@pdlussier said:

I'd seen this in a theater back in 1995, and walked out just ecstatic, as if I'd just watched the greatest thing on earth.

Well, that summer I had done two tree-planting contracts back-to-back, with two different companies. We got a week of down-time during my second one due to extreme heat and an outbreak of forest fires in the area, so I decided to take the time to hit the closest biggish town, Thunder Bay, ON, about a 4.5-hour drive away. There, I happened to walk in front of a theater, saw the Congo poster; didn't know anything about it (this was pre-smart phone days) but if based on a Crichton novel... it was starting in 20 mins, so I bought a ticket and walked in. It was magic! And Laura Linney just had to be the sexiest woman alive!

I had been living in a tent, isolated in some wood, for about 2.5 months at that point, with only occasional visits to a village of about 100 to use a laundromat someone had set up to take advantage of people like me... Watching all those colours and action and... with popcorn, too! Wow.

No doubt this affected my experience, as I had nothing but fond feelings for this film; my reaction was shattered once back in Montreal. Any mention was met with disapproving grimaces; critical reception was anything but praise... And with a metacritic score of 22 and 7 "Worst of" Razzie nominations, I'm clearly the odd man out.

Re-watched it once since, and though I can understand why it failed, my initial impression still clouds my judgment, as I just don't feel the hate. Maybe it's time I give it another go?

Aw! If it makes you feel better, I love a lot of movies that never received critical acclaim or just seem to be forgotten by anyone else. Even my own boyfriend has tried to convince me that Spaceballs is a bad movie!

I do feel that sometimes I link certain movies to feelings of nostalgia for my childhood. I saw them when I was a kid and enjoyed them, and I will probably love them forever. However, maybe if I had viewed certain movies for the first time as an adult, my opinion of them would be the complete opposite.

Congo certainly isn't the worst movie ever made. I can totally see what they were going for. There's just something about it that's a bit off.

@theburbs

Know what you mean about linking movies to past moments (more so with music)--several examples come to mind--however, this one stands out for me as a prime example and reminder that having an objective opinion first demands an awareness of the "I" and a willingness to subtract that element from one's assessment, which includes the moment in time (and all that this implies) in which it was viewed; always easier said then done, and something I rarely did see on the IMDb boards.
And if all that's left is some sentimental attachment of value only to the viewer, so be it; I firmly believe that on that level, "appreciation" is not to be argued. But it's important to be aware of this aspect.

You also touch on another important aspect, which is the ability to contextualize a film. Best example to all of the above was a serious attempt at a short review on IMDb's "Annie Hall" board, in which the poster trashed the film, claiming it's humour as hackneyed, some of it a clear rip-off, citing x, y, z films as examples. Problem is, the dork named films all made 15+ years after "Annie Hall". LOL.

And you're right in that nostalgia figured in my second viewing, but the first was all about being wowed by techno-wizardry--when I saw it, one or two radio stations, depending on weather, had been my only link with the 'civilized' world for some time...

@pdlussier said:

I'd seen this in a theater back in 1995, and walked out just ecstatic, as if I'd just watched the greatest thing on earth.

Well, that summer I had done two tree-planting contracts back-to-back, with two different companies. We got a week of down-time during my second one due to extreme heat and an outbreak of forest fires in the area, so I decided to take the time to hit the closest biggish town, Thunder Bay, ON, about a 4.5-hour drive away. There, I happened to walk in front of a theater, saw the Congo poster; didn't know anything about it (this was pre-smart phone days) but if based on a Crichton novel... it was starting in 20 mins, so I bought a ticket and walked in. It was magic! And Laura Linney just had to be the sexiest woman alive!

I had been living in a tent, isolated in some wood, for about 2.5 months at that point, with only occasional visits to a village of about 100 to use a laundromat someone had set up to take advantage of people like me... Watching all those colours and action and... with popcorn, too! Wow.

No doubt this affected my experience, as I had nothing but fond feelings for this film; my reaction was shattered once back in Montreal. Any mention was met with disapproving grimaces; critical reception was anything but praise... And with a metacritic score of 22 and 7 "Worst of" Razzie nominations, I'm clearly the odd man out.

Re-watched it once since, and though I can understand why it failed, my initial impression still clouds my judgment, as I just don't feel the hate. Maybe it's time I give it another go?

Very late to the party but I just watched it again on Netflix, one of my favourite movies as an early double digit and hadn't watched it for a while. I can see why people might consider it a terrible movie but it's still something I like to watch every now and then. And yeah, Laura Linney. Wow.

Coincidental story:-

In the summer of '94 I was in the States, in New Jersey. We were in this armpit town in the armpit state when we when to a run down theatre where one of that summer's blockbuster movies The Flintstones was showing. During an afternoon screening in a largely empty theatre - I kid you not - this dude a couple of rows behind us began getting masturbated by his girlfriend and making barely stifled groans. Absolutely horrible!

Anyway as you can imagine I did not enjoy the experience one bit and had nothing positive to say about The Flintstones movie. Had my judgement been clouded by the horrific experience? Hard to say. However my feelings regarding the film matched up precisely with those of the critics of the time who absolutely hated it.

Would I have enjoyed the movie if I hadn't heard someone being jerked off behind me as John Goodman hollered "Yabba dabba doo"? Probably not as did seem pretty terrible. However I have never watched it again to confirm one way or another so I guess we'll never know...