Films that Audiences Really Liked That Got Negative Reviews, 2000-2020
I looked for films with an IMDB Rating of 7.3 or higher on at least 30,000 votes, and a Rotten Tomatoes Average Rating less than 5.0, that is, ** out of ****. (All of these are in fact 7.4 or more with 90,000+ ratings and 4.8 at RT or lower, so there's nothing at all borderline.)
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- DirectorJessie NelsonStarsSean PennMichelle PfeifferDakota FanningAn intellectually disabled man fights for custody of his 7-year-old daughter and in the process teaches his cold-hearted lawyer the value of love and family.4.6 at RT. Per Netflix, an emotional tearjerker.
- DirectorAdam ShankmanStarsMandy MooreShane WestPeter CoyoteTwo North Carolina teens, Landon Carter and Jamie Sullivan, are thrown together after Landon gets into trouble and is sentenced to perform community service.4.1 at RT. Netflix: emotional, romantic tearjerker.
- DirectorKurt WimmerStarsChristian BaleSean BeanEmily WatsonIn an oppressive future where all forms of feeling are illegal, a man in charge of enforcing the law rises to overthrow the system and state.4.8 at RT. Netflix: exciting, dark (they do have a "violent" descriptor for mood, but that doesn't fit all films with over-the-top violence). I couldn't get past the first few minutes, which introduced the stupidest sci-fi premise of all time, and then went to a long violent sequence before having established who any of the characters involved were. (It's set in a future in which people in power concluded that having feelings was the source of human difficulties, and outlawed them. This is not the same premise as a future where those in power covertly mute the intensity of feelings to make people more compliant, as in The Giver.)
- DirectorAlan ParkerStarsKevin SpaceyKate WinsletLaura LinneyA man against capital punishment is accused of murdering a fellow activist and is sent to death row.4.2 at RT. Netflix: suspenseful. I correctly guessed the twist ending from the trailer. I'm sure I'm not the only person.
- DirectorEric BressJ. Mackye GruberStarsAshton KutcherAmy SmartMelora WaltersEvan Treborn suffers blackouts during significant events of his life. As he grows up, he finds a way to remember these lost memories and a supernatural way to alter his life by reading his journal.4.8 at RT. However, critics saw the version with the terrible ending imposed on the director by the producers. I think that many or most raters have seen the disk version, which restores the terrific original ending. So this is included just for thoroughness.
- DirectorWayne KramerStarsPaul WalkerCameron BrightChazz PalminteriA low-ranking thug is entrusted by his crime boss to dispose of a gun that killed corrupt cops, but things get out of control when the gun ends up in wrong hands.4.6 at RT. Netflix: gritty, dark. Box-cover blurb: "makes Kill Bill looks like Sesame Street."
- DirectorKirsten SheridanStarsFreddie HighmoreKeri RussellJonathan Rhys MeyersA musically gifted orphan, Evan, runs away from his orphanage and searches New York City for his birth parents. On his journey, he's taken under the wing of the Wizard, a homeless man who lives in an abandoned theater.4.8 at RT. Netflix: emotional, romantic tearjerker.
- DirectorGabriele MuccinoStarsWill SmithRosario DawsonWoody HarrelsonA man with a fateful secret embarks on an extraordinary journey of redemption by forever changing the lives of seven strangers.4.6 at RT. Netflix: emotional, romantic, inspiring tearjerker.
- DirectorF. Gary GrayStarsGerard ButlerJamie FoxxLeslie BibbA frustrated man decides to take justice into his own hands after a plea bargain sets one of his family's killers free.4.3 at RT. Netflix: violent.
That's it. Four shameless tearjerkers, three films with lots of violence that critics found unsatisfying, and one thriller which strikes many viewers as terribly plotted (and which actually has the biggest audience / critic divide).
Note that there have been no films that fit the criterion for a decade. That's very interesting, and probably has something to do with people paying more attention to Rotten Tomatoes.