10 Movies That Were Shockingly Terrible, And 10 That Were Surprisingly Good
There's nothing better than having low expectations for a movie, then being totally blown away. If you're anything like me, you'll spend the next week talking about it to anyone who will listen.
Ion
On the flip side, we all know how much it sucks when there's a film we're sooo excited for, but it turns out to be super disappointing.
ABC
Well, Reddit user u/Fantasticbrick recently asked about films you thought would be average but were actually great, and Reddit user u/Meganekko_Chu asked about movies you were so excited to see but hated. Here are some the top-voted responses:
We also included responses from this and this Reddit thread.
1.Surprisingly good: Pirates of the Caribbean (2003)
"The first Pirates of the Caribbean movie was a genuine, out-of-nowhere surprise. How was a movie based on a theme park ride that good?"
"Totally forgot about how stunned I was with the first Pirates movie and how much I fell in love with it."
2.Disappointing: Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
"Obnoxious humor and a villain who's beyond underwhelming. Seriously. He has that absolutely sick death metal sword and does NOTHING. Kills a couple gods at the beginning. Imagine that scene with the gods all in one place — then he shows up and just fucking Red Weddings most of the gods there. It would be horrific. It would make him a terrifying threat. And it would make for great character scenes with Thor wrestling with the guilt of leading him to the gods.
We didn’t get that, but we did get…screaming goats and that stupid, fucking weird romance thing with Stormbreaker? Ugh. Christian Bale is a fine actor, and I did love the black and white scene, both aesthetically and for his acting. But he was wasted."
3.Surprisingly good: The Lego Movie (2014)
"The Lego Movie was better than it had any right to be."
"I'm not a fan of kid movies or cartoons. I went to see it because a friend wanted to. That movie was fucking hilarious. Not only did I genuinely laugh, but a lot of the jokes were more clever than I thought a kid's movie would ever get."
4.Disappointing: Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
"What the actual fuck?"
"OMG. WW84 was just awful. They bring back Chris Pine from the dead (WTF?), and they have not one but two bad guys/gals. And the storyline is just all over the place, somehow ending up in the Middle East. What a colossally awful movie. Who thought that script was a good idea?"
5.Surprisingly good: Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
"I watched it on a plane, thinking it would be some bland action flick I could doze off to. It turned out to be an expertly plotted action thriller with really good character development and acting. I usually hate time travel movies, but this one held together really well. I regretted watching it on the tiny screen, and I wasn't able to doze off because the story kept me so engaged."
"Totally agree. Thought it was another generic Tom Cruise between-Mission-Impossible-moneymaker, but it turned out to be great. Plus, Emily Blunt kicks ass."
6.Disappointing: Mulan (2020)
"Of all the Disney live action remakes, it was the one that had the most potential. A massive period war piece? That sounds awesome. But they removed a lot of what made the animated movie fun for 'realism' and then added magical components, completely undermining the overall message of the movie."
"Yes! The original was so good, and the music was the best part! I got through 15 minutes, and I turned it off."
7.Surprisingly good: Nightcrawler (2014)
"It was one of those movies where I just had some free time and decided to watch it. Blown away."
"Not sure I've ever seen a character played that well. I wasn't watching Jake Gyllenhaal; I was watching a slimy, obsessive creep of a human. Fantastic!"
8.Disappointing: Jurassic World Dominion (2022)
"Jurassic World Dominion was like watching money burn on screen."
"The first Jurassic World was FINE. If you weren't naive, you knew exactly what you were going to get. It wasn't groundbreaking, it didn't offer any important social commentary, but it did what it intended to do, and it did it well. And then..."
9.Surprisingly good: Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022)
"This was hilarious, a parody of the musician biopic story in the most ridiculous way possible. Shame nobody really watched it, but I can't blame them since the release was pretty quiet."
10.Disappointing: The Dark Tower (2017)
"After having read through the series twice, I took the afternoon off work, purchased some prime seating, and was so jacked to see this movie. I almost walked out I was so disheartened."
"In my headcanon, this movie is not based on Stephen King's work. Title and characters sharing same names is just a coincidence, because no one would ever dare to butcher such magnificent book series and turn it to one bleak movie."
11.Surprisingly good: Pacific Rim (2013)
"Could have been dumb and bad, but it was dumb and brilliant."
"Yes, it's a stupid premise and cheesy as fuck, but there's a lot of heart there."
12.Disappointing: The Last Airbender (2010)
"I saw that shit opening night, midnight premier, in a packed house. By the midpoint, the entire audience had rebelled. Someone stood up and yelled, 'It's pronounced Sokka, you dumb asshole!' Everyone laughed, and from that point on, it was 100 people group-roasting the movie, not giving a shit, throwing popcorn at the screen, and having conversations about how terrible the movie was."
13.Surprisingly good: The Prestige (2006)
"I've always felt like this film is not 'underrated,' per se, but not talked about enough. It's really a high quality film, but it seems like it's always kind of flown just below the radar."
"That is the ONLY movie I've ever rewatched immediately after watching it the first time."
14.Disappointing: The Many Saints of Newark (2021)
"I was looking forward to this movie so much, especially because James Gandolfini's son was playing Tony. The whole film was all over the place, and I could barely pay attention. Such a disappointment."
"I can usually stomach and sit through bad movies, like Rise of Skywalker for example, but Many Saints was such a disappointment that I couldn’t even finish it. That movie was in the toilet water...disgusting."
15.Surprisingly good: The Cabin in the Woods (2011)
"Holy hell, that is one of my favorite horror movies! And how it also kind of pokes fun at the genre. IDK man, I just love it."
"Absolutely! I didn't know anything about it before I watched it, and I expected another campy slasher-type film, which I don't mind every now and then. But I was pleasantly surprised and blown away by how good it was."
16.Disappointing: Suicide Squad (2016)
"That first trailer looked epic, quite dark like the Batman movies. Then, the movie itself ended up being cheesy garbage."
"When it first came out, I was hellbent on seeing that movie. After it ended, I was feeling nauseous. It's ranked high in my list of mistakes."
17.Surprisingly good: School of Rock (2003)
"The absolute best return on expectations versus actual product has got to be School of Rock for me. There is no reason on this earth why that movie should work so well and be so funny. It is an all-time worst premise, and they don't even carry it off in the script much better than an episode of Three's Company. And yet, the movie is completely delightful. I've even rewatched it a few times and still love it."
18.Disappointing: Eragon (2006)
"This book is so popular! Let’s ignore everything about the source material, wrap it up in 80 minutes, and make it a love story."
"Fuck this movie!! I was so pissed off when I saw it. Another instance where people making the movie should actually read the damn books."
19.Surprisingly good: The Equalizer (2014)
"Never thought Denzel would portray such a badass character. Gotta love that last scene."
20.And finally, disappointing: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
"Without question, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. I know making movies is hard work, and I never really like to bash the work of filmmakers. But I consider Rise of Skywalker to be a genuine sin."
"What a mess of a movie."
Which movies did you find surprisingly good or extremely disappointing? LMK in the comments below!
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
