How much do Rotten Tomatoes (or critics') ratings influence you?

[Skipper]

Hi everyone! This is my firt post, so, please, be gentle with me.

Recently, a dear friend of mine that I haven't seen in a long time, invited me to see Cell. I was just glad to have the chance to see her, so the movie wasn't really important. But just for curiosity´s sake I checked on Rotten Tomatoes and...

Some comment:

This aggravating, confusing zombie thriller now has the dishonor of being arguably the worst movie ever made based on a Stephen King novel.

What makes this movie about a zombie attack different from any other movie about a zombie attack? Nothing but its ineptitude.

Oh, so THAT'S why Cell was forgotten and pushed under the rug...

So it wasn't even a "so-bad-that-it's-good-movie", but a "so-bad-that-it's-bad" movie. My initial enthusiasm waned a little bit (also considering that I had not even seen GhostBusters and Star Trek Beyond yet). I tried to convince her to see another movie, or just to so something else. But she was adamant

I was quite conflicted because I become a little cantankerous when I have to spend money to see a movie that I know it's bad , but I really wanted to see her. Thankfully she had a mishap so we had to postpone our meeting and when we had the chance to see each other again, the movie was mercifully gone (for the record, we saw Star Trek Beyond )

Sorry for my rather lengthy introduction , but the question is: what would you do in a similar situation? And how important are critics' reviews when you have to decide whether to see a movie that you aren't particulary interested in?

 

[Gepard]

[T]he question is: what would you do in a similar situation?

I'd go see the movie. The chance to see an old friend is too important to pass up, IMO. Plus a movie with this low a critic and audience score has to be so-bad-it's-good.

And how important are critics' reviews when you have to decide whether to see a movie that you aren't particulary interested in?

Fairly important. Tickets aren't cheap so if it's a movie I'm on the fence about and it has a low score in general I'm not going to see it. (Exceptions like your situation aside, of course.)

 

[Skipper]

I'd go see the movie. The chance to see an old friend is too important to pass up, IMO.

Yep. To tell the truth, I almost gave out and I was going to see the movie.

Plus a movie with this low a critic and audience score has to be so-bad-it's-good. QUOTE]
I'm note sure about that. It isn't an indipendent or a low budget movie. It's a typical Hollywood flick just ineptly done.

 

[auntiehill]

If a friend REALLY wanted to see a movie, and asked me to go with her, I would go. Granted, if the movie was THAT bad, I'd probably heckle from my seat, make jokes about how bad it is, etc, basically just MST3K the thing in order to get some entertainment value from it.

Normally, if I was choosing a film for just hubby and I to go see on the weekend, the reviews do indeed a play a big part in my decision. If I REALLY want to see a movie and then find out it has a truly horrible Rotten Tomatoes score, it would definitely change my mind. There are so many movies and shows I want to see but not enough time, or money, to see all of them. If I am pretty sure it's going to suck--and suck HARD--I will pass. Life is too short to waste on crappy films.

 

[Skipper]

^sorry, I made a mistake and I don't know how the edit the post! My answer was:

Plus a movie with this low a critic and audience score has to be so-bad-it's-good.

I'm note sure about that. It isn't an indipendent or a low budget movie. It's a typical Hollywood flick just ineptly done.

(How can I edit a post of mine?!?)

 

[HaventGotALife]

I read a movie synopsis, not reviews. I have read enough of them in my 32 years on this planet, to generally understand if the movie is up my alley, or not. I find movies, and when they are released, on the internet. There's plenty of sites that tell you what is coming up. I have found movies like "The Man Who Knew Infinity" and "A Little Chaos" this way. I might watch a trailer, but I generally stay away from reviews. I don't want someone else's opinion, to cloud my own. I find that studios--just from going to the movies and seeing the credits--that I am drawn to. "Working Title," "BBC Films," "The Weinstein Company," "Focus Features," are just some of the studios that I am drawn to, for some reason.

 

[auntiehill]

^sorry, I made a mistake and I don't know how the edit the post! My answer was:

I'm note sure about that. It isn't an indipendent or a low budget movie. It's a typical Hollywood flick just ineptly done.

(How can I edit a post of mine?!?)

Next to your name, on the bottom of the post, it should say: Edit Delete Report. Click on Edit.

HOWEVER, if you are really a brand new poster, you may not have privileges yet. Give it time.

 

[Tosk]

My first thought was, "Not in the slightest" but I'll admit that a zero rating would give me pause. Generally speaking though, I have enjoyed several movies that are regarded as crummy* so I don't trust other opinions a lot of the time, both professional critic and general public.

*Waterworld, The Cable Guy, Hudson Hawk, Last Action Hero, etc.

 

[Aragorn]

If I want to watch a movie I'll watch it, good or bad review. Bad reviews don't keep me away and good reviews don't make me want to see something I otherwise wouldn't see. Maybe I won't go to the movie theater and pay to see something that's 1% on RT if I didn't have much interest beforehand, but considering how quickly movies go from the theater to home use, I'll probably end up watching it eventually anyway.

However, in this day and age of internet critics, I suspect many of them are easily swayed by the masses and will give a review to match the majority. Every single review anywhere online that gets a lot of traffic, whether it be movies, video games or TV shows, there's always someone who loses his mind over the review not matching his opinion or expectation. "How dare you give this game a 9.0 when it's clearly a 9.25?" "You're an idiot and I hope you die because The Last Airbender is going to be awesome and you don't know what you're talking about!" How many of them do you think do their own reviews?

 

[stoneroses]

Not that much

 

[Jedi_Master]

Rotten Tomatoes is only useful if it supports my subjective opinion.

 

[Pondwater]

None. If it is something I want to see, I go out and see it. The posters, description and kind of movie would influence me more.

 

[Jedi_Master]

I have found that the more critics hate a movie, the more likely it is that I will enjoy it.

 

[Spot's Meow]

I don't pay attention to ratings at all. Of course, I only see about 2-3 movies a year in the theater, and they are ones that I am already 95% sure I will like, such as a new film in a franchise (Star Wars, Star Trek) or a Pixar/Disney film. I guess I don't care so much about seeing old friends, because if they proposed an activity that I didn't want to do then I just wouldn't go. I guess that's why I don't get invited often. Works for me!

 

[Skipper]

Next to your name, on the bottom of the post, it should say: Edit Delete Report. Click on Edit.

HOWEVER, if you are really a brand new poster, you may not have privileges yet. Give it time.

I suppose that I have to wiat for the 14 posts and 14 days thing...:

My first thought was, "Not in the slightest" but I'll admit that a zero rating would give me pause. Generally speaking though, I have enjoyed several movies that are regarded as crummy* so I don't trust other opinions a lot of the time, both professional critic and general public.

*Waterworld, The Cable Guy, Hudson Hawk, Last Action Hero, etc.

Really, those aren't bad movies, just underperformed of a little disappointing.
RT ratings:
Waterworld: 42%
The Cable Guy: 54%
Hudson Hawk: 26%
Last Action Hero (loved it!): 37%

Still a lot better than 0%...

I guess I don't care so much about seeing old friends, because if they proposed an activity that I didn't want to do then I just wouldn't go. I guess that's why I don't get invited often. Works for me!

It's a win-win situation!

This is the list of film with a 0% rating on RT for the last three years. Has anyone seen any of these?

Cabin Fever 2016
Sundown 2016
Term Life 2016
The Faith of Anna Waters 2016
Precious Cargo 2016
Cell 2016
Muck 2015
The Walking Deceased 2015
The Sea of Trees 2015
Backgammon 2015
Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser 2015
No Stranger Than Love 2015
L.A. Slasher 2015
Chloe and Theo 2015
Any Day 2015
See You in Valhalla 2015
Christmas Eve 2015
The Ridiculous 6 2015
Extraction 2015
A Haunting in Cawdor 2015
All Roads Lead to Rome 2015
All Roads Lead to Rome

 

[Skipper]

^I forgot to remove the formatting so the list is a little messed.... sorry.

 

[Skipper]

Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever has a 0% rating with ONE HUNDRED SIXTEEN reviews!
This is must the be the worst movie in history. Now I want to see it!

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[auntiehill]

^Psst! Triple posting is a no-no.

 

[Hugo Rune]

I have a cinema pass - watch what you want, however many times you want for £17 a month.

So, I watch a lot more flicks at the cinema than most people given the horrendous prices over here.

But, still, even if it's a type of film I would typically enjoy, if 110 out of 200 people don't like it, I'm likely to give it a miss.

I have found that little that is released these days (to the masses, main cinemas/theatres) actually that entertaining. I find most of the Hollywood products to be diverting at best, be they scored at 55% or 95% on something like RT

So I take RT and combine it with glancing over Metacritic and if the consensus is "fair" to "excellent", I'll give it a go and hope it diverts enough to not begrudge using the 2 hours of my life. But I find at the under 55% mark I slip from "well that wasn't too bad" into "should I just get up and have a wander around town instead?"

What I find remarkable are those people who go to the cinema with little or no knowledge about what they are seeing - from the dad complaining to the staff that BvS was too nasty for his 4 year old son (no shit Sherlock), to the mum at Secret Life of Pets who said "Well, I thought Pixars films were meant to be good for grown ups too". Who spends £11 per ticket, taking the entire family to a showing of a film they clearly know nothing about. THAT is a significant why I read reviews, to grasp whether the film will be a style I like and to glean a little bit about it.

Hugo - they're bonkers I tells ya, bonkers

 

[Timewalker]

I don't care what critics say, whether they're on TV, in the newspaper, or online. The only person whose opinion matters as far as movie-viewing decisions are concerned is myself.

If people want to recommend a movie to me, fine. Maybe I'll check it out, and maybe not. But critics' opinions are irrelevant.