Movies have the power to surprise us in unexpected ways. Sometimes, we go into a Film with low expectations, only to thoroughly enjoy it. In this article, we've compiled a list of movies people didn't expect to like but were pleasantly surprised by.
These movies range in genre, style, and era, but they all share one thing in common: they exceeded expectations.
1. The Lego Movie (2014)
Emmet, an ordinary Lego Minifigure, is mistaken for a legendary MasterBuilder and recruited to save the Lego universe from the evil Lord Business. With the help of new friends, including the tough Wyldstyle and the wise Vitruvius, Emmet learns to think outside the box and embrace his creativity. A viewer says they expected this to be one long stupid advertisement for Legos, but it ended up being one of their favorite movies of all time with a surprisingly deep message.
2. Tropic Thunder (2008)
In this action-comedy, a group of pampered actors shooting a Vietnam War movie finds themselves in the midst of a real war. With the help of their eccentric director and a seasoned soldier, they must fight their way through the jungle to safety. This movie lover had no intention of seeing it but was dragged into the theater by their friends. They ended up regarding it as a great movie. While it may not be for everyone, especially if you don't appreciate crude humor, it's a laugh-out-loud ridiculous comedy satirizing the egos of Hollywood actors.
3. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
When the governor's daughter is kidnapped by the undead pirate Captain Barbossa, a rogue pirate named Jack Sparrow teams up with the blacksmith Will Turner to rescue her. Along the way, they discover a curse that has left Barbossa and his crew immortal. There aren't many films that can say they were based on a Disney theme park ride rather than the other way around, but Pirates of the Caribbean is one of them.
As one film aficionado thought, surely this is just going to be a lame Disney kid's cash grab? As it turns out, it's a fantastic movie that has been a Disney standout and created an iconic character in Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow.
4. Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
In a future where Earth is at war with an alien race, a cowardly military officer named William Cage is forced into battle and dies within minutes. However, he wakes up to relive the same day over and over again, giving him a chance to learn from his mistakes and become a better soldier. One film lover may love movies, but they're not a fan of Tom Cruise and admittedly have a hard time separating his public views from his art. However, after giving the movie a chance, they had a great time and were able to look past their personal dislike of Cruise.
5. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)
After realizing that his love for adventure has come at a cost, Puss in Boots embarks on a quest to save himself from certain doom. Having already exhausted eight of his nine lives, Puss must find a way to restore his vitality and prolong his existence. He sets out on an epic journey to uncover the mythical Last Wish, a fabled artifact that has the power to grant immortality.
Along the way, he faces numerous obstacles and adversaries. Puss in Boots is notoriously known as being a silly animated character with outrageous masculine bravado packed into a little cat. However, the over-a-decade-long gap between the first movie was well worth the wait. This sequel outperformed any expectations we could have had, even earning an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Film.
6. Cabin in the Woods (2012)
A group of college students head to a remote cabin in the woods for a weekend of fun, but they soon discover that things are not what they seem. As they fight to survive, they uncover a sinister plot that threatens the fate of the world. This is one of those movies that most people don't expect to like but are pleasantly surprised by. A film connoisseur says they were pleasantly surprised by the overall theme twist of the movie.
7. The Matrix (1999)
In a dystopian future, hacker Neo is recruited by a group of rebels to help overthrow the machine overlords that control humanity. Along the way, he discovers that the world he thought was real is actually a computer simulation. A filmgoer offers an interesting look into the perspective of film audiences when The Matrix first came out. No one knew this was about to become one of the most iconic film franchises of all time.
People expected it to be a carbon copy of Johnny Mnemonic due to all the similarities. The trailers were also vague, leaving viewers confused about what the “matrix” in The Matrix was supposed to be. Unsuspecting viewers that went in with low expectations were blown away, with this person so enthralled they went back to see it another two times.
8. Idiocracy (2006)
In this satirical comedy, a man named Joe is cryogenically frozen and wakes up 500 years in the future to find that society has devolved into a dumbed-down, anti-intellectual wasteland. With the help of a prostitute named Rita, Joe must navigate this new world and try to reverse its decline. At the time, Idiocracy may have seemed to many like it was lowbrow humor, but now people joke that it was more of a documentary that predicted our future rather than a satire.
9. Austin Powers (1997)
This comedy spoof follows the adventures of a groovy British spy named Austin Powers as he battles his arch-nemesis, Dr. Evil. Along the way, he meets a variety of colorful characters and spoofs popular spy movies of the 1960s. Hilariously, a reviewer says when they went to see Austin Powers, they had no familiarity with Mike Myers and only went to see it because their friends were.
However, this film had them rolling laughing, and they fell in love with it. Austin Powers was not an instant hit when it was released but slowly gained popularity from word-of-mouth through its cult following, leading to multiple sequels and turning into an iconic franchise.
10. The Mummy (1999)
In this action-adventure film, adventurer Rick O'Connell and librarian Evelyn Carnahan team up to find the lost city of Hamunaptra and the treasure within. However, they soon discover that the mummy of Imhotep has been revived and is on a mission to bring back his lover and wreak havoc on the world.
At the time, one film fanatic says, The Mummy looked like nothing more than a brainless forgettable summer blockbuster, especially because the film's marketing, with its awful trailers, wasn't doing it any favors. After watching the movie, however, they realized how fun, fresh, and well-crafted it was. They still consider it to be one of their favorite movies and a modern classic.
11. Zombieland (2009)
In this horror-comedy, a shy college student teams up with a gun-wielding stranger named Tallahassee to survive a zombie apocalypse. Along the way, they encounter two con artist sisters and must fight to stay alive in a world overrun by the undead. With no more knowledge than the name of the movie, this cinemagoer was expecting yet another generic zombie movie that was all the craze at the time, only to be rewarded with a deeply resonant comedy poking fun at zombie survival movies and incredible chemistry between the cast.
12. 21 Jump Street (2012)
This action-comedy is a reboot of the popular TV show from the 1980s. Two immature cops, Schmidt and Jenko, are sent back to high school to go undercover and bust a drug ring. However, they quickly realize that high school has changed since they were students, and they struggle to fit in and maintain their cover.
As they navigate their way through the social hierarchy of high school, they also discover that the drug ring they are trying to bust is more dangerous than they initially thought. A movie-watcher insists the comedy took them by surprise. Another film lover argues that the sequel 22 Jump Street might be even better.
Source: Reddit.
