The U.S. military has collaborated with Hollywood for over 100 years, providing assets and story input for film productions. This longstanding relationship has allowed the Pentagon significant sway over the entertainment industry, resulting in major blockbuster hits but also some infamous flops.
To determine the least popular movies supported by the Pentagon, 24/7 Tempo ranked films that received official DoD support via production assistance or script input based on an index of user ratings on IMDb, an online movie and TV database owned by Amazon, and audience ratings and Tomatometer scores on Rotten Tomatoes, an online movie and TV review aggregator. Documentation of DoD support for most movies on the list comes from the results of a 2013 FOIA request by Dr. Stephen Underhill and the 2021 study “Superheroes, Movies, and the State: How the U.S. Government Shapes Cinematic Universes” by Tricia Jenkins and Tom Secker.
While the military says its goal is accuracy, critics argue they use movies for propaganda and recruitment. Clashing agendas can also weaken storytelling.
Acclaimed war films like “Apocalypse Now,” “Platoon,” and “Forrest Gump,” avoided Pentagon approval over censorship concerns. But many supported films like “Top Gun: Maverick” succeeded critically and financially. (See this ranking of the most popular movies you may not have known were backed by the Pentagon.)
25. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009)
> IMDb user rating: 5.8/10 (204,527 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 50% (996,010 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 33% (171 votes)
> Directed by: Stephen Sommers
> Starring: Dennis Quaid, Channing Tatum, Marlon Wayans
24. The Green Berets (1968)
> IMDb user rating: 5.7/10 (12,611 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 61% (9,637 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 23% (13 votes)
> Directed by: John Wayne & Ray Kellogg
> Starring: John Wayne, David Janssen, Jim Hutton
23. Battle Los Angeles (2011)
> IMDb user rating: 5.7/10 (177,237 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 48% (93,790 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 36% (212 votes)
> Directed by: Jonathan Liebesman
> Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, Bridget Moynahan
22. Firefox (1982)
> IMDb user rating: 6.0/10 (26,344 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 42% (16,043 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 38% (13 votes)
> Directed by: Clint Eastwood
> Starring: Clint Eastwood, Freddie Jones, David Huffman
21. The Jackal (1997)
> IMDb user rating: 6.4/10 (112,338 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 52% (64,913 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 23% (30 votes)
> Directed by: Michael Caton-Jones
> Starring: Bruce Willis, Richard Gere, Sidney Poitier
20. Camp Nowhere (1994)
> IMDb user rating: 6.1/10 (9,380 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 58% (28,266 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 18% (11 votes)
> Directed by: Jonathan Prince
> Starring: Jonathan Jackson, Christopher Lloyd, John Putch
19. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
> IMDb user rating: 6.0/10 (394,187 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 57% (4,081,606 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 20% (252 votes)
> Directed by: Michael Bay
> Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel
18. Ernest Saves Christmas (1988)
> IMDb user rating: 5.7/10 (10,489 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 42% (48,222 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 36% (14 votes)
> Directed by: John R. Cherry III
> Starring: Jim Varney, Douglas Seale, Oliver Clark
17. Flight of the Intruder (1991)
> IMDb user rating: 5.8/10 (6,788 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 50% (5,979 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 25% (12 votes)
> Directed by: John Milius
> Starring: Danny Glover, Willem Dafoe, Brad Johnson
16. Annapolis (2006)
> IMDb user rating: 5.9/10 (20,853 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 60% (119,267 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 10% (114 votes)
> Directed by: Justin Lin
> Starring: James Franco, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson
15. Renaissance Man (1994)
> IMDb user rating: 6.2/10 (17,453 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 53% (30,524 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 12% (25 votes)
> Directed by: Penny Marshall
> Starring: Danny DeVito, Gregory Hines, James Remar
14. The Core (2003)
> IMDb user rating: 5.5/10 (96,049 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 33% (100,758 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 40% (157 votes)
> Directed by: Jon Amiel
> Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Hilary Swank, Delroy Lindo
13. Three Wishes (1995)
> IMDb user rating: 6.1/10 (3,031 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 52% (7,783 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 13% (15 votes)
> Directed by: Martha Coolidge
> Starring: Patrick Swayze, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Joseph Mazzello
12. Invaders from Mars (1986)
> IMDb user rating: 5.6/10 (8,507 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 33% (3,520 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 38% (16 votes)
> Directed by: Tobe Hooper
> Starring: Karen Black, Hunter Carson, Timothy Bottoms
11. Invasion U.S.A. (1985)
> IMDb user rating: 5.5/10 (9,421 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 51% (6,816 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 19% (21 votes)
> Directed by: Joseph Zito
> Starring: Chuck Norris, Richard Lynch, Melissa Prophet
10. Raise the Titanic (1980)
> IMDb user rating: 5.0/10 (4,418 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 28% (7,055 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 38% (8 votes)
> Directed by: Jerry Jameson
> Starring: Jason Robards, Richard Jordan, David Selby
9. The 15:17 to Paris (2018)
> IMDb user rating: 5.3/10 (34,232 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 37% (3,023 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 23% (166 votes)
> Directed by: Clint Eastwood
> Starring: Alek Skarlatos, Anthony Sadler, Spencer Stone
8. Sphere (1998)
> IMDb user rating: 6.1/10 (103,829 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 38% (58,572 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 11% (53 votes)
> Directed by: Barry Levinson
> Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone, Samuel L. Jackson
7. In the Army Now (1994)
> IMDb user rating: 5.0/10 (13,223 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 44% (44,268 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 6% (32 votes)
> Directed by: Daniel Petrie Jr.
> Starring: Pauly Shore, Lori Petty
6. Larger Than Life (1996)
> IMDb user rating: 5.6/10 (7,201 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 29% (7,761 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 11% (19 votes)
> Directed by: Howard Franklin
> Starring: Bill Murray, Matthew McConaughey, Jerry Adler
5. Fire Birds (1990)
> IMDb user rating: 4.8/10 (6,257 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 35% (6,844 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 10% (21 votes)
> Directed by: David Green
> Starring: Nicolas Cage, Tommy Lee Jones, Sean Young
4. Random Hearts (1999)
> IMDb user rating: 5.2/10 (20,745 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 24% (9,826 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 15% (87 votes)
> Directed by: Sydney Pollack
> Starring: Harrison Ford, Kristin Scott Thomas, Charles S. Dutton
3. The Next Karate Kid (1994)
> IMDb user rating: 4.5/10 (28,653 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 24% (61,092 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 7% (27 votes)
> Directed by: Christopher Cain
> Starring: Pat Morita, Hilary Swank, Michael Ironside
2. The Swarm (1978)
> IMDb user rating: 4.5/10 (7,470 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 19% (4,143 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 10% (21 votes)
> Directed by: Irwin Allen
> Starring: Michael Caine, Katharine Ross, Richard Widmark
1. Mac and Me (1988)
> IMDb user rating: 3.4/10 (14,186 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 38% (13,100 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 4% (27 votes)
> Directed by: Stewart Raffill
> Starring: Christine Ebersole, Jonathan Ward, Tina Caspary