Nowadays, it has become quite apparent that the reviews and opinions of film critics are no longer relevant in the eyes of the average viewer. Within Netflix, in particular, films that received generally negative reviews upon release have rocketed to the top spot on several different charts on the platform. We’ve seen it recently with the likes of Ava, The Ninth Gate, and Murder By Numbers, all of which star huge actors like Colin Farrell, Johnny Depp, and Sandra Bullock respectively.
Now, it seems yet another film will be added to the list of flops that somehow reach the top spot. The Guardian, starring Kevin Costner, is another culprit with bad reviews that pleases many Netflix subscribers. Over the last week or so, the 2006 flop has climbed into Netflix’s Top 25 Watched list. Considering today is Costner’s birthday, it is a nice surprise for the award-winning actor.
When The Guardian was released nearly 16 years ago, it made $18 million on its opening weekend, and by January 4, 2007, it made $95 million globally. Bear in mind though, its budget was $70 million, so the film’s profit wasn’t really impressive. The numbers make sense, however, having received a 37% review on Rotten Tomatoes and a slight improvement of a 6.9 rating on IMDB.
The cliché packed film focuses on a coast guard, played by Kevin Costner, who is grieving the loss of his crew in a tragic accident. Costner trains up new recruits and meets a swimming champion played by Ashton Kutcher, and trains Kutcher to work alongside him.
In an interview, Costner told ScreenSlam, “I had to work for this, and it reminded me of how old I was. It reminded me of how old I wasn’t. So, the young guys that we have in this movie all worked really hard. They needed to because there’s a moment in time where everybody here has to use probably a hundred per cent of their skill in order to get them out of a spot. If you haven’t trained for it, it’s going to overcome you, the physical effort that it takes to just go do multiple takes.”
It’s possible that we can expect more poorly rated films to follow this pattern though. Other films such as Sylvester Stallone’s 2012 flop Bullet to the Head has crept up to the top of Netflix’s Top 10 list, so it won’t be a shock if we see more follow suit. There’s one thing for certain though: Netflix subscribers hold the power.
Check out the trailer for The Guardian below.
