Unforgettable Quotes From Forgettable Movies
What's your favorite movie quote? We can probably guess: "I gave him an offer he couldn't refuse," from "The Godfather." Or "Yo Adrian, I did it!" from "Rocky II." How about: "You talkin' to me?" from "Taxi Driver?" We watch movies, but we remember quotes. Quality quotes are one of the best parts of the viewing experience, which is why there's a significant overlap between the American Film Institute's "100 Years...100 Movie Quotes" and the AFI's "100 Years...100 Movies" lists. Classic quotes tend to come from classic movies ... but not always.
There are many movie quotes that have become so etched into the fabric of popular culture that it seems like they were always there, but like a pseudo-Mandela Effect, nobody remembers where they came from, or think they came from some other significant piece of culture. Or there are quotes that are so sublime (or so sublimely cheesy) that they're the best part of an otherwise mediocre movie. These films range from schlocky genre pics to mainstream movies that came and went, but they all have one thing in common: excellent quotes, mediocre (or bad) movie. While you may not remember the movies, you will never forget the quotes. See how many of these films you've seen from our favorite unforgettable quotes from forgettable movies!
"Let them fight."
Calling a movie that made half-a-billion dollars at the global box office "forgettable" may seem like a stretch. Despite the fact we're Godzilla experts, even we admit this 2014 blockbuster didn't have cinematic staying power. Look no further than the fact that Gareth Edwards' "Godzilla" opened to $93 million in the U.S., but closed at $200 million. If you asked most casual moviegoers (not the ones who know every Godzilla movie by heart) what they remember about "Godzilla," you're liable to get a blank stare, followed by: "Is that the one where Bryan Cranston died in the first 30 minutes? Yeah, that was lame." Yes, it was.
However, the movie's lasting contribution to popular culture was not a quote from Cranston's scenery-chewing Dr. Brody, but Ken Watanabe's far more subdued Dr. Serizawa. Near the end of the movie, as the military is wondering what to do with Godzilla and the MUTOs about to descend on San Francisco, Dr. Serizawa says: "The arrogance of man is thinking nature is in our control and not the other way around. Let them fight." Let them fight! Yep, the phrase that launched 10,000 memes and also inspired chants heard at hockey games, wrestling matches, and bar fights around the world started in a Godzilla movie. While "let them fight" is memorable, the movie was not, but maybe that wouldn't be the case if Godzilla fought a giant mechanical bride or something from one of the other Godzilla movies that were never made.
"God would have mercy. He won't."
"Do we get to win this time?" Rambo says in "Rambo: First Blood Part II," the most famous line from the franchise, but surprisingly, not the most machismo-drenched bit of badassery in a series soaked in it. In fact, the coolest quote didn't come from Rambo, but from his mentor, Colonel Sam Trautman, played by Richard Crenna. And it didn't occur in "First Blood Part II," the high watermark for the series with $300 million worldwide in 1985. Truthfully, the best quote comes from "Rambo III," which was still profitable with $188 million on a $58 million budget, but was also incredibly forgettable. Everybody remembers "First Blood" (Rambo vs. Corrupt Small Town) and "Rambo: First Blood Part II" (Rambo vs. Vietnam, round two), but "Rambo III" is when the series completely descended into self-parody, albeit in a still really awesome way.
If you've forgotten, "Rambo III" is Rambo vs. Russia. Col. Trautman is kidnapped by the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, so Rambo goes to rescue him and teams up with the Mujahideen. The quote is delivered when the dastardly Russian villain says of Rambo, "Who do you think this man is? God?" To which Col. Trautman replies: "No. God would have mercy. He won't." Cue goosebumps. Turns out Trautman was right, as Rambo rained down holy hell on the Russians with no mercy. And just like Rocky Balboa ended the Cold War in "Rocky IV," Rambo ended conflict in the Middle East. Thanks Sylvester Stallone!
"Beauty isn't everything. It's the only thing."
"Winning isn't everything. It's the only thing," is widely attributed to NFL Hall of Famer and legendary Green Bay Packers head coach Vince Lombardi, for whom the Super Bowl's "Lombardi Trophy" is named. Okay, so Lombardi may not have been the first guy to say it or the only one to say it, but nobody said it better. Maybe the disputed nature of the quote is why Lombardi didn't get a screenwriting credit for "The Neon Demon."
The 2016 psychological horror film was directed by Dutch filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn, and co-written by Refn, Mary Laws, and Polly Stenham. However, the film's most famous quote bears a striking resemblance to Lombardi's mantra: "Beauty isn't everything. It's the only thing." The line is delivered nonchalantly and off-handedly by Robert Sarno (played by Alessandro Nivola), a cynical fashion designer who describes why one model is beautiful while the other is merely "fine." A bit harsh, but not nearly as harsh as the critical and commercial response to "The Neon Demon," which managed to take in only $3 million at the worldwide box office, or about 4% of what Refn's "Drive" made in 2011. We can just imagine some Hollywood studio head telling Refn: "Box office isn't everything. It's the only thing."
"If you think I'm bad, wait'll you meet my lawyers."
Video game movies are usually pretty terrible and forgettable. Arguably the most forgettable video game movie is 1994's "Double Dragon," which makes sense, as the video game series it was based on likewise wasn't very memorable compared to its contemporaries like "Street Fighter" and "Mortal Kombat." This is despite the fact that "Double Dragon" was a pioneering beat 'em up side-scroller, a genre whose masterpiece is undoubtedly "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time" (argue with us and we'll fight you).
While nobody under the age of 30 has probably even heard of "Double Dragon" it was a pretty noteworthy title in the early '90s, achieving the Mt. Olympus of mainstream success with its own cartoon show in 1993 and movie in 1994. Even so, the movie managed only a minuscule $2 million, meaning only a handful of kids were able to drag their parents to the theater. If they did, they would've seen a pretty terrible film, albeit one with Robert Patrick hamming it up as evil overlord Koga Shuko, saying the most '90s villain movie line of all time: "If you think I'm bad, wait'll you meet my lawyers."
"Are you a Mexican or a Mexi-can't?"
There are a few sacred rules in show business: Never work with kids or animals and don't upstage the star. Well, Johnny Depp didn't get the memo (or didn't care) as he should have gone to jail for stealing "Once Upon A Time In Mexico" — the third film in Robert Rodriguez's "El Mariachi" trilogy — from its star Antonio Banderas. And if you've seen Banderas as Puss in Boots, you know that is really hard to do.
Although Depp got third billing after returning "Desperado" stars Banderas and Salma Hayek, the most entertaining part of the movie is his immoral CIA Agent Sands. Well, that and the explosions. So many explosions. Part of the character's charm is his lines. None was more memorable than when Sands was giving orders to Danny Trejo's character, Cucuy. Sands says: "Are you a Mexican. Or a Mexi-can't?" That was all the motivation Cucuy needed. Now, we can't talk to Danny Trejo that way (at least not if we want to live), but Depp could, which made this the best part in an otherwise forgettable movie.
"I eat Green Berets for breakfast."
This entire list of unforgettable movie quotes could be just made up of Arnold Schwarzenegger one-liners, except that very few of his films are forgettable. To be honest, we might get some flack for including "Commando" on our list of forgettable films. However, even Schwarzenegger die-hards have to admit that "Commando" doesn't spring to mind when you think of "Arnold action movies" the same way as "Predator" or "The Terminator" films. However, if you have seen it, or at least have heard of it, you definitely know its most famous line: "I eat Green Berets for breakfast."
Yes, it's super cheesy, but just imagine those words being spoken in Arnie's thick Austrian accent, and it becomes super cheesy and super awesome. The victim of this barb (and the man who caught Arnold's hands) was Bill Duke, everybody's favorite '80s action character actor alongside Michael Ironside and Jesse Ventura. While we can't say if Schwarzenegger ate Duke's Green Beret character for breakfast, he certainly did make mincemeat out of him.
"A wise man can learn more from his enemies..."
We remember pretty much nothing from "Rush," Ron Howard's 2013 Formula One racing movie set in the 1970s, except for Chris Hemsworth's He-Man-esque helmet of blonde hair. With stellar reviews, "Rush" revved up $98 million worldwide, with only $26 million of that coming from the domestic box office, making a slim profit on a $38 million budget (via The Numbers). In this film based on a true story, Hemsworth plays James Hunt, a skirt-chasing English racer who has an intense rivalry with Daniel Brühl's Niki Lauda.
Following an accident that leaves Lauda with severe burns all over his body (Formula One race cars in the 1970s were essentially grenades on four wheels), Lauda confronts his old rival. However, Lauda doesn't want to fight Hemsworth, but instead decides to share with him a bit of hard-won wisdom: "A wise man can learn more from his enemies than a fool from his friends." We dig that. Sounds like a fortune cookie. Turns out it's actually a paraphrase from 17th-century Spanish philosopher Baltasar Gracian. So, the most memorable part of that movie wasn't even from that movie. Okay, then. But hey, we guarantee it sounded way cooler when Brühl said it.
"I'm going to take you to the bank...The blood bank."
Your tier-one, "one-man-army" action stars are Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone (Harrison Ford and Bruce Willis don't count as they're tier-one "everyman" action stars). On the next level you have Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal. Chuck Norris isn't on this list because he is the list. Anyway, each of these guys had a pretty good run in their day, with Seagal's high water mark coming with 1992's "Under Siege" and 1995's "Under Siege 2: Dark Territory." However, before either of those films came out, there was Seagal's second film, which made him a star (of the B-movie blow 'em up variety): 1990's "Hard To Kill."
Seagal plays Det. Mason Storm (yes, that's his name) whose family is murdered and who is put in a coma after he discovers that a corrupt politician named Senator Trent (William Sadler) had ties with the mob. So, basically The Punisher. Too bad for the mob Storm is ... wait for it ... hard to kill! With pomade in his hair and vengeance in his heart, Storm awakes from his coma and goes seeking revenge, Seagal-style. The most memorable part of the movie is when Storm is watching Senator Trent on TV. When Trent mutters the empty soundbite, "...take that to the bank," Storm claps back with, "I'm going to take you to the bank, Senator Trent. The blood bank." What a line ... what a performance ... a star is born!
"It's impossible. But doable."
There are two ingredients to an unforgettable movie quote: the quote itself and — most importantly — the actor speaking the line. In this case, it's the late, great Sean Connery, who was always awesome and could make any line work in its own way even if the movie was forgettable. And "Entrapment" was very forgettable. Connery was just shy of 69 when "Entrapment" came out, and this film's critical reception signaled he probably was no longer cut out for leading man action hero roles. In fact, he only made two more movies after this before retiring to the golf course in the mid-2000s.
Of course, it's Sean Connery, so the movie still made $212 million worldwide on a $66 million budget (via Box Office Mojo). Dude was a draw in his day. In the film, Catherine Zeta-Jones is an insurance investigator who suspects Connery, a thief, of stealing a Rembrandt. To put him behind bars for that crime, she sets him up for another. Is that legal? No, hence the title: "Entrapment." Anyway, when hearing about Jones' plan, Connery utters a line that could be said for 97% of these types of movies: "It's impossible. But doable." Makes no sense reading it, but totally works when Connery said it. The movie is forgettable, but the legendary movie star is not.
"I'm going to let you live."
Great actors can make reading the phone book entertaining. Enter John Lithgow. Whether he's playing the good guy, the bad guy, a dad trying to protect Bigfoot, or an alien commander posing as an Earthling physicist, Lithgow is entertaining. But let's be frank, Lithgow is best as a bad guy. Pit John Lithgow the bad guy versus Denzel Washington the good guy, and you should have the most memorable movie of all time, right? Alas, no. Turns out Washington did battle Lithgow on the big screen in the all-but-forgotten "Ricochet" from 1991. What happened? Beats us.
Washington was just a few years removed from winning his first Oscar for 1989's "Glory," so he did what most acclaimed young actors do after getting gold: He starred in a gloriously dumb action movie. Well, it worked about as well with "Ricochet" as it does 93% of the time, which is to say not very well. Which is a shame, because "Ricochet" is nuts! In a good way. Washington plays a heroic, family man cop who is targeted by Lithgow, a hit man he arrested years ago. Lithgow's revenge scheme is naturally magnificently over-the-top, predating "The Dark Knight" and "Saw" for eccentric villains with contrived plots, which results in this memorable quote: "I'm going to do something far worse than kill you. I'm going to let you live." Excellent villain line. Is the movie good? The critics thought so. So, maybe it's time for this wild action movie to be rediscovered.
"For me, it was Tuesday."
We all know the great actor-villain pairings — Willem Dafoe as Green Goblin, Heath Ledger as The Joker, Tom Hiddleston as Loki. We now submit to you the most underrated: Raul Julia as M. Bison. Maybe it's because Julia played Bison in "Street Fighter," one of the worst video game movies of all time, or the fact that this was the last movie the brilliant actor starred in before his passing, but Julia's Bison doesn't get his due. Yes, "Street Fighter" was pretty bad at the time and honestly still is today ... but one of the worst? We cry foul. Mainly because of Jean-Claude Van Damme doing his Damme thing and Raul Julia's shameless showboating stealing every scene like he had diplomatic immunity.
However one feels about the film's "legacy," it is forgettable ... except for Raul Julia. Especially the most famous line in the movie, which has so thoroughly seeped into our culture that you've probably heard it, even if you have no idea where it came from. Imprisoned in Bison's penthouse (dictatorship pays well), Chun Li (Ming-Na Wen) reveals that years before, Bison murdered her father. She's shocked to discover he doesn't remember it. Bison replies: "For you, the day Bison graced your village was the most important day of your life. But for me, it was Tuesday." We hope screenwriter Steven E. deSouza gets a royalty check every time that trope is uttered. Dude would be worth more than M. Bison by now.
"Go ahead, make my day."
You know who said the most famous line on our list ... you just probably don't know when he said it. If we asked: "Who said, 'Go ahead, make my day'?" we bet 99.5% of you would answer "Dirty Harry." But what if we asked "Which movie?" You'd probably say: "Uh ... 'Dirty Harry?'" Be honest ... did you? If yes, you'd be mistaken. Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry Callahan did not say "make my day" in the 1971 original classic (though he did utter the equally unforgettable line: "Do you feel lucky? Well, do you, punk?"), but in the film's third sequel, 1983's "Sudden Impact."
Which one was that? The one where Dirty Harry develops a relationship with a gang-rape victim (played by his then real-life girlfriend Sondra Locke) and goes on a killing spree against the men that attacked her but were never punished. So yeah, you've definitely forgotten "Sudden Impact," if you even saw it. But there's no way you've forgotten "Make my day!" which happens near the beginning, when a punk tries to pull a gun on Harry. Credit Eastwood's delivery, which was perfectly, well, Eastwood. Arguably the most famous line in the series, AFI declared it one of the most famous movie quotes period, ranking it No. 6, ahead of quotes from bonafide masterpieces like "Sunset Boulevard," "Taxi Driver," and even "Star Wars." Not bad for a "Dirty Harry" movie people have totally forgotten. That must make Clint Eastwood's day.