10 John Wayne Movies Better Than Their Rotten Tomatoes Scores, Including Brannigan

John Wayne has a truly sprawling filmography for viewers to watch through, with plenty being arguably underrated in their own respective ways, and being better than their Rotten Tomatoes review scores may at first suggest. The strength of John Wayne's most well-received movies, including the likes of Stagecoach, The Shootist, and Red River, does put some of his weaker entries in a harsher light, and mean viewers are more likely to judge the latter as even worse than they truly are.

Indeed, John Wayne being known for having plenty of Western B movies to supplement the wider run of his career and provide some lighter capers of sorts naturally places any films that fall under this category into a complicated position, wherein they may appear inherently lesser based on their nature.

However, this doesn't mean these movies are devoid of value. Ultimately, even films that aren't perhaps Wayne's best deserve some credit both as individual releases and as stepping stones for John Wayne's wider career and success. For many viewers, the matter of whether some of these movies are worth watching will likely end up at the same conclusion that famous film critic Roger Ebert once did in his two-star review of Brannigan: "besides, it’s got John Wayne in it."

The Man From Utah

The Man From Utah is by no means John Wayne's best movie. However, it is a fascinating look at the early ways in which the Western genre and Wayne's career began to establish themselves, which arguably means the movie is more valuable and insightful in this alone than its lack of critic review score and 34% audience Popcornmeter score suggest.

The Man From Utah's premise has John Wayne's hero find himself engaging in a rodeo competition in order to uncover how the corrupt crew are rigging the games to ensure they win. This is effectively set up for the purpose of having half the movie be extensive scenes of rodeo stunts, which definitely is a feature viewers are likely to either love or hate.

With that said, the stunts in the movie certainly can't be overlooked, and the scale and spectacle of this leg of the journey alone are particularly notable for the 1930s, meaning The Man From Utah is far more worth a watch for those curious than its Rotten Tomatoes review scores might suggest.

Riders Of Destiny

Riders of Destiny's bad rap - with it having no critic score and a 31% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes - is one that seems to be earned in part by the questionable dubbing over the opening scene of John Wayne's Singin' Sandy Saunders serenading the open plains before the story begins proper, which perhaps starts the film out on a complicated foot.

While Riders of Destiny isn't ground-breaking, its narrative does seem to deserve at least better than an absent critic score. Wayne's hero manages to feel both like a hardened Western hero and a cunning protagonist capable of pulling the wool over everyone's eyes thanks to the final act of the story, wherein Saunders convinces the movie's antagonist he's going to work for him, despite this obviously not being the case.

Riders of Destiny also features a solid showing from co-protagonist, Fay Denton - who opens the story seeming to be robbing a stagecoach for her own letter, setting her up as an enjoyably independent heroine in many senses - and some characteristic action and gunslinging scenes. As such, the film isn't without its own sense of intrigue, making it once again of more value than its Rotten Tomatoes reviews may suggest.

West Of The Divide

There's a fair amount West of the Divide gets right throughout the course of its runtime, which contrasts somewhat with its Rotten Tomatoes scores, that once again consist of an absent critic score, alongside a 38% audience score.

Though West of the Divide still clearly reflects the filmmaking limitations many movies from the 1930s experience, it's not without its fair share of heart, which is balanced out alongside its action.

The story of John Wayne's hero taking on the identity of criminal Cat Ganns to try and solve who murdered his father is a genuinely interesting premise, for example, even if it doesn't shy away from clichés. Moreover, the story ends up with a roster of characters you can't help but root for, with the bond between John Wayne's Ted Hayden and Billy O'Brien's "Spuds" being genuinely endearing, and perhaps the standout star of the whole film being the genuinely adorable Peewee, who is Spuds' pint-sized horse.

Sagebrush Trail

The premise of Sagebrush Trail is one that's been repeated throughout time, demonstrating the lasting appeal of its story. John Wayne's John Brant begins the story fleeing from prison after being wrongly convicted of murder, with Brant joining a band of criminals after going undercover to catch the real killer.

It's a premise that only gets more interesting as Brant continues to befriend one of the team, Joseph Conlon, with the dynamic between the two carrying most of the film, and leading to some scenes that still hold up well, such as Brant and Conlon breaking the eggs the other is carrying home for their gang with comedic timing.

All in all, Sagebrush Trail is again another 30s Western movie that still has some clear flaws looking back now - with its script and pacing having some issues that are evident with a revisit - but its qualities do mean it's better than its absent critic review score and 38% audience score would denote.

The Lucky Texan

Between its story of panning for gold, and its protagonists trying to protect their ranch from the villains who seek to obtain it, The Lucky Texan couldn't be more of a classic Western if it tried.

This works to the film's benefit and detriment, as its story is immersed well and truly in the genre it's so clearly entrenched within, but also contains its own fair share of clichés played straight.

That said, it is also balanced with its fair share of twists, including Grandy Benson disguising himself as an old lady in order to enter a court scene unidentified. When looking at the bigger picture of things, this means the movie does have more substance to it than its lack of critic score and 32% audience Popcornmeter score would imply, even if it isn't a film that's aged universally well.

The movie also benefits from an early feature by Yakima Canutt, who has been referred to as the King of stuntmen, whose stunt and acting talents are on prime display in the film. Though easy to miss, this also makes it worth watching for those curious to look at the growth of cinema over the decades, and those who played their roles in this process.

Texas Cyclone

While Texas Cyclone doesn't have John Wayne in its central role, that doesn't detract from its story, which sees Tim McCoy's "Texas" Grant ride into a town where he discovers he's being mistaken for lawman Jim Rawlins, who was killed some time prior.

Wayne's role is a more understated one, with the actor playing Steve Pickett. Pickett ends up being one of the other law-abiding citizens in town, who aids Grant in his efforts to help out Jim's widow, Helen Rawlings, with the ranch she's been left, and to thwart the corrupt members of the town who have been sabotaging her.

John Wayne serves well as the debonair but more withdrawn secondary protagonist of sorts, and the story is one that you want to see to the end the minute Grant is first mistaken for Jim, making Texas Cyclone more interesting than its lack of critic score and 20% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes indicate on a first glance.

Lawless Range

With a considerable cast and plenty of action befitting a classic Western, Lawless Range has immediate appeal even without looking at the movie's actual story more directly.

Though Lawless Range's horse riding and action in some ways hold up better than its plot, even said plot has its own appeal, as the tale of John Wayne's John Middleton donning a criminal disguise in order to help a town's sheriff deal with bandits isn't exactly boring material.

Lawless Range also has the benefit of its finale, which comes with a pretty dramatic extended shootout scene, even if the fight scene that comes after this isn't exactly award-winning. Altogether, Lawless Range has more spectacle and story than its 20% Popcornmeter score and lack of Tomatometer critic score might denote, even if it's also unlikely to be in the front spot for most lists of all-time best Westerns.

Island In The Sky

Island in the Sky is a particularly interesting addition to John Wayne's wider film roster, given the movie is not a Western, but rather an adventure drama centered in a very different setting to the dusty plains of cowboy movies.

Island in the Sky sees John Wayne play Captain Dooley, a pilot who finds himself and his crew crash landing in the unchartered and icy wilderness. With the extreme winter threatening the lives of Dooley and his men as they seek to survive the harsh conditions, the story is split between this story, and the story of those searching for the lost crew, making it a tense overall plot to say the least.

While Island in the Sky has higher review scores than many of Wayne's other works, it does have a lower audience score than this might suggest, with its 86% critic Tomatometer score being far higher than its 62% audience Popcornmeter score. This does seem to be at least in part because it's a departure from the usual John Wayne Western, though Island in the Sky does deserve its flowers for seeing Wayne going out of his comfort zone of sorts and trying something a bit different overall.

The Night Riders

The Night Riders is, for all intents and purpose, a sort of modern reimagining of Robin Hood, so to speak. The film's trio of titular heroes come together to rob the tax collectors who are carrying out an illegal scheme wherein the villains of the story falsely claim they own a huge parcel of land, placing sky-high prices on buying or renting these areas across the territory.

This unfolds into a story with substantially more narrative complexity than many of John Wayne's other Western movie stories, which involves US President Garfield, a range of fights, and plenty of plot twists involving false or hidden identities.

Given The Night Riders has no audience or critic scores, it's easy to miss for those looking at John Wayne's works on Rotten Tomatoes, but it is definitely a notable part of his filmography all the same, even if some aspects of its story seem far more outdated now.

Brannigan

The prospect of a John Wayne caper that delves into the movie world of British crime dramas is of course a naturally exciting one.

However, the full potential of Brannigan arguably wasn't realized, as was noted both by critics when the film first released back in 1975, and still today. This is reflected by its current Rotten Tomatoes scores, which are that of a 46% critic Tomatometer score, and an even lower 39% audience Popcornmeter score.

While there are clear flaws with the awkward way the movie tries to combine Wayne's American gunslinger sensibilities and a British crime mystery, there are still evident strengths in the film all the same.

John Wayne's performance as a hardened Chicago lieutenant lands, and works well alongside co-star Judith Amanda Geeson's Detective-Sergeant Jennifer Thatcher, which plays on the contrast between them and their respective law enforcement groups. This by itself makes the film worth watching, though the exaggerated stunts and fights in the film certainly don't hurt either.