Michael Owen ranks all eight films he has watched – with legendary sports movie bottom
Michael Owen may boast an enviable goal tally from his career, but he has not been quite so prolific in front of the movie screen. The Liverpool legend quickly established himself as one of English football’s most deadly goalscorers after bursting onto the scene at Anfield whilst still a teenager in 1997. Michael Owen scored 158 times in 297 games for Liverpoolgetty In his first full season in senior football, Owen scored 23 times for the Reds, winning the Premier League Golden Boot award, a feat he then replicated in the following campaign. His goalscoring exploits continued, as he then became a regular in the England squad, netting twice at the 1998 World Cup which included an iconic individual effort against Argentina. Owen would later retire from football in 2013 with 222 goals to his name, as well as landing the Ballon d’Or in 2001. But the Englishman has not racked up quite as impressive numbers in other areas away from the pitch. In 2014, Owen memorably claimed that he had watched just eight films in his entire life, with the former Real Madrid striker admitting he had little interest in the silver screen. He wrote on X, then known as Twitter: “Watched my eighth ever film on the flight home. Must have been bored. #HateFilms.” The former Manchester United man then named the select few movies that make up his back catalogue. Owen listed them as: “Rocky, Heat, Ghost, Jurassic Park, Cool Runnings, Seabiscuit, Karate Kid, Forrest Gump.” And his infamous tweets have clearly lived long in the memory, as the 45-year-old was recently put to the test over his limited movie expertise. In an interview shared on the Premier League’s social media channels, Owen was tasked with rating the eight films he has seen. Owen scored 40 times for England, putting him sixth on the national team’s all-time list of goalscorersGetty Rocky is one of the most popular film franchises of all timeGetty When asked about Sylvester Stallone’s 1976 classic ‘Rocky’, he admitted to being underwhelmed, despite it being nominated for 10 Academy Awards and winning three. Owen said: “Oh, Rocky 1? That was an average one. They got better with Rocky’s, I’ll go 3 out of 10.” And while the former England star initially appeared unaware of the context to the interviewer’s questions, the penny soon dropped as he was asked for his verdict on the 1995 crime drama ‘Heat’. He replied: “You know I’ve only watched a handful of films and you got these spot on, well played! “Heat, I’ll go with five out of ten.” Owen was even less complimentary about some of the other films he had been forced to endure, as he delivered a 4/10 rating on the 2003 sports movie ‘Seabiscuit”. Credit: Twitter: @premierleagueOwen discussed his unpopular stance on movies[/caption] Meanwhile, other popular 1990s releases ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘Cool Runnings’ fared slightly better in the ex-footballer’s eyes, which gained 7/10 and 6/10 reviews respectively. He did hint at having a personal favourite however, with 1984’s The Karate Kid’ earning a strong 8/10 score, with this the only picture labelled ‘Good’ by Owen. And he made sure to reiterate his stance on motion pictures, signing off: “Films are rubbish. I hate films!”
Michael Owen may boast an enviable goal tally from his career, but he has not been quite so prolific in front of the movie screen.
The Liverpool legend quickly established himself as one of English football’s most deadly goalscorers after bursting onto the scene at Anfield whilst still a teenager in 1997.
In his first full season in senior football, Owen scored 23 times for the Reds, winning the Premier League Golden Boot award, a feat he then replicated in the following campaign.
His goalscoring exploits continued, as he then became a regular in the England squad, netting twice at the 1998 World Cup which included an iconic individual effort against Argentina.
Owen would later retire from football in 2013 with 222 goals to his name, as well as landing the Ballon d’Or in 2001.
But the Englishman has not racked up quite as impressive numbers in other areas away from the pitch.
In 2014, Owen memorably claimed that he had watched just eight films in his entire life, with the former Real Madrid striker admitting he had little interest in the silver screen.
He wrote on X, then known as Twitter: “Watched my eighth ever film on the flight home. Must have been bored. #HateFilms.”
The former Manchester United man then named the select few movies that make up his back catalogue.
Owen listed them as: “Rocky, Heat, Ghost, Jurassic Park, Cool Runnings, Seabiscuit, Karate Kid, Forrest Gump.”
And his infamous tweets have clearly lived long in the memory, as the 45-year-old was recently put to the test over his limited movie expertise.
In an interview shared on the Premier League’s social media channels, Owen was tasked with rating the eight films he has seen.
When asked about Sylvester Stallone’s 1976 classic ‘Rocky’, he admitted to being underwhelmed, despite it being nominated for 10 Academy Awards and winning three.
Owen said: “Oh, Rocky 1? That was an average one. They got better with Rocky’s, I’ll go 3 out of 10.”
And while the former England star initially appeared unaware of the context to the interviewer’s questions, the penny soon dropped as he was asked for his verdict on the 1995 crime drama ‘Heat’.
He replied: “You know I’ve only watched a handful of films and you got these spot on, well played!
“Heat, I’ll go with five out of ten.”
Owen was even less complimentary about some of the other films he had been forced to endure, as he delivered a 4/10 rating on the 2003 sports movie ‘Seabiscuit”.
Meanwhile, other popular 1990s releases ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘Cool Runnings’ fared slightly better in the ex-footballer’s eyes, which gained 7/10 and 6/10 reviews respectively.
He did hint at having a personal favourite however, with 1984’s The Karate Kid’ earning a strong 8/10 score, with this the only picture labelled ‘Good’ by Owen.
And he made sure to reiterate his stance on motion pictures, signing off: “Films are rubbish. I hate films!”
