Overrated / Underrated Film

Overrated:

• Titanic: Yeah, it is, but you know what I still like it. I think people are still suffering from the Hype Backlash since everyone in 1997/98 was saying it was the greatest thing to happen to cinema ever.

• The 2nd and 3rd Pirates Of The Carribean movies: Again I still like them, but for me First Installment Wins. And I'm a little afraid of the new Jack Sparrow-centric one that's supposedly being made. Jack Sparrow is a great character but he's sort of taken over the whole series.

• Alvin And The Chipmunks: Gah, why must my childhood be dug up from its grave and infected with Shrek-style humor. And now because this movie was successful they're going to rape Bugs Bunny, the Smurfs and Tom and Jerry (plus a host of others) too.

Underrated:

• Gangs Of New York: It was an excellent piece of cinema, and yet no one seems to talk about it.

• The Lost World: Jurassic Park: Someone else mentioned this one. It was actually my favorite of the series, Contested Sequel as it is.

• Little Nemo In Slumberland: It's a shame this movie is so obscure.

• Once Upon A Forest: Same as above.

edited 4th Nov '10 9:55:34 PM by Surenity

I think Dead Man's Chest and At World's End are actually underrated.

Evan Almighty is underrated, too.

To me, Revenge of the Fallen is both overrated and underrated. Did it suck? Pretty much. Was it the worst thing that happened to cinema? Not in the least.

I like this description the OP makes of overrated. Less "my opinion is better", more "movie that should be talked about more/less"

Overrated:

Let the Right One In: I didn't hate it, but it wasn't the masterpiece I was sold by the Internet.

Amityville Horror (original) - Really, some people found this scary? Before the walls begins to shed blood, what are the horrific moments? A whole lotta flies and a windowsill that crushes an hand. Sure, that haunted I tell ya!

The Fugitive: Not that thrilling. It's not a bad movie, but as far as Harisson Ford thrillers go, I've seen much, much better.

Underrated:

Chicago: A lot of people dismiss this as just another musical comedy, but it's a work of pure art. It's one of the best musical ever put on screen, the whole work, coregaphy, cinematograpy, costumes, acting, is dazzling.

Bon Cop Bad Cop: Best buddy cop movie ever, tabarnak!

Marley and Me: Probably one of the most touching family film I've seen. It's perfect for you, your mom, your grandma, your children, your gradchildren. And for those who says it's not for children because the dog dies at the end— mortality is part of what a child needs to learn. I can see this film as a form of "therapy" to get kids over the loss of someone or an animal.

Milk: The main cast give their 100%, the subject is enthralling, and the movie give some respect to people like Anyta Bryant by depicting them only via archive footage, which IMO only underscore the realism of the movie.

Overrated: Where the Wild Things Are Underrated: Snakes on a Plane

Underrated: Most of M Night Shyamalan's films. He isn't perfect, but he is by no means a terrible director. Egotistical? Maybe. But liking someone's personality =/= liking their art. I don't even blame Night for the suckiness of The Last Airbender; I blame the chucklehead who thought it would be a good idea to hire a suspense/thriller director to make a fantasy action flick.

Overrated: The Shawshank Redemption, Up, Casablanca and Fellini.

Underrated: Evil Dead (not that it doesn't get enough love, I just believe it deserves a mainstream fanbase), Sergio Leone films (yes, I know they're popular. I still think they're underrated) and everything Peter Jackson did before Heavenly Creatures.

Underrated:

Primer: A relatively short, low budget film that will make little sense until you buy the DVD and watch it a half dozen times to follow all the split time lines and paradoxes.

The Last Action Hero: goofy and spoofy but I can't help thinking that critics and mainstream audiences just didn't get it because the action movie genre is somewhat sacrosanct to Americans. Admittedly, it could have lost the cartoon cat, but still. . .

Henry V: the first of Brannaugh's Shakespear romps, it combines action, comedy and romance in their due proportions. His rousing monologue before the battle of Agincourt will make you want to jump through the screen and fight along side the English.

First Blood: a film with dramatic and emotional depth - not to mention a serious political statement - before the action series descended into silliness.

Red Belt: A movie made by and for MMA fans and practitioners. Few flaws in the narrative and relatively realistic fight scenes.

Equilibrium: Christian Bale is a super cop "gun kata" master who accidently drops his morning dose of Orwellian mind-control drugs on the bathroom floor, which leads to a cold turkey rampage in which he takes down the fascist government almost single handedly. While fairly derivative, the fight scenes stand out due to their unique style. The director commented that Ultraviolet better reflects his vision of what the gun kata should look like (although the term is never used in the later movie) but I enjoyed this movie more.

If anything, I think M Night is overrated. Almost all of his movies are gimmicky and dissappointing. Unbreakable seems to be the exception because the final plot twist doesn't sort of undo the dramatic experience from the rest of the movie.

Overrated: Citizen Kane: Never really got its appeal; it's story wasn't anything to write home about and the plot is only made possible due to a plot hole. The Nightmare Before Christmas: Jack Skellington and his songs are amazing, but everyone else is either annoying or forgettable. The Corpse Bride: One of the worst films I've ever seen; it's like Tim Burton was trying to cash in on "The Nightmare Before Christmas" as cheaply as possible. The Empire Strikes Back: Still a great movie, but not the best in the series in my humble opinion. Underrated: The Fall and The Cell: Two great movies from a fantastic director. The Revenge of the Sith: While I can't stand Attack of the Clones, and the Phantom Menace isn't as good as I first thought, Revenge of the Sith is my personal favorite entry in the series.

Overrated: Let The Right One In, it's a good movie but not the "best vampire film ever" hype the movie got. The only reason why the film was hyped so much was because it opened a month before Twilight and people were wanting a real vampire movie as a counterpoint. This was that movie.

Underrated: Let Me In. I'll admit it, this was better than the original (because it wasn't overhyped). It's a shame that no one saw this movie as it does everything that the original did...and then some. If the fans of the original would shut up and give this movie a chance, they would realize it's a worthy remake. Also, it was Hammer's first movie in 36 years and it immediately made up for The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires.

Kane isn't famous just because of the plot or characters. It was the advent of modern filmmaking.

Overrated: Avatar. I will say nothing more about it.

Underrated: 12 Angry Men. One of my favorite films of all time.

Unbreakable: Another one of my favorite ever films, and superior to Sixith Sense in my opinion.

edited 13th Aug '11 4:14:20 PM by YoungMachete

Ah ah ah! The butler heard it, remember?

Underrated: Sky High. A live-action Disney flick ends up being one of my favorite the company put out? Who knew? My only regret is they didn't turn it into an animated series. My only gripe with it is a rather large Shocking Swerve related to the Romance Arc, though even that is really only offensive on a first viewing; on a repeat viewing there are things you might pick up that hint at it.

A sequel and a TV series were planned for Sky High. The movie was successful but Disney didn't go ahead because it wasn't a Cash-Cow Franchise. Around the same time, Disney canceled development for a sequel to The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy and attempted to do Toy Story 3 without Pixar.

Wait, Disney made Hitchchhiker's Guide?

And from what I heard it told with regards to Sky High is that there were four movies planned, one for each year of high school, leading up to Will and company saving the entire universe! Never heard anything about a series.

Still love the movie, though. In what other movie do you get to hear Patrick 'MANLIEST MAN IN THE HISTORY OF MANLY' Warburton say "YES I'M A GIRL YOU IDIOT!."

Disney produced The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and released it under the Touchstone banner.

Yes, a series was planned for The Disney Channel and it was going to something like Phil of the Future but more adventure-themed. I believe it was also planned to be a hour-long series rather than 30 minutes.

overrated: Out of the Dust
the slowest film noir ive ever watched

underrated: Living in Oblivion and The Men Who Stare at Goats

Overrated: every movie where Emma Stone plays a lead role. She is not a very good actress (most of her characters are either the disposable love interest or the snarky teenager character that ran its course when Juno came out) but people always praise her movies. I honestly don't get it. Are people just nice to her movies because of her overexposure? She's definitely no Meryl Streep.

Underrated: most of Michelle Williams's films. Now this is someone who is a great actress. She is someone who always challenges herself and makes a lot of difficult movies that actors considered with image or mainstream appeal (such as Stone) avoid. Sadly, not many people ever see these movies due to being limited releases.

Most people are gonna call me out on this but,here we go.....

Overrated:

1. The Dark Knight (Because Heath Ledger stuck his tongue out too much,the boat scene took too long,and it lacked any of the real darkness (only pretentiousness) or atmosphere or insanity of Batman89,which still has the most Adaptation Distillation as well.And its humorless or would be if it wasn't for the Narm acting of the guy who played Gambol.It's still good though,it's just not Supreme)

2. Star Wars:A New Hope (People laud it for its characterizations,and the death star. However it has all the same problems that the poor-beleagured prequels are accused of what with cliche characterizations [which are found to be unoriginal after you've read stuff like The Odyssey], acting arguably just as emotionless,and unlike the prequels no watchable special effects. Those who laud this as good and stink on The Phantom Menace wallow in Nostalgia Filter)

3. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban (While I'll admit it,this one is definitely Darker and Edgier than its precursors,its just not supposed to be. The book itself was actually Lighter and Softer than both its predecessors so seeing all the few plot points that weren't axed in this tone is jarring. Also the continuity is screwed with from Harry just suddenly becoming Wangsty [and everyone else to] to Hagrid's Hut getting smaller and put on a hill when it was mid-sized and on a flat in the first two. Also its too fast-paced to get into)

4. Lord Of The Rings:Return of the King (It's a good film,but Frodo gets turned into a JerkAss and it spends too much time on Frodo becoming one,the other part that gets too much focus is the Arwen/Aragorn sequences.And then unlike the above example,its too slow paced,which results in massive Ending Fatigue)

5. Avatar (This movie is incredibly cliche,and while it has a great mythos set up,it's wasted on a Pochantas style plot and comes off as Anvilicious)

Underrated

1. The Last Airbender (Please do not assume that I liked this movie or I'm some kind of Shyamalan fan,but ya' know what,it's NOT a total loss.Zuko and Iroh for example were nicely characterized and Aasif Mandvi made sure there was some Ham and Cheese in the movie. And truth be told,I actually liked the ending.)

2. Star Wars:The Phantom Menace (I probably caused a thread to die from this,but I actually liked this one better than the original because it actually had some unique characters [unfortunately that included Jar Jar ] like Qui-Gon Jinn who wasn't just a mentor but actually had depth and even now the special effects and fight scenes look awesome. Also the plot was original,and had the acting gone somewhere,it really could've been amazing.Instead this film is only mediocre)

3. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets (This one might be the only film in the whole series that was adventure the whole way through,well characterized,and very cinematic. It's the final film in the series that actually did more than try to be Darker and Edgier and actually keep somewhat to the plot.Also Kenneth Brannagh was deliciously cast as Lockhart. Some may criticize this one for being slow paced,but at least you know whats going on the whole time. And the trio can still ride on the cuteness factor)

4.Batman Returns (This one seems to get too much flak for being too dark,violent,and Adaptation Decay.The last might be true,but all it means in this case is the characters aren't constrained too much by any one continuity its trying to follow. It really isn't all that dark or violent at all,it's mostly just nihilistic and while it certainly does have dark qualities [Ex:The ambiguous nature of Catwoman,Batman killing people with a smile],that's offset by the Ham-to-Ham Combat between the main villains.Michael Keaton proves again to be the only actor to truly get Batman.The story is decent,it all falls into place great. The actings great all around,the atmosphere is decent [second to '89],so why is it so frowned upon?)

5. Willow (This one might be obscure,but it's George Lucas' phone-in for Lord Of The Rings since he couldn't get his hands on that one,but thankfully it's directed by someone else. Anyway it's a heckuva' lot funnier [at the cost of epicness] than Lord Of The Rings. The acting is fantastic from Warwick Davis and Val Kilmer [This proves Kilmer is one the best alive if directed right],and the final battle is epic.The pace is great and its all heartwarming)

I could go on,but I think it best to stop here.

@Penny Dreadful:

"Overrated: Where the Wild Things Are"

I'm sorry. What the hell did I just read? This is the least talked about, least loved movie to come out of Spike Jonze's hands. And that's a damn shame that Dreamworks' current catalogue (being examples of overrated, childish head cheese save for How to Train Your Dragon) bring in the money instead of this deep movie that instead of being a kid's movie is about being a kid. Learn how to differentiate between overrated and underrated, Dreadful. Because that post of yous was dreadful.

edited 14th Aug '11 2:59:52 PM by GREGTHECAT

Where The Wild Things Are is a Love It or Hate It movie. I think it's a near-perfect adaptation of the book but when I saw it, there were walkouts (there were five people in the theatre at the beginning and only two by the end). Also, I have a friend whose mother (a high school teacher) refuses to watch it (she felt the movie missed the point of the book).

While I disagree on many points, I'm right with you with Willow. I fucking love that movie!

Overrated: The Social Network. Now, I liked this movie. It was very good. But it wasn't anything more than that. It certainly wasn't a 'great' movie, and sure as hell wasn't 'the defining movie of the decade' (as some reviewer called it). It was well-written, well-acted, and so forth, but there was nothing memorable about the entire affair. Ultimately, it was a brilliant exercise in adequacy. There was nothing bad about the film. There just wasn't enough of it that was in any way special or notable enough for me to really want to see it more than once.

Underrated: The Star Wars prequels. I'm not going to get into it.

Overrated: Nosferatu. I fucking love German Expressionism, but this one really hasn't aged well. The best part was Orlok's costume and makeup, but that didn't get nearly enough screen time. I guess I had my hopes too high for this movie, since I had just seen The Cabinet Of Doctor Caligari the night before and was expecting another opus of that caliber.

Underrated: Green Lantern. Not a perfect movie by any standard. I did, however, get a lot out of it. Keep in mind that I've never picked up a Green Lantern comic in my life, so I don't have any pre-existing biases here. In fact, I was convinced that this movie was going to be stupid. Instead, I got a solid (if flawed) superhero flick that managed to completely encapsulate my personal philosophy on life in its climax (namely, the guy uses sheer force of will to punch fear itself in the face and into the sun). This movie could have been a lot better, but I got my money's worth out of it, and for much more than just snarking purposes.

The only reason why The Social Network got all the notice that it did was Peter Travers' review several months before the movie opened (which was also all over the advertising). When people realized that it was a merely good movie, they decided to join in on the hype. Also, Fincher fanboys love anything with his name on it (even Panic Room).

My opinion on it: it's Fincher's second worst movie. Eisenberg is miscast (all his roles are played the same: a more serious Michael Cera), the story is far from the truth (reportedly, the Winklevoss twins are fame whores that no one believes in real life but Sorkin made them out to be good) and Fincher was clearly whoring himself out to the Academy.

Face it, fanboys. The King's Speech was a way more deserving movie for the Oscar than your hipster bullshit that no one will remember in five years.

edited 17th Aug '11 2:25:37 PM by Buscemi

King's Speech was kinda meh, too. Not bad (admittedly, I haven't seen the whole movie yet, having only caught bits of it), but also not particularly special from what I've seen. Then again, I have a very low view of the Academy Awards anyway (due to a litany of issues that I have with the art world in general, particularly the critical and academic aspects of it that are so epitomized by the Oscars), so take that how you will.

To be fair, The King's Speech will probably only be remembered for beating The Social Network and Inception (I think that was the other big film?)for the Oscar...

Underrated: Dagon, really cool tribute to H. P. Lovecraft and it did a great job of making you feel anxious during the scene where the villagers chase the protagonist.