# Movies That Were A Lot Better/Worse Than You Expected **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 13, 2010, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-a-lot-better-worse-than-you-expected/553639 "2010-09-13T19:13:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-a-lot-better-worse-than-you-expected/553639/21 "2010-09-14T00:58:51Z")
My hand to God, when I watched **RV** on demand at a friend’s house a few years ago, not only did it not suck, but it was actually fairly enjoyable. OTOH, when that same friend brought the **School of Rock** DVD over to my house to watch a couple years ago, I found that the movie couldn’t end fast enough to suit me. Plus, it pretty well ensured that I’d be avoiding any future Jack Black product like the proverbial Black Death (heh). ---
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-a-lot-better-worse-than-you-expected/553639/22 "2010-09-14T00:59:55Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I had the same experience a couple of years later with **RoboCop** , which looked as if it was just going to be a one-note joke. And this. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-a-lot-better-worse-than-you-expected/553639/23 "2010-09-14T01:19:50Z")
Pricillia, Queen Of The Desert was a lot better than I thought it was going to be. Silent Hill was much better than I expected especially when you consider how badly most video game movies suck. ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_Doubt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7cd45c/32.png) [@Angel\_of\_Doubt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_Doubt)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-a-lot-better-worse-than-you-expected/553639/24 "2010-09-14T01:20:39Z")
I enjoyed “Showgirls” and have never really understood the critical junking it gets…doesn’t seem cinematically any worse than the “average” movie. It told a story I could somehow relate to although my lifestyle is lightyears from the main characters’. There’s a Robert Downey flick I rented once I thought would be great - it turned out to be at least an hour of Downey ranting and conducting some sort of soliloquy in a girl’s apartment; I’ll never know how it turned out because I cut it off. Embarassing because I assurred my husband it had to be good… ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-a-lot-better-worse-than-you-expected/553639/25 "2010-09-14T01:21:34Z")
[Transsiberian](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0800241/) turned out to be very compelling, an enjoyable flick. [The Colour of Magic](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/color_of_magic/) was a horrible disappointment, despite such hopeful signs as stars like Tim Curry, Christopher Lee, Jeremy Irons, and Sean Astin. ---
**Author:** ![Indyellen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/indyellen/32/4176_2.png) [@Indyellen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indyellen)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-a-lot-better-worse-than-you-expected/553639/26 "2010-09-14T01:29:31Z")
This came up recently from another source, but **Down Periscope** is actually quite an enjoyable flick with some very clever parts and a good cast. It’ll never get critical acclaim, but who cares? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Man\_In\_Black](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@The\_Man\_In\_Black](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Man_In_Black)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-a-lot-better-worse-than-you-expected/553639/27 "2010-09-14T01:34:27Z")
> [@Unintentionally\_Blank](#): > > You cannot have a thread like this and NOT mention Iron Giant. > > Superman > > I did not cry, there was something in my eye. \ I agree. I liked it a lot. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Man\_In\_Black](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@The\_Man\_In\_Black](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Man_In_Black)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-a-lot-better-worse-than-you-expected/553639/28 "2010-09-14T01:36:57Z")
> [@Indyellen](#): > > This came up recently from another source, but **Down Periscope** is actually quite an enjoyable flick with some very clever parts and a good cast. It’ll never get critical acclaim, but who cares? Great movie. I really wished they mad a second one with his same crew on a new sub near Iraq or something. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-a-lot-better-worse-than-you-expected/553639/29 "2010-09-14T01:43:18Z")
Shrek. I had no desire to see a ‘kids movie’, but was incapacitated due to Theraflu when my roommates put it on. I literally couldn’t get out of the papasan chair I was miserably ensconced within, and to this day I have no idea whether I fell completely in love with the whole Shrek franchise due to drugs or what. But I’m a complete sucker for it now. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-a-lot-better-worse-than-you-expected/553639/30 "2010-09-14T01:45:39Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > I know! Let’s make a movie about an abrasive New Yorker in the Deep South and point out cultural differences. We can hang it on some weak story about a court case. > > That’s B-movie material at best. But not only was **My Cousin Vinny** a tight little flick, it won Marissa Tomei an academy award and is often used in law schools for it’s educational content. For a sec, I thought you were describing Doc Hollywood…which also wasn’t as bad as it probably should have been. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-a-lot-better-worse-than-you-expected/553639/31 "2010-09-14T01:53:03Z")
I really liked Patrick Stewart in _Safehouse_. Yes, some plot elements were out there, but I loved the film overall. Seconded for _Robocop_. _Boiling Point_ was a horribly mis-advertised movie. It was billed as an action thrill ride, but was actually a character drama. I rented it for mindless entertainment and didn’t get it. Darn you for being good! ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-a-lot-better-worse-than-you-expected/553639/32 "2010-09-14T01:55:22Z")
> [@Indyellen](#): > > This came up recently from another source, but **Down Periscope** is actually quite an enjoyable flick with some very clever parts and a good cast. It’ll never get critical acclaim, but who cares? Oh, that’s another one. Yeah, it’s a silly little film, but it was a lot of fun. Ohh… _Mom and Dad Save the World_ was like that. A fun comedy that didn’t try to take itself seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Frazzled](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frazzled/32/3368_2.png) [@Frazzled](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frazzled)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-a-lot-better-worse-than-you-expected/553639/33 "2010-09-14T02:05:50Z")
I expected to hate Fight Club but ended up loving it. I expected to _love_ Star Wars The Phantom Menace and it ended up destroying the whole series for me ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-a-lot-better-worse-than-you-expected/553639/34 "2010-09-14T02:09:38Z")
I also have to say that Pathfinder, staring Karl “Eomer” Urban, was better than I figured it would be. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-a-lot-better-worse-than-you-expected/553639/35 "2010-09-14T02:38:49Z")
_Glitter_ wasn’t nearly as terrible as people think. It wasn’t _The Godfather_ mainly because it wasn’t trying to be. By the same token, it wasn’t _Waterworld_ either ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-a-lot-better-worse-than-you-expected/553639/36 "2010-09-14T03:16:05Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > I watched “The Sweetest Thing” and expected it to suck – billed as a “gross-out comedy” it was insteady a raunchy chick flick. There were gross-out elements, but they weren’t all THAT prevalent, and I found the characters appealing. Maybe it was the actresses – Cameron Diaz handles “cute” very well, and Christina Applegate had a certain puckishness, and Selma Blair was really appealing in her role. I think the actresses helped a lot here, but there was a fun story for them to work with. My favorite part of The Sweetest thing isn’t even [in the movie](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69mermWNac8). Will Farrell’s Stranger Than Fiction was my pleasant surprise. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-a-lot-better-worse-than-you-expected/553639/37 "2010-09-14T03:30:23Z")
Underworld- I expected it to suck. But a friend had it on DVD and really wanted to see Underworld Evolution with me. I hadn’t seen my friends in a while and wanted to hang out with them. I expected a pointless wire fu, Hong Kong action shootout. But Underworld turned out to be a good movie. Underworld Evolution- I went in expecting good things because of the first movie. I was extremely disappointed. The characters were cardboard. The plot was stupid. blecch **Hampshire** NEVER badmouth the work of Ray Harryhausen! Not only was the man a maestro of stop motion who imbued his creations with life. **Cal Meacham** has an orbital laser that can vaporize human targets. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-a-lot-better-worse-than-you-expected/553639/38 "2010-09-14T03:36:47Z")
_Repo Men_ surprised me not only by being more entertaining than it should have been, but also not as brainless as it seemed. I’m sort of surprised it was so ill-received - only a few reviews I’ve read among those who panned it seemed to get that there was something more to it than mindless violence. I did not expect I’d like _Moulin Rouge_, but I did. I’ll add another voice of agreement on _The Sweetest Thing_. Though I’d watch Selma Blair in almost[sup]\*[/sup] anything. [sup]\*[/sup]There’s a movie called _Storytelling_ that should be avoided at all costs. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-a-lot-better-worse-than-you-expected/553639/39 "2010-09-14T03:40:21Z")
I thought _Armageddon_ was going to be horrible… when I discovered that it was merely mediocre, I found myself enjoying it more than I thought I would. Not exactly the best of praise, but whatever… 😉 I, too, thought I would hate [Moulin Rouge!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=251295). ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-a-lot-better-worse-than-you-expected/553639/40 "2010-09-14T03:48:00Z")
Speaking of Will Farrel…I’ve never liked him, never want to see anything with him in it. But I love Anchorman, for some freaking reason. 😛 I was tricked into watching it \>.\< No drugs this time! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-a-lot-better-worse-than-you-expected/553639.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-were-a-lot-better-worse-than-you-expected/553639.md?page=3)