Roger Ebert Loathed Dwayne Johnson's Dystopian Sci-Fi Movie From Donnie Darko's Director

Roger Ebert didn't hold back when he wasn't a fan of a film. He had no qualms about awarding movies low scores and detailing his reasons — no genre was safe from his critical eye. Director Richard Kelly found that out when Ebert gave his 2006 dystopian comedy "Southland Tales" one star in what the critic describes as "a fevered rant" of a review. The movie stars Dwayne Johnson as Boxer Santaros, an actor with amnesia who is actually a time traveler, living in the United States during the onset of World War III. 

If that sounds like a wild premise, you aren't the only one thinking that. Ebert wrote in his review that he was "dazed, confused, bewildered, bored, affronted and deafened by the boos all around [him]" when he saw it for the first time at the Cannes Film Festival. Kelly's director's cut didn't save the film for the critic, and he said that the director should "keep right on cutting until he whittles it down to a ukulele pick."

Ebert disliked the dialogue, that the majority of the characters have absurd names, and the wardrobe of the cast. When trying to write out what to know about the story, the critic gave up, instead writing that "a plot synopsis would require that the movie have a plot." It's not even that it has a plot twist that lacks appeal; the narrative simply makes no sense in Ebert's eyes. No part of the film was exempt from his criticism.

Roger Ebert was not the only one critical of "Southland Tales." Audiences and critics gave the film poor scores, adding up to just 41% from both parties on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie received boos after its Cannes screening, according to Ebert. Salon's Andrew O'Hehir wrote in his review that "at least 10 percent of the press-screening audience walked out" during the showing. Many critics agree with Ebert's assessment of the film, especially when it comes to the nonsensical plot. 

There are a few who saw promise in the "Donnie Darko" director's dystopian flick. Empire's Damon Wise called it "an effective and surprisingly funny comeback" for Richard Kelly, while Melissa Anderson described it as "one of the smartest, funniest, most audacious—and most mournful—films of the year" in her review for Time Out. 

That optimism is echoed by audiences rediscovering "Southland Tales" today. Redditor The_ZombyWoof wrote that the film is "a real brain worm" and it "continues to bother you with both questions and observations" in a post on the /movies subreddit. Fans argue that what some think is a messy plot is actually meant to become so unhinged that it makes you think about what the end could really look like. While it may not be Dwayne Johnson's most underrated project, it is the one that's become more of a cult classic as new fans discover it, even if Ebert wouldn't agree.