Movies are an integral part of childhood. We can all remember the first movie we saw in the theater, the first one we tried to watch when our parents weren't looking, and the ones that moved us or even shaped who we are today. For millennials, most of their movie memories from their impressionable years were made during the '90s - but those films don't always hold up well today.
A funny thing happens: we grow up, and suddenly not all the movies we adored when we were kids hold up decades later to our adult minds, imaginations, and high standards. You might have thought Independence Day rocked back in the day, but would you go for it now? When is the last time one of your friends suggested a Blair Witch Project evening? You see what we're getting at.
A lot of the movies on the following pages still have their defenders, so don't be a hater... vote it down instead of up. The ones hovering near the top are the movies you feel just don't hold up for whatever reason. Is one of your childhood favorites on the list?
http://www.ranker.com/list/movies-that-dont-hold-up/robert-desalvo,
Batman Forever
Tim Burton seemed like the perfect director to bring Gotham City to life in Batman and Batman Returns. Director Joel Schumacher tried to keep the momentum going with a new Batman (Val Kilmer) and the introduction of Robin (Chris O'Donnell) in Batman Forever, but it was the beginning of the end for Batman as we knew him.
Sure, the movie still made a lot at the box office and you dug Jim Carrey as Riddler, but can you imagine firing up this neon-colored, homoerotic mess today, after having seen Burton's films and the Christopher Nolan trilogy? Batman somehow went from the Dark Knight to some kind of fetish cosplayer with a bulging codpiece and a sidekick to match.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 41%
Dr. Dolittle
Back in 1998, were you laughing it up when Eddie Murphy talked to animals in the remake of Dr. Dolittle? You must have been, because the movie made over $144 million at the US box office. CGI and animatronics have improved tenfold since 1998, so this romp with the animals can't help but feel dated.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 43%
Inspector Gadget
You loved the cartoon Inspector Gadget, so Disney smelled dollar signs and crafted this live-action version starring Matthew Broderick as the bumbling titular security guard. You might have given this a pass back in the day because you were still high on the fumes from the popular cartoon, but let's be honest: this live-action update is charmless and most of the gags fall flat. They don't get any better over a decade later.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 21%
Nell
Jodie Foster has always been very choosy with her roles, so when one of her movies came out, people paid attention to the woman who played Clarice Starling in Silence of the Lambs.
In Nell, Foster plays some kind of oddball mountain hermit who says profound things like "chicka, chicka, chickabee" and other nonsense. It might have seemed avant-garde and brave at the time, but now it just elicits giggles.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 53%
Patch Adams
This on-the-nose dramedy about a misfit medical student (Robin Williams) with an unconventional approach to healing patients really, really tried to tug on the heartstrings. It must have worked, because the movie pulled in over $135 million domestically. Even if you didn't admit it back then, now you have to confess that this is all so syrupy that it should have come with a stack of pancakes.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 22%
Spiceworld
Some of you out there can still name a Spice Girls song. A few of you can probably even sing one! Spiceworld was made for you and for fans of the bubbly British pop tarts. The problem with movies starring pop stars is that pop stars rarely endure for years, so when they reach the end of their short shelf life, their films end up in the bargain bin.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 29%
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Remember how excited you were when you heard that George Lucas was finally doing the Star Wars prequels? Everyone got in touch with their inner geek and a new generation was ready to go to a galaxy far, far away. Then they realized it was about... trade agreements? Treaties? Something? Bueller?
Sure, Darth Maul was supercool, but you had that kid playing Anakin Skywalker and an obnoxious alien named Jar Jar Binks who spoke in some sort of Rastafarian baby talk.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 57%
The Flintstones
This 1994 live-action remake of the classic cartoon, starred John Goodman as Fred Flintstone and Rosie O'Donnell as neighbor Betty Rubble. Everyone loved the cartoon, so don't pretend you didn't see the movie (it made almost $131 million, so we know at least some of you did). This kind of zany play for nostalgia is so transparent today that it's almost impossible to have any fun in this version of Bedrock.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 21%
The Mask
People forget that Jim Carrey was a huge box office draw in the '90s and that pretty much started with his zany performance as the rubber-faced titular character in The Mask. You thought he was a gas and that Cameron Diaz was hot. Fast-forward to today and the whole dialed-to-11 manic affair will have you reaching for the "stop" button.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 77%
The Net
Back in 1995, there was this new-fangled thing called the Internet with all kinds of computers tethered together, sharing information. Hot off her breakout role in Speed, Sandra Bullock starred in the techno thriller The Net as a programmer whose life and identity get messed with via the Internet - er, Net. Now that we have access to the Internet on everything from phones to watches and no one except your mom calls it "the net," this movie is like the '90s version of WarGames.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 36%