Top 10 Bad Movies with Good IMDb Ratings

Script written by Michael Wynands

Top 10 Bad Movies with Good IMDb Ratings

Every dog has its day, and every movie has its fans. Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the Top 10 Bad Movies with Good IMDB Ratings.

For this list, we’ll be looking at movies that were poorly received by critics, but which have nonetheless scored reasonably high scores on IMDB, where the rankings are based on user ratings and reviews. Also, make sure to pay close attention for clues throughout the video to see if you can guess our number one before the big reveal!

#10: “Suicide Squad” (2016)

For many viewers, “Suicide Squad” was everything it needed to be - mindless fun featuring familiar faces in comic book roles, plenty of action, and a healthy dose of wisecracks. And so it got 6.1 on IMDB. Critics however, were merciless, and it’s hard to fault them. The pacing was awful, the marketing misleading, the character development was paper thin and the antagonists sorely disappointing. For fans of the comic book team, this felt like a shadow of the property’s incredible potential. A prison setting may have worked for “The Shawshank Redemption”, but as this and our number one entry prove, it’s far from a sure thing.

#9: "Sweet November" (2001)

Death makes people do crazy things. Keep that in mind, it’ll come up again. This 2001 romantic drama has a lot of curb appeal with Charlize Theron and Keanu Reeves in the starring roles. From the way Reeves’ character, Nelson, holds Theron’s Sara in the poster, you’d be forgiven for thinking this is going to be your run-of-the-mill romance. But trust us, what you get is far more problematic. Critics tore the film apart deriding both its saccharine sweetness and its basic concept - a terminally ill cancer patient staying with different men for one month at a time to heal their emotional issues. It’s got a 6.7 on IMDB, but a measly 15% on Rotten Tomatoes.

#8: “National Lampoon’s Van Wilder” (2002)

Honestly, any number of gross-out sex comedies could have taken this spot, but we chose “Van Wilder” for two reasons. First, it has a noticeably large gap between critical reviews and viewer reviews, and second, we kinda remember having a soft spot for it too. Sporting a paltry 19% on Rotten Tomatoes, yet a decent 6.4 on IMDB, “Van Wilder” won over audience with the charming performance of its irresistible lead, Ryan Reynolds, who plays a university student too in love with campus life to want to graduate. Gross out gags abound and the humor is painfully adolescent, but hey, sometimes that’s all a person wants.

#7: “Warcraft” (2016)

The video game curse… it’s real and this film is arguably the strongest piece of evidence. Evidence plus action… why does that ring a bell? Anyways, “Warcraft” had a solid budget, a talented and proven director, a built-in audience, and a solid cast. And it still couldn’t break the curse. It did fine at the box office internationally, but critics were not impressed. Filmmaker Duncan Jones did his best to mine the mythology, but it all felt too heavy-handed. Warcraft works as a game, but on the big screen, it plays out as cheesy. Clearly fans felt differently. While critics gave it an RT score of 28%, it rocks a solid 6.9 on IMDB.

#6: “A Dog’s Purpose” (2017)

We honestly thought that this film was sunk the moment footage went viral of a stunt dog in distress. The movie certainly sank like a stone with critics, who called it both overly sweet and emotionally manipulative. For viewers however, the heartwarming story of the relationship between man and man’s best friend is seemingly an insurmountable force, capable of weathering any amount of bad press. While critical reception landed it with 34% on Rotten Tomatoes, the tale of canine reincarnation scores big on IMDB where user ratings give it a 7 on 10.

#5: “The Punisher” (2004)

Take a man’s family away from him and you will unleash his wrath upon the world - that’s a lesson that applies to more than one film on our list. If there’s one thing that this 2004 film got right, it was casting Thomas Jane as the Punisher. Apparently for many viewers this was enough to earn the film a 6.5 on IMDB. If we’re being honest though, pretty much every other aspect of this film felt mishandled, from the supporting cast to John Travolta’s role as the villainous Howard Saint. We can understand the cult following, but given the film’s overall quality, we’re not surprised that it made little impact at the box office.

#4: “Chasing Mavericks” (2012)

Honestly… we’d never even heard of this movie before doing the research. But Gerard Butler in the leading role sure caught our attention. Man has that guy been in a lot of movies. Anyhoo, “Chasing Mavericks” only scored a 32% on the Tomatometer based on the reviews of critics, but on IMDB, it boasts a score of 7.2 with a whopping 28,400 user ratings. While the critics called it underwhelming and found fault with the script, IMDB reviewers wax poetic about the film’s many virtues. Maybe it’s a surfing thing - you need to be in the know to appreciate this story. Or maybe viewers and critics just appreciate different things.

#3: “August Rush” (2007)

What is it with bad movies having a month in the title? That’s NOT a clue, we’re honestly just curious. If you’ve got a soft spot for extra sweet, sentimental tales about the power of music you might love this film. Freddie Highmore does a solid job as Evan, a talented orphan who lives and breathes music and dreams of finding his parents. With Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Robin Williams and Terrence Howard rounding out the cast, Highmore is in good company. Unfortunately a cast this talented deserved a better film. It has 7.5 on IMDB, but we tend to agree with critics and the 37% on Rotten Tomatoes.

#2: “The Longest Ride” (2015)

Nothing divides critics and cinemagoers quite like a Nicholas Sparks’ movie. If we’re being honest, “The Longest Ride” is far less emotionally manipulative than some other adaptations of his work, but that doesn’t necessarily make it a good film. Regardless, we get how it scored 7.1 on IMDB. “The Longest Ride” tells a pair of love stories separated by generations; the leading actors, Scott Eastwood and Britt Robertson are undeniably easy on the eyes; and the presence of award-winning actor Alan Alda is certainly welcome. But as our top entry proves, having an award-winner in a prominent role doesn’t guarantee a quality film. The 30% RT score feels a little more objective.

#1: “Law Abiding Citizen” (2009)

Sooooo… did you get it? A prison setting? A father, driven over the edge by the death of his family embarks on a one man mission of vengeance? In this action thriller, the omnipresent Gerard Butler’s Clyde Shelton squares off against the award-winning Jamie Foxx as Attorney Nick Rice. Evidence plays a key role in this cat and mouse game, but unfortunately, not enough logic. The idea of Clyde continuing his mission of vigilante justice from behind bars might make for a jaw-dropping reveal, but it’s also completely absurd. Fans give it a 7.4 on IMDB, but critics did NOT like the film, and that 26% score on Rotten Tomatoes feels pretty well-deserved.