The U.S. Department of Defense has worked with Hollywood for more than a century, supplying hard-to-procure assets for movie studios and offering story input on military-related script matters. While the long-standing relationship between Hollywood and the Pentagon has given the U.S. military significant influence in the entertainment industry and resulted in some of the most successful blockbusters in film history, the collaboration has also led to some notorious flops.
To determine the least popular movies supported by the Pentagon, 24/7 Tempo ranked films that received official DoD support via production assistance or script input based on an index of user ratings on IMDb, an online movie and TV database owned by Amazon, and audience ratings and Tomatometer scores on Rotten Tomatoes, an online movie and TV review aggregator, as of February 2023. Documentation of DoD support for most movies on the list comes from the results of a 2013 FOIA request by Dr. Stephen Underhill and the 2021 study “Superheroes, Movies, and the State: How the U.S. Government Shapes Cinematic Universes” by Tricia Jenkins and Tom Secker.
While the DoD Entertainment Media Office’s official goal is to ensure accurate depiction of military stories and safeguard sensitive information, critics of the military-entertainment complex maintain that the DoD uses blockbuster movies as propaganda to bolster the U.S. military’s recruitment strategy, public relations efforts, and influence overseas. In some cases, the DoD’s agenda may clash with the director’s creative vision and ultimately weaken the strength of the story.
Some of the most critically acclaimed military-themed films – “Apocalypse Now,” “Platoon,” and “Forrest Gump,” for example – have refused DoD script approval, citing concerns over possible censorship. At the same time, many movies that have relied on DoD support – Best Picture nominee “Top Gun: Maverick,” for example – have gone on to major critical and financial success. (See this ranking of the most popular movies you may not have known were backed by the Pentagon.)
Click here to see a ranking of the most hated movies backed by the Pentagon
While the Pentagon has enjoyed significant editorial control over a number of major movies, DoD support is no determinant of cinematic quality, and many of the most unpopular movies with DoD backing are disliked for reasons unrelated to their military elements. The 1988 sci-fi “Mac and Me,” for example, was largely panned for being a bold ripoff of 1982’s “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.” Movies like “Annapolis,” “Battle Los Angeles,” and “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” earned low ratings for their clichéd dialogue and poorly shot action sequences. (In contrast, these are considered the best war movies of all time.)
25. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009)
> IMDb user rating: 5.8/10 (204,527 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 50% (996,010 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 33% (171 votes)
> Directed by: Stephen Sommers
> Starring: Dennis Quaid, Channing Tatum, Marlon Wayans
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24. The Green Berets (1968)
> IMDb user rating: 5.7/10 (12,611 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 61% (9,637 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 23% (13 votes)
> Directed by: John Wayne & Ray Kellogg
> Starring: John Wayne, David Janssen, Jim Hutton
23. Battle Los Angeles (2011)
> IMDb user rating: 5.7/10 (177,237 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 48% (93,790 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 36% (212 votes)
> Directed by: Jonathan Liebesman
> Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, Bridget Moynahan
22. Firefox (1982)
> IMDb user rating: 6.0/10 (26,344 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 42% (16,043 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 38% (13 votes)
> Directed by: Clint Eastwood
> Starring: Clint Eastwood, Freddie Jones, David Huffman
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21. The Jackal (1997)
> IMDb user rating: 6.4/10 (112,338 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 52% (64,913 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 23% (30 votes)
> Directed by: Michael Caton-Jones
> Starring: Bruce Willis, Richard Gere, Sidney Poitier
20. Camp Nowhere (1994)
> IMDb user rating: 6.1/10 (9,380 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 58% (28,266 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 18% (11 votes)
> Directed by: Jonathan Prince
> Starring: Jonathan Jackson, Christopher Lloyd, John Putch
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19. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
> IMDb user rating: 6.0/10 (394,187 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 57% (4,081,606 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 20% (252 votes)
> Directed by: Michael Bay
> Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel
18. Ernest Saves Christmas (1988)
> IMDb user rating: 5.7/10 (10,489 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 42% (48,222 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 36% (14 votes)
> Directed by: John R. Cherry III
> Starring: Jim Varney, Douglas Seale, Oliver Clark
17. Flight of the Intruder (1991)
> IMDb user rating: 5.8/10 (6,788 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 50% (5,979 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 25% (12 votes)
> Directed by: John Milius
> Starring: Danny Glover, Willem Dafoe, Brad Johnson
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16. Annapolis (2006)
> IMDb user rating: 5.9/10 (20,853 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 60% (119,267 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 10% (114 votes)
> Directed by: Justin Lin
> Starring: James Franco, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson
15. Renaissance Man (1994)
> IMDb user rating: 6.2/10 (17,453 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 53% (30,524 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 12% (25 votes)
> Directed by: Penny Marshall
> Starring: Danny DeVito, Gregory Hines, James Remar
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14. The Core (2003)
> IMDb user rating: 5.5/10 (96,049 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 33% (100,758 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 40% (157 votes)
> Directed by: Jon Amiel
> Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Hilary Swank, Delroy Lindo
13. Three Wishes (1995)
> IMDb user rating: 6.1/10 (3,031 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 52% (7,783 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 13% (15 votes)
> Directed by: Martha Coolidge
> Starring: Patrick Swayze, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Joseph Mazzello
12. Invaders from Mars (1986)
> IMDb user rating: 5.6/10 (8,507 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 33% (3,520 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 38% (16 votes)
> Directed by: Tobe Hooper
> Starring: Karen Black, Hunter Carson, Timothy Bottoms
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11. Invasion U.S.A. (1985)
> IMDb user rating: 5.5/10 (9,421 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 51% (6,816 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 19% (21 votes)
> Directed by: Joseph Zito
> Starring: Chuck Norris, Richard Lynch, Melissa Prophet
10. Raise the Titanic (1980)
> IMDb user rating: 5.0/10 (4,418 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 28% (7,055 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 38% (8 votes)
> Directed by: Jerry Jameson
> Starring: Jason Robards, Richard Jordan, David Selby
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9. The 15:17 to Paris (2018)
> IMDb user rating: 5.3/10 (34,232 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 37% (3,023 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 23% (166 votes)
> Directed by: Clint Eastwood
> Starring: Alek Skarlatos, Anthony Sadler, Spencer Stone
8. Sphere (1998)
> IMDb user rating: 6.1/10 (103,829 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 38% (58,572 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 11% (53 votes)
> Directed by: Barry Levinson
> Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone, Samuel L. Jackson
7. In the Army Now (1994)
> IMDb user rating: 5.0/10 (13,223 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 44% (44,268 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 6% (32 votes)
> Directed by: Daniel Petrie Jr.
> Starring: Pauly Shore, Lori Petty
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6. Larger Than Life (1996)
> IMDb user rating: 5.6/10 (7,201 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 29% (7,761 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 11% (19 votes)
> Directed by: Howard Franklin
> Starring: Bill Murray, Matthew McConaughey, Jerry Adler
5. Fire Birds (1990)
> IMDb user rating: 4.8/10 (6,257 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 35% (6,844 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 10% (21 votes)
> Directed by: David Green
> Starring: Nicolas Cage, Tommy Lee Jones, Sean Young
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4. Random Hearts (1999)
> IMDb user rating: 5.2/10 (20,745 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 24% (9,826 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 15% (87 votes)
> Directed by: Sydney Pollack
> Starring: Harrison Ford, Kristin Scott Thomas, Charles S. Dutton
3. The Next Karate Kid (1994)
> IMDb user rating: 4.5/10 (28,653 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 24% (61,092 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 7% (27 votes)
> Directed by: Christopher Cain
> Starring: Pat Morita, Hilary Swank, Michael Ironside
2. The Swarm (1978)
> IMDb user rating: 4.5/10 (7,470 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 19% (4,143 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 10% (21 votes)
> Directed by: Irwin Allen
> Starring: Michael Caine, Katharine Ross, Richard Widmark
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1. Mac and Me (1988)
> IMDb user rating: 3.4/10 (14,186 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 38% (13,100 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 4% (27 votes)
> Directed by: Stewart Raffill
> Starring: Christine Ebersole, Jonathan Ward, Tina Caspary
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