When you think about the best‑selling titles in gaming, the phrase 10 game characters instantly conjures up a mix of heroes, anti‑heroes, and the occasional sidekick that somehow managed to irritate more than entertain. While most franchises stick to a single, well‑crafted protagonist, some developers decided to sprinkle in extra faces for the sake of variety—only to end up with personalities that feel half‑baked, mechanics that feel clunky, and story beats that drag the whole experience down. Below, we tally the ten most infamous characters who, despite their lofty ambitions, left players collectively sighing, “Why did they even add this?”

10 Clank

In the beloved Ratchet & Clank series, the diminutive robot isn’t just a comic relief sidekick; he doubles as a source of intel and a hover‑pack that helps Ratchet zip around. Occasionally, the game hands you control of Clank himself, dropping him into cramped vents or tiny chambers where he must platform and solve puzzles by directing other bots. On paper, the concept sounds fresh, but the execution feels more like a toddler’s scribble than a polished mechanic.

The levels starring Clank are essentially watered‑down versions of Ratchet’s own stages. Puzzles are simplistic, and the platforming often hinges on those same basic tasks. What makes the situation worse is that these segments have been part of the series since day one, and Insomniac seems determined to keep them, even stretching them longer with each sequel. Even the spin‑off Secret Agent Clank fails to rescue the idea, leaving the sidekick’s solo adventures stuck in mediocrity—a stark contrast to the more refined Jak & Daxter series.

9 Big The Cat

As the Sonic franchise expanded, developers kept tossing new characters into the mix, but none have been as universally despised as the lumbering feline known as Big. Debuting in Sonic Adventure, Big’s sole mission revolves around locating his pal Froggy, and the only way to do that is by fishing. Yes, you read that right—fishing.

The gameplay boils down to casting a line, waiting for a bite, and hoping the fish cooperates. While many games feature fishing as a side activity, making it a mandatory part of progression feels jarring, especially in a series defined by breakneck speed. The sluggish minigame drags the pace to a crawl, completely at odds with Sonic’s hallmark velocity. Developers eventually gave Big a makeover in Sonic Heroes, turning him into a powerhouse comparable to Knuckles, which at least curbed the boredom factor.

8 Mary Jane Watson

Insomniac’s Spider‑Man games are celebrated for their fluid web‑slinging and dynamic combat, yet they stumble when they pause the action to spotlight the hero’s love interest, Mary Jane. Reimagined as a clumsy, danger‑seeking heroine, MJ repeatedly throws herself into hazardous scenarios just to “add drama,” forcing players to divert from the core spider‑swinging experience.

These MJ‑centric sections feel contrived and overly repetitive. The narrative strains to shove her into the plot, while the gameplay offers only a shallow stealth system: you trigger a few distractions, stun a set of enemies, and move forward. There’s little room for creativity or variation, and the missions grow longer and more tedious with each sequel, ultimately breaking the game’s rhythm.

7 Silver The Hedgehog

While Big’s fishing escapades are a minor annoyance, Silver the Hedgehog represents a far larger misstep in Sonic’s history. Introduced in the 2006 Sonic the Hedgehog, Silver wields psychic powers that let him levitate objects and hurl them at foes. In theory, this should add a fresh layer of gameplay, but the reality is far from it.

Controlling Silver is a nightmare: aiming his telekinetic throws is imprecise, his levitation feels sluggish, and his overall speed is a stark contrast to Sonic’s lightning‑fast movement. These issues become even more glaring because you spend roughly a third of the game as Silver, sharing the narrative with Sonic and Shadow. The result is a drawn‑out slog through massive hub worlds, where Silver’s clunky mechanics dominate the experience.

6 Atreus

When God of War (2018) introduced Atreus as Kratos’s son, fans expected a compelling dynamic duo. However, in God of War: Ragnarok, the young god‑son’s segments feel more like a burden than a boon. He possesses only a fraction of Kratos’s arsenal, can’t take many hits, and the camera sticks uncomfortably close, turning dodging into a frustrating exercise.

Beyond the technical hiccups, Atreus’s narrative role is even more problematic. His sections are hyper‑linear, funneling players down narrow corridors while other characters deliver exposition. One particularly grating example forces Atreus to spend three hours performing mundane chores for a random girl in Jötunheim, grinding the epic tale to a halt and stripping away any sense of agency.

5 Desmond Miles

The modern‑day portions of Assassin’s Creed have long been the franchise’s Achilles’ heel, with Desmond Miles exemplifying the flaw. As a present‑day bartender‑turned‑assassin, Desmond is thrust into a series of puzzles and switch‑flipping tasks that feel disconnected from the historical adventures that define the series.

These sequences interrupt the immersive open‑world escapades with tedious, low‑stakes challenges. Even when Desmond does see combat, his limited skill set pales in comparison to his ancestors, resulting in a lackluster experience. Later entries try to trim these sections down or make them optional, but the early games relentlessly break immersion, prompting many players to roll their eyes whenever they’re yanked out of the time‑bending narrative.

4 Sherry Birkin

In the early Resident Evil titles, players could fight back against the undead, but Sherry Birkin’s playable moments in Resident Evil 2 present a stark contrast. As a frightened child, she’s forced to flee from the deranged police chief Brian Irons, with the gameplay reduced to basic, on‑rails stealth.

These sections consist of hiding behind boxes, distracting the antagonist, and repeatedly retrieving key items to progress. The design feels cheap: seasoned protagonists like Leon Kennedy or Claire Redfield could dispatch Irons in seconds, while Sherry’s limited abilities make the whole ordeal feel pointless, especially when she can simply use her G‑embryo to eliminate the threat herself.

3 Blink The Mole

The Spyro series generally boasts solid character design, but Blink the Mole, introduced in A Hero’s Tail, is a glaring exception. Tasked with navigating underground caverns in search of dark gems, Blink relies on a laser and his fists to confront creatures.

Unfortunately, the execution is clumsy. Blink feels overweight, making climbing and platforming unnecessarily difficult. His laser and melee attacks, which should provide dynamic combat, are awkward and often fail to defeat a single enemy. The resulting levels feel like a disjointed mash‑up of mechanics that never truly click together.

2 Taiga Saejima

Taiga Saejima shines as a combat powerhouse in the Yakuza: Like a Dragon series, delivering brutal combos and throws that can topple any foe. Yet, his storyline in Yakuza 4 and 5 is hampered by his status as a fugitive.

Because he’s on the run, Saejima can’t roam the expansive city freely like his peers. Instead, he’s confined to smaller hubs riddled with patrolling police and invisible barriers. Players are forced to navigate a labyrinth of underground passages, condemned buildings, and rooftops just to evade capture. This restriction clashes with the series’ hallmark sandbox freedom, making movement feel convoluted and frustrating.

1 Abby

Perhaps the most polarizing figure in recent gaming is Abby from The Last of Us Part II. Introduced as a muscular avenger seeking revenge for her father’s death at the hands of Joel, Abby takes over the narrative for the majority of the game’s second half, replacing the beloved protagonist.

This perspective shift disrupts the pacing of an already sprawling title. The story becomes a series of drawn‑out cutscenes filled with clunky dialogue and awkward pauses, striving for profundity but landing flat. Abby’s character feels one‑dimensional, and her relentless presence for hours makes players yearn for a return to the original cast.

Beyond narrative woes, Abby’s design raises eyebrows. Her exaggerated physique seems out of place in a post‑apocalyptic world, and her combat reduces to simple, overpowered punches that trivialize enemy encounters. This not only undermines the tension of battling infected hordes but also erodes the depth that the series once cultivated, cementing Abby as a symbol of the franchise’s missteps.

The 10 reasons people despised the Rockefellers read like a chapter from a gritty novel: ruthless business tactics, blood‑soaked labor disputes, and a media machine that rewrote reality. In the early 1900s, the family’s wealth attracted more than admiration—it summoned a legion of guards, wary newspapers, and furious crowds. Let’s count down the dark deeds that turned America’s oil barons into some of the most loathed figures of their era.

10 Stole A Railroad

The Rockefellers didn’t climb to the summit of wealth by playing nice. Their acquisition of the Duluth, Mesaba, and Northern Railroad reads like a heist script. In 1911, the original owners finally finished laying track and needed cash to erect terminals. Reverend Gates, a man on the Rockefellers’ payroll, persuaded them that John D. Rockefeller would lend them $420,000 out of charitable generosity.

Two months later, Rockefeller staged an “emergency,” demanding repayment within 24 hours. The owners scrambled for a bank loan, but Rockefeller had already whispered to the banks that their credit was “not worth a whoop.” Unable to meet the deadline, they lost the railroad for a pittance, handing the rails over to Rockefeller’s ever‑expanding empire.

9 Workers Get What They Are Worth

John D. Rockefeller openly flaunted his disdain for laborers. In 1913, Harvey Pratt Judson—an educational official under Rockefeller’s thumb—publicly declared that there should be no minimum wage. Their mantra? “Every man and woman, boy and girl gets just the wages they are worth.” The phrase ignored the stark reality that those wages couldn’t sustain a family, highlighting the Rockefellers’ cold calculus.

The sentiment echoed across boardrooms and factories, reinforcing a philosophy that reduced workers to mere numbers on a ledger, rather than human beings deserving of a living wage.

8 The Ludlow Massacre

1914 saw the brutal climax of a miners’ strike in Ludlow, Colorado. The coal workers, fed up with hazardous conditions and a pay system that issued “money” usable only at the company store owned by Rockefeller Jr., took a stand. In response, Jr. hired a private militia to force the miners back to the pits.

The militia expelled families from their shacks, corralling them into tents. Then, in a night of horror, machine guns sprayed the tent colony and the encampment was set ablaze. Two women and eleven children perished alongside several miners. The carnage sparked national outrage, branding Rockefeller Jr. a murderer of women and children.

7 Women And Children Terrified

In the wake of Ludlow, the wives and youngsters of Colorado’s miners lived in constant dread. Don MacGregor, a vocal supporter of the miners, recounted arriving at a Walsenburg camp to find small children with “wide and reddened eyes” fleeing at his approach—an instinct born from the terror of the Ludlow massacre.

A pregnant woman, trembling, begged MacGregor to whisk her away, fearing that her unborn child would be born within earshot of machine‑gun fire. She recalled the horror of a woman who gave birth at Ludlow only to have both mother and baby burned. The trauma cemented a legacy of fear that haunted mining families for years.

6 Printed Fake News

If you control the press, you can shape public opinion. After Ludlow, the Rockefellers launched a full‑blown PR offensive, hiring a publicist to produce a glossy trade magazine that sang their praises. They also partnered with the Hearst Press in 1915, ensuring that only favorable stories appeared while any dissenting voices were smeared.

Critics accused the family of disseminating “fake news,” fabricating salary figures for union leaders, and painting labor activists as villains. The campaign turned the media into a battlefield where truth was often the first casualty.

5 Kept The Mine Workers In Poverty

In 1915, John D. Rockefeller Jr. attempted a publicity stunt: he visited a Colorado coal mine to prove he was “one of the guys.” The plan backfired spectacularly. After a half‑hearted five‑minute stint with a pickaxe, he was exhausted and took refuge in the superintendent’s modest shack.

The family occupying the shack lived in extreme poverty despite twelve‑hour shifts, resorting to double‑up sleeping arrangements just so Rockefeller could have a bed. The next day, the miners greeted him with icy contempt; foremen turned away, and the workers merely stared, their scorn palpable.

4 Meddled In Education

John D. Rockefeller poured vast sums into higher education—not merely out of philanthropy, but to “chloroform public thought.” Through the Rockefeller Foundation, he endowed colleges that agreed to teach “safe and conservative doctrines,” paying premium salaries to professors who toe the line.

The goal was clear: suppress organized‑labor ideas and ensure that future business leaders graduated with a worldview that protected the empire. By shaping curricula, the Rockefellers aimed to keep progressive labor ideals out of the academic arena.

3 Refused To Give Out War Loan

During World War I, Allied nations begged for financial support. Both the British and the Russians approached Rockefeller, but he declined, declaring, “This war is awful! Don’t you think it is awful?” His refusal stood in stark contrast to J.P. Morgan, who was eager to fund the war effort.

When pressed about Morgan’s involvement, Rockefeller replied in verse: “A wise owl lived in an oak, The more he saw the less he spoke; The less he spoke, the more he heard, Why can’t we all be like that bird?” His poetic retort underscored his stubborn refusal to bankroll the conflict.

2 Income Tax Evasion

By 1916, the Rockefeller Foundation held over $100 million in “income‑yielding securities,” raking in an estimated $6 million annually—none of which was taxed. Newspapers cried foul, accusing Rockefeller of siphoning charitable funds for personal gain while evading taxes on a fortune that would boggle modern heads.

The foundation’s massive, untaxed nest egg highlighted a stark disparity: a private charity amassing wealth without contributing to the public coffers, feeding the perception of a family above the law.

1 Troubles Of A Sincere Man

In the spring of 1916, Congress grilled John D. Rockefeller over a fresh spike in gasoline prices. Irritated, he blamed “supply and demand,” while newspapers mocked him as a “sincere man” struggling under forces beyond his control.

Satirical editorials urged the government to “help Mr. Rockefeller keep his head above water,” even suggesting the state supply gasoline itself. The ridicule underscored a growing public sentiment: the Rockefellers were seen not as benevolent magnates, but as out‑of‑touch titans demanding sympathy.

When you bring something into the world, you naturally develop a sense of ownership over it. Whether it’s a story, a character, or a concept, it feels like an extension of yourself. So when that creation lands in someone else’s hands and gets reshaped, it can feel like a betrayal. Even the most well‑meaning artist can become bitter, or outright angry, if their masterpiece is twisted in ways they never imagined. Occasionally, the frustration reaches a point where they truly despise the final product.

10 Roald Dahl Hated the Willy Wonka Movie

Roald Dahl, a figure many today would label “problematic,” earned fame for his wildly imaginative children’s books, most notably Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Though his personal life was marred by anti‑Semitic remarks, racial caricatures, and infidelity, his literary legacy remains vibrant.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has been adapted for the screen several times, but the most iconic version is the 1971 musical Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Dahl was alive to see it made, and he didn’t hide his displeasure.

He compiled a long list of grievances, beginning with the title change. He also famously detested Gene Wilder’s portrayal of Wonka, even though contemporary audiences often celebrate Wilder’s performance. Dahl loathed the on‑screen Charlie, the musical score, and essentially every deviation from his original manuscript.

9 Legendary Animator Chuck Jones Hated Space Jam

For many, the 1996 hybrid of live‑action and classic Looney Tunes, Space Jam, remains a nostalgic favorite. Yet the film’s very existence sparked outrage from animation legend Chuck Jones.

Jones helped build Warner Bros.’ cartoon empire, co‑creating icons like Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck during a three‑decade tenure from the early 1930s through the 1960s.

When asked about Space Jam, Jones reportedly answered bluntly, “I thought it was terrible.” He criticized the storyline, noting that Porky Pig would never claim to have wet himself, and argued that Bugs Bunny wouldn’t need assistance to defeat alien opponents, suggesting the cartoon could have wrapped up in under seven minutes.

8 Charles Schulz Hated the Name Peanuts

The Peanuts franchise, now valued at over $17 billion, has become a cultural juggernaut. Yet its creator, Charles Schulz, never intended the strip to bear that moniker.

When the comic debuted in 1950, Schulz originally titled it Li’l Folks, a name he felt carried dignity. However, a newspaper editor, wary of potential legal entanglements with existing strips like Li’l Abner and an earlier Little Folks, unilaterally renamed it Peanuts before Schulz’s first installment even hit the press.

Schulz despised the new title, believing it suggested insignificance. Despite his objections, the name stuck, and he continued to produce thousands of strips under the “Peanuts” banner for the remainder of his life.

7 TMNT Co‑Creator Peter Laird Hated the 5th Turtle, Venus de Milo

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have been a mainstay of pop culture for over three decades, originating as a parody of superhero comics before evolving into a beloved children’s franchise.

During the late 1990s, a television series introduced a new female turtle named Venus de Milo. Co‑creator Peter Laird was vehemently opposed to the addition, labeling the concept “creatively bankrupt.” He objected to the notion that a fifth turtle could simply appear in the canon without prior introduction.

Laird’s lack of creative control meant his dissent was limited to commentary. Nevertheless, his aversion was so strong that director Kevin Munroe later confirmed the production team was forbidden from even joking about Venus around Laird, underscoring how deeply the character irked him.

6 The Live‑Action Dragonball Movie Forced Its Creator Out of Retirement

Both critics and fans slammed the 2009 live‑action adaptation Dragonball: Evolution. The film’s poor reception struck a nerve with original series architect Akira Toriyama, who had stepped away from the franchise years earlier.

Toriyama’s outrage at the botched adaptation spurred him to re‑engage with the Dragonball universe, prompting new manga chapters and a revitalized animated series. In a twist of fate, the disastrous movie inadvertently saved the franchise from stagnation, catalyzing fresh content that fans eagerly embraced.

5 Paul Newman Paid for Ads to Keep People Away From One of His Movies

While many artists simply voice displeasure, Paul Newman took a proactive—if quirky—approach to distancing himself from a film he deemed the worst of the 1950s.

Newman’s debut, The Silver Chalice (1954), earned his scorn as “the worst movie made in the entire decade.” Determined to dissuade audiences, he spent $1,200 in 1963 (roughly $12,000 today) on newspaper advertisements urging viewers not to watch the TV broadcast.

The ads famously read, “Paul Newman apologizes every night this week.” He even hosted a private screening for friends, handing out pots and wooden spoons so they could drown the film’s audio with clattering noise—an eccentric yet earnest display of his disdain.

4 Don Henley Hates People Covering His Music

Eagles frontman Don Henley may be less recognizable to younger listeners, but his influence on rock remains undeniable. He’s fiercely protective of his catalog, especially after contemporary artists began sampling or covering his classics.

When Frank Ocean incorporated a snippet of the Eagles’ “Hotel California” into his mixtape track American Wedding, Henley threatened legal action, likening the act to vandals painting mustaches on museum masterpieces.

Henley’s vigilance isn’t idle; he successfully forced indie band Okkervil River to withdraw a free cover of his song “The End of Innocence,” demonstrating his willingness to defend his work against reinterpretation.

3 William Friedkin Hated The Exorcist Sequel

Legendary horror director William Friedkin, who helmed the original Exorcist, never shied away from expressing disdain for its follow‑ups.

The first sequel, Exorcist II: The Heretic, was panned for its incoherent plot and was labeled an “abomination” and a “f‑ing disgrace” by Friedkin himself. He famously compared the film to turning a Dickens novel into a pornographic musical.

Even years later, when rumors of another sequel floated, Friedkin took to Twitter to declare there was “not enough money or motivation in the world” to bring him back, underscoring his enduring contempt for the franchise’s extensions.

2 Writer Michael Ende Hated What They Did to The Neverending Story

Michael Ende penned the beloved fantasy novel The Neverending Story in 1979, which later inspired a wildly popular 1980s film adaptation.

Ende initially negotiated a deal granting him significant creative control, including casting input. However, the production rights were sold to another entity, and he soon received an unfamiliar script he detested.

When Ende attempted to contest the changes—threatening legal action—the studio warned of a lawsuit if he impeded production. Frustrated, he tried to sue but ultimately removed his name from the credits after the filmmakers refused to halt or rename the project.

1 Clive Barker Disowned Hellraiser: Revelations in No Uncertain Terms

Clive Barker’s Hellraiser franchise stands among horror’s most iconic series, birthed from his short story The Hellbound Heart and introducing the infamous Pinhead.

After the original film, the series fell out of Barker’s hands, leading to a succession of sequels. Many of these later installments were produced solely to retain the franchise’s rights, resulting in subpar quality.

The 2011 entry Hellraiser: Revelations epitomized this decline, allegedly shot in a matter of weeks and lacking the original Pinhead actor Doug Bradley. When the movie was marketed as a Barker‑originated project, he responded on Twitter, stating, “I have NOTHING to do with the f***** thing. If they claim it’s from the mind of Clive Barker, it’s a lie. It’s not even from my butt‑hole.”

When you think of famous monuments, you probably picture crowds of tourists snapping selfies, but the truth is that many of these structures were once reviled by the very people who lived nearby. These 10 landmarks originally sparked outrage among locals, whether because they were seen as eyesores, extravagant waste, or painful reminders of a darker past.

Why These 10 Landmarks Originally Sparked Controversy

10 The Shard

The Shard, once known as London Bridge Tower, pierces the sky at 310 metres (1,016 ft) with 72 floors and a popular observation deck. Designed by Renzo Piano, who drew inspiration from the nearby railway lines and the masts of sailing ships, the glass spire quickly became a symbol of modern London. Yet, before the first steel beam was lifted, heritage groups warned it would act like “a spike through the heart of historic London.”

Critics from English Heritage decried the design, arguing that the sleek, needle‑like structure clashed violently with the city’s historic skyline. Despite the uproar, the tower was completed in 2009 and has since become one of the capital’s most photographed icons.

9 The Gate To The East

The Gate to the East, also called the Gate of the Orient, is a record‑breaking pair of skyscrapers that together form the world’s largest conjoined tower. Completed in 2016, the structure boasts the most steel used in any building and houses China’s deepest private wine cellar and its tallest swimming pool.

Nevertheless, Suzhou residents labeled the design “humiliating,” complaining that walking through the arch felt like “crawling between someone else’s legs.” Media outlets even dubbed it “a climactic icon of 21st‑century spectacle,” underscoring the polarising reaction it provoked.

8 The Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower, now synonymous with romance and Parisian elegance, was originally erected as the entrance arch for the 1889 World’s Fair, celebrating the centenary of the French Revolution. Its iron lattice, however, clashed starkly with the city’s classic stone façades.

Parisian artists, writers, and architects launched a fierce campaign against the tower, publishing a protest that called it “useless and monstrous.” They argued it threatened French taste and heritage. Despite the uproar and even threats of demolition, the tower survived and today stands as an international emblem of love.

7 Vittorio Emanuele II Monument

Construction of the Vittorio Emanuele II Monument began in 1885 to honor Italy’s first unified king. Dominating Piazza Venezia and the Capitoline Hill, the massive white‑marble edifice was intended as a grand statement of national pride.

Romans, however, were less enthused. They coined nicknames such as “false teeth,” “wedding cake,” and “the typewriter,” complaining about the building’s garish colour, colossal scale, and perceived lack of harmony with the surrounding historic fabric.

6 Sagrada Familia

Sagrada Familia, Antoni Gaudí’s unfinished masterpiece, has been under construction since 1882 and is slated for completion around 2026. The basilica’s soaring, organic forms have made it a global tourist magnet, yet it was not universally adored.

Icons such as Pablo Picasso wished its creators “sent to Hell,” while George Orwell blasted it as “one of the most hideous buildings in the world.” Their criticisms highlight how even celebrated architecture can provoke strong negative reactions.

5 Empire State Building

The 102‑story Empire State Building dominates the New York skyline, offering breathtaking vistas from its observation decks. Yet, when it rose in 1931, many New Yorkers saw it as a frivolous expenditure far from existing transit routes.

Built $19 million under budget and opening during the Great Depression, the skyscraper struggled to fill its office space, earning the nickname “Empty State Building.” A later change of ownership, extensive renovation, and aggressive marketing revived its fortunes, and it now ranks among America’s greatest engineering feats.

4 Centre Pompidou

The Centre Pompidou, completed in 1977, houses Europe’s first major collection of modern and contemporary art. Its radical exoskeletal façade—pipes, ducts, and colour‑coded structural elements—looks to many like a massive scaffolding system.

Parisians found the design jarring, especially as it sits amid centuries‑old architecture, including the city’s oldest surviving house from 1407. Co‑designer Richard Rogers recalled a Parisian woman so outraged that she struck him on the head with an umbrella.

3 Valley Of The Fallen

The Valley of the Fallen commemorates those who perished in Spain’s 1936‑1939 Civil War, yet it also houses the tomb of dictator Francisco Franco, who forced thousands of political prisoners to construct the monument. Critics argue the site resembles a Nazi concentration camp, and it contains the remains of around 40,000 individuals, though only Franco and José Antonio Primo de Rivera rest inside the church.

After a 1999 bombing by anti‑fascists, security tightened, and visitors are now prohibited from leaving flowers or defacing the site. The massive granite cross, visible from the A‑6 motorway, remains a stark reminder of a painful past.

2 Palace Of Parliament

Bucharest’s Palace of Parliament, the world’s second‑largest administrative building, glitters with gold‑leafed façades at night and draws throngs of tourists. Yet, Romanians despise it because it was commissioned by communist dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu during a period of severe austerity.

While the regime siphoned national wealth into this opulent complex, many families struggled to feed their children, with some forced into state care. Even after the 1989 revolution, the palace stands as a looming testament to that dark chapter.

1 Christ The King Statue

The Christ the King statue in Swiebodzin, Poland, claims the title of the world’s tallest statue of Jesus at 33 metres (108 ft), rivaling Brazil’s Christ the Redeemer. Funded by a $1.4 million crowd‑sourced campaign, the monument quickly became a flashpoint of debate.

Both Christians and atheists clashed over its placement near the German border, adjacent to a major motorway and a large supermarket. Recent controversy erupted when antennas were installed inside the statue’s crown to broadcast an internet signal for the Divine Mercy Parish.

They say there’s no accounting for taste, and sometimes the divide between the critic and the common person is quite extensive. There is a kind of elitism associated with any kind of criticism whether it’s for art or food or film. People who make a living criticizing other things are often derided when they have an opinion we disagree with but lauded when they have an opinion that we do agree with. It makes it a curious kind of job overall.

No kind of  criticism is more popular than film criticism. Back in the day there were only a handful of film critics that rose to prominence, people like Siskel and Ebert. In the age of the internet you could spend a week or more looking through every site dedicated to nothing but film criticism. For all of those critics, there is still a big divide between the movies that they love and the movie the rest of us love. Sometimes critics go crazy over a movie that audiences absolutely hate. Based on Rotten Tomato critic scores versus audience scores, there are some significant gaps over there.

10. Spy Kids

Robert Rodriguez is most known for his action films, things like Desperado and Machete. But Rodriguez is also a family man who has several kids and that inspired him to make a movie that they could enjoy as well. In 2001 he started the Spy Kids franchise, which proved to be incredibly popular. The first Spy Kids movie made over $147 million at the box office. Critics were also big fans of the movie, giving it a score on Rotten Tomatoes of 93% overall. That’s remarkably high for any movie, let alone a children’s action movie.

As popular as Spy Kids was, audiences we’re not quite as in love with it as critics have been. The audience score on Rotten Tomatoes dropped considerably from that 93%, coming in at a much lower 46%. That’s another 47-point difference between audiences and critics.

9. Ad Astra

In 2019, Brad Pitt starred in the dramatic sci-fi film Ad Astra. It’s possible some audiences felt like they got duped by the movie, expecting maybe more of a sci-fi adventure than what they got. The movie ended up being something of a dramatic exploration of the bond between parent and child. 

While critics were on board with the human drama and the visuals, a lot of audiences didn’t seem to find the same appreciation for any of those aspects. In a nutshell most audiences just found this one boring. Critics gave the movie an 84% overall, compared to the audience score which was only 40%. That’s one of the largest gaps between audiences at critics you’ll find of any movie on the site.

8. It Comes At Night

It Comes at Night was a psychological horror movie that came out in 2017. The movie relied heavily on implied horror rather than any kind of explicit gore for the most part, and the tension was really what carried this film along for many critics. The result was a Rotten Tomatoes aggregate score of 88%. That’s remarkably high for a horror movie, and few others have managed to reach such heights. Unfortunately, audiences didn’t really feel the scares as much as critics did.

The audience score on Rotten Tomatoes for It Comes at Night is only 44%, half of what the critics score ended up being. A lot of the complaints about this movie seemed to be with how it ended, and also how it was advertised. The ad campaign did lead you to believe that there was something with more teeth relating to the ‘it’ part of It Comes at Night. 

7. Hail, Caesar!

You can usually count on the Coen Brothers to deliver a movie that everyone’s going to enjoy. Critics absolutely love their filmography, and in fact they only have two movies that managed to sink to the rotten level in all of the films they’ve directed, which were The Hudsucker Proxy and The Ladykillers. Most of their films score well over 80%. Hail, Caesar! was no different, pulling in a critic score of 85%.

Unfortunately for the Coen brothers and the cast of the movie, audiences weren’t really feeling this one as much as they were on board with past Coen brothers movies like The Big Lebowski. The audience rating for Hail, Caesar! is only 44%. Many of the criticisms lobbed at the movie from audiences directly relate to how the movie kind of feels rushed and disjointed, as though there are a series of unrelated events happening with no consequences related to whatever happened before in the movie.

6. Antz

In the age of Pixar we have come to expect that big-budget animated movies are going to be huge spectacles that include incredible musical numbers, breathtaking artwork, moving voice performances, and a really great story. Animation has really come a long way. That said, sometimes an animated movie comes along that hits the mark with critics a lot more than it does with audiences. Such was the case with the movie Antz back in 1998.

The DreamWorks Studios movie features an all-star voice cast and critics ended up giving it 92% overall. Casual moviegoers were not as enamored with Woody Allen as a talking insect and the average rating for audience scores comes out 40 points lower at 52%.

A lot of audience  criticism related to the fact that they felt the movie was a little too advanced for kids, and not interesting enough to hold the attention of adults. It kind of fell in that gray zone where it was really appealing to no one, especially when compared to the film A Bug’s Life, which came out at the same time and was a clear competitor that appealed to audiences much better with a 73% audience score.

5. Nurse Betty

Not many people remember the 2000 movie Nurse Betty starring Renee Zellweger, Chris Rock, and Morgan Freeman. Despite the impressive cast, it seems to have flown under the radar for a lot of people. That said, critics really did take a shine to the movie giving it a rating of 83% overall. That might make you think it’s worth a watch, but keep in mind that the audience rating for this film is 45%. A 38-point disparity makes this one of the more suspect films on the critic aggregator site.

Nurse Betty actually won at the Cannes film festival for having the best screenplay the year that it came out. The mix of overly dark subject matter with comedy didn’t really strike a chord with audiences the same way it did with critics, and the result is kind of a mishmash of views across the board. 

4. Blockers 

It’s rather surprising that critics were as fond of the movie Blockers as they were. To start with, the movie isn’t technically called Blockers. For the sake of being able to advertise it correctly it was called Blockers but most posters and images also include the silhouette of a chicken in front of the word blockers. You can probably guess what popular term that they were attempting to recreate by using that imagery while keeping the name as inoffensive as possible as a result. 

As a sort of raunchy sex comedy, this isn’t the movie that most people typically think of critics enjoying. Still, it managed to pull in an 84% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. This kind of film usually plays much better with audiences than it does with critics, so you think the scores would be reversed. In fact, the audience rating for this movie was only 50%.

Critics seemed to really take a shine to the fact that this movie try to flip the sex comedy tropes on its head and focus more on high school girls rather than high school boys looking to get laid. Unfortunately, it used all the same tropes; it just put them on girls and then focused on the parents. Audiences didn’t really take a liking to the story or the acting particularly. 

3. The Witch

The Witch came out in 2016 and seemed to usher in what has become an era of more critically admired horror movies.  Films like Midsommar, Hereditary, A Quiet Place, and Us have all proven that horror can be intellectual and engaging as well as scary. Critics gave The Witch a 90% rating overall, taking a real liking to this atmospheric period piece that mixes a lot of dread with some very dark imagery.

Not as many audience members were on board with the ideas being presented in The Witch, and the audience score for this movie is only 58%. That’s not terrible, but when you compare it with the overall critic score we’re still looking at a 32-point disparity. Some audience members just found it too boring or too slow to keep their interest. 

2. Sausage Party 

The fact that critics like 2016’s Sausage Party is a bit of a curveball to the very idea of film criticism. This animated movie featured a great comedic voice cast and detailed the lives of sausages, among the other sentient residents of a supermarket, and what they do during their down time. Not a terrible idea for an animated movie by any means, but the fact that it was also a fairly filthy sex comedy was somewhat surprising. Still,  critics were on board with the movie and it’s currently sitting at an impressive 82% on Rotten Tomatoes.

For whatever reason, this movie did not resonate with audiences in nearly the same way. It only managed to pull in a 50% audience rating, which is unusual for a movie featuring the likes of Kristen Wiig and Seth Rogen. It seemed to be that the excessive vulgarity turned a lot of audiences off, perhaps because they just weren’t expecting an animated movie to go as far as this one does. 

1. Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Star Wars fandom is a very weird place to tread into if you’re not already a part of it. Star Wars fans have been passionate about this film series since the 1970s. Forty years of fandom breeds an intense degree of passion. That passion isn’t always in support of their favorite franchise either.

No film in the entire Star Wars pantheon has been more divisive than Star Wars Episode VII: The Last Jedi from 2017. Critics absolutely loved the movie and it has a 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, making it the third highest rated Star Wars movie of all-time, just behind A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back.

Audiences did not respond with the same love. The audience score for The Last Jedi on Rotten Tomatoes is a paltry 43%. That makes a 47-point divide between how critics responded to the film and what the audience thought.

If you were on the internet at all after The Last Jedi hit theaters, you may have been aware of the absolute hate and vitriol lobbed at this film. Many fans took issue with what they felt was a liberal bias in the movie. In particular, some of the minority actors in the film were actually harassed so badly they ended up leaving social media altogether — in particular, Kelly Marie Tran was picked out and picked on.

The fact that many feel the criticism levied against The Last Jedi by this subset of so-called fans isn’t valid is another matter entirely. Their responses have forever skewed the way the movie is ranked on sites like Rotten Tomatoes, making it one of the most notably skewed movies when you compare critics versus audience reactions.