If everyone’s thinking alike, somebody isn’t thinking.
If you like movies and have opinions about them, chances are you have at some point decided that all movie critics must be fevicol-eating morons unfit to tie their own shoes based on how they reacted to a movie you loved.
Critics have often panned movies and franchises that have went on to become box-office giants. Here are a few famous franchises that weren’t received well by the critics but fans have welcomed them with open arms.
1. Fast and the Furious
Has there ever been a blockbuster franchise with a history as unique as the Fast and the Furious? The first outing, based on a magazine article, was essentially Point Break in the street racing world, with two poor sequels effectively killing the franchise before the return of the original cast for part four that saw the series hit new commercial heights. The Fast and the Furious is an entertaining genre effort that overcomes its cliched characters by delivering some crunching car chases, wearing its B-movie influences on its sleeve.
2. Underworld
After the original Underworld failed to live up to its potential in 2003, we were hopeful that a sequel would rectify the problems of the first one and deliver the horror and action we so desperately craved. Well, after four installments, we’re still patiently waiting for this series to truly impress us.
3. Pirates of the Caribbean
While the first installment of this famous franchise is iconic, the sequels haven’t really been up to the mark. The majority of its stars have already abandoned ship (no pun intended) and ironically it’s only Depp – the heart of the franchise to begin with – that’s keeping this series afloat (no pun intended again). While Depp is doing really well to get the audiences to come to theatres, critics have unabashedly panned this franchise.
4. Saw
In the span of seven years there were seven Saw movies released in an attempt to take advantage of the horror-craving masses every Halloween. Despite the fact that the first one was actually pretty fresh for American audiences when it came out, each successive chapter in the series got worse and worse as the plots and characters played second fiddle to mindless gore. While critics had already called the franchise dead with the fourth installment, fans kept helping this franchise make money and we kept getting more movies.
5. Transformers
The embodiment of the ‘critic-proof’ franchise, the first three installments grossed well over $2.5 billion worldwide. While the director’s signature brand of explosive pyrotechnics result in plenty of jaw-dropping action scenes across the franchise, everything else about the Transformers movies are sorely lacking.
6. Alice in Wonderland
With a script that neither made sense nor made the kind of nonsense that would have made Lewis Carroll proud, Alice Through the Looking Glass stood out as one of the year’s most unnecessary sequels. But with a cadre of famous faces and a hugely popular intellectual property at its disposal, Disney still churned out a movie that drew in kids and their parents were charmed enough by the first movie to come back for seconds.
7. DC Extended Universe
2016 was the year the DC Cinematic Universe finally got off the ground, leading to palpable excitement around the fledgling franchise’s second and third installments. Fans were thrilled to see fan favorites Batman, Harley Quinn and the Joker brought to vivid life by Ben Affleck, Margot Robbie and Jared Leto. These movies struck out again with critics, but DC fans just didn’t care.
8. The Twilight Saga
The Twilight Saga was a series of literary adaptations seemingly designed for fans of the source material and no-one else. Sparking a cultural phenomenon and making instant stars of Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner, the five movies in the franchise earned well over $3.3 billion at the box office, despite none of them actually being any good.
9. Resident Evil
Alice (Milla Jovovich) has to battle against the evil Umbrella Corporation and its army of monsters and zombies. If that wasn’t interesting enough for you, this franchise comes up with stylized action and violence that makes for the perfect pop-corn entertainment. There’s a specific reason why this franchise continues to entertain fans throughout the world while critics don’t warm up to these – because they revolve around simplistic plots that deliver superlative action set-pieces.
The latest installment of the Resident Evil franchise releases on 3rd February in India. Don’t forget to catch Resident Evil: The Final Chapter in a theatre near you.