There’s a thin line between a “bad” movie and a fun one, and no one understands that better than the internet. This week, a thread blew up after one user asked film fans to reveal their favorite movies, not from the 2025 movie schedule, but the ones that critics absolutely destroyed. What followed was a surprisingly passionate (and often hilarious) defense of films that don’t just have great plots, but are awesome despite most reviewers writing them off decades ago. And, honestly, some of the picks are kind of bangers.
The viral thread began on Reddit’s r/movies subreddit, where user u/disablednerd asked, “What’s your under 20% on Rotten Tomatoes ‘hear me out?’” They kicked things off with Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (18% on RT), calling it “kind of kick-ass” and praising Nicolas Cage’s gloriously unhinged performance. As they put it, “Are you there for the story, or to see Ghost Rider piss fire?”
I don’t share that take, and we gave the sequel a rough 1.5 out of 5 in our Spirit of Vengeance review back in the day. However, the enthusiasm from these fans is undeniable. Also, judging by the comments, plenty of movie aficionados have their own cinematic hill they’re more than happy to die on.
Fans Are Defending Their Favorite Movie Flops
In the thread, there are a ton of great fan picks. Here are some of the flicks shared in the thread:
- The One (2001)
- “The soundtrack is great, the fighting sequences are awesome. 13% on RT, but I rewatch this pretty often.” — u/BonkingOff
- “So much thought was put into the martial arts in this film. The villain is direct and aggressive, so utilizes a martial art called Xing Yi, which moves only in straight lines. The protagonist, by contrast, uses a form called Ba Gua, which moves only in circles. So, even when two Jet Lis are fighting each other, it’s very easy to visually distinguish between them based on their movements.” — u/Galahadenough
- Kung Pow: Enter the Fist (2002)
- “Wow I didn’t realize kung pow was considered dog shit. That was a formative movie for the kids in my neighborhood growing up.” — u/Classic_Knowledge_30
- “To take two unrelated kung fu movies, green screen yourself into them, and make a new story? That’s peak comedy.” — u/LucyBowels
- Joe Dirt (2001)
- “9% is a goddamn atrocity. Say what you want, but this is still a solid watch.” — u/Unlikely-Answer
- “You guys got somethin’ to say about Joe Dirt? Why don’t you say it in the microphone. I got a backup Mike right here. Check one two, testing, testing. Yup, they both workin’ and guess what? They don’t like no feedback, what’s up?” — u/DuaneDibbley
- Out Cold (2001)
- “Out Cold isnt a perfect film but its one of my fav comedies from that era, still rewatch it regularly and introduced me to Zach Galiafanakis. Deserves way better than 8%” — u/billyrivers311
- “God when they spin the car and he wakes up and freaks out is such a great bit of slapstick comedy.” — u/againsterik
- Jumper (2008)
- “Hayden Christensen[‘s] Jumper. Love that movie. 15% Critic and 44% Audience lol” —u/MrConnor212
- “Oh, I loved this movie. I wish they could have made sequels because the premise was so good.” — u/PotatoeRash
- Jingle All the Way (1996)
- “Not a good movie at all, but pure guilty pleasure.” — u/spaceraingame
- “PUT THAT COOKIE DOWN…NOW!” — u/ThalliumSassafras
- Dirty Work (1998)
- “Dirty Work with Norm MacDonald is top 10 ’90s comedy, and I will not hear otherwise.” — u/liulide
- “I’ve never seen so many dead hookers in my life.” — u/twstdbydsn
The thread quickly turned into a full-on celebration of the so-bad-they’re-great genre, movies critics panned but fans grew up loving, quoting, and rewatching for comfort — and I love to see it. Yet where do I stand on these films? Well, I have some strong feelings.
My Take On These Film Picks
I’ll admit, a few of these hit close to home for me, too. Jingle All the Way is absolutely a top-tier Christmas movie and is a yearly tradition in my house. Also, though they’re probably not on my list of best comedies of all time, I still drop Dirty Work quotes without thinking, and, yes, “That’s why Dad calls you Joe Dirt” lives rent-free in my head.
The pick that genuinely surprised me, though, was The One. I could’ve sworn people loved that movie when it came out, so finding out it’s not considered a great martial arts film and sits at just 13% on Rotten Tomatoes was a shock. Still, fans in the thread gave it major respect for its martial arts detail, and honestly, fair enough.
If anything, the thread proves that movie fans are reclaiming the joy of loving what they love … critics be damned. One of my favorite horror films is The Thing, which was famously ripped apart by critics and flopped at the box office, only to become a genre-defining classic. One person’s trash movie really can be another’s gold standard. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m firing up my Peacock subscription to rewatch the Carpenter masterpiece before it leaves the streamer.
