Actual underrated films of the 2020s so far
When I mean underrated I mean underrated. Few self-imposed rules on this: no movies that had big award nominations and no movies that have above a 60% on RT.
- Amsterdam (2022)
Directed by David O. Russell, this movie never had a chance. Post-metoo O. Russell is persona non grata. However, this film continue his trajectory that he had with the Jennifer Lawrence trilogy (Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle, and Joy). Which analyze American perseverance in the face of hopelessness.
The main characters here played by Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, and John David Washington are all a found family of outsiders who don’t fit anywhere else but with each other.
The film was savaged by film critics, earning a 31% on RottenTomatoes. In spite of film critics having their knives out for O. Russell, it is one of the most prescient films of the decade about the rise of fascism in the U.S. And contains perhaps the best performance of Margot Robbie’s career.
- A Rainy Day in New York (2020)
Originally scheduled for release in 2018 by Amazon, as part of their now rescinded deal with Woody Allen, the film was shelved for close to two years before becoming widely available during the pandemic.
The last Hollywood film Allen ever made stars Timothee Chalamet, Selena Gomez, Elle Fanning, Jude Law, Liev Schreiber, and Diego Luna.
Once again, in a post-Metoo landscape, the film received a 47% on RottenTomatoes. One imagines that if this released prior to 2017 it would receive similar positive notices to Allen’s first Amazon film Cafe Society.
The film plays sweet and comforting, like much of Allen’s work. Chalamet makes an excellent Woody replacement (makes you wonder how many films they would have done together under different circumstances). And the chemistry between Chalamet and Gomez is wonderful, it is also probably the best performance Gomez will ever give.
- The Greatest Beer Run Ever (2022)
On the topic of vengeful film critics, Peter Farrelly’s follow up to his Best Picture winner Green Book received a 43% on RottenTomatoes. Critics were not-so-subtlety punishing Farrelly for beating the critical darling Roma for the industry’s top prize.
It’s a beautifully shot Vietnam war drama with an incredibly layered and empathetic performance from Zac Efron. It blends comedy and drama much like its predecessor Jojo Rabbit. It’s never boring and gets criticized for “insensitivity” for whatever reason.
- Cry Macho (2021)
Likely to be Clint Eastwood’s final lead performance, Cry Macho received a 57% on RottenTomatoes.
The film sees Eastwood do what he does best. Deconstruct masculinity through the lens of Americana, with the added element of the impending death that comes with old age.
The type of crowd-pleaser Eastwood specialized in and which was broadly better received thirty years ago.
- The Strangers: Chapter Two (2025)
A bizarre follow up to the near shot for shot remake that was The Stranger: Chapter One. The film throws you off completely from any expectations you might have had for a horror sequel.
The lowest rated of these films at 15% on RT, it’s an energetic chase film that doesn’t let down and somehow tries to also be The Revenant. Gonzo choices are made here that somehow work as pure entertainment. And it’s anchored by a genuinely good performance by Madeline Petsch. It will be a cult classic with horror fans in a few years.
I’ll put The Green Knight on the list. Few movies I’ve seen over the past 10 years have left me with so many tantalizing questions, so much evocative imagery. As a story it’s sort of a bridge between the wildly different worldviews and ways of thinking of the ancient, medieval, and modern worlds all at once.
I like The Green Knight a lot but it was very acclaimed by critics
Such a strange movie where I felt like I understood none of it, but enjoyed it thoroughly. Something about it is hauntingly beautiful. Analysis videos after the fact made me appreciate it a bit more.
The only movie I can think of is The Life of Chuck. It didn’t really get a wide theatrical release and I can understand that it’s not exactly a mass appeal kind of film, but I really enjoyed the filmmaking and the simplicity of the message. Plus it has an extended song and dance sequence that succeeds in feeling spontaneous while also having thematic meaning. A+, would recommend.
Can’t think of a single other film, though. This decade hasn’t been a good one for the medium.
I need to see this one still, love Mike Flanagan
This was an impossible task for me. Almost my entire pipeline for media consumption is based off word of mouth recommendation, which usually runs counter to a low Rotten Tomatoes score. The best I could do are two movies that bend the rules.
The first is Cocaine Bear which is sitting above the RT threshold at 65%. You get what you expect given the title. It's not exactly good, but it is fun.
My second rule breaker is Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge which is an animated direct to streaming movie that sits at a whopping 90% on RT. To me Scorpion's Revenge is underrated because it never broke out of the demographic it was supposed to hit. I think a small handful of nerds watched and loved it, while the general public probably didn't know that the movie existed at all. The good animated movie did not remotely reach the viewership heights of the widely panned live action Mortal Kombat that came out a year later. If their viewership was flipped, I'd say that Scorpion's Revenge would still be sitting with a comfortably positive rating (probably not 90% though), so it maybe doesn't qualify as underrated, but we don't live in that timeline, and most people haven't seen it, so I'll call it underrated.
Since the only titles I had that fit the criteria were shorts, I'll just add a reminder for anyone that needs it that RT Tomatometer scores aren't an indication of quality, only general consensus. A film that's universally reviewed as a decent 3/5 time-waster will score 100%, while another that's interesting and racking up five-star reviews, but is challenging and potentially divisive, will score lower.
They used to have the critics' score average too but it looks like they don't show it anymore.
Great post /u/cloud_loud! Of the six movies mentioned in the post so far, i haven't heard of any of them. Gonna have to watch at least a couple of them this snowy weekend!
It's tempting to list underseen rather than underrated movies, so I appreciate OP setting a Rotten Tomatoes ceiling. My pick is M. Night Shyamalan's Trap (2024), with 56% on RT and no major nominations/wins AFAIK. It's often silly but also suspenseful. Josh Hartnett is having so much fun with his over-the-top performance. And any movie shot by Sayombhu Mukdeeprom is a treat to look at.
It was quintessentially Shyamalan, and it was very fun. Very interesting narrative structure too. Despite that I think the RT score is merited, I don’t think it’s necessarily a good movie
Yeah, that’s a good movie! I liked it.
A Minecraft Movie, Where the Crawdads Sing.... they got awards, but mostly just for songs. Does that count?
La-la-la-lava, ch-ch-ch-chicken
Steve's Lava Chicken, yeah, it's tasty as hell
Ooh, mamacita, now you're ringin' the bell
Crispy and juicy, now you're havin' a snack
Ooh, super spicy, it's a lava attack
I’ll agree with you for Crawdads. I think that’s a really nice Southern Gothic drama. Daisy Edgar Jones is really good in that and the song Taylor Swift made for it is so good.
Far from under the radar, and I also believe it might have got a Golden Lion nomination amongst its sea of Razzies, but I was really impressed by Joker: Folie à Deux last year. Following that fantastic first film that was written to be self-contained must have been a tough approach, but the metafictional response it took was… well, for a film of its status, brave, I thought. I thought it unfair that this film was near-universally panned for taking the route that the Twin Peaks reboot was adored for!
Folie à Deux was hardly a masterpiece but I respected it so much for doing what it tried to do and I think it succeeded almost across the board.
Nah that counts. I know on Wikipedia it says that stuff gets nominated for the Golden Lion at Venice and the Palme D'or at Cannes. But it's not really a nomination, it was just allowed entry to compete for it. I don't particularly like Folie a Deux but I can understand why someone would. It's also a very pretty movie.
The Deep End (2022)
Topic: cult documentary miniseries
Where to watch: HBO or Hulu I think
Notes: the filmmakers were given a wild amount of access, 4 ep x 45 min = 3 hr movie :)
Nate – A One Man Show (2020)
Topic: clown comedy show
Where to watch: Netflix (exclusive)
Notes: very NSFW, recommend going in blind to not spoil its themes
Dear Kelly (2025) (independent)
Topic: political documentary
Where to watch: www.dearkellyfilm.com
Notes: not on RT
I saw Dear Kelley at a C5AN live event. I had a lot of thoughts and actually almost posted about it here on Tildes, but ultimately never did.
It was an absolute rollercoaster of a film. As a guy from Ohio it really made me want to root for Kelly.
Does Bullet Train qualify? Only a 56% on Rotten Tomatoes, but was nominated for several categories in the People's Choice Awards and the Saturn Awards. Not sure how major those really are in the bigger picture. I saw it in theaters with my dad because the trailers looked fun (last film we saw together, in fact). I went in expecting a classic action flick, and was pleasantly surprised by it having some actually really clever writing. It held up well on a rewatch, too.
I totally forgot this movie came out this recently! It feels a bit dated in a way I can't quite put my finger on.
Fantastic film. It's basically what I wish that John Wick was. Surprised the RT score is so low, actually.
I was surprised by the rating too! Actually looking it up again, the rating is at 52% now. Everyone I know who saw it had a blast though. It was one of the most enjoyable theater experiences I had in years.
I wonder if it's because the film isn't super grand or epic with some deeper meaning or grand struggle. The trailers promised us assassins fighting on a Japanese bullet train with some quips, and that's exactly what we got. Thinking about it, we used to have a ton of mindless action films with some clever twists, but nowadays I think most films try to include some philosophical element or greater message or theme. That's fine, but sometimes I just want a film that's just fun and doesn't try to get the audience to contemplate morality or anything.
Should one watch Strangers: Ch 1 first in order to appreciate Ch 2?
Yes. It is basically the original film with some minor changes. I slightly prefer it to the original primarily because Petsch is a much stronger actress than Tyler. 2 picks up directly from the firsts ending
The Remarkable life of Ibelin was surprisingly touching.
Plebs: Soldiers of Rome (especially if you've seen the television series).
The Watchmen animated films (two parts) are excellent. Not sure how under the radar they are in general, but they were certainly under mine.
Much, much better than the film by whatsisface. So true to the vibe and ideas in the graphic novel.
In no particular order: Freemont, Çatlak, My Small Land (マイスモールランド), The Kid Detective, As bestas, Hytti nro 6, Das Lehrerzimmer, Presence, and Babylon.
I don’t love any of the films above, but they’re really good in their own right. My Small Island and Çatlak were particularly affecting. Babylon has been watched a lot, and I added it to my list only because I think it’s very much undervalued, and I’m saying this as someone who’s not the biggest fan of its director. I just have a soft spot for films that are flat out interesting to watch, where you don’t know what the next scene will be about. (Granted, that doesn’t make a film good, but that’s not a priority for me.) Under my definition of underrated, Presence would take the cake, though. It’s a Soderbergh film, so it didn’t go under the radar, but it’s “misinterpreted” and brushed off by a significant number of people as a simple ghost story. It’s so, so much more than that. It didn’t affect me as much as the aforementioned films, but Presence is by far the best film on my list.