No matter how great a filmmaker is, the chances are strong that if they make enough movies, one of them will eventually miss. It's something that fans will usually accept as an inevitability, because no one's perfect, and similarly, very few filmographies are perfect. With a site like Rotten Tomatoes, evidence of misfires - however occasional - remain visible, because the ability to look up the critical consensus of any wide-release film never goes away.
The following movies are all directed by critically acclaimed filmmakers, though have rotten ratings from critics on Rotten Tomatoes (which happens when less than 60% of critics give a title a favorable review). Many of these have a great deal to offer, and may indeed have been reviewed unfairly, but they are inevitably divisive at best, and are ranked below from "highest" rated to lowest.
10 'New York, New York' (1977)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 57%
One of 10 movies that Martin Scorsese directed Robert De Niro in, New York, New York is at least an interesting misfire for the legendary director/actor duo. It follows a saxophonist and a lounge singer who get into a tumultuous relationship, all the while being torn apart because of their careers (and personal flaws).
With two great leads in De Niro and Liza Minnelli, and the titular setting being one Scorsese loves, it should be better than it is. There are things to like, and that's reflected by it only just falling under the 60% needed to be deemed fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. However, it lacks the spark that the best Scorsese movies have, and it's also a bit too long at 155 minutes.
9 'Babylon' (2022)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 56%
After a hot streak including Whiplash, La La Land, and First Man, director Damien Chazelle turned his sights on Babylon. It's an ambitious film that shows the rise and fall of numerous characters during Hollywood's dramatic transition from silent film to talkies, and runs for over three hours in total.
On top of this, Babylon also has some shocking content, plenty of gross-out humor, a challenging ending, and a great deal of tragedy. It's arguably a misunderstood movie that stands as one of 2022's best, but with how much of an assault on the senses it is, maybe it's not surprising that only 56% of critics gravitated toward it.
8 'Jamaica Inn' (1939)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 55%
It might be hard to believe that a director like Alfred Hitchcock has a movie that's not fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. However, he did direct approximately 60 movies in his career, so maybe a critical misfire like 1939's Jamaica Inn was likely to happen sooner or later.
It's set in the early 1800s and follows a woman who marries a seemingly normal innkeeper. However, it turns out he's a member of an infamous criminal gang, which shakes the young woman's life up considerably. It's far from Hitchcock's finest hour, but it's also surprisingly decent, considering its notorious reputation, and is far better than some other Hitchcock misfires like the disappointing Number Seventeen (1932) and the dreadfully dull Juno and the Paycock (1929).
7 'Fellini's Casanova' (1976)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 55%
Best known for pushing cinematic boundaries with groundbreaking films like La Dolce Vita and 8½, Federico Fellini is arguably the most well-regarded Italian filmmaker of all time. His wild, ambitious style did mean that not everything he made resonated with everyone, however, as can be seen with his 1976 film that has an official title which includes his name: Fellini's Casanova.
It's a fantastical/historical drama about Giacomo Casanova, a real-life figure who became a notorious legend for his escapades that often involved womanizing and debauchery. Fellini's take on the man certainly has its redeeming qualities, but it becomes exhausting (and not in a good way) at 2.5+ hours long. Shave 40 to 50 minutes off that runtime and this might well end up a good deal more compelling and digestible.
6 'The Lost World: Jurassic Park' (1997)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 54%
It should be said right away that the first sequel to 1993's Jurassic Park lives in the shadow of that classic. The Lost World: Jurassic Park isn't quite as creative, confident, or exciting as the original, but in presenting another story about human beings clashing with dangerous dinosaurs in the modern age, it does offer a great deal of entertainment.
If Steven Spielberg is behind the camera, and the movie's genre is sci-fi, chances are things are going to be at least solid. And there are numerous sequences in The Lost World: Jurassic Park that are very entertaining, and overall only a few places where it stumbles somewhat. It's not a perfect sequel, but it is a good one, and is better than its 54% rating on Rotten Tomatoes suggests.
5 'King Kong vs. Godzilla' (1963)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 52%
Ishirō Honda was a legendary Japanese filmmaker who made plenty of great sci-fi movies in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, but his name is most commonly associated with the Godzilla series. It's not surprising, considering he directed the original in 1954, and then went on to helm seven of its direct sequels over the next decade or so.
One of those was the first cinematic match between King Kong and Godzilla, creatively titled King Kong vs. Godzilla. The Japanese cut fares a little better than the English-dubbed re-edit, but both versions are a little clumsy and silly in parts. Still, those qualities end up adding to the film's charm, and it's far from the worst movie to feature either of the two legendary monsters.
4 'Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace' (1999)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 51%
There was a great deal of anticipation for the first Star Wars prequel, The Phantom Menace, back when it was released in 1999. It had been 16 years since fans had seen a Star Wars movie on the big screen, and The Phantom Menace was notable for being the first movie in the series directed by the series creator George Lucas since the original in 1977.
It still stands as one of the most divisive entries in the entire franchise, which is represented well by it having a near 50/50 split between positive and negative reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Some scenes are good, some scenes drag, and the overall package is shaky... though it's probably worth watching/appreciating as part of the overall Star Wars saga.
3 'One from the Heart' (1982)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 47%
It's not too bold a claim to say that Francis Ford Coppola was on top of the cinematic world during the 1970s. The decade saw him direct two Best Picture Oscar winners with The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, and then he was also behind two critically acclaimed movies that won the Cannes Palme d'Or and also got Best Picture nominations: The Conversation and Apocalypse Now.
The 1980s saw him try something completely different with One from the Heart, which was a cinematic swing and a miss, albeit an admirable one. It's unique and has bold visuals plus intricate set design, though the emotions behind its romance feel a bit off, and it's narratively a slog to get through. It has something of a cult following nowadays, but isn't one of Coppola's best efforts by a long shot.
2 'Speed Racer' (2008)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 41%
The Wachowskis never make boring films; that much can be said about the sisters' bold filmography. They've directed numerous acclaimed films, perhaps being best known for directing The Matrix trilogy, the underrated Bound (1996), and the imperfect but amazingly ambitious Cloud Atlas (2012).
One movie of theirs that didn't quite hit with critics, however, was Speed Racer. It's found an audience in online spaces like Letterboxd at least, but the assault on the senses style and experience of this high-budget anime series update might've been a bit much for critics, who still could've been a little harsh by giving it an average approval rating of 41%.
1 'The Serpent's Egg' (1977)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 20%
Ingmar Bergman was an acclaimed Swedish director who had an impressive career that spanned close to 60 years. During that time, he directed approximately 70 feature films, documentaries, and short films. Many of these 70 titles were great. His 1977 film The Serpent's Egg, however, was not.
It's supposed to be a tense, even frightening look at life in Berlin during the Weimar Republic in the 1920s. It sometimes works, but feels haphazard and repetitive at other times. It doesn't have either a snappy narrative or truly interesting characters, and likely needed at least one to genuinely work. Still, it looks good visually, and Bergman regular Liv Ullmann is solid, but the film is lacking overall.