10 Critical Flops That Are Actually Misunderstood Masterpieces

As has been proven multiple times throughout the history of film criticism as a profession and cinema as an art form, film critics don’t always get it right. Over the years, there have been multiple instances of a movie being hated (or at least disliked) by critics upon release, but eventually being re-evaluated and acquiring universally accepted “masterpiece” status. Plenty of worthy movies, however, remain misunderstood in 2025.

From modern cult classics like Southland Tales to slightly older gems that still haven’t had their full redemption like Showgirls, there’s no shortage of critically panned movies that are actually masterpieces waiting to be recognized as such. Whether that day will ever come remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: Critics were way off on these.

10

‘Shrek Forever After’ (2010)

Directed by Mike Mitchell

For anyone who has been on the Internet at any point during the last decade, Shrek and the hyper-successful franchise that it spawned should need no introduction. All memes aside, however, it—as well as its arguably superior sequel, Shrek 2—unironically remains one of the best and most influential animated films of the 2000s. Then came the apocalyptic disaster known as Shrek the Third, and all progress made up to that point went straight down the drain.

Largely as a result of Shrek the Third, audiences were overly hostile toward its sequel, Shrek Forever After. Though generally agreed to be better than its predecessor, it was nevertheless panned by critics and viewers alike. In recent years, DreamWorks Animation fans have come to realize that, despite its bad reputation, it’s actually pretty close to the level of quality of Shrek and Shrek 2. Funny, surprisingly dark-toned, and beautifully heartfelt, Shrek Forever After is just as brilliantly parodic and full of charm as the two originals.

9

‘Southland Tales’ (2006)

Directed by Richard Kelly

Richard Kelly is a historic figure in the world of cult cinema, as his Donnie Darko was largely responsible for reviving the midnight-screening-loving cult circuit after the slumber it went through during the 1990s. Fans were hoping that whatever he directed next would be just as smart, entertaining, and memorable. They instead got in Southland Tales something vastly different from their expectations.

Critics called the film “incoherent and unpolished,” and it seems that, in doing so, they completely missed the point of this terribly overhated gem. The film’s cult following loves its delightful blend of radical satire and chaotic tonal shifts, praising its fever-dream feel instead of critiquing it. It’s precisely because it’s so maximalist and disorienting that Southland Tales can be considered a masterpiece with sociopolitical messages that have terrifyingly aged like fine wine.

8

‘Jennifer’s Body’ (2009)

Directed by Karyn Kusama

Upon release, Jennifer’s Body was derided by critics and audiences alike. They hated that it was a not-particularly-scary horror movie, that it was a not-very-joke-centric comedy, and that it was too campy to be a “respectable” film, yet too serious to be an exploitation classic. Today, the film’s large cult following would agree that these critics and viewers missed the point of the movie to the nth degree.

Jennifer’s Body has been through such a radical re-evaluation throughout the late 2010s and the 2020s that many people now consider it one of the best horror comedies of the 2000s. Feminist to the bone, gleefully campy, dripping with rightful female rage, and masterfully in control of the tropes of the various genres that it seeks to subvert, Jennifer’s Body is one of the most misunderstood horror flicks of the 21st century.

7

‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest’ (2006)

Directed by Gore Verbinski

Before Disney made Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, they had only tried their hand at turning one of their theme park rides into a movie once before, and never with as much success or notoriety as with the Oscar-nominated sea-faring swashbuckler. When its first sequel came out, though, critics weren’t exactly delighted.

However, fans loved—and still love—Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. It’s the most action-packed Pirates movie, full of breathtaking set pieces, compelling character development, jaw-dropping CGI, and amazing Hans Zimmer music. Critics felt that its 2-and-a-half-hour runtime made the story feel overstuffed and overproduced, but that epic scale is precisely what makes this such an irresistibly entertaining adventure film.

6

‘Showgirls’ (1995)

Directed by Paul Verhoeven

From RoboCop to Starship Troopers, Dutch filmmaker Paul Verhoeven is no stranger to making films that go on to become cult classics, but Showgirls is easily the most misunderstood of the bunch. One of the most essential NC-17 movies ever made, it soon became a midnight-screening cult classic embraced most particularly by the LGBTQ+ community.

Similarly to how Starship Troopers was hated by many critics who misunderstood its being a satire, Showgirls was also panned by people who not only didn’t vibe with its dark satirical tone, but just didn’t even get it to begin with. Deemed “so bad it’s good” by some, absurdly camp and genuinely great by others, Showgirls stirs up the kinds of conversations that only the biggest cult masterpieces are able to.

5

‘Miami Vice’ (2006)

Directed by Michael Mann

Highly acclaimed for his work on films like Heat and Collateral, Michael Mann is one of the most legendary action and thriller filmmakers working today. As such, it’s all the more shocking that Miami Vice remains one of his most critically panned films, despite the fact that the cult following that it has garnered over the years considers it one of his best.

Even critics who hated the movie agreed that it was phenomenally shot, but aside from that, they hated a tone that they felt was self-serious, a narrative that they felt was clichéd, a style-substance balance that they felt leaned much more toward the former. There’s no other way to put it: They got it all wrong. Gritty, expressive, with an unforgettable pair of lead performances by Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx, and visually groundbreaking, Miami Vice is one of Mann’s best.

4

‘Speed Racer’ (2008)

Directed by Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski

The Wachowskis are, of course, best known for The Matrix and its sequels, but, as it happens, it isn’t the only action masterpiece on their resume. One of the most underrated action movies of the 21st century, Speed Racer is based on Tatsuo Yoshida‘s anime series of the same title, and it was stuck in development hell since the early ’90s, until the Wachowskis finally came along.

Although critics initially called the film’s visuals “headache-inducing” and the storyline incoherent, the movie quickly found a niche cult following that would still confidently call it the most fun racing movie of all time. The psychedelic visuals are an abstract blast of fun from start to finish, the cast is fantastic, and the story is a surprisingly well-written feel-good story. What, exactly, critics failed to see in 2008 is unclear, but Speed Racer has aged like the finest of wines.

3

‘Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End’ (2007)

Directed by Gore Verbinski

Dead Man’s Chest was a phenomenal sequel to the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie, but the third installment in the series, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, remains many fans’ favorite outing. Bigger, longer, darker, and infinitely more exciting than everything that came before, it had the third-biggest Memorial Day opening weekend in movie history, which isn’t the least bit surprising.

Critics hated the movie for the same reasons they hated Dead Man’s Chest: They felt that it was overlong and overstuffed to the point of being incomprehensible. The film’s high audience scores on both Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic, though, would indicate otherwise. In actuality, At World’s End is by far one of the best adventure movies that Disney has ever produced, with a stunning epic tone, tons of heart, and admirable ambition.

2

‘Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths’ (2022)

Directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu

After 2014’s Birdman and 2015’s The Revenant, Mexican filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu was a four-time Oscar winner. As such, a lot was expected of whatever he did next. As it happens, that turned out to be Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths, the director’s long-awaited return to his native country, a semi-autobiographical epic clearly inspired by the likes of Federico Fellini and Luis Buñuel.

Many critics called Bardo awfully pretentious and self-indulgent, which feels like an awfully cynical way to view this massively intimate, vulnerable, and idea-filled masterpiece of pure creativity and unbridled existentialism. It’s one of the most essential Mexican films of the 2020s so far, wondrously crafted by an auteur at the top of his game. Idiosyncratic, emotional, surreal, and utterly intoxicating, Bardo is nothing if not misunderstood.

1

‘Babylon’ (2022)

Directed by Damien Chazelle

Usually, it takes poorly-rated films quite a long while to become cult classics. Thus, it’s even more admirable that Damien Chazelle‘s Babylon could quite reasonably already be called one of the 2020s’ biggest and best cult gems. Where critics saw an overwhelming, tiresome, chaotic mess, cinephiles saw an unconventionally dark and honest love letter to the cinematic art form.

Far from being a romanticized homage to movies, Babylon is an epic, long, gritty, and often grotesque dissection of the film industry and the way it interacts with cinema as a concept and a medium. Decadent, excessive, visually lavish, with some exceptional music and some unforgettable performances, Babylon is one of the decade’s biggest masterpieces so far. It’s certainly an easy movie to hate, but those with the stomach for its thought-provoking yet grisly style are in for the ride of a lifetime.

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