10 Best Movies in History According to Rotten Tomatoes... Are Weird Choices

10. On The Waterfront (1954)

A Marlon Brando classic, On the Waterfront follows a simple dockworker who, upon learning that he works for a criminal syndicate, decides to stand up to those corrupt and vile people — including his own elder brother. The reason? He might be in love with a syndicate victim’s sister.

On Rotten Tomatoes, On the Waterfront has 99 and 95% Critic and Audience Scores, respectively.

9. Chinatown (1974)

Starring Jack Nicholson at his prime, Chinatown is a noir story with a classic private investigator main character. Having been hired to expose an adulterer, he soon learns that his employer was an impostor, and gets entangled in a mess of lies and murder alongside them.

On Rotten Tomatoes, Chinatown has 98 and 93% Critic and Audience Scores, respectively.

8. Toy Story 2 (1999)

Didn’t expect to see this one on this list, did you? In Toy Story 2, we follow the gang on their path to rescue Woody who’s been kidnapped by a toy collector. The only problem is that once Woody learns about his true value and gains new friends, he doesn’t want to leave.

On Rotten Tomatoes, Toy Story 2 has 100 and 87% Critic and Audience Scores, respectively.

7. Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

The movie which got Tom Cruise dubbed as the savior of Hollywood during the COVID pandemic, Top Gun: Maverick is a direct sequel to the original movie. Maverick is getting ready to lead elite troops to a unique mission, but his past catches up to him.

On Rotten Tomatoes, Top Gun: Maverick has 96 and 99% Critic and Audience Scores, respectively.

6. Schindler’s List (1993)

One of Steven Spielberg ’s best movies, Schindler’s List quickly became a golden classic. The movie follows an industrialist whose operation in Poland meets the dark reality of the Nazi reign. In an attempt to protect his business, he saves his jew workers from persecution.

On Rotten Tomatoes, Schindler’s List has 98 and 97% Critic and Audience Scores, respectively.

5. Parasite (2019)

Another movie from the modern batch, Parasite is a South Korean drama thriller about greed and class inequality. The film follows a poor family’s insidious attempts to insert themselves into the lives of a rich clan that include taking out their competitors for the jobs.

On Rotten Tomatoes, Parasite has 99 and 90% Critic and Audience Scores, respectively.

4. Seven Samurai (1954)

An Akira Kurosawa golden classic, Seven Samurai is an old Japanese movie following a samurai who decides to help a poor village protect itself against bandits. Having gathered six other warriors to aid him, he sets off to teach the villagers to fight and defeat their enemies.

On Rotten Tomatoes, Seven Samurai has 100 and 97% Critic and Audience Scores, respectively.

3. Casablanca (1942)

The oldest movie on the list, Casablanca is set in the Nazi-occupied France. A bitter owner of a prestigious cafe is well-off despite the occupation, but his stable world shatters when his ex-lover returns with her husband, a searched-for rebel leader, and asks him for help.

On Rotten Tomatoes, Casablanca has 99 and 95% Critic and Audience Scores, respectively.

2. The Godfather (1972)

Dubbed as Brando’s best performance, Francis Ford Coppola’s iconic movie The Godfather is the one RT’s choice we’d never argue with. The first installment of a trilogy, it sets up the upcoming conflict as an aging crime family patriarch is getting ready for a power transfer.

On Rotten Tomatoes, The Godfather has 97 and 98% Critic and Audience Scores, respectively.

1. L.A. Confidential (1997)

Perhaps the best film the genre of neo-noir has to offer, L.A. Confidential both follows its rules religiously and betrays them completely. The movie’s protagonists are three very different police officers investigating a series of murders, but all of them have their own motives for it.

On Rotten Tomatoes, L.A. Confidential has 99 and 95% Critic and Audience Scores, respectively.