Certain films received thumbs down from Gene Siskel, Roger Ebert, or both, despite getting rave reviews from many others.
- Ebert gave Die Hard a thumbs down. It holds a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes and is now considered to be one of the greatest action films of all time. He thought there were too many plot holes and hated the belligerent authority figures. (However, he seemed to come around on the film at some point, as he liked Die Hard with a Vengeance and claimed to like it about as much as the first one.)
- The duo liked Die Hard 2 the best out of the three original movies, with Siskel going so far as to personally thank everyone involved in the making of the movie. While not generally disliked, having a 69% on Rotten Tomatoes, it's often overshadowed by the first movie.
- Siskel gave GoldenEye a thumbs down. It holds a 78% on Rotten Tomatoes and is regarded by some to be the best of the Pierce Brosnan Bond films and a return to form for the series. Siskel thought it was a routine story, thought the only good action scene was in the first five minutes, and thought Brosnan was a mediocre Bond ("Frankly, Roger Moore has a more commanding physical presence than this guy."). note
- While he didn't exactly hate it, Ebert gave a marginal thumbs down to Full Metal Jacket, claiming it wasn't on par with Stanley Kubrick's earlier work and finding the second half of the film a letdown. The film has a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
- Ebert also didn't care for Blue Velvet, which holds a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes. He admired the filmmaking, but hated being jerked around by having deadly serious scenes immediately followed by humor. He particularly objected to a scene where Isabella Rossellini's character was naked on a character's lawn, feeling that the actress was being exploited.note
- While it doesn't have a high Rotten Tomatoes score, they gave Home Alone, which was a box office smash, two thumbs down. They didn't care for the comic violence and didn't think it was an accurate portrayal of a kid being left alone. Interestingly, while the two never changed their vote on the show, months later they took a second look at the film to examine why they thought audiences loved it. And in their review of Home Alone 3, Siskel was stunned that Ebert liked it more than the original film, and readily admitted that Macaulay Culkin was a better actor than Alex D. Linz.
- The duo gave thumbs down to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, which is regarded by many as a Christmas classic nowadays.
- Siskel didn't care for The Silence of the Lambs, which has a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes and which Ebert put on his list of "Great Movies". He thought the film's execution was trashy, felt Anthony Hopkins overacted, and didn't feel the movie was an accurate portrayal of serial killers
- Siskel gave Carrie (1976) a mixed but marginally negative review, giving it two and a half stars and criticizing the ending as “crude and sloppy.” The film is generally considered a horror classic and has a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
- Ebert gave A Few Good Men thumbs down, claiming it had no surprises and had a sloppy ending. It has an 81% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
- Independence Day was given two thumbs down; while it wasn't a resounding critical success, it was a big hit at the box office. They even re-reviewed the film after it became a success, and still disliked it, citing unmemorable characters, clichéd dialogue, and generic-looking aliens.
- Siskel disliked Mulan, which has an 86% on Rotten Tomatoes. He thought the artwork was dull, there didn't seem to be a sense of jeopardy regarding the main character, and couldn't remember any of the songs.
- Siskel didn't care for The Neverending Story and gave it thumbs down. It was generally well-received and has an 83% Rotten Tomatoes score.
- Ebert disliked the 1989 Batman, which was and is held in high regard (though it registers only 72% on the Tomatometer). He liked the set design but didn't care about any of the characters and thought the film had a meanness to it, although he has mentioned multiple times since that Jack Nicholson's Joker is among the best comic-book film villains ever.
- Siskel didn't like Ferris Bueller's Day Off, which has an 81% on Rotten Tomatoes and is one of Richard Roeper's personal favorite films. He thought all the scenes were done better in other movies.
- Siskel gave a marginal thumbs down to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, which has an 88% on Rotten Tomatoes and is generally regarded as an improvement over Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Siskel didn't feel Harrison Ford and Sean Connery had any chemistry, and had a sense of déjà vu from the action sequences.
- Both Siskel and Ebert revealed on a special episode ("The Movie That Made Us Critics") that they felt Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was overrated. Ebert went so far as to claim that the film was a turkey.
- Roeper gave a marginal thumbs down to The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, which has a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes; he felt it had too many characters to care about, thought the film was too long and repetitive, and was turned off by the non-ending. It should be noted, however, that he gave the other two movies thumbs up and seemed to come around on the first film when viewed in the context of a full journey, not a standalone movie.
- The reverse of this trope occurs at times as well; Siskel enjoyed Carnosaur for its villain and goofy plot. It holds an 11% on Rotten Tomatoes. Home Alone 3 was also the only one of the Home Alone films that Ebert enjoyed; it has a 27% on Rotten Tomatoes.
- Probably the most standout reverse example would be their two thumbs up to Speed 2: Cruise Control, a movie considered by virtually everyone else to be one of the worst sequels of all time. It currently holds a 4% rating on Rotten Tomatoes
. Of the 75 critics currently on record, Siskel and Ebert account for two of only three critics who have ever given Speed 2 a recommendation, the third being Andrew Collins of Empire. - Mortal Kombat: The Movie, which was almost universally panned critically, came oh-so-close to getting a "two thumbs up": Siskel gave it a "thumbs up" while Ebert went a "thumbs in the middle" thumbs-down, although he cited that his major issue (the film's lighting was too dark) may have been the theater's fault.
- Casino, which has an 80% on Rotten Tomatoes, got a marginal thumbs down from Siskel, who felt it tread no new ground and that it's not Scorsese's best. Ebert was stunned at his vote.
- Twister wasn't a critical success but did gangbusters at the box office. The duo gave it a thumbs down, claiming the special effects were the only good aspects of the movie and that they needed a better story to complement them.
- Perhaps the most legendary of them all, both Siskel and Ebert gave Blade Runner two thumbs down when it was first releasednote , a movie widely regarded as a Science Fiction classic today and one of the most important films in the genre.note
- While the duo gave Super Mario Bros. (1993) two thumbs down, Siskel liked the Goombas. This is in stark contrast to many of the fans, who hated how the live action adaptation re-imagined the Goombas as tall dinosaurs.
- Siskel gave a thumbs down to The Big Lebowski, which is considered sacrilege among the movie's fans. He claimed Kingpin was much funnier. Amusingly, the duo's Lebowski viewpoints mirror the main two responses to the film; Ebert (who put it in his Great Movies collection) clicked with the film's experience-oriented noir-skewering aim, while Siskel was baffled trying to make sense of it all, which runs counter to what the film is doing.
- The duo were not fans of all of the original three Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies (nor were many critics of the time), claiming the characters had interchangeable personalities, was shot too much like a music video, and had lame pop culture-based humor. Ebert went so far as to claim the movies were highlighting something "alarming" about our society. By contrast, the first film, at least, was a big financial hit and still adored by the TMNT fanbase, and Ebert gave it a marginal thumbs down while admiring it from a technical standpoint and noting it was probably the best Ninja Turtles movie he could have expected. They were very much less charitable about the sequels.
- Jumanji (1995) fell into the same category as Twister: They admired the special effects but thought the story was awful (Gene, while showing a big action scene: "Okay, so what?"). Ebert also thought it was too intense for younger viewers. It did well at the box office, though, and spun off an animated series, plus a franchise revival 22 years later.
- The Flintstones was a box office hit but the duo panned it, claiming all the effort went into the set design and none into the story, which they felt was cliched and outdated.
- Ghostbusters II was given a big thumbs down, as they felt it tread no new ground and that the actors were just phoning it in. By contrast with the duo, it ended up the eighth highest grossing film of the year. That said, this example is zig-zagged because many Ghostbusters fans will readily admit that it isn't as good as the first movie.
- Gene gave a thumbs down to Aliens, claiming the action was too repetitive and employed a "child in peril" trope that Gene detested. It has a whopping 99% on Rotten Tomatoes.
- They gave two thumbs down to "Crocodile" Dundee. They didn't exactly hate it, but thought it was too predictable. By contrast, it was the second-highest grossing film of 1986, and it has an 86% on Rotten Tomatoes. This is another one that they eventually came around on; when discussing Jungle 2 Jungle in their worst of 1997 show, Gene said that Crocodile Dundee was the right way to do a "fish out of water" story, and Jungle wasn't.
- Roger gave a marginal thumbs down to South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, claiming it was too mean-spirited in its humor. It has an 81% on Rotten Tomatoes. Subverted in that he originally gave it 2 1/2 stars in his column but later bumped it up to 3 stars on reflection.
- While the duo gave two thumbs up to Jurassic Park (91% on Rotten Tomatoes), it was only mildly, as they thought most of the human characters (save for Ian Malcolm) were forgettable and that the movie resorted too quickly to being a thriller. They both agreed that Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind were better Steven Spielberg movies.
- Roger gave a mild thumbs down to Mrs. Doubtfire, claiming it was contrived. He particularly disliked the "impressions" scene, claiming it was shoehorned into the film to allow Robin Williams to do his familiar shtick. Audiences, however, didn't seem to mind either thing, and regard it as one of Robin's better comedic films. And it has a 71% on Rotten Tomatoes.
- They gave two thumbs up to Aladdin: The Return of Jafar, despite the film generally being panned.
- Same goes for Space Jam, which they gave two thumbs up despite having a 43% on Rotten Tomatoes and being very much a Broken Base for the Looney Tunes fanbase.
- Roeper gave a thumbs up to Star Trek: Nemesis; it has a 39% on Rotten Tomatoes, ended up being the lowest-grossing film of the franchise, and has a very Broken Base on its quality.
- Gene gave a thumbs down to Scarface (1983), which has an 82% on Rotten Tomatoes. He couldn't bring himself to care about the main character.
- Both didn't care for Big Trouble in Little China, which has a 75% on Rotten Tomatoes and is a cult favorite. They were worn out by the amount of action scenes, and thought it represented a negative trend in movies: That special effects make up for writing quality.
- The Usual Suspects: Has an 88% on Rotten Tomatoes but Roger gave it a thumbs down, saying that the twist ending felt contrived and that even though he understood it the second time around, he didn't care.
- While the duo gave two thumbs up to Aladdin, Gene didn't think the songs were classics. Needless to say, a lot of people disagreed.
- Richard Roeper disliked Meet the Parents (claiming it was predictable in the way it sets up the jokes) but enjoyed the sequel Meet the Fockers. The first film has a 84% on Rotten Tomatoes while the sequel dropped to 38%.
- Siskel and Ebert gave two thumbs up to Casper- it has a 51% on Rotten Tomatoes. Though they really mainly liked it for the special effects.
- Roger gave a mild thumbs down to fan favorite Dumb and Dumber, saying it was sloppy in its comedy and that they made it in a hurry to capitalize on Jim Carrey's success. He has repeatedly amended his opinion of the film in subsequent reviews, saying he was too hard on it and that it looked like a masterpiece compared to other so-called "comedies" he's watched. (The dead parakeet scene also made Roger laugh harder than any joke in five years of comedies, which he readily admitted in his initial review.)
- Guest critic Joyce Kulhawik enjoyed Pokémon: The First Movie, much to her surprise; it has a 16% on Rotten Tomatoes, and while the film does have a fanbase, the original Japanese version is considered superior, which is not what Joyce watched.
- While the the original 1954 version of Godzilla did suffer from some negative reviews during its initial release, it was Vindicated by History and is now considered a classic... except by Ebert, who, after attending a 2004 revival screening of the film, gave it a 1½ out of 4 (the same score that he gave the widely-panned 1998 remake) while calling it just as awkward and "idiotic" as the American recut with Raymond Burr.
- Although Ebert gave a positive review to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, he said that he considered it a slight downgrade from the first two Harry Potter films. This is the opposite of most film critics, who rank Azkaban as, if not the best film in the series, than at least the point where it Grew the Beard. On Rotten Tomatoes, Azkaban has a 90% while its two predecessors sit at 81% and 83%.
- Upon its original release, Ebert gave a glowing review to The Phantom Menace, a film that is generally considered to be a mixed bag at best. He later changed his opinion on Phantom Menace, though he still stood by his original review's score, saying it was based on his initial reaction and to change it after the fact would've been intellectually dishonest. Notably, his assessments of the two subsequent prequels were more in line with other critics, ranking Attack of the Clones as a mediocre disappointment and Revenge of the Sith as a flawed return to form. On a similar note, Roeper gave a surprisingly positive review to Clones, clashing with Ebert on that one.
- Richard Roeper disliked Lilo & Stitch, citing a main character that he thought would frighten little children, and that using Elvis Presley songs on the soundtrack was lazy. The film has an 87% Rotten Tomatoes score.
- Roger gave a thumbs up to Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life, and thought it was better than the original. It has a 24% Rotten Tomatoes score and its lackluster box office, along with the well-selling but critically panned Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness, is arguably what caused the franchise to become dormant for three years until Crystal Dynamics revived it with Tomb Raider: Legend.
- Both Siskel and Ebert fawned over Funny Farm, which received otherwise tepid reviews and was a box-office disappointment.
- Both gave two thumbs up to Eraser, which is the "forgotten" Arnold action film compared to his more famous ones and only has a 42% on RT. They admired the action scenes and thought it had better gadgets than the James Bond films.
- On the first national PBS episode of Sneak Previews in 1978, the two films they picked for their "Dog of the Week" feature (the worst films of the week) were Piranha and Up in Smoke, both now considered a Cult Classic.
- Interestingly, the show itself counted. Most film fans and critics loved it, but a few film critics accusing it of dumbing down film discourse. A 1981 Variety article quoted a nameless "prominent New York film critic" (almost certainly famed Caustic Critic John Simon) dissing the pair and accusing them of lacking "a formidable intellect". Veteran critic Richard Corliss wrote a 1990 Film Comment piece dismissing the show as a "sitcom", prompting a rebuttal piece by Ebert in the next issue (Corliss and Ebert would later become friends).
- Stuart Saves His Family got two thumbs up, and they thought it was one of the better Saturday Night Live adaptations. It has a 30% on Rotten Tomatoes and was a Box Office Bomb.
