Overrated Movies – Touching the 3rd Rail

This morning was a relief. I had to take FOML5 to school early. It was still dark outside when we got into my truck. I slid the key into the ignition and turned to my son. Looking him in the eye I said,

“I love you son. And I’m sorry.”

I turned the key.

No explosion.

The truck roared to life, and I backed out of the driveway with a confused son by my side. Grateful to be alive.

You see, yesterday I dared do something that people just shouldn’t do if they value their lives: I typed the words “Overrated” and “Princess Bride” in the same sentence. On Facebook. I feel lucky that I lived to tell the tale.

You see, Princess Bride fans are very loyal and very vocal. And a lot of them struggle with reading. (JUST KIDDING!)  Yesterday I made the case that the movie was overrated, but many of the responses argued that the movie was great. Two different things.

So, since I’m feeling lucky today, I will attempt to show some movies that I believe to be overrated. This is based on my opinion and my opinion alone. Please remember what my Grampa used to say, “If everyone liked the same things as me, everybody would be after your Gramma.”

Some basics on the metrics: ‘Overrated’ does not mean “bad.” On the contrary. Some overrated movies are very good. Some really bad movies are not overrated at all. For example, I don’t hear anyone screaming that “Dragonball: Evolution” is the greatest movie ever made. I do know that when someone claims a movie to be the “Greatest movie everrrr,” or “Best Movie Ever Made, ” it immediately is eligible to be on the list.

I based my choices on the following:

• Box Office
• Critical Response (Tomatometer)
• Academy Awards
• Impact on Pop Culture
• My opinion and perception

Here are a few choices from a variety of eras. They are not ranked, and this is not a comprehensive list. I also acknowledge that good popcorn, a large soda, and a hot date can skew my viewpoint drastically.

The Princess Bride (1987)

Yes, I’m doubling down. Princess Bride is a really good movie. It is cute, funny and clean, which I appreciate. As far as the metrics are concerned, it falls in the middle. It made about $30 million, which was OK for ’87. The critics likes it (97% Tomatometer). It earned no awards, but it was in the Pop Culture where it made its mark later.

It is one of the most quotable movies out there. In many LDS circles, the Princess Bride is quoted far more often then the New Testament. Hardly a day goes by where I don’t see some version of the “You keep using that word” trope – which I found funny the first 4,000 times. (Which helps make my case that the iconic stature has grown beyond he actual stature of the movie itself.)

Again, it is a really good movie. I like it. Please don’t hurt me.

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Yes, this movie was nominated for Best Picture – didn’t win, but won 6 other Academy Awards. Seriously? ’nuff said? A bit later my EC and I watched an edited version. I guess the stuff they edited out was AMAZING because the movie I watched certainly wasn’t a Best Picture candidate or worthy of a 97% Tomatometer. It didn’t even make enough $$$ in the US to pay for making it.

 

Citizen Kane (1941)

I watched this as a kid and fell asleep, so I was excited to give it another shot in my film class at BYU. Meh. To this day I don’t quite understand why Citizen Kane sits atop the lists of many critics as the ‘Greatest Movie Ever Made.’ (Much to the chagrin of Princess Bride fans.)

Yes, it was interesting, and yes, it advanced the art of film. It also lost money at the box office and won only one of the nine Oscars it was nominated for.. And it was…unsatisfying.

Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

Larry is another movie on the list of Greatest of All-time.  To me, it is one of the Greatest SnoozeFests of All-time.

But… it won 7 out of 10 Oscars, including Best Picture, and has a 97% Tomatometer. And it was over 3 hours long. Painfully long.  I will give it props for some remarkable cinematography, but as for the praise and Oscars, I still don’t get it.

Avatar (2009)

Until 3 weeks ago, Avatar was the top grossing film in the USA – knocked off by Star Wars: The Force Awakens. But worldwide it still #1, bringing in almost 3 BILLION dollars. Wrap your head around that! Titanic is #2, behind by $600 million.

Sure, the special effects were cool and new. The technology used was really remarkable. Critics gave it an 83%. I liked it, but felt it was a bit heavy-handed in the propaganda department. If you loved it, you are in luck – they are making at least 3 more.

Warrior (2011)

Critics liked it (83%). The public didn’t – it lost money. No awards. Yet some people I know love this movie so much they are protective of it at Princess Bride levels.

Me? I thought it was OK. Some people see it as a story about unconditional love. I see it was a dysfunctional family who doesn’t know how to love, so they show it by becoming alcoholics and beating the ever-lovin crap out of each other. I left the theater feeling sad a kinda misled. I guess if I appreciated a shirtless Tom Hardy more, I would have felt differently.

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These are just a handful of movies I chose to make the point that picking overrated movies is entirely subjective. The words “iconic” and “classic” are thrown around far too often. The term “Instant-Classic” should be stricken from our lexicon.

I hope from my short list you can see the difference: That an overrated movie does not mean it is a bad movie, and that there are some really excellent films that are vastly UNDERrated – but that is for another time.

Chime in. Feel free to tell me where I’m wrong, or, better yet, share what movies you thing get more attention, respect or money than you think they deserve.

All opinions are welcome. Be nice to each other.