Most overrated movies thread

[Dapper Dan]

Star Wars 1-3: I had a hard time watching the trilogy. (No, you like Star Wars, you have to watch it!). Anakin Skywalker was portrayed as a whiney bitch.

I'm glad you mentioned Star Wars. Let's heat this discussion up a notch.

I'm going to go ahead and say it: I think the prequels are probably underrated. And the originals are definitely overrated. The two trilogies are actually very near each other in terms of quality, and neither is outstanding.

Both have about the same quality of acting. Luke is honestly no less annoying than Anakin, albeit for different reasons. Sirs Alec Guiness and Christopher Lee occupy the other end of the spectrum, aka: the awesome end.

The prequels lose the character battle despite having almost universally better villains, all thanks to Jar-Jar. That freaking Gungan single-handedly ruined Ep1 for a lot of people and probably doomed the whole trilogy to its current hated status.

However, the prequels have the far superior plotline. Watching the gradual rise of the Empire and the fall of the Jedi is gut-wrenching, even though you know it's coming. It's certainly more gripping than "Crap, they blew up our Death Star. Let's make a bigger one!"

That's good enough for now. I'm curious to see if anyone agrees with me.

 

[Cheeseumpuffs]

However, the prequels have the far superior plotline. Watching the gradual rise of the Empire and the fall of the Jedi is gut-wrenching, even though you know it's coming. It's certainly more gripping than "Crap, they blew up our Death Star. Let's make a bigger one!"

That's good enough for now. I'm curious to see if anyone agrees with me.

I agree with this last part definitely. Just the other day, in fact, it hit me that the way they show how the emperor seizes control, both directly and indirectly, was actually pretty good. Before I was caught up in all the shittiness that everyone else saw but now I actually admire how the Emperor was moving to take control even in Episode I.

 

[Peripheral Visionary]

However, the prequels have the far superior plotline. Watching the gradual rise of the Empire and the fall of the Jedi is gut-wrenching, even though you know it's coming. It's certainly more gripping than "Crap, they blew up our Death Star. Let's make a bigger one!"

That's good enough for now. I'm curious to see if anyone agrees with me.

I agree with this last part definitely. Just the other day, in fact, it hit me that the way they show how the emperor seizes control, both directly and indirectly, was actually pretty good. Before I was caught up in all the shittiness that everyone else saw but now I actually admire how the Emperor was moving to take control even in Episode I.

Agree and agree.

Palpatine's plan is a familiar one: find a problem, exacerbate it, offer yourself as the solution, consolidate power. And after all is said and done, so much destruction and evil come because a little boy missed his mother. For all the other flaws, it is an epic theme.

I love/hate Phantom Menace the most. Jenny mentioned this earlier--and I must concur--the showdown with Maul is extremely compelling. Also, the Droid Army theme is one John Williams most memorable pieces after the Imperial March.

 

[Cheeseumpuffs]

Anakin Skywalker was portrayed as a whiney bitch.

I agree.

LoTR: Thought it was ok. Nothing to *fist pump* about.

I thought they were great.

Pirates of the Carribean: Gay.

More or less agree.

Harry Potter: Meh.

Harry Potter is incredibly overrated. Movies are shit. Books are barely better.

Twilight Saga: 100+ year old vampires banging high school girls. What an ingenious concept. Bravo.

Never seen it but judging from its popularity as well as its massive opposition, it's shit.

The Hunger Games: Considering how excited people are to see this, it probobaly sucks. Undecided if I will watch it when it comes out on DVD.

Never seen it but, as you said, its popularity is a fairly good indicator that it's not that god.

 

[perkins]

I'm glad you mentioned Star Wars. Let's heat this discussion up a notch.

I'm going to go ahead and say it: I think the prequels are probably underrated. And the originals are definitely overrated. The two trilogies are actually very near each other in terms of quality, and neither is outstanding.

Both have about the same quality of acting. Luke is honestly no less annoying than Anakin, albeit for different reasons. Sirs Alec Guiness and Christopher Lee occupy the other end of the spectrum, aka: the awesome end.

The prequels lose the character battle despite having almost universally better villains, all thanks to Jar-Jar. That freaking Gungan single-handedly ruined Ep1 for a lot of people and probably doomed the whole trilogy to its current hated status.

However, the prequels have the far superior plotline. Watching the gradual rise of the Empire and the fall of the Jedi is gut-wrenching, even though you know it's coming. It's certainly more gripping than "Crap, they blew up our Death Star. Let's make a bigger one!"

That's good enough for now. I'm curious to see if anyone agrees with me.

I do agree with most of the points you made. The reason why I don't consider the original Star Wars films overrated is because those movies were the springboard to the insane fandom that you see 30+ years later. The prequels started off with a crap load of hype leading into the series.

The difference for me when comparing the two series really came down to the acting. The originals definitley had its flaws (sometimes overlooked by the nostalgic feeling of re-watching older movies), but, in the end, I still liked and cared about the characters. Imo, there was also better character development, e.g. Luke Skywalker starting off as a whiney bitch, and gradually progressing into a more mature (bearable), in control of his emotions (not being a whiney bitch anymore), enlightened (the force is with him) Jedi.

Therefore, better acting/characters made me more capitivated in the story. (Curse Lando's sudden but inevitable betrayal! (even though I understand why he did it, so I can't get mad at him (he really didn't have a choice (but, you always have a choice (I think?))))).

The prequels had the potential to far surpass what the original films were not able to achieve. The end product was a huge disappointment. The hype going into these films made it that much worse. The acting was so chessy (with some exceptions), that I could not give a shit about the story. I was hoping Anakin and gang would perform seppuku, and leave the Star Wars plane of existence with some honor and dignity.

My first rant on this forum was about Star Wars?

 

[Words]

I recently did a marathon on Star Wars, beginning with episode 1 and ending with episode 6. I've never seen it before. The later movies[1-3] are really far too inferior. I don't even understand why some of you are trying to protect that trilogy. The actors and jokes were too forced. Luke's trilogy was really straightforward, literal and American but that was part of it's charm. The Anakin trilogy's simplicity, on the other hand, ruined itself. It was too absolutist with its concept of good and bad. Episode 1-3 was simple and dishonest while Episode 4-6 was simple and truthful.

 

[Jennywocky]

I recently did a marathon on Star Wars, beginning with episode 1 and ending with episode 6. I've never seen it before. The latter part are really far too inferior. I don't even understand why some of you are trying to protect that trilogy. The actors and jokes were too forced. Luke's trilogy was really straightforward, literal and American but that was part of it's charm. The Anakin trilogy's simplicity, on the other hand, ruined itself. It was too absolutist with its concept of good and bad. Episode 1-3 was simple and dishonest while Episode 4-6 was simple and truthful.

Good way to summarize the original Star Wars. For some reason, it worked -- the archetypal characters clicked, the cutscenes weren't deadening, Luke was naive but earnest and sweet and it fit the character concept. ESB was darker, as Luke himself became conflicted and had to enter himself, then be confronted with some terrible truths about his heritage. RotJ was a bit too simplistic for me but still managed to tie things up.

I honestly can't even watch the Anakin trilogy. Clumsy acting, clumsy dialog, clumsy cut scenes, clumsy backstory, clumsy drama... it's all so much more painful when you look at how beautiful some of the artistic backdrop and/or design is... like ornately gilding a pile of sh*t. At best, I'll watch the lightsaber battles.

(Compare that to the SWTOR, STKOTOR1&2, etc., computer game endeavors, and you can see what could have actually been done with the franchise/license. It's pretty bad when the vision of the owner/originator is not nearly as amazing as those who caught the spirit of it and ran with it.)

I also felt that luke's acting -- while not the greatest -- far outshine the lines coming out of Anakin's mouth. Hayden (?) needed some directing and didn't really get it. Also, while some might think the plot "developed nicely" to explain how everything happened, it was still very thin compared to other movies that track those kind of things. i.e., considering the resources and source material, it could have been done far better. I really wasn't that impressed with hit -- kind of like what a high-schooler would whip out overnight for a due paper, not really what Lucas could have accomplished with all the experts at his disposal who could have helped him. It just seemed pretty fluffy.

Getting back to topic of overrated -- I don't think the original Star Wars was overrated. What Lucas accomplished at that time in the movie industry was just phenomenal... the result of much hard work and precision detail and stepping outside the box to try something that hadn't yet really been done in that tone and flavor. It changed the landscape.

 

[Puffy]

I think with Star Wars the overrated-ness is likely in relation to the hype again. It's a good film series but having an actual religion dedicated to it is a little OTT. It's when people start collecting figurines and things that I start getting a bit.

I saw 2001: A Space Odyssey a few weeks ago and I was surprised by how impressive the set designs and special effects were in that film. Star Wars, coming 9 years later, seemed less exceptional in comparison to me after viewing it.

But they're completely different films; it's a little harsh to compare Lucas with Kubrick: Both took a lot of work and were groundbreaking in their own ways.

 

[Jennywocky]

I saw 2001: A Space Odyssey a few weeks ago and I was surprised by how impressive the set designs and special effects were in that film. Star Wars, coming 9 years later, seemed less exceptional in comparison to me after viewing it.

Amazingly, I still have not see that movie. Talk about overrated -- I was never sure if it fit into that category or not. I've been kind of indifferent to other Kubrick that I've seen over the years.

I should probably buckle down and watch it sometime soon. Along with Dr. Strangelove and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

My personal philosophy is that the more effort you put into movie-watching, the less enjoyment you get out of it. This applies to a lot of things, actually.

yes, sad but true. When something becomes an occupation/professional-style task, it does change in nature and experience. Still, I can't say I don't get enjoyment out of movies; the good ones are one way in which I have experiences that leave me feeling alive, in lieu of being able to have many close relationships right now. They're also mixed-media art forms, and I like to study how form and structure, along with video and audio and pacing, are all meshed together to create a particular vision. That sounds rather intense and professional, but it actually excites me.

 

[duke of new york]

I think what someone said about Star Wars before--that the prequels had a more interesting plot--is essentially true, but to me, this is what made the prequels so bad. Those movies tried to make Star Wars into a drama with political intrigue and dynamic characters and relationships. Normally these things make for a good movie, but they kept the original Star Wars strategy of bad acting and cheesy dialogue. The original trilogy were adventure movies: the plot was relatively simple, it was fast paced, and it was cheesy, but that didn't really matter, because adventures are supposed to be romantic (romantic in the literary sense, not the lovey-dovey sense). It was OK for Luke and Han to have cheesy lines, because they were cheesy, romantic characters--swashbucklers, smugglers, rogue adventurers out to save the galaxy. The prequels took their characters and plots too seriously, so the cheese doesn't fit.

And this has been said before about the prequels, but I also think they explained too much. I'd rather not know what Darth Vader was like as a little kid and what Emperor Palpatine was like when he was an elected Congressman. I'd rather not see baby Boba Fett crying over his dead dad, C-3P0 when he was being built by kid Darth Vader, or Yoda fighting a lightsaber duel. And I would really rather not know the scientific explanation of how the Force works. These things just took away all the mystique from the original story and made it a lot more boring.

Remember SAT analogies?
Original Trilogy : Prequels :: Muppets : Muppet Babies

I should probably buckle down and watch it sometime soon. Along with Dr. Strangelove and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

I like--not love--both of those movies, but they could probably both make the extended version of my list.

 

[Jennywocky]

And this has been said before about the prequels, but I also think they explained too much. I'd rather not know what Darth Vader was like as a little kid and what Emperor Palpatine was like when he was an elected Congressman. I'd rather not see baby Boba Fett crying over his dead dad, C-3P0 when he was being built by kid Darth Vader, or Yoda fighting a lightsaber duel. And I would really rather not know the scientific explanation of how the Force works. These things just took away all the mystique from the original story and made it a lot more boring.

Yes, agreed. Reminds me too of what they tried to do with Hannibal Lecter in explaining his backstory. Sometimes less actually IS more.

Things like that have left me with the impression that Lucas is in love with his ideas and what he wants to accomplish to feel fulfilled, but doesn't really have as much of a great sense on anticipating how his audience will perceive his work (more Fi than Fe?). He's not really great at wooing the audience, he kind of just throws a lot of crap on a dish and serves it up and expects you to eat it.

 

[duke of new york]

Yes, agreed. Reminds me too of what they tried to do with Hannibal Lecter in explaining his backstory. Sometimes less actually IS more.

Things like that have left me with the impression that Lucas is in love with his ideas and what he wants to accomplish to feel fulfilled, but doesn't really have as much of a great sense on anticipating how his audience will perceive his work (more Fi than Fe?). He's not really great at wooing the audience, he kind of just throws a lot of crap on a dish and serves it up and expects you to eat it.

And we feast on that crap. I don't know about you, but I saw all three prequels in the theater, even knowing after the first one that they would suck. I guess he's doing it right.

 

[Jennywocky]

And we feast on that crap. I don't know about you, but I saw all three prequels in the theater, even knowing after the first one that they would suck. I guess he's doing it right.

I think I was hoping beyond hope that they would improve. Wishful thinking, we humans are renown for it.

... also, I had two boys who were in the 10-12 age range at the time, and they ate them up. That seems to be target demographic for the franchise... at least the level it was written on.

 

[LarsMac]

Prometheus.
It was fun, with a lot of really interesting special effects, and set designs, but it never really seemed to make up its mind what Scott wanted to say.
In the end, it came across as a fancy 'B' Sci-fi movie.
The only surprise to me was the apparent ineptitude of those "Superhuman" guys.

 

[Minuend]

Well, I think the main point is what people get out of films. They might have heard the message before, but they like the alternative way it is conveyed. Some elements connects better with one's psyche better than others. Doesn't mean that the idea is revolutionary or anything, it's just one way of connecting to your perspective of the world, or an idea, an element.

Or something like that.

I like Fight Club. I was/ am unaware of its popularity. To me it's just something that could have been a piece of my mind cut out and shown as a movie. Not that my opinion or perspective is exactly like that, it's more that it is something I could have mused about.

It's nice to dwell in a certain kind of feeling/ atmosphere sometimes.

 

[Jennywocky]

Prometheus.
It was fun, with a lot of really interesting special effects, and set designs, but it never really seemed to make up its mind what Scott wanted to say.
In the end, it came across as a fancy 'B' Sci-fi movie.
The only surprise to me was the apparent ineptitude of those "Superhuman" guys.

The BluRay release helped a little bit (I think they overedited the movie, so things got lost and/or came off really stupid that had more precedent in the original footage), but I was really disappointed in this movie when it came out as well. The concept was interesting and had potential, but the released movie was very flawed... especially a shame since some of the acting (like Michael Fassbender) was excellent, and some of the visuals (like the cataract in the opening, and the star field later in the alien ship) were gorgeous.

 

[LarsMac]

The BluRay release helped a little bit (I think they overedited the movie, so things got lost and/or came off really stupid that had more precedent in the original footage), but I was really disappointed in this movie when it came out as well. The concept was interesting and had potential, but the released movie was very flawed... especially a shame since some of the acting (like Michael Fassbender) was excellent, and some of the visuals (like the cataract in the opening, and the star field later in the alien ship) were gorgeous.

Oh, absolutely. The visuals were fantastic. And the sets, and props, and vehicles, all wonderfully done. And much of the acting was brilliant.

But. like Avatar and more than a couple of the Star Wars episodes, they got so wrapped up in the toys, they forgot to make the story work.

 

[Jennywocky]

Oh, absolutely. The visuals were fantastic. And the sets, and props, and vehicles, all wonderfully done. And much of the acting was brilliant.

But. like Avatar and more than a couple of the Star Wars episodes, they got so wrapped up in the toys, they forgot to make the story work.

They've already supposedly been greenlighted on the sequel. I'm glad it looks like Lindelof is off the project... I think he was part of the problem. I'm hoping they actually touch on some things that they glossed over (thematically) in this movie, if they do it; it was kind of an embarrassment. The script just didn't do what it needed to do. But I'm serious about the edited-out scenes... I think they ended up removing scenes that were essentially to either covering some of the plot stupidities and/or scenes that explained what was going on, to give it some sense. A very crappy editing job, from the story perspective.

And I agree about Avatar. I did see it in 3D a number of times because it was something to experience (esp the flying scenes), but I'm not a fan of Sam Worthington (I think he's a lousy actor, this was another "Matrix" like situation where the star of the movie is the weakest actor in the cast by far), and the dialog and story was kind of hackeyed.

Let's not get into the Star Wars prequels. I'm actually kind of excited that Lucas has passed the torch to Disney, if at the least he will no longer be calling the shots on story and script and it certainly can't get WORSE. Aside from Episodes 4 and 5, I think the Star Wars franchise has historically been better from a narrative and characterization/drama perspective when handled by people other than Lucas... heck, even the video games were better written.

 

[ObliviousGenius]

I could barely finish watching Prometheus, what a load of crap. I agree it looked good, but had such a bad storyline that I don't really know what to make of it. Highly overrated film.

 

[Lot]

The Matrix
Space Balls
An Inconvenient Truth
Saw 1-however many there are
Shrek

Just to name a few.

I mostly agree with the OP.

 

[EyeSeeCold]

The Matrix

In what way?

The second and third were pretty weak and couldn't stand on their own, but the first was definitely a solid film.

 

[LarsMac]

Matrix started out really well, but lost it for me when the neo guy woke up and found himself all plugged in.
That kinda lost it for me.
Though it was a well done film. It is one that, when on a work trip, and hanging out in the hotel room channel-surfing, I will often stop and watch.

 

[EmergingAlbert]

1. The entire Lord of the Rings series.
2. The Batman movies.
3. Top Gun.
4. The Princess Bride.

 

[Lot]

In what way?

The second and third were pretty weak and couldn't stand on their own, but the first was definitely a solid film.

I said it was overrated, not bad. I ended up watching it on the last week end after hearing all the hype. It wasn't the amazing experience that everyone made it out to be. I like the movie, but people made out to be more than it was. Thus making it overrated in my book.

 

[kora]

Top Gun first came into my mind, pleased to see it's been mentioned about 4 times

The tree of life. Maybe I just saw it with the wrong mentality, some of the shots were very beautiful, particularly the creation of the world ones, but it was so self-indulgent that it got boring. It's like the director wasn't paying attention to his audience after a while. People where saying "what a transcendent movie!" more like a transcendent screensaver for my computer...I saw it as a kind of "hipster trap" where people who think they are arty will say it's good to uphold their image. Perhaps one of you can convince me to see it again with a different perspective but it'll be hard... The character had no depth whatsoever and some of the obsessive CGI scenes with dinosaurs could have been cut shorter in order to develop some real depth to the film.

 

[Jennywocky]

The tree of life. Maybe I just saw it with the wrong mentality, some of the shots were very beautiful, particularly the creation of the world ones, but it was so self-indulgent that it got boring. It's like the director wasn't paying attention to his audience after a while. People where saying "what a transcendent movie!" more like a transcendent screensaver for my computer...I saw it as a kind of "hipster trap" where people who think they are arty will say it's good to uphold their image. Perhaps one of you can convince me to see it again with a different perspective but it'll be hard... The character had no depth whatsoever and some of the obsessive CGI scenes with dinosaurs could have been cut shorter in order to develop some real depth to the film.

I had the same kind of response to it.

It was an EXPERIENCE, I will say that much. It is a movie I can't even really reduce to a simple (or any, honestly) explanation, I could only sit there and observe/feel it. If someone wants an example of a movie geared toward the Perceiving group of functions, this might be one of them; I find it a difficult movie to discuss, it just exists. Other movies have "points" or break down into easy plot narratives, this one does not; even when I read the blow-by-blow synopsis on IMDB, it's like, "Okay, where is this going?" But as you say, it was beautifully shot and filmed and acted; it's a lot of sensory and intuitive impressions that passed through my brain and exited the other side.

It is one of those movies that left me feeling wowed at times while watching it, while never having any real desire to see it again or even much talk about. And yes, I don't really get the universe/dinosaur scenes, I barely remember them at this point except that I was horribly bored by THAT aspect of the movie and wondered when something would actually happen.

 

[Jennywocky]

1. The entire Lord of the Rings series.
2. The Batman movies.
3. Top Gun.
4. The Princess Bride.

In general, I find the LotR unwatchable. The first one has the most value and is the only one I will watch at all, but it was all largely overhyped. I'm kind of concerned about The Hobbit. No, wait, scratch the "kind of" part; now I need to listen to 2-3 more years of illiterates blabbing about Tolkien stuff that was never really part of the vision of the books, and comments like, "Oh wait, there are books?" *doh*

The last Batman was largely overhyped, I found it a C movie for my purposes. Very little that was inventive, it's all been done before and better by other movies. I was largely disappointed.

The Hunger Games adaptation really kind of sucked, compared to what it could have been, especially with casting a decent lead. Speaking of that, I found the book series overhyped too. The first book was the best, and at least she tried to end the series more realistically, but she missed a lot of interesting opportunities in the narrative.

I guess I will say that a movie can be very good and meaningful to me, while being still largely overhyped. (Inception was this way for me; I actually really like this movie, and it can haunt me sometimes despite any of its flaws... but what was up with all the public acclaim by people who don't even usually watch speculative fiction movies?? I was so sick of hearing people talk about it by the end of the summer. Same thing with The Sixth Sense; a really decent and creative movie, but SO overhyped/oversaturated in public conversation.)

We're like frickin' vampires -- as soon as find a nice plump, tasty victim, the entire mob descends upon it and drains it dry until it crumbles into dust like Mordred's mom in the Dark Tower.

 

[EmergingAlbert]

I guess I will say that a movie can be very good and meaningful to me, while being still largely overhyped.

Which movie are you referring to here? You never specified...

 

[Solitaire U.]

In what way?

Keanu Reeves.

 

[joal0503]

shit is whack ^

 

[Jennywocky]

shit is whack ^

But is it overrated?

 

[redbaron]

But is it overrated?

Wouldn't you like to know?!

Who am I kidding, of course YOU would

 

[Jennywocky]

as a side note, I think I've actually seen part of that Pirates thing.

I walked in on some friends one time, and I'm pretty sure that's what they were watching. Kind of mesmerizing, kind of goofy.

 

[Lostwitheal]

Pirates is absolutely hilarious. As straight porn it's a bit rubbish, but as porn-comedy it's genius.

 

[joal0503]

Pirates is absolutely hilarious. As straight porn it's a bit rubbish, but as porn-comedy it's genius.

its honestly the first adult film where ive remembered quotes rather than the hotness.

"WU, FIRE THE CANNONS!"

"I think I shit my pants."

thats all it takes, and now im smiling.

 

[Niclmaki]

Napolean Dynamite. My entire family praises this movie as a genius comedy of the decade or something. I got a few sighs while watching it, but it wasn't that funny at all.

 

[joal0503]

Napolean Dynamite. My entire family praises this movie as a genius comedy of the decade or something. I got a few sighs while watching it, but it wasn't that funny at all.

id agree for the most part, minus

 

[EyeSeeCold]

The Hangover.

+
Sin City
A Clockwork Orange (the book is great)
The Nightmare Before Christmas
The Breakfast Club (!)

 

[Puffy]

+
Sin City
A Clockwork Orange (the book is great)
The Nightmare Before Christmas
The Breakfast Club (!)

What did you not like about Clockwork Orange, out of interest? It gets a lot of attention, just not a film I'd immediately think of as overrated.

 

[EyeSeeCold]

What did you not like about Clockwork Orange, out of interest? It gets a lot of attention, just not a film I'd immediately think of as overrated.

It was cool to see the book visualized, but I can't really point out anything I found impressive about the movie itself. I watched the film right after reading the book though so I guess I'm biased.

 

[joal0503]

What did you not like about Clockwork Orange, out of interest? It gets a lot of attention, just not a film I'd immediately think of as overrated.

I think in the sense of its praise for being over the top along with the associated controversy it gathered back in the day...in today's context, it feels like that feeling of awe and shock are overrated.although ill point out its tough for me to give a confident answer, knowing i wasnt around back then....

the film itself...cant agree that its overrated



Titanic. Im sorry. Terrible film (minus the boobies)

 

[MichiganJFrog]

Tommy

 

[Jennywocky]

- There's Something About Mary
- Meet the Fockers

It's really disconcerting to sit in the theater and not find anything funny when everyone around me is laughing.

 

[Niclmaki]

id agree for the most part, minus

It gets a little funnier every time I watch this .gif...
Though, that might be because my brother threatened one of my highschool friends to do this very thing because he looked exactly like Napolean.