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Sports Movies Fans Loved But Critics Hated

Sports Movies Fans Loved But Critics Hated

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There is, as they say, no accounting for taste, and that axiom is often demonstrated when it comes to the way people feel about motion pictures.

Movie reviews are everywhere these days — in every major newspaper (both on paper and digitally), on TV, on specialty forums like Rotten Tomatoes and iMDb, on YouTube and TikTok…. Some readers devour reviews, using them as guides to films worth spending time and money on. Others might only glance at them, just to glean the basic plot of something they may or may not want to see, or learn who the stars are. Some might never read them at all.

But people who review movies regularly, whether longtime professionals or earnest newcomers to the game, tend to bring critical analysis to their work, based on accumulated knowledge of cinematic history and on their own cultural preferences, and they may not always speak to the tastes of the movie-going public. And it’s the people buying the tickets who are the ultimate arbiters of the medium — not necessarily judging aesthetic merit but favoring films that excite, amuse, or otherwise stimulate them. That’s why it’s not uncommon to find huge gulfs between the ratings given by the pros and those assigned by audiences.

Sports movies are a genre that often sees particularly notable differences of opinion, because they can easily fall into cliché — the troubled athlete who finds salvation by coaching a losing team, that team improbably winning the big game (or losing it but gaining self-respect) — of the kind that critics may scoff at but that viewers often find enthralling and inspiring. (If you do follow the critics and like sports flicks, you should consider this list of the best football movies ever made.)

To determine the sports movies audiences loved but critics hated, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data on audience and critic reception from Rotten Tomatoes. Films were ranked based on the difference between a film’s Tomatometer score — the percentage of professional critic reviews on Rotten Tomatoes that are positive — and average audience score. Only films with at least five critics reviews were considered. Films with audience scores below 70% and Tomatometer scores above 50% were excluded. Cast information is from IMDb.

You’ll find some familiar names in the casts of some of these films — for instance, Sylvester Stallone (represented by “Rocky IV”), Channing Tatum, Adam Sandler, and Morgan Freeman — along with a host of lesser-known performers. Some of the movies here might have escaped your attention altogether, or just not interested you in the first place, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give at least a few of them a try. Forget the critics. It’s what you think that counts.

Scroll down for a list of sports movies fans loved but critics hated:

25. Best of the Best (1989)

Source: Courtesy of Taurus Entertainment Company

Source: Courtesy of Taurus Entertainment Company
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 72% (22,816 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 5% (05 reviews)
  • Starring: Eric Roberts, James Earl Jones, Sally Kirkland

24. BASEketball (1998)

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 74% (196,418 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 52% (52 reviews)
  • Starring: Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Dian Bachar

23. Rocky IV (1985)

Source: Courtesy of MGM/UA Entertainment Company

Source: Courtesy of MGM/UA Entertainment Company
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 75% (325,793 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 48% (48 reviews)
  • Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young

22. She’s the Man (2006)

Source: Courtesy of DreamWorks

Source: Courtesy of DreamWorks
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 79% (607,681 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 114% (114 reviews)
  • Starring: Amanda Bynes, Laura Ramsey, Channing Tatum

21. The Waterboy (1998)

Source: Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures

Source: Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 71% (910,858 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 76% (76 reviews)
  • Starring: Adam Sandler, Kathy Bates, Henry Winkler

20. Chasing Mavericks (2012)

Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 70% (18,991 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 81% (81 reviews)
  • Starring: Jonny Weston, Gerard Butler, Elisabeth Shue

19. Green Street Hooligans (2005)

Source: Courtesy of Freestyle Releasing

Source: Courtesy of Freestyle Releasing
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 87% (219,919 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 64% (64 reviews)
  • Starring: Elijah Wood, Charlie Hunnam, Claire Forlani

18. Stick It (2006)

Source: Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures

Source: Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 73% (320,983 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 99% (99 reviews)
  • Starring: Missy Peregrym, Jeff Bridges, Vanessa Lengies

17. Radio (2003)

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 79% (171,053 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 122% (122 reviews)
  • Starring: Cuba Gooding Jr., Ed Harris, Debra Winger

16. The Football Factory (2004)

The Football Factory (2004) | Tony Denham, Danny Dyer, and Frank Harper in The Football Factory (2004)
Source: "Courtesy

N/A

Source: Courtesy of Vertigo Films
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 83% (57,977 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 8% (08 reviews)
  • Starring: Danny Dyer, Frank Harper, Tamer Hassan

15. The Champ (1979)

Source: Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Source: Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 82% (7,717 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 22% (22 reviews)
  • Starring: Jon Voight, Faye Dunaway, Ricky Schroder

14. Forever Strong (2008)

Source: Neilson Barnard / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

Source: Neilson Barnard / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 75% (9,886 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 21% (21 reviews)
  • Starring: Sean Faris, Penn Badgley, Gary Cole

13. My All-American (2015)

Source: Courtesy of Aviron Pictures

Source: Courtesy of Aviron Pictures
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 77% (3,918 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 45% (45 reviews)
  • Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Finn Wittrock, Robin Tunney

12. The Power of One (1992)

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 87% (9,726 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 18% (18 reviews)
  • Starring: Stephen Dorff, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Morgan Freeman

11. Rad (1986)

Source: Courtesy of TriStar Pictures

Source: Courtesy of TriStar Pictures
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 90% (7,206 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 12% (12 reviews)
  • Starring: Bart Conner, Lori Loughlin, Bill Allen

10. Peaceful Warrior (2006)

Source: Courtesy of DEJ Productions

Source: Courtesy of DEJ Productions
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 76% (43,049 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 71% (71 reviews)
  • Starring: Scott Mechlowicz, Nick Nolte, Amy Smart

9. Poolhall Junkies (2002)

Source: Courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films

Source: Courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 87% (20,258 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 43% (43 reviews)
  • Starring: Mars Callahan, Chazz Palminteri, Michael Rosenbaum

8. Stealing Home (1988)

Source: Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

Source: Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 78% (5,390 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 10% (10 reviews)
  • Starring: Mark Harmon, Jodie Foster, Blair Brown

7. 8 Seconds (1994)

Source: Courtesy of New Line Cinema

Source: Courtesy of New Line Cinema
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 94% (56,357 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 13% (13 reviews)
  • Starring: Luke Perry, Stephen Baldwin, James Rebhorn

6. The Blood of Heroes (1989)

Source: Courtesy of New Line Cinema

Source: Courtesy of New Line Cinema
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 76% (3,763 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 8% (08 reviews)
  • Starring: Rutger Hauer, Joan Chen, Delroy Lindo

5. Facing the Giants (2006)

Source: Courtesy of Destination Films

Source: Courtesy of Destination Films
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 85% (88,240 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 25% (25 reviews)
  • Starring: Alex Kendrick, Shannen Fields, Jason McLeod

4. Sunset Park (1996)

Source: Courtesy of TriStar Pictures

Source: Courtesy of TriStar Pictures
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 83% (4,355 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 8% (08 reviews)
  • Starring: Rhea Perlman, Fredro Starr, Carol Kane

3. Grind (2003)

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 79% (52,896 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 74% (74 reviews)
  • Starring: Adam Brody, Joey Kern, Mike Vogel
  • 2. Out Cold (2001)
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 84% (47,265 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 49% (49 reviews)
  • Starring: Flex Alexander, David Denman, A.J. Cook

1. In God’s Hands (1998)

Source: jacoblund / iStock via Getty Images

Source: jacoblund / iStock via Getty Images
  • Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 80% (2,629 votes)
  • Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 6% (06 reviews)
  • Starring: Matt George, Matty Liu, Shane Dorian
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