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For Sale Mar 31, 2026 at 7:48 AM

What’s a movie you got wrong when it came out? It often takes many years for opinions to shift. I used to hate The Mummy Returns. I was wrong.

Posted by Freddy-Philmore

I notice old movies re-evaluated all the time. For some reason something hotly anticipated and new (often a sequel) is often hated by the audience at the time. And it's not until 10-20 years later it's loved. Tons of examples. And today there are movies that everyone hates… (a lot) that people get riled up about and there are endless posts about why they're terrible… but years from now they will be liked or loved. Now it's my turn. Just went to see the re-release of The Mummy Returns and I loved it. I didn't like it at all 20 years ago, but I thought I'd give it another shot. It's so much fun. It's so insanely packed and stuffed with set pieces… after the first hour I couldn't believe there was another hour left. Same director Stephen Sommers and same cast, of course. I have no idea why I hated it back then. It just seems like a pale copy of the first. This time around maybe that didn't bother me. The one thing that still is hilariously bad is The Rock as the Scorpion King... oh man he looks like a bad video game in the last act. Even 20 years ago it looked bad.
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SamwisethePoopyButt Mar 31, 2026 +34
I didn't like There Will Be Blood the first time I saw it. Then I rewatched it years later as a more seasoned movie fan (and human being) and it was like jfc this movie's sensational.
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Jaydo08 Mar 31, 2026 +10
I’ll give it a second look. I didn’t care for it either.
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Ren_Kaos Mar 31, 2026 +3
Same, I watched it as a budding adult, probably early 20’s. I’ll try again at 35.
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InanimateEffinObject Mar 31, 2026 +1
Almost exact same age, have been planning to do the same with this movie
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TravisKilgannon Mar 31, 2026 +1
Is that you, Quentin?
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Jackbuddy78 Mar 31, 2026
Roger Ebert praised DDL but seemed to think it was like an inferior sibling to No Country that came out the same year.
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SamwisethePoopyButt Mar 31, 2026 +3
Imo any similarities between the movies are superficial and comparing them is kinda pointless. They both work in different ways for me.
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Jackbuddy78 Mar 31, 2026 -1
Superficial? I don't know, they are both extremely anti-capitalist and really in some ways anti-American films. 
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[deleted] Mar 31, 2026 -1
[deleted]
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Jackbuddy78 Mar 31, 2026 +1
That is superficial stuff for the most part but I wouldn't lump the actual theme in with that. 
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CoolHandPB Mar 31, 2026 +1
I watched No Country for Old Men and There will be Blood back to back on some random Tuesday after work. They had both just come out so there wasn't much buzz about either. I just liked PTA and The Coen brothers and couldn't decide which to watch. I had no idea I was walking into two of the greatest movie of their decade. It was a good day.
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Sisiutil Mar 31, 2026 +16
The wife and I loved the killer zombie pygmies. How could you not?
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Freddy-Philmore Mar 31, 2026 +2
That was hilarious.
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lionson76 Mar 31, 2026 +22
Big Lebowski for me. I really didn't like it the first time, although I don't remember why. I've seen it a bunch since, and I swear I laugh harder with each viewing.
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everythingbeeps Mar 31, 2026 +2
Same. That and Fargo took me a couple watches but now they’re my two favorite Coen films
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NotAgedWell Mar 31, 2026 +2
Same here. Along with Napoleon Dynamite.
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VicViolence Mar 31, 2026 +2
Yeah, for some reason the first time I watched TBL i just didn’t get it. The second watch was like “OHHHH yeah this movie fucks”
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lionson76 Mar 31, 2026 +1
To be fair, when I first watched it I wasn't much of a drinker or smoker. The second time I watched it years later I was probably drunk and/or baked, which I guess really helps with the immersion lol.
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mithridateseupator Mar 31, 2026 +2
It's confusing on first watch. You pay attention to the wrong things. You get frustrated at Walter instead of laughing at him.
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zowietremendously Mar 31, 2026 +7
I'll give an example of a movie that I always loved. But as a kid, the meaning was lost on me. Cat's Don't Dance. It's a movie about racism and oppression, under the social constructs of the 1930's Hollywood motion picture industry. As a kid, I'm just enjoying the talking animals.
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erdrickdw Mar 31, 2026 +3
Cats Don't Dance is so good. Everybody I have gotten to actually sit down and watch it with me loved it, they just never gave it a chance. 
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res30stupid Mar 31, 2026 +6
Not when it came out but when I saw it, but it took until my 50th watch for me to realise that in Murder On The Orient Express, most of Poirot's deductions come from the fact that >!he recognised Linda Arden immediately when he first saw her upon boarding the train.!<
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Freddy-Philmore Mar 31, 2026 +6
I love figuring something out after seeing a movie countless times.
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res30stupid Mar 31, 2026 +6
Yeah, it's great. If you know this going back and watching it, you realise >!Poirot's been taunting Linda about knowing who she is for most of the movie.!<
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_Goose_ Mar 31, 2026 +12
Napoleon Dynamite It was just a year after I graduated and it felt too close to the nose. Disliked it for a long time. I watch it today as a top 5 favorite mostly for nostalgia.
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Jaydo08 Mar 31, 2026 +3
This was my choice too. Really disliked it first time. Watched again 5 years later and now enjoy it.
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purplecactai Apr 1, 2026 +1
This.  When my family first watched it, we were just confused.  We didnt 'get it'.  Second watch we were histerical and it instantly became a classic.
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kanyewest42 Mar 31, 2026 +1
Nostalgia has nothing to do with getting a movie wrong tho
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grumblyoldman Mar 31, 2026
I disagree. "Getting a movie wrong" does not mean there's one objectively correct way to interpret a movie and you interpreted it incorrectly the first time. Movies are art, and art is inherently subjective. A person is not wrong simply because they dislike a movie that most people enjoy. "Getting a movie wrong" simply means you've changed your opinion of it since the first viewing, and nostalgia can absolutely play a role in that shift of perspective. Maybe because you become nostalgic about some aspect of the movie that you felt nothing for on first viewing, or perhaps because the movie reminds you of a time in your own life that you now feel nostalgic for (and did not at the time of first viewing.) I often find myself getting nostalgic for practical effects in movies from the 80s and 90s, for example. The first time I watched those movies (around the time of release), I didn't even think about the effects, now I watch them and I'm like "this looks so much better than modern CGI." Even if it still looks fake, there's a *solidity* to practical effects like puppets that you don't get from CGI creatures. That newfound appreciation is fueled entirely by nostalgia.
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BloodyPaleMoonlight Mar 31, 2026 +5
The Ninth Gate. When I first watched it, I tried to watch it as a horror movie, and hated it. The second time I watched it, I watched it as a comedy, and laughed my ass off.
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stormyarthur Mar 31, 2026 +1
The book is miles and miles better 
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Lonely_Noyaaa Mar 31, 2026 +20
Speed Racer is probably the most dramatic example of a movie hated on release that people have completely reversed on. Critics tore it apart in 2008 and now it's considered a visionary piece of work that was just too ahead of its time for the audience and technology it got.
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Fizzbit Mar 31, 2026 +6
I was blown away by how good the Speed Racer movie was. Saw it in theaters only because I loved the anime as a kid but expected mediocrity at best. Ended up becoming one of my favs. Very good live action adaptation.
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denim_skirt Mar 31, 2026 +4
Hell yeah. I saw it in the theater because I love the wachowskis and the cultural reassessment has me feeling VINDICATED
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THUORN Mar 31, 2026 +4
The 4k release is in may!
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zowietremendously Apr 1, 2026 +1
Speed Racer has always been polarizing, going all the way back to the 1960s anime. And Speed Racer isn't all that popular as a franchise. And the movie reboot hasn't made Speed Racer a popular franchise again, in all the years its been out. It's not gaining new fans by the year. The anime, nor the movie. Speed Racer as a brand has most definitely declined. The movie did not suddenly make Speed Racer popular again. New generations aren't discovering Speed Racer, the same way their discovering The Matrix, the actual popular Wachowski movie. Or like new generations are discovering Pokemon, the actual popular anime. Most of the people who like Speed Racer today, also liked it back then. They just weren't on social media, to express their love for Speed Racer. So you only heard the critics back then. Perhaps there a few people who didn't like it initially, that perhaps maybe they might've change their opinion, and appreciate it more now. But it's not hoards of people. Most of the people who didn't like it then, still don't like it now. I've never seen a single critic who trashed Speed Racer, do any type of mea culpa, and go out on a 20-city apology tour about how wrong they were about Speed Racer. Speed Racer is still very much a coin-flip movie. Speed Racer, the movie is an intentionally decisive film. The Wachowskis went into the project know it would be a contentious movie, on purpose. The movie still has a lot of detractors, and that was intentional. The Wachowskis know that everything they make is gonna be divisive. They seemed to have to have made the one film that seemingly everyone loves, the Matrix. But everything else they've made has always been polarizing. Speed Racer, it's a weird film. It's entirely green-screen, with a lot of psychedelic graphics. But with live-action actors. Not everyone is gonna be into that. Its a coin flip. They either dig it, or they don't. That's a hard sell for a lot of people. I still know a bunch of people who f*** with Speed Racer like that. And I know some people who really dig it. There's still a lot of people who don't even like the anime Speed Racer. But one thing is for sure, everyone loves the American Speed Racer theme song.
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Freddy-Philmore Mar 31, 2026 -2
Also believe it or not... the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Fans at the time... sort of horrified. But their younger brothers and sisters... love it. I've been to screenings with 20 and 30somethings and they love it because they saw it as kids. And Matrix Reloaded... that car chase scene and the rave are now iconic. Not quite Matrix love level but definitely more. The Watchowskis were pretty good at being ahead of the curve. Sometimes too far lol.
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Oathkeeper89 Mar 31, 2026 +7
The Matrix Reloaded has some of the absolute best action set pieces in the history of action set pieces in film. The entire sequence with the Merovingian > finding the Keymaker > Neo fighting the goons > car chase across the city > highway sequence is like… 50 minutes of straight gas fire action and payoff.
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Freddy-Philmore Mar 31, 2026 +1
Totally. I want to see this again on a big screen. maybe in 2028 they will have a 25th anniversary IMAX rerelease. In 2003 I think fans wanted more of the same from the first one... it's definitely different... fans have a knee jerk reaction to sequels for sure especially if it's different.
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MiDKnighT_DoaE Mar 31, 2026 +2
The rave scene? Nah man that's still cringe. Neo vs dozens of Agent Smiths was cool tho.
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circuitloss Mar 31, 2026 +1
The rave scene was in revolutions. Wasn't it? Not in reloaded
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Freddy-Philmore Mar 31, 2026 +1
The rave isn’t cringe at all IMO... I think that misses the point. it’s so essential. It’s the movie defining humanity through physical connection and emotion, right before everything goes to hell. It's not just about sweat. It’s bold and the clearest contrast to the machines in the whole film. They don't get us and we don't get them.
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MiDKnighT_DoaE Mar 31, 2026 +3
Glad you liked it but I thought it was cheesy as hell. I nearly had a cringe attack watching it in the theater. The highway chase and Neo vs dozens of Agent Smiths were 🔥 tho.
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Freddy-Philmore Mar 31, 2026
Maybe some at the time were uncomfortable with that kind of connection when they're looking for just an action movie. I get it. The watchoiwskis like to surprise and not give you what you expect. Which I think is a great thing for directors. But it's absolutely jarring.
0
Jack5h1t Mar 31, 2026 +11
Back in the early 80s when I was about 12 I watched Dr. Strangelove. I remember thinking "this is stupid!". About 5 or 6 years ago it popped up.on netflix and just out of curiosity I watched it again. It is SOOOOOOOO frakkin' good and so funny.
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grumblyoldman Mar 31, 2026 +5
I can see how a lot of the humour in Dr Strangelove would be lost on a 12 year old.
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Creative-Doctor3118 Mar 31, 2026 +5
The assassination of Jesse James by the coward Robert ford. Walked out the cinema halfway. Was gutted as love the actors, and the directors previous movie, Chopper was a banger. Was expecting more of the same but better with Hollywood actors etc. z Turns out it was a masterpiece of introspection and cinematics but wasn’t mentally ready for it.
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prodigyZA Mar 31, 2026 +7
Basically all Quentin Tarantino movies, every time it takes me a while to come around and enjoy them.
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Freddy-Philmore Mar 31, 2026 +3
I get that. I really see it with all hotly anticipated movies. It's not until rewatches that I can fully appreciate it. Jackie Brown is my fave QT
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Jackbuddy78 Mar 31, 2026 +3
The problem with his movies is that there is too much of him in them. That's why people often like Jackie Brown as a direct adaptation and ignore all his more "original" stuff.
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MotorBobcat Mar 31, 2026 +1
It happened to me with Inglourious Basterds and Hateful Eight. I walked out of the theater not liking either, but now they are possibly my favorite Tarantino films.
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BonaFidePirate Mar 31, 2026 +6
"You want the shotgun?" "No, I prefer the Thompson."
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Acewasalwaysanoption Mar 31, 2026 +3
That's such a blissful moment, when you're having a time of your life with a movie, you check the clock and realise you still have so much of it left.
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Freddy-Philmore Mar 31, 2026 +2
I'm also a writer... I like to time things for my own benefit. Yeah when I saw that I was like OMG this movie rocks.
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Chaosmango Mar 31, 2026 +3
Bladerunner (1982) and First Blood (1982) Both movies I've seen countless times - at least parts of them - here and there, since I've been a kid. Never cared too much for either one, probably zapped away on the TV, or watched it half-assed. My first actual watch for both movies was as an adult. And boy, did the POV change. As a kid you see the surface of the movie. As a kid, First Blood seemed like a generic Stallone action-flick, which is not to dislike as a kid, but you assume it's generic. As an adult, with your own life-experience, you see the tragedy it tries to convey, and which part of society it criticizes. As someone, who's seen his fair share of movies, you see the attention to detail; the challenges of actors, and you appreciate these things. Bladerunner I would describe as heavily adult-themed. It's dystopian; dark; some of the substance is implied, not spelled out. It didn't blow me away in any way, but I saw the uniqueness in it, why so many people love this movie. I can't imagine noticing or appreciating any of these things before an adult age.
3
MatthewWolfbane Mar 31, 2026 +3
We disliked Spiderman 2002 initially. It grew on us later, after we watched more Sam Raimi films in 2009.
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_PinkSiren Mar 31, 2026 +2
Proof that time changes taste
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_BunCherry Mar 31, 2026 +2
Sometimes it takes time to see the magic
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daroach1414 Mar 31, 2026 +2
I remember in high school I didn’t want to go see oceans 11 because I thought the name was dumb.
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truckturner5164 Mar 31, 2026 +2
Not when it came out (I was born about 40 years later), but it took me three watches to like Casablanca. Still not a film I absolutely love (I much prefer Bogey in The Maltese Falcon, The Caine Mutiny, and The Harder They Fall), but I like it now and certainly respect it.
2
Squiddlywinks Mar 31, 2026 +2
This is still an unpopular take, but: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. H******* fans hated it, and as a h******* fan, I did too. It was too different, and Shia, and monkeys! But on a rewatch, it's good. It doesn't beat Raiders or Last Crusade, but it's on par with Temple. It's a fun send up of 50s scifi and it continues the mythology that was set in the books, where the crystal skulls were always being mentioned. Enjoyable film.
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Bibblejw Mar 31, 2026 +1
Both of them are on our regular re-watch list. There are a bunch of little bits I enjoy, but mostly, it's that, in the first one, everyone plays it straight (mostly). Essentially as people experiencing this horror for the first time. In the sequel, everyone is very aware that this is weird, and just goes along with it. Apparently, 2 rodeos is enough rodeos.
1
Far-Trash-4979 Mar 31, 2026 +1
i used to write off spider man 3 completely, rewatched it later and it’s messy but way more fun than i gave it credit for
1
PerniciousPlay Mar 31, 2026 +1
Can't think of any but had to add how I absolutely loved Mummy Returns and I'm sad that you felt like that but glad you realized the epicness of it :)
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IgloosRuleOK Mar 31, 2026 +1
I was only 18 but I was one of the dumb people who didn't get the ending to AI when it came out.
1
Overwatch3 Mar 31, 2026 +1
I cant think of many times I changed my mind on a movie, im usually pretty set in stone after one viewing. The only time that comes to mind is Batman Begins. I remember being kinda lost and bored with the switching timelines and all the focus on the gangsters when I first watched it on DVD. But im fairly certain thats because I had the flu when I watched it and was kinda falling in and out of sleep on the couch. When I watched it again before the dark knight came out, I highly enjoyed it.
1
Stompedyourhousewith Mar 31, 2026 +1
I thought the matrix was a sequel to Johnny mnemonic, so I avoided it like the plague
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ademon490 Mar 31, 2026 +1
Sometimes when you see a new movie you are just not in the right mindset to enjoy it. First time I saw under world or John wick I f****** hated it. Upon a second viewing I thoroughly enjoyed them.
1
TimedDelivery Mar 31, 2026 +1
I saw Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring at the drive in when I was 12 and thought it was so dumb. Wizards? A magic ring? Tiny dudes that don’t wear shoes? How stupid! I remember cracking up laughing throughout the battle between Saruman and Gandalf. My cousins convinced me to give it another go a year or two later and I must have grown up a lot or something because I now loved it. It was fantastic. I saw Return of the King opening day and then again a few weeks later. I got all of the extended versions and rewatched them. I am not exaggerating, dozens of times. I still love it now decades later.
1
maybes_some_back2002 Mar 31, 2026 +1
Honestly, the Star Wars Prequels. I remember how much I hated **The Phantom Menace** when it dropped. was so focused on Jar Jar so missed the world-building and the incredible lightsaber choreography. Now, compared to some modern sequels, they feel like genuine masterpieces with a soul for me. It's a pleasure to watch them one more time, btw, gonna do it today
1
I_Weep_for_Willow Mar 31, 2026 +2
Hmm, when describing the prequels, 'soul' is not a word that I would ever use haha. But to each their own : ) 
2
wo_lo_lo Mar 31, 2026 +1
Idiocracy. I thought it was hilarious and endlessly rewatchable when it came out. Now that it’s basically a documentary, it’s terrifying.
1
Boombabyfor333 Mar 31, 2026 +1
Blade Runner. Didn’t really enjoy it on my first viewing but it’s become one of my favorite films upon several rewatches
1
MuddyMiercoles Mar 31, 2026 +1
I hope people revisit Chappie and consider their experiences with AI now. I always loved that movie for its depiction of shit parenting, but now with experience with LLM's, it also shows results vary by what you put into it. So again, parenting, but more funny like when your prompt sucks and the output reflects your unintended meaning.
1
DeapVally Mar 31, 2026 +1
I never used to like the Little Mermaid when I was a kid. I watched it recently, and 'part of their world' is probably the best Disney song from any of of their movies. I really only remembered 'under the sea', but that's not as good. 'Poor unfortunate souls' is a banger as well.
1
Horkersaurus Mar 31, 2026 +1
The Other Guys, didn’t like it at all when I saw it at the theater.  I think maybe I just wasn’t ready for that level of absurdity, I watched it again a few years later and loved it. 
1
LiquidAether Mar 31, 2026 +1
Changing a subjective opinion over time doesn't mean it was wrong the first time.
1
one_among_the_fence Mar 31, 2026 +1
I am the opposite of you. I enjoyed the Mummy Returns as a kid, but find it terrible re-watching as an adult. It's so hokey and full of plot-holes. Such a far cry from the original, it's really hard to watch for me.
1
hipnotyq Mar 31, 2026 +1
Lost in Translation. Saw it way way too young and too stupid. Didn't get anything out of it as a 15 year old. Much better watch at 39.
1
jeffy303 Apr 1, 2026 +1
I found Lincoln quite uneventful and somewhat dull, but decade later knowing much more about US politics and history I found it incredibly compelling. The final scene of Tommy Lee Jones' character in his house is just everything. Spielberg still knows how to do a tear jerker.
1
matheww19 Apr 1, 2026 +1
Blade Runner. Not when it first came out, but when I first saw it prior to the directors cuts, final cut, etc being released. I was a teenager, and a big Harrison Ford fan. Loved Han Solo and Indy. I was expecting a sci-fi action adventure movie, and the movie is not that at all. The Godfather- around the same time, it was right after Goodfella's hit HBO. I really loved it, and wanted to see something similar. I caught The Godfather, and couldn't make it through the wedding. Now, those are two of my favorite movies of all time.
1
michaelrxs Mar 31, 2026 -3
No you were right the first time. The kid sinks that whole movie. Just interminable.
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dondondorito Mar 31, 2026 +7
I love The Mummy Returns. The kid is not hurting the movie at all.
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raknor88 Mar 31, 2026 +5
See, I liked the kid. He had some good zingers against the bad guys.
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Freddy-Philmore Mar 31, 2026 +1
Either way I'm right... win/win for Freddy
1
Typical_Intention996 Mar 31, 2026 -5
This. It sucked then seeing it new. It sucks now. That kid just kills it. And the dodgy cgi in parts. It's one of those old sayings. How do you ruin a good action adventure movie? Add a kid. How do you ruin a good war movie or western? Add a love story.
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Freddy-Philmore Mar 31, 2026 +5
Kid was great actually. He's not in it that much. It's a two hour movie he probably has 15 minutes (maybe 10) of screen time, Like my post said... we see something the first time and certain things seem exaggerated. See it again and they're not what we remember.
5
gamecat89 Mar 31, 2026
I hated Jurassic Park the first time I watched it, but now it is one of my favorite movies. Of course, I was 4 when I first saw it playing...
0
Davish_Royale Mar 31, 2026 -3
Nah, the first Mummy film with Fraser is good but the rest suck balls. Rehashing the same villain was stupid (same grip I have with the Transformers films) and it was basically just a gateway movie for The Rock to star in the Scorpion King spin off film and spawn that shitty franchise. Recasting Weisz was also a mistake though no hate for Bello but she should've turned it down. They could've just waited for Weisz to settle into motherhood. Now, they should just quit the franchise as the damage has been done with the two shitty sequels and a reboot/continuation (due to the easter egg) that wasn't bad but was tonally different due to them trying to make a connected universe. Plus, there is also whatever that other upcoming mummy movie is that doesn't seem connected to anything. And to answer the question about changed takes: life story films. Not biopics, I mean films like Secondhand Lions, Forrest Gump, & Fried Green Tomatoes. I never thought that they were bad just kinda meh. Now, I love films like that though they take planning to watch as sometimes they are long and I am busy.
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