15 Critically Mauled Movies (That Aren't Actually That Bad)

5. The Counselor

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 35%

Consensus: "The Counselor raises expectations with its talented cast and creative crew -- then subverts them with a wordy and clumsy suspense thriller that's mercilessly short on suspense or thrills."

Unpopular with nearly everyone, The Counselor suffered from mis-marketing. The marketing sold us a crime thriller and we got a borderline Shakespearean drama instead. People were expecting the wrong thing and the film needs to be judged based on what it actually is.

The Counselor is a slow-paced drama in which characters talk in monologues, while action takes a backseat. If you judge it based on that you've got a film which doesn't quite succeed at its aims, but makes a valiant effort at it.

The screenplay is actually one of the most interesting film scripts in recent memory. It doesn't entirely work, but it defies every screenwriting cliche and contains many interesting philosophical monologues, making for a unique and ultimately affecting narrative tragedy.

The brief outbreaks of violence are entertaining and the cast is mostly strong. The Counselor is perfectly OK and while the scene in which Cameron Diaz has sex with a car was very misjudged, it does have an unforgettable death scene near the end.