film critics. It seems to have escaped their attention that «National Treasure» is primarily intended to be fun. Yet the film excels especially when it comes to riddles and puzzles. It doesn’t contain lengthy and bloated exposition like in «The DaVinci Code», which, in my opinion, isn’t as good a movie as «National Treasure». On top of this, it features more speed, more humour and more joy.

Cinema release: 7 March 2007
Total gross: $456.1 million

Constantine

A score of 46 percent by film critics. Really? Oh, come on! «Constantine» is a classic. It’s full of provocative humour and cynicism. And it even hides an anti-smoking campaign. What more do you want? At least 72 percent of the viewers understand the greatness of this movie.

Honestly, when it comes to the other movies I mention above, I get why the film critics were harsh. But «Constantine» is a film noir comic adaptation like no other. It’s fierce, sarcastic, brave to take on a leisurely detective storytelling pace and well timed in its short action scenes.

The main protagonist: Keanu Reeves in top form. He plays John Constantine, a chain-smoking exorcist who deports demons back to hell for pure self-interest. As a child, he tried to commit suicide, which banished him from heaven for eternity. The only chance to save his soul is – well, he doesn't really know himself. Since then, he's been trying to exorcise his way back into heaven.

Well, if that doesn't sound like a great story.

Cinema release: 8 February 2005
Total gross: $230.9 million

Vanilla Sky

Only 42 percent of film critics liked the remake of the Spanish movie «Open Your Eyes». Yet, 72 percent of viewers would recommend it.

The movie shows Tom Cruise essentially playing himself: on the morning of his 33rd birthday, viewers get a glimpse into the playboy life of the narcissistic David Ames. He wakes up in a seemingly noncommittal relationship with Julie (Cameron Diaz), spends some of the fortune he inherited from his father at a much too young age and drives around in sports cars.

But then he meets the beautiful Sofia (Penelope Cruz) and falls head over heels in love with her. When Ames later makes the mistake of getting into the car of jealous Julie, his world is turned upside down. He questions everything: his fortune, his integrity, his innocence. Even his reality. As a viewer it’s hard to follow what’s happening. «Vanilla Sky» takes paths that are impossible to predict. And that's what makes the film so irresistible.

Cinema release: 14 December 2001
Total gross: $203.4 million

Know any other films that are hated by critics but loved by the audience? Let me know by commenting below.