A movie you liked when you first saw it but watched several years later and realized it was horrible

[MysticalChicken]

Sorry, I can't figure out how to word that more concisely.

For me, it was Speed. I saw it in the theater when I was fifteen years old and loved it, and saw it several times after that. Several years passed and I caught it when I was 24 and started watching it and realized "this is the most god-awful piece of shit I've ever seen. Why the hell did I ever like this movie?" I caught it from the Inexplicable Broken Freeway Jump and this was my thought process throughout the rest of the movie (spoiler warning):

"What the freaking hell? That could never happen! Okay, first of all, busses in general are not aerodynamic. It doesn’t matter how fast they’re going. Unless they suddenly sprouted wings, they would NOT jump the gap, they’d go DOWN. And secondly, why is the freeway incomplete to begin with? Did a section fall out, or did they just not get around to finishing it? And oh, a freeway that’s not in use in L.A.? Irony alert! Irony alert! Oh, man, that was the cheesiest line I’ve ever heard. Can I smack Yokel Dude? I so totally wanna smack Yokel Dude. Oh, now they’re getting off the bus. Better not let Dennis Hopper notice that tape is looping. Oh, of COURSE they crash the bus into a freight airplane. ‘Cause, you know, if you crashed it into a passenger jet, that would be wrong. Oh, now back to Keanu and Sandra. Just get on the stupid freaking hatch door thingy, Sandra, Keanu’s not gonna let anything happen to you. Unless he ‘accidentally’ swerves the thing under a tire, or something … You know, this movie could conceivably end right here, but we’ve still got Dennis Hopper to deal with. Oh, he’s noticed the tape is looping. Blah blah blah fast forward to subway part. How the hell could Keanu not tell that’s Sandra Bullock in front of him, even if she’s got her back to him? Don’t shoot Sandra Bullock, Keanu! Nooooo! Yeah, go chase after Dennis Hopper now. Scuffle on the top of the subway with Dennis Hopper, and don’t forget about the fact that if he lets go of that stick, Sandra Bullock will die. I don’t see why he doesn’t let go of the stick. I would. Somehow he’s managing to hang onto the thing, though. Oh, there goes Dennis Hopper’s head. Goodbye, Dennis Hopper’s head. Okay, now Keanu can go set Sandra Bullock free. Oh, he doesn’t have the key for the handcuffs… WHAT??? The SUBWAY TRACK IS UNFINISHED!??!?! They already DID THIS with the freeway!!!! Did the producers freakin’ run out of ideas?? Why not a giant cement wall? Oh, that would be too inconceivable. Keanu’s gonna speed it up? Yeah, you just do that, Keanu. Hey, everyone on the street should watch out for the GIANT SUBWAY CAR CRASHING THROUGH THE BILLBOARD. I’m noticing nobody seems phased by this. Okay, now Keanu and Sandra are getting it on. Is Sandra Bullock still handcuffed to the pole? Oooh… kinky…"

[Aristus]

1. Braveheart.

I really enjoyed it when it was first released. Now it's practically unwatchable. And not because Mel Gibson is such a monster, either. It's just a load of crap, from a historical point of view.

[skygazer]

2. I know there's a bunch of them

But what comes immediately to mind is a TV show. Does anyone remember "V" from the 80's? It was about aliens who came to Earth and pretended to be all friendly but had an evil plot to take over the planet?

I was in my 20's when it was on and my friends and I were all addicted to it. We'd get together at someone's house and watch.

So I got the first couple of episodes on VHS when it came out and I could not believe how much it stank! Terrible! Bad acting, bad plot, bad hair (it WAS the 80's)...

It was so bad, it was funny. :rofl:

[Sweet Freedom]

6. I feel that way about China Beach.

I always watched that show when I was young, and recently reruns were on, so I watched two episodes and was amazed at how bad the dialogue was.

[AlCzervik]

8. unhinge the jaw and power down the rodent! i totally forgot about that show.

[NewJeffCT]

12. I loved "V" when it originally aired

i'm almost scared to ever watch it again for fear of disturbing my fond memories. I did have the hots for the head alien babe, though.

It actually did well in the ratings.

I did like the fact that the Visitors had fascist undertones to them - the Visitor's Youth and all.

[formerrepuke]

3. Grease.......or, 'Act like a tart and you'll be popular'

[skygazer]

9. I saw that when I was 15

And while all my friends loved it, I had the realization that it was basically a story of a girl renouncing who she really was to impress some guy. Hated it.

[cmkramer]

18. MAD MAGAZINE parody

At the end when Sandy tarts herself up, one of the characters says something like "So the way to get a guy is to dress like a slut? What a great message for the youth of America!"

[AlCzervik]

4. Less than Zero, at the time i thought it was good, needless to say it has not held up well

and the dialog is horkworthy. sometimes even James Spader can't save in 80's angst movie.

[LSdemocrat]

5. Independence Day.

[terrya]

11. Yeah.

I'm embarrassed (now) to admit I liked it when I saw it at the theater. God, it's horrible.

[Dr. Strange]

7. Batman. n/t

[Javaman]

10. And old episode of the outer limits...

Okay, so I was 12 when I first saw it. It was about a pilot and his wife getting caught in some sort of time dimension and they have to figure out a way to get back to real time.

When I was a kid, I thought this was the best episode of all the Outer Limits series. I here I am as an adult. And I begin looking for it. At first I thought it was an episode from another "twilight zone" type series: one step beyond. But then I found it.

Watched it and thought to myself, "what the fuck was I thinking? this is awful!" It was really really REALLY bad. I was so amped up to watch it, big let down.

[FloridaJudy]

13. Not the one with Martin Landau

Trying to go back through time and kill a mass murderer? That one still gets me, even though the special effects look pretty cheesy.

[Javaman]

16. No that was a good one. Martin Landau could at least act. nt

[FloridaJudy]

20. I just found the episode on Amazon

It's called "The Man Who Was Never Born". That one impressed the hell out of me as a kid. I'm down-loading it now: we'll see if it holds up. I may break down and buy the whole first season on DVD if it does. There are a whole lot of episodes I remember fondly - including the one where Robert Kulp is transformed into a monster, the one that features an old Victorian house as Shangri La, and the one about the strange half-alien children.

[Deep13]

14. Basic Instinct.

Followed it pretty intently at the cinema, but when I rented it years later it was the most bloody awful cinematic suppository I had seen in awhile. I can't say worst ever after having seen Ray Dennis Steckler's Bloody Shack, but it was bad enough.

[NewJeffCT]

15. Return of the Jedi

Return of the Jedi

I was 16 1/2 when it came out in 1983, so I was the perfect demographic to fall for Carrie Fisher in a brass bikini. They could have stopped the movie right after they escaped from Jabba's prison barge and I would have been happy.

Now, it stands out as the weakest of the three original movies and might even be worse than Revenge of the Sith. The devilish Han Solo was effectively neutered in RotJ and the Ewoks practically make me puke. And, WTF are these little teddy bears doing taking out armored stormtroopers with pointy sticks and boomerangs?

[Horse with no Name]

17. Saturday Night Fever

I think that has to be one of the worst offenders. Blazing Saddles is right next to it.

[Mad_Dem_X]

19. Pretty Woman

First time I saw it, I thought it was cute. But the more times I saw it, the less I liked it. There is no hooker on Earth who looks like Julia Roberts.

[Connonym]

21. xanadu