10 Movies Classified as Rotten That Are Actually Good

Criticizing the critics

Everybody’s a critic. And that means that everybody is a critic of critics. Stupid critics! Have a faceful of rotten tomatoes, which you probably think are fresh tomatoes, because that’s the kind of critic you are!

Ahem. As I was saying. Critics: they have opinions, and sometimes they are wrong. There are a lot of films that have been panned on Rotten Tomatoes as Rotten but are actually at least marginally Fresh (over 60%).

Below are some of the most underrated supposedly-rotten-but-actually-decent movies on RT. They are listed from highest (but still low) RT score down to the absolute nadir of critical contempt.

Spaceballs (1987)

Rotten Tomatoes 56%

I’ll admit, when I first watched Spaceballs as a kid I was mostly bored and irritated. The non-joke jokes seemed schlubby and pointless. And also how can you make fun of Star Wars?! It’s Star Wars, the pinnacle of art. Cut it out with the schwartz stuff!

Now that I am older, maybe wiser, and certainly less Star Wars idolatrous, I can better appreciate the joys of slathering hyperspace in schtick (and/or plaid.) I love the gag about the villains capturing the stunt doubles, and of course “What’s the matter, Colonel Sandurz? CHICKEN!”

More generally, though, it’s pretty great to watch Jewish people finally get a chance to conquer all of space, especially while recognizing that (with notable Jews like Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher) they’d been there all the time.

The Last Dragon (1985)

Rotten Tomatoes 55%

How can you not like The Last Dragon! The film, about Leroy Green a young Black man (Taimak) who embraces his inner Chinese martial arts hero, is a joyful, pre-Wu Tang celebration of cross-cultural identification and self-actualization. The film imagines a world of African-American-owned authentic Italian pizza parlors and jive-talking Chinese-Americans, in which people are defined by what they love rather than by the niche they’re supposed to occupy. Plus it’s got martial arts battles and Vanity 6. You’d think that would be Fresh enough for anyone.

And these days it is. As with other films on this list, early reviewers were confused by the genre shuffling. In the 36 years since its release, though, The Last Dragon has become recognized as a classic. Or as Vanity says with a sultry smile, “You sure look like a Master to me.”

Underwater (2020)

Rotten Tomatoes 47%

There’s little backstory or buildup in Underwater; 5 minutes after the credits the deep ocean station is collapsing and a shaven-headed Kristin Stewart is racing through ever narrowing claustrophobic spaces to escape the rush of water.

If character development is your thing, critics will tell you this is vacuous and doesn’t slow down enough to give you backstory. If you tire of action movies that pretend you’re there for quips or meaningful interpersonal drama or something other than the action, though, this is the stylish geyser of adrenaline you’re looking for. Alien and Godzilla are obvious predecessors, a duo mismatched enough to be entertaining. And the metaphor of carbon extraction coming like a giant monster to bury us all in the deep adds an ominous, crushing weight.

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