It’s difficult to come up with a compelling story, cast the right people, and pull it all together in a movie that works. The reason why great movies stand out is that they’re surrounded by disappointing duds. But it’s rare that a movie – even a bad one – has nothing to offer.
Movies that received negative reviews from critics and were dismissed by audiences, like Star Wars prequels, tend to have at least one great scene. In some cases, that scene alone is worth the price of ission.
Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice - The Opening Scene
On the whole, Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman is let down by a bloated runtime, aimless universe-building, and a jar of pee in the Supreme Court. It received almost universally negative reviews, with a 29% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but its opening scene introducing Ben Affleck’s Bruce Wayne is spectacular.
It offers a ground-level perspective of the controversial final battle from Man of Steel and perfectly characterizes Bruce. While terrified civilians flee from the chaos, Bruce runs into it to help out anybody he can. This sequence brilliantly establishes why Bruce has a grudge against Superman (and he has a valid point).
Knowing - The Plane Crash
With an abysmal 34% score on Rotten Tomatoes, the sci-fi thriller Knowing wasn’t particularly well-received by critics. Going off a ludicrous premise, it doesn’t really hold up as a whole.
But it has an isolated set-piece that works spectacularly. A plane crashes over a highway and Nicolas Cage realizes the encrypted code he stumbled across is a series of premonitions of future events. This sequence is seriously intense as a handheld camera follows Cage into the burning wreckage of the crash.
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace - Duel Of The Fates
George Lucas’ first Star Wars prequel, The Phantom Menace, was wildly polarizing, as demonstrated by its down-the-middle 52% Rotten Tomatoes score. But after getting through Jar Jar Binks’ antics, The Phantom Menace culminates in one of the saga’s most jaw-dropping lightsaber duels between Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, and Darth Maul.
A case could be made that The Phantom Menace actually has two great scenes. The podracing sequence in which Anakin and his closest competitors race 700km/h pods around a dangerous track on Tatooine is also a thrilling and visually stunning set-piece.
Rocky V - Rocky Balboa Vs. Tommy Gunn
For the most part, Rocky franchise. Its 30% Rotten Tomatoes score is by far the lowest in the series. But the climactic fight is breathtaking.
Hotshot young fighter Tommy Gunn, played by real-life boxer Tommy Morrison, goads a past-his-prime Rocky into a brutal street brawl that Balboa only manages to win after hearing the voice of his old mentor Mickey.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine - The Opening War Montage
The first X-Men Origins: Wolverine, was met with overwhelmingly negative reviews and a 37% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Still, its opening montage sets the stage for Wolvie’s standalone adventures beautifully.
Logan and his mutant half-brother Victor Creed spend their ageless decades fighting in various wars, including the American Civil War, both World Wars, and the Vietnam War. Based on this sequence, Fox should’ve just done a whole movie of Wolverine fighting in Vietnam or World War II instead of a generic, formulaic origin story.
The Matrix Reloaded - The Freeway Chase
After the first Matrix movie was lauded as a groundbreaking achievement in blockbuster cinema, its back-to-back sequels didn’t fare so well. The Matrix Reloaded was labeled one of “The 25 Worst Sequels Ever Made” by Entertainment Weekly.
But, while the sequel lacks the original’s tight storytelling and thought-provoking themes, it has plenty of its action-packed spectacle. One sequence in particular that stacks up next to the first film’s lobby shootout is the freeway chase. Trinity zips her motorcycle in and out of traffic while Morpheus fights two tough-as-nails twins on the roof of a moving truck.
Ghost Ship - Everybody Gets Decapitated
The opening scene of Ghost Ship would make a fantastic horror short. On an Italian ocean liner in 1962, a little girl is invited to dance with the captain. Suddenly, a loose wire cord sweeps the dancefloor, decapitating everybody except the girl.
With the rest of the movie tagged onto it, Ghost Ship was panned by critics with a measly 16% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but this is undoubtedly one of the most terrifying horror openings of all time.
The Ridiculous 6 - The Invention Of Baseball
Adam Sandler kicked off his slew of Netflix comedies with The Ridiculous 6, a western spoof that was met with a rare 0% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. For the most part, the movie relies on tired gags and slapstick humor.
But there’s one hilarious bit involving John Turturro cameoing as Abner Doubleday, the supposed inventor of baseball. In the scene, Doubleday spontaneously makes up all the rules that will be followed for centuries just to make sure he’ll win that particular game.
The Man With The Golden Gun - The Final Duel
Out of Roger Moore’s seven James Bond movies, The Man with the Golden Gun is considered to be one of the weakest. The Moore movies followed genre trends, and this one is an homage to then-popular martial arts movies. Christopher Lee’s Scaramanga, the anti-Bond who considers 007 to be the ultimate prey, is a great villain who’s squandered in a lackluster movie.
But despite the shaky points in the movie’s storytelling, it culminates in a delightfully subversive finale. Most Bond movies end with a huge battle sequence, but The Man with the Golden Gun’s climactic sequence is a one-on-one duel between Bond and Scaramanga.
Spider-Man 3 - Sandman Is Born
The arrival of both Venom and New Goblin overstuffs the threequel’s first villain, the Sandman, is deeply sympathetic. He turns to a life of crime to pay for his terminally ill daughter’s treatments, and ends up being imbued with sand-based superpowers after stumbling into an experiment while on the run.
His DNA being fused with sand might be ridiculous from a scientific standpoint, but watching a guy realize he’s now made of sand is still heartbreaking. He tries to pick up a locket containing a picture of his daughter’s face, but it keeps slipping through the sand.
