18 Movies People Really Loved The First Time They Watched Them, But Found Them Horrible After

I think we all have at least a handful of movies we watch over and over because we love them. For example, I can watch Back to the Future all the time. However, sometimes we love a movie the first time we see it and can't wait to see it again...only to be disappointed on a rewatch because it's not as good as we remember it.

Michael J. Fox in "Back to the Future"
Mca / ©MCA/Courtesy Everett Collection

Recently, I stumbled upon a Reddit thread that touched upon the latter. In the thread user personwithmusic asked: "Any movie that you have seen for the first time and loved it and watched for the second time and hated it?"

Woman watches TV with surprise, holding popcorn, remote and phone nearby
Carlos Barquero Perez / Getty Images

The thread got hundreds of comments from people who changed their minds about movies they thought they loved. Below are the top and best responses:

1."Enjoyed Barbie the first time, but it gets worse on subsequent viewings."

Animated character Barbie from a film wearing a sparkling dress and tiara, with a joyful expression in a party scene

2."Drive and Baby Driver. I don't hate them, but definitely enjoyed it less than when I saw both originally in theaters."

Screenshot from
Screenshot from
Ryan Gosling in
Ryan Gosling in

Tristar Pictures / ©TriStar Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection, Filmdistric / FilmDistric/Courtesy Everett Collection

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"I loved Baby Driver when I first saw it...but I caught it recently on Netflix. It just wasn't as well put together as I remember."

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3."I loved both Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller's Day Off when I was a kid. I rewatched them as an adult and was unbelievably irritated at all the whiny and entitled teenagers, LOL."

Movie poster of
Movie poster of
Movie poster for
Movie poster for

Paramount / ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection, Universal / ©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection

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"Wow, THANK YOU!!! The Breakfast Club is my most hated movie ever. I hate all the characters with a passion. It came out when we were kids, and everyone loved it. I just remember thinking, Wow, have none of you ever been to detention before?Ferris Bueller I didn't hate until years later. I think the fact that I was in love with Sloane kind of made me biased. I hate it now, though. That little f*** Ferris Bueller, I would love to slap the shit out of that kid. Didn't they f'ing notice that the mileage on the car wasn't going backwards right away? Where did they get all this f'ing money? Why ruin a perfectly good parade? What's with that f'ing sweater?"

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4."Avatar is a good example. I thought I loved the first one in the theater, with all the dazzling 3D visuals. I thought it would become another big classic. Then I saw it again a few years later, and it didn’t age well at all. It just felt empty and fake."

Two characters from Avatar, a male and a female, holding a bow together
20thcentfox / ©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection

5."You've Got Mail. I remember liking it and thought it was a nice rom-com. I rewatched it recently, and it is so misogynistic. They both are emotionally cheating on their partners, and Tom Hanks makes Meg Ryan's character sell her bookstore and give up everything she worked for. Then she is supposed to be in love with him??? And he doesn't offer her anything in place of her bookstore or a job???"

Man and woman in conversation, standing in a store. They are characters from a movie

6."I used to love Dazed and Confused when I was in high school. I started to watch it for the first time in years with my younger sister, and we turned it off about a half hour in."

Three men mimic 'hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil' pose; one in a knit cap, sunglasses, and overalls
Gramercy Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

7."The Last Jedi. It looked cool on the big screen, but then I thought about it."

Rey from Star Wars standing in front of a stone wall, expressive and determined

8."The Rise of Skywalker. The first time I saw it in theaters, and thought, Oh, that wasn’t as bad as people said! But as time passed…"

John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, and Oscar Isaac as their Star Wars characters ready for action. Ridley holds a lightsaber
Jonathan Olley / © Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / © Lucasfilm / courtesy Everett Collection

9."Sucker Punch. I remember seeing it in theaters and enjoying it. Then I watched it again at home, and I was like, 'WTF am I watching right now???'"

Screenshot from "Sucker Punch"

10."Tenet. The first time I watched, I was like, 'Whoa, that was mind-bending and cool — definitely need to rewatch.' The second time I watched, I was like, 'Wait, WTF? This makes no sense. It is impenetrably complex, and I feel like Nolan is now trolling us.'"

Screenshot from "Tenet"
Legendary / Courtesy Everett Collection

11."Inception. I remember wanting to like it so badly during the hype. I liked Christopher Nolan. I liked all the actors. Plus, the plot seemed original. And the first time I watched it was fine. But it definitely was not as complex as everyone said it was. Without the building mystery it doesn't hold up well. But that's my opinion."

Screenshot from "Inception"

12."I thought Independence Day was amazing the first time I saw it in theaters in my youth. Watched it again maybe a week later and already thought it had worn out all its charm and surprises. Years went by, and some of the YouTuber film critics/commentators I follow had reevaluated it as having become a bit of a classic. So, I gave it another go but still just couldn’t get into it. I don’t think it’s terrible or anything, just meh."

A scene from a film showing an alien spacecraft attacking a large building with a destructive beam
20th Century Fox Film Corp. All rights reserved. / courtesy Everett Collection

13."The original Mortal Kombat movies. I had been telling everyone how awesome they were...then I saw them sober."

Screenshot from "Mortal Kombat"

14."The first horror movie I ever watched was Cloverfield. It really hit me hard in high school; then as an adult, I watched it again, and it was so...BORING! Like, the action doesn't even start until halfway through the movie! I can't believe I considered it really scary at one point in my life?"

Screenshot from "Cloverfield"
Paramount / ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection

15."The American Pie movies, society has changed so much since then."

Screenshot from "American Pie"

16."Battleship. I thought it amazing the first time. The second time, I was embarrassed I said so."

Screenshot from "Battleship"
Universal / ©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection

17."The first Suicide Squad film. I thought it was fine when I saw it in the cinema with my friends. But after a rewatch alone, I hated it."

A group of people dressed as characters from the film Suicide Squad, including Harley Quinn, standing in the rain at night
Warner Bros / ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection

18.And lastly, "Unpopular opinion but Everything Everywhere All at Once."

Michelle Yeoh in "Everything Everywhere All at Once"

You can read the original thread on Reddit.

Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.