Metacritic's 15 Movies The Critics Got Wrong

Over the weekend, I read an interesting article on Metacritic about the 15 Movies the Critics Got Wrong, and I thought it was worth talking about my opinion about their choices.

Their criteria was looking at movies that scored less than a 40 on the site and seeing how they held up.

There are movies on the list that I am not in a position to comment on because I haven't seen them or I don't remember enough about them to say definitively if they were good or bad choices, so I am not going to bring them up in this entry.

I am in total agreement

Scrooged: Yeah, this is a holiday classic to me. You have Bill Murray playing one of his best prick characters ever, Bobcat Goldthwait playing against type and so many other wonderful actors playing integral parts to the story. It is indeed better than a 38.

Predator: I was never aware that Predator was a bad movie critically. I mean, it always seemed to work for me as an action movie and it is one of the 1980's Schwartzenegger movies that aged well. I can understand why filmmakers keep going to the Predator well too, because as a species, it does bring a lot of dramatic and action potential to the table.

Clue: I wrote a Remembering post about this movie, and more than a few of my peers piped in to say that they loved it too. It is a great cast and a wonderfully executed murder/farce (no pun intended), and Tim Curry in particular brings his A-game.

Summer School: OK, I might be agreeing with this pick because I like the movie, but I thought that even when it was released, Summer School had a certain underrated charm. And it is very much an 80's movie, though in a way, it really brought a certain kind of horror geekdom into the light, which is always a plus.

I Could See Where They Were Coming From

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective: I see both sides in this. On one hand, it does do some very clever things underneath the veneer of stupidity it has. But it isn't a great comedy. It is enjoyable, but I understand why critics didn't like it then and why some may be softening there view of it today.

The Outsiders: Now I could have probably switched this movie and Summer School in this appraisal of the list, but I would rather watch Summer School than this movie. I didn't know that The Outsiders was not kindly received by critics, but over the years, it seems to have become one of those movies that multiple generations have come to enjoy, and I think that may be the reason that its critical reputation is being reexamined.

But I'm a Cheerleader: I was ok with this movie, but I wouldn't say that I loved it. I think the word I am looking for is I was ambivalent about it from a narrative standpoint, however it does have other admirable qualities.

The first two Final Destination movies: I really liked the premise of these movies, but I could understand why some critics didn't like them. But if there is going to be a shift, I am not going to be upset if more critics change their opinion of these movies, especially the first one.

Questionable

Happy Gilmore: Yeah, I know exactly why this got panned. Will I watch it when it is on? Sometimes. Do I think it is a good movie? No. Well, at least it isn't Billy Madison.

What were they smoking

Freddy Got Fingered: Yeah, I think the critical score for this (15) isn't low enough. I'm on the record saying that this is one of the worst movies ever made in the modern era.

So yeah, while there were a number of movies on that list that I could agree with the reassessment, there were a couple which really still deserve their middling and worse reputation.

After reading their list and my own views on most of the items on it, what are your feelings about it?

Tags: billy madison, happy gilmore, metacritic, adam sandler, ace ventura, summer school, the outsiders, clue, tim curry, predator, schwartzenegger, freddy got fingered, but i'm a cheerleader, final destination, scrooged, critics, tom green