8 Adventure Movies Critics Love That Regular People Just Shrugged At. Pick a Side.

Critics handed these out like gold stars. Regular people walked out going 'eh.' I picked a side on every one. Sometimes the shruggers were right.

Number one made over a billion dollars and people still act like it's a crime.

1. 8
   Superman Returns (2006)5.3

   Audiences win this one. Critics graded the homage, not the movie.

   A reported $223M budget for $391M worldwide and a lot of staring at the sky. Critics gave it a 72 Metacritic. A 6.1 IMDb is the more honest grade.
2. 7
   War of the Worlds (2005)5.3

   Critics win. The opening attack is Spielberg at full panic.

   A B+ CinemaScore and $603.9M worldwide says people showed up and liked it fine. The shrug is about the ending, which we will not discuss here.
3. 6
   Ad Astra (2019)5.4

   Critics, barely. Stunning space, Brad Pitt whispering into the void.

   83% on Rotten Tomatoes, but audiences beat just 28% of movies on our scale. It's a dad-issues therapy session with a reported $80M to $100M budget.
4. 5
   The Northman (2022)6.5

   Critics are right. This is the Viking movie, period.

   90% on Rotten Tomatoes and an 82 Metacritic, then a B CinemaScore and $75.9M worldwide on a reported $70M. People wanted a superhero and got mud.
5. 4
   Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)4.8

   Audiences win. A 77% for this was critics being polite.

   It made $786.6M worldwide, so everybody went. Then they left with a B CinemaScore and a 6.2 IMDb. The fedora did most of the heavy lifting.
6. 3
   Annihilation (2018)6.0

   Critics win by a mile. Audiences got this one wrong.

   88% on Rotten Tomatoes, a C CinemaScore, $43.1M worldwide. That C is the wrongest grade on this list. The shimmer alone is worth the ticket.
7. 2
   Noah (2014)3.9

   Critics, kinda. It's nuts, and nuts is the point.

   Audiences beat only 11% of movies on our scale and slapped it with a C CinemaScore. Rock giants in a Bible epic will do that. Still made $359.2M worldwide.
8. 1
   Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)7.2

   Critics were right. The internet was just louder.

   91% on Rotten Tomatoes, an A CinemaScore, $1.33B worldwide. Opening night loved it. Then 729,547 IMDb voters dragged it to a 6.8. The casino detour still drags, though.

$53.87 says the comments turn into a Last Jedi war by lunch and nobody defends Crystal Skull.

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Current mood: ready to fight about it