These days, for better or worse, it's hard to imagine the movie and TV industries without Rotten Tomatoes. The review aggregator has become the go-to vibe-check for the majority of audiences, as well as a huge gauge for studios of how their latest projects are faring. Some would argue that the site's binary fresh/rotten review scale is simple to the point of harming discourse, and many users still don't fully understand how Rotten Tomatoes' scores and badges actually work. That said, it's impossible to deny the site's impact, and we might not have it at all if not for the Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker-led 1998 action-comedy "Rush Hour."

As explained in a 2021 Rotten Tomatoes editorial, founder Senh Duong was a huge Jackie Chan fan. "Rush Hour" marked the actor's first major North American release, which gave Duong a thought -- it was difficult to find different critical thoughts...