Actual Score: 12% I know. Believe me... I know. Johnny Depp hasn't made movie magic in many years. Not since his fill-in role for the recently-departed Heath Ledger in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus has Depp proven to be an exciting on-screen presence. His feet are firmly planted in the paycheck-grabbing twilight of his career. And yet, even if Depp were to try breaking out of this funk (as his turn as mob boss "Whitey" Bulger in Black Mass would suggest), would any of us be willing to accept his peace offering? I suspect most of us would still keep him at an arm's distance, for fear of being let down yet again. But calling Mortdecai a letdown is kind of a misnomer, because no one really expected this to be good. Which is why it was in the perfect position to subvert expectations and eventually be recognised for what it is: an impossibly charming throwback to the slapstick stylings of The Pink Panther. One review on RottenTomatoes posits that Mortdecai will become another cult-classic that was unfairly overlooked at the box office, not because of the film itself, but because of the circumstances surrounding it. (In this case, the continual downfall of one of the greatest character actors of his generation.) While I'm not willing to go quite that far, I'll say that Depp's reputation as an edgy, risk-taker needs to die once-and-for-all so that everyone is able to sit back and enjoy his peppy, silly, and yes, tamer performances like these. Adjusted Score: 40%Which other 2015 movies need a Tomatometer reevaluation? Let us know your hidden gems down in the comments.
