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

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 40%

Consensus: "Roland Emmerich's 2012 provides plenty of visual thrills, but lacks a strong enough script to support its massive scope and inflated length."

2012 has been a critical punching bag ever since its release, especially among general audiences, and is often seen as a monument to stupidity, but in fact it's not quite as dumb as you remember. It's utterly ridiculous, but there are some neat touches that lighten the load.

2012 is a surprisingly dark apocalyptic movie and this actually works rather well. It looks at how the governments of the world would handle an impending apocalypse and the tough decisions they would have to make, which makes this an unexpectedly thought-provoking film. It is ultimately sobering and occasionally depressing, so it's braver than other blockbusters.

2012 is visually stunning and boasts some seriously intense set-pieces, while it also provides the ultimate apocalyptic porn for movie-goers, making this an often-thrilling movie and, as maybe the most explosive disaster movie ever, it does have some novelty value.

It's not great thanks to the weak script, exhausting length and endless plot holes, but it is nevertheless perfectly competent and it's smarter than it's ever given credit for.