Overrated/Underrated

You're attitude is admirable, but just so ya know, there is at least a 90% chance that this thread will go down the tubes thanks to a couple of assholes arguing.

But, let's see...

Of everyone in the film industry, the current most overrated hack is the man who likes to be referred to as McG (the name thing is another point that irritates me, but let's not get into that).

The man can do style. He can do flashy. What do you expect from a commercial director? That doesn't make him an artiste`. And yeah, someone'll come along with the same "He's inventive and stylish, and sleek! Don't forget sleek!" argument.

The fact is, he hasn't shown me that he can do a fucking movie. He does 90 minute underwear ads. How this guy is the right man for Superman, that's just another Warner mystery. Richard Donner he is not.

Halle Berry is another overrated Hollywood persona that should be strapped to a chair and beaten with sticks. Yeah, she was great in The Flinstones. Her biggest claim to fame to date isn't even her Oscar, its her tit flash from Swordfish. Gimme a break.

And when did Hollywood decide she's now box office gold? The Oscar? Hell, Akiva Goldsman's got one. Or was it her recent box office smashes? The ones she had nothing to do with. She's merely one member of a huge ensemble cast in the X-Men films (and resoundingly hailed as the weakest link), and the Bond girl in the latest film. Each Bond film makes more money than the last, that's simply how its been for so long. The movie's success didn't have much to do with Berry, definitely not enough to warrant her a stupid "Jinx" spinoff movie. And her Catwoman film? Bollocks. The only thing that trainwreck ensures is that we won't get a Catwoman in any future Batman films, which sucks royal heinie.

Overrated: "Rushmore," I just don't get why so many think this film is so great. It's one of those movies that you're not supposed to laugh out loud at yet are still supposed to believe is extremely funny.

Underrated: Tom Berenger, why isn't this guy getting more high profile roles? Obviously his leading man days are over but he should still be getting the type of supporting parts that Tommy Lee Jones used to get before he hit the jackpot with "The Fugitive."

I'm pretty sure both of them will be well and truly forgotten by then.

Ditto.

Underrated...Brad Pitt.
It seems to me that most people think he just gets by on his looks, but I think the guy is one of the best in the business. From Seven to 12 Monkeys to Snatch to Fight Club and others, I think the dude just really becomes the parts he plays.

Overrated Performance - Denzel in Training Day
Seriously, all he did was play a bad cop. Where is the character growth? He is the same asshole in the begining as he is in the end. He had better performances in Fallen and the Hurricane.

Overrated: The French Connection. Much love for the car chase, and while I can see it's historical signifigance, it really doesn't hold up in my eyes as an interesting movie.

Underrated: Mad City. Aside from two fantastic performances by Hoffman and Travolta, this is just a great drama. I think that this film does a better number on media manipulation than Network.

May the shouts of blasphemy begin.

Underrates: Birth of a nation. Once you get passed the suject matter its a beatiful peice of cinema. How many films can cause a riot. The old its just a movie dosnt work when it sparks a burning passion. This all done in 1915 the start of film before the golden age

Overrated: Most summer blockbusters. Jim Carrey. and the Olson Twins as they get older.

Underrated: Episodes 1 and 2; the ability of a CGI character to steal a scene and women in hats

Some good ones mentioned already in the overrated thread, namely Lynch, Nicholson and Halle Berry (her recent Bond peformance is simply the worst by a female in that franchise). I'd like to add Adam Sandler to that list who did a half-decent job on Happy Gilmore and pretty much nothing else.

In terms of an overrated film I can't really think of too many. There are a number of films that seem to come out near the top of polls on regular basis e.g. Requiem For A Dream, American Beauty, which are very good films, just not classics IMO. If I had to pick an overrated film it would probably be American History X which is a very good film, but I just don't feel that it achieves what it sets out to achieve (having said that it is a couple of years since I saw it so maybe I should watch it again)

I struggle to think of films that are underrated as most of the ones I feel are underrated are ones that I can understand why people don't connect with them in the same way that I have done. I suppose The Life Of Brian picks up less plaudits than its distinctly less funny predecessor Monthy Python And The Holy Grail so I'll plump for that. The Life Of Brian is streets ahead of The Holy Grail, streets ahead.

I wouldn't go so far to say that.. Playing a retarded person in a movie I'm sure is very difficult, if you do it well. I agree that the extent of Sean Penn's performance in I Am Sam was just him talking slow, but I wouldn't go as far as to say that it's an easy role.. Speaking of which, I think Leonardo Decaprio's performance in What's Eating Gilbert Grape is a truely underrated performance..who the hell got the Oscar that year instead of him? Actually, the whole movie is underrated in my opinion..

Wow, I was just about to say that Penn's underrated. He's a brave actor, for sure, and the films he directed are lovely. (They're also proof, in my book, that Nicholson didn't quit acting so long ago.)

I think Fallen is way underrated. I love that flick. I think it has a very interesting premise. And the first time I saw I got really freaked out. I think it helps that I'm Catholic, so I kinda believe that, that stuff could kinda happen.

I agree that Denzel was much better in that then he was in Training Day. John Goodman was really good too.

Tiii-iiiii-iiime is oooone ma side, A yes it isa!

I love Fallen.

Though I also love Virtuosity.

I never got the hate for that movie. It was a good sci-fi actioner in a time when there were very little, pre-Matrix.

Overrated: Se7en. I freely admit that perhaps I just didn't "get" it. It didn't hook me at all and in fact I fell asleep during the last ten minutes. Blair Witch. I give them points for a novel premise but the movie was a snooze fest.

Underrated: I want to give Mad City props too. A good flick adn one I need to revisit. Hudson Hawk. This remains my favorite Bruce Willis action flick. I love its quirkiness adn supporting cast.

I'm too tired to give actual opinions right now.

Overrated:
2001: A Space Odyssey
The Blair Witch Project
Out of Sight
(you knew this was coming) The Matrix
Nicholson's Joker in Batman
T2
28 Days Later

Underrated:
Matinee
Carlito's Way
The Beyond
Manhunter
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2
The Fog

I've always thought Gary Oldman as underrated, at least by the general public. Sure he's done his share of turds, but I love watching him on screen. I never see him as simply Gary Oldman playing some part, but as whatever character he's playing. But a lot of people only know him as "the guy in that Dracula movie," or "the pimp from True Romance," or after next year, "Sirius Black from the Harry Potter movies."

I'll throw out one that I think is underrated, in fan circles specifically.

Scream.

I love this movie. I also enjoy its sequels, to some extent. But I really consider the original to be quite an intelligent, inspired film. Its a hell of a lot of fun, and has the classic cliches down pat. I think it gets a lot of its heat due to its role in instigating the piss-poor teen slasher revival.

But it stands up there with the classic slashers that inspired it, not the bullshit that followed it (I Know What You Did...")

Back to the Future Part III is another. I think its fun as hell. Sure, it's pretty silly (Why on earth would a McFly from the past look like Lorraine?), but I love it. I think it wraps up the series nicely. What I think it suffers from is the "underwhelming third chapter" syndrome, like Jedi. Like the original Star Wars, BTTF was just a classic fuckin' story. Like Empire, BTTF2 was a monster spectacle, where they really blew their wad. By the third outing, things just began to slow down.

So many overrated/underrated films that I'll name just five.

Overrated:
Carrie
The Silence Of The Lambs
The Blair Witch Project
The Thin Red Line
Barry Lyndon

Underrated:
Big Trouble in Little China
In the Company of Men
The Quick and The Dead
Dick Tracy
Ed Wood

Bwahahahahaha...I'm going to unload my hate and joy for this one...

Overrated

Will Smith - Just go away already Mr. Fresh Prince! You hardly sound any different from your Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Days (although Ali showed some promise in you, while the movie dragged on and on) and your ego is really showing when your head is constantly in front of Martin Lawrence in most of the Bad Boys II posters. It's also a sad day when your own wife's movie's video game (Jada Pinkett Smith as Niobe in both The Matrix Reloaded/Revolutions and in Enter the Matrix) is far better than all of your previous movie's video games COMBINED (along with the fact that Enter the Matrix has many control and graphics problems anyways).

Stanley Kubrick - 2001 was boring and disappointing. Full Metal Jacket was nice, but it's no Platoon, or Saving Private Ryan. The Shining pales in comparison to the truly scary original novel by King, and the look of A Clockwork Orange hasn't aged that well at all. While I don't say he is a shit director like Brett Ratner, Kubrick is good but his films aren't as great as the reverence he receives from film fans.

Michael Bay - Why oh why do people love his films? I mean they are nice on cable, but honestly his films aren't deep and a lot of the action is just plain silly. Armageddon's dialogue was insipid and it dragged on like the film was 3 hours. I'm a Bruce Willis fan, but he really had to read some terrible lines in this turd. And a lot of ppl here are cheering on the dumb action goodness of Bad Boys II, when all I see are dumb cops blowing shit with wild abandon, not caring as to any innocent bystanders getting hurt (didn't other cars get hit by the bad guys tossing the cars on the freeway? Don't people live in the small shacks that the yellow humvee careens right through, a la an homage aka ripping off Police Story?). And I could really do without the "Cops" opening theme being stupidly sung on again here either. The Rock was decent, but the rest of his flicks: feh.

Underrated

The Matrix Series (includes The Animatrix, The Matrix Trilogy, and Enter the Matrix) - As way more heart and soul than a lot of sci-fi franchises considering it almost looks cold on the surface, when you realize that it is a lot warmer than it looks, like the cold setting of the real world, and then the warm setting Zion. Excellent casting, superb direction, along with plot developments that actually ADD to the story rather than detract from it. Definitely get flamed a lot for being too smart or too stylish, but usually those criticisms come from people who simply don't get the series. I do, and I love it.

Dark City - Often written as a Matrix clone, or vice-versa (c'mon the Matrix was filming back in 1998, and this film came out at the end of 1998!), the story is its own beast and personality, therefore it is a movie worth watching over and over again due to the sheer scope of the mystery that enshrouds Dark City. And the revelation of what Dark City truly is was far more jaw dropping than The Sixth Sense anyday.

The Mission Impossible Movies - Way more entertaining and cool than most people give them credit for. Yeah, the first one was a little convoluted, but with so many great action and dialogue sequences sprinkled throughout the film it doesn't matter. The second one was even better thanks to John Woo's direction along with Tom Cruise's iconic presence. The films are definitely worth watching again and again. Can't wait to see what Joe Carnahan does with Mission Impossible 3.

Good to see I'm not alone in thinking Scream is a great movie and that 2001 is just bloody boring.

Au contraire.

Yeah, I like Scream alot too. The most overrated to me is Batman (1988). To me, it's just a disaster in almost every possible way. Hate the Beetlejuice-esque sets, hate the portrayal of the Joker, hate that the Joker died at the end, hate the obnoxious, overpowering score (or at least hate the fact that the score is so far up in the mix), hate that shot of the batplane pausing in mid-air in front of the full moon, just hate everything about it.

I also think Superman: The Movie is overrated. I like the film in alot of ways, but it also has a great many faults. I was 10 when it came out, and even then I thought Superman reversing time by turning the earth backwards was stupid.

Underrated? I don't know, almost everything I like seems underrated. How about The Doom Generation. That's a really hilarious movie.

I'd disagree with this just because I don't think it was rated that high to begin with. Almost every review I read ripped the film and Penn's performance to shreds.

Will Smith is just fine. "Men In Black" is a great film that took advantage of his strengths, and to a lesser extent, so did "ID4". The schtick may get old at times ("MIB2"), but he's also good at turning it off ("Enemy of the State") and capable of being a damn fine actor ("Ali"). I highly doubt he had anything to do with his poster image, it being just a natural result of him being more popular. And since when do we count popularity or quality of an actor based on the video games of his films?



Somewhat agree her because I love the first "Mission:Impossible" and like the second beter than most. The first is much better though in every way except dove count, and I hope that Carnahan brings a "Narc"-esque spy grittiness back to the series.

That's a good call. I can't say I hate it with a passion but aside from the atmospheric feel that was put into the film I find the actual storyline lacking in any appeal whatsoever.

While I enjoy the last half an hour because it's just so outlandishly silly, watching M:I-2 in its entirety makes me feel like I've just had a lobotomy.

Mystery Science Theatre 3000: The Movie is way underrated. Seriously, the laugh-to-running-time ratio is off the charts in this movie, and I really do think it was one of the funniest damn movies of the 90s. Then again, I worship the show, so I may be biased in that thinking.

Also, Ghostbusters is a movie that rarely gets brought up enough when it comes to great movies of the 80s or greatest comedies or pretty much anything. The movie is one of the last examples of Hollywood producing a movie that had big budget spectecle effects that didn't overshadow the script or prove as a distraction from the performances. And I also think it's one of the best examples of combining elements from different genres (comedy, sci-fi, adventure, horror, monster flicks) and coming up with something truly special.

I had too long a day at work to be able to offer up much more than a list, so I tried to make it interesting with genre categories:

Underrated Revisionist Western: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Overrated Revisionist Western: Unforgiven

Underrated '70s Revisionist P.I. Film: Altman's The Long Goodbye
Overrated '70s Revisionist P.I. Film: Chinatown

Underrated '70s Urban Crime Film: Across 110th Street
Overrated '70s Urban Crime Film: The French Connection

Underrated '80s Comedy: True Stories
Overrated '80s Comedy: Caddyshack

Underrated '80s Horror Film: The Fly
Overrated '80s Horror Film: Re-Animator

Underrated Great Unmade Project: David Lean's Nostromo
Overrated Great Unmade Project: Terry Gilliam's Don Quixote

Underrated Bond Film: Thunderball
Overrated Bond Film: Licence to Kill

Overrated Godzilla Film: Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla
Underrated Godzilla Film: Godzilla vs. Barugon

Underrated Musical: Sweet Charity
Overrated Musical: Cabaret

Underrated Film Charitably Re-Evaluated To The Point That It Became Overrated: Blade Runner
Overrated Film Ignored For So Long That It Became Underrated: Dances With Wolves

OVERRATED:
Cary Grant
Equilibrium
Guy Ritchie
Harry Potter
Heat
JRR Tolkien
Luis Guzman
Memento
Steven Soderbergh

UNDERRATED:
Alien
A Song Of Ice And Fire
The Cable Guy
Hannibal
The Iron Giant
The Last Action Hero