10 Movies Much Better Than The One Thing You Remember Them For

Giving credit where credit is due.

Les Grossman Tropic Thunder Tom Cruise
DreamWorks

It's quite difficult to come out of a movie and judge it as a full, beginning-to-end experience. We're naturally more inclined to remember key moments or sequences, and more often than not, it's these bits that inform our opinion of the movie overall.

And while that doesn't necessarily make these standout moments bad, it does mean that the rest of the movie's runtime can go without the high praise it might deserve.

What does everyone talk about after they watch Inception? Whether Cobb's spinning top actually fell over or not. Se7en? The "what's in the booox!" scene, and the grisly revelation it results in. The Silence Of The Lambs? Anthony Hopkins' electric, Oscar-winning performance. Sometimes, these parts of a movie are all people will remember, leaving many other great scenes, acting displays, or other areas criminally - and unfairly - underappreciated.

We're all guilty of this, and more than likely, you too define one of the following movies by their one standout aspect, whether that's a single scene or a laughably bad performance. Just don't forget how good the rest of it is!

10. Split

Les Grossman Tropic Thunder Tom Cruise
Universal Pictures

What You Remember It For: The Unbreakable twist

The fact that M. Night Shyamalan's Split is a sequel to his 2000 superhero drama, Unbreakable, is a completely disposable fact when you assess the movie as a whole. And yet, it's basically the only thing people take away from it.

The closing scene - featuring Bruce Willis returning to play his Unbreakable character, David Dunn - which is very cool, could be removed entirely, and it wouldn't change a thing. All it does is make people who are familiar with Unbreakable excited about the future of the franchise, and leaves rookies scratching their heads. Either way, the other 99 percent of Split ends up being forgotten.

But it deserves a heck of a lot of praise. Here, Shyamalan proves that his earlier films weren't flukes, demonstrating his knack for blending spooky thrills with relatable characters who are developed in interesting ways. Plus, James McAvoy turns in a performance that wouldn't have looked out of place on the Best Actor Oscar nominations list. He's that good.

By its very nature, this final twist does make the rest of the movie feel slightly less notable. It makes you wonder if Split would have been better served with subtle sequel hints peppered throughout, rather than having Bruce Willis' cameo define the whole experience for many.

Contributor
Contributor

WhoCulture Channel Manager/Doctor Who Editor at WhatCulture. Can confirm that bow ties are cool.