Roger Ebert is widely considered a top film critic, even though many people only remember his simple ‘thumbs up’ or ‘thumbs down’ ratings. While his TV appearances using this system sometimes lacked detail about why he gave a film that rating, his opinions were always thoughtful. However, being insightful doesn’t mean he was always correct. Over time, some critics have the benefit of judging older movies based on the context of their original release, and it’s difficult to picture them giving a bad review to a film that initially seemed so promising.
When it comes to science fiction, Roger Ebert didn’t always get it right – and he wasn’t the only critic to misjudge a film. Many movies gain appreciation or become more meaningful over time. Here are three examples where Ebert’s review didn’t quite hit the mark, along with one instance where his assessment was spot-on.
4
Got It Wrong – ‘The Thing’
Universal Pictures
As a horror fan, I have to say John Carpenter’s The Thing – based on John W. Campbell’s novella Who Goes There? – is now considered a landmark sci-fi horror film, and really nails that feeling of creeping paranoia. But it’s funny looking back – when it first came out, audiences and critics were pretty cold to it. Honestly, it opened the same summer as E.T., so a bleak, terrifying film about an alien that becomes people just didn’t quite fit the mood at the time.
In his first review, Roger Ebert gave the film a middling 2.5 out of 4 stars and said he was disappointed. He felt the characters weren’t developed enough, as most scenes focused on action rather than building them up. He also found the idea of men simply trying to survive against a shape-shifting monster unrealistic, suggesting they should have stuck together more closely. It’s easy to criticize, of course – perhaps if Ebert had been in the movie, he could have offered some better solutions!
3
Got It Wrong – ‘Hollow Man’
Sony Pictures Releasing
It’s not just Roger Ebert who missed the mark with this film – Rotten Tomatoes shows only 25% of critics liked it. However, the real issue is that director Paul Verhoeven often creates movies that audiences aren’t ready for, a pattern seen in films like RoboCop, Basic Instinct, and Starship Troopers. Essentially, this Kevin Bacon movie was a modern take on The Invisible Man, exploring what someone might do if they could act on their deepest impulses without consequences, and the resulting descent into madness.
Though released 70 years after The Invisible Man, Hollow Man delved into a more disturbing and sexually driven form of madness than its predecessor. Director Paul Verhoeven seemed intent on exposing the dangers of harmful masculinity, but Roger Ebert simplified the film as a story of a scientist who turns invisible, becomes obsessed with sex, and then goes on a rampage. Describing the character as a “sex fiend” isn’t quite accurate; his behavior was more about possessiveness and control – particularly over his ex-girlfriend’s partners – and a disturbing pattern of spying. Invisibility didn’t make him a sex fiend, it simply allowed him to act on those existing tendencies without consequence.
Interestingly, Leigh Whannell’s The Invisible Man, released two decades after Hollow Man, was lauded by critics for tackling similar issues of harmful masculinity. This highlights how Paul Verhoeven’s earlier film was remarkably prescient.
2
Got It Wrong – ‘Stargate’
While not a perfect film, Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin’s Stargate feels like an early step in their filmmaking journey, especially considering their later success with Independence Day. Though it has some slow parts, the movie explores a fascinating idea: what if people could travel through a portal to other planets and times, and change history itself?
The original Stargate movie clearly had a strong concept, as evidenced by the numerous spin-off series it spawned, including the long-running Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, and Stargate Universe. It’s surprising, then, that Roger Ebert gave the film such a low rating – only one out of four stars – considering its premise always required viewers to embrace the fantastical. He criticized it as feeling like a student film exercise, a quick descent into action movie tropes. However, Ebert seemed to dismiss the movie’s potential as a fun, classic B-movie adventure, despite the fact that this potential fueled hundreds of episodes of successful television.
1
Got It Right – ‘Battlefield: Earth’
Warner Bros.
Even after 26 years, John Travolta’s Battlefield: Earth remains a poorly regarded film, and Roger Ebert’s initial review proved remarkably accurate. What makes his review so interesting even now is how clearly he predicted the movie would be disliked. He didn’t just criticize the story, acting, and directing—he felt certain while watching it that it would be a failure.
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The critic admitted the movie was a disaster, comparing it to a spectacular train wreck like the one in The Fugitive. He said watching it was a progressively depressing experience, and he predicted it would become infamous as a symbol of truly terrible filmmaking. Even its incredibly low 3% rating on Rotten Tomatoes suggests that Roger Ebert might have been generous in his review.
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2026-03-04 02:03