Even though I don't think it's as deep or as profound as it is purported to be, I give The Matrix credit for going the extra step and adding meaningful content to what is, essentially, a very simple Hero's Journey tale. And I do like the film. But I just can't get behind the notion that it's as commendable as many folks make it out to be, especially when the sequels are considered.
Adds: Children of Men (Good in hypothetical concept, but man was it boring and utterly failed to capture my attention at all, and that isn't usually a hard task to accomplish.) I didn't like it because it spent most of the movie building up to something, seemingly grand and monumental, and then we get.....well what we got...which wasn't.
Brazil 12 Monkeys I'm not saying Terry Gilliam is bad, both are quite crumpulent movies, just overrated. Contact, Yeah, yeah, it's not about aliens, it's about science vs. faith. (why is there no barfing icon?) Yeah, whatever. HEY, YOU'RE NOT READY TO SEE US, SO HERE'S YOUR DEAD DAD! RAAR-RARR! ME JAMES WOODS HATE EVERYTHING! ME PLAY UMPTEENTH ASSHOLE CHARACTER OF MY CAREER! Species, it's not this movie is that overrated...it's that enough people went to see the piece of shit that they made Species 2, which a crime and even Michael Madsen admits was a piece of shit. Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, I'll back-up this one. Self-parody of a franchise that's already homage-satire is a bad fucking move, like when James Bond gets too hokey. It also smacked of "ToD was too dark, we have to do something safe". Dude made his name with movies about melting nazis and man-eating sharks, then the suck-sess of E-muthafuckin' T turned him into a bitch for awhile.
Wow. I do think "Brazil" is overrated. Like "Blade Runner" it seems to get a free pass and even get considered a masterpiece by some because they're so wowed by its great special effects, costume design, and make-up. This overlooks the fact that it really has no memorable characters and the story is uninspired. "Twelve Monkeys" is a totally different beast, though. It has awesome performances/characters and the aesthetic qualities (special effects, production design, etc.) and a story that is fascinating, intelligent, exciting, and even humourous in a dark way. By far the best movie Terry Gilliam has ever made (and ever will make) and one of the best sci-fi movies of the 90s. I'm not a huge fan of "Contact", but other than the gratuitous use of special effects to insert Bill Clinton into it, I didn't think there was anything especially stupid or insulting to one's intelligence in it. I find it to be a respectfully thoughtful sci-fi movie, but nothing exceptional...just middle-of-the-road, understandably not tagged as a classic, but solid enough. Certainly better than the hollow special effects fests Robert Zemeckis has done since (with the exception of "Castaway"). "Last Crusade" hate makes me sad. Yes, it's very derivative of the first one and very 'safe', but it's my favourite of the series, because I love the chemistry between Indy and his father that Sean Connery helped bring to it, and I found the holy grail a more interesting quest than those of the previous two movies. It just lacked a good female lead, but other than that, I thought it was perfect. I hated all the dark gore and poverty in the second one, so this installment was only an improvement to me.
Farhrenheit 451 andromdia strain Both cases where the books were so much better. Silent running Poor, but passable, you went not suppost to like the main charactor. Matrix 2 Matrix 3 First one stood alone quite nicely. Star trek five If you're going to have Kirk and crew look for God, let them find him. Roddenberry be damned. I found God when I was 12, How hard can it be? A.I. The middle third of the movie had a bunch of robo-hookers in it. Pearl Harbor That was sci-fi right? sure wasn't history.
The last few minutes of 2001 would have been great in IMAX with 3D glasses. The Matrix sucked so bad I didn't even bother with its crappy sequels. Alien 3 was a disappointment. Alien Resurrection should not have been made. Serenity was pretty good as a space action flick but, it wasn't what I'd call hard sci-fi. Enjoyable but, not classic. Contact sucked, just because there was no aliens at the end. The first X-Men movie bored me when I saw it at the theaters.
Exactly, a movie can't be "overrated" if nobody in creation likes it! God, that was a terrible movie.
I vote for Watchmen, it was just hyped too much and did not live up to it. Don't get me wrong, it was a OK movie but it was definitely overhyped. In my opinion.
I kind of enjoyed it the first time I saw it (probably because I had gotten really hyped beforehand), but man, I tried watching it a second time on blueray and just could NOT get through the thing. It's slow and dull as hell, with a story that's translated even WORSE than I at first thought. It goes through the motions of being deep and thought-provoking, but is really nothing more than just a flashy music video. It doesn't have a brain in it's damn head.
Tim Burton's Mars Attacks. Yet another film I would put in my ten worst films ever made. It can't be considered a comedy because there is no wit in the script. It can't be a drama because the aliens are presented as too goofy. Just a massive failure on all levels.
Possibly the worst movie I've ever seen. Others I would call overrated include the Star Wars movies (dull fairy tales that happen to be set in space), Blade Runner (whatever it is about this movie that works for people is completely lost on me), The Wrath of Khan (multiple plot holes and a grossly overrated and dumb villain), and Independence Day (jingoistic drivel, although I'm not sure how highly rated it actually is). I can understand why 2001: A Space Odyssey leaves people cold, but it's not an impression I share at all. To each their own.
How can STV be over-rated? As I said to the poster who named Van Helsing, this movie got a critical mauling, is unloved by fans - its widely regarded as the weakest of the series (with probably only Nemesis attracting nearly as much hatred) - and was the poorest performer at the box office of the movies with the original crew (only NEM did worse at the box office), nearly ending the series' cinematic run. Even Shatner acknowledges its flaws. Who exactly is over-rating it?
I heard that! My list includes: The Wrath of Khan (and I wouldn't call it Star Trek's best, either) The Empire Strikes Back The Matrix Star Trek 2009 Alien Aliens And sadly, I have to also include Contact. I love the novel dearly, and while I think Jodie Foster was perfect as Ellie, I found the adaptation to be pale in comparison to the film. I absolutely hate how two completely different characters from the novel were merged into for the sake of giving Ellie a conflicting romantic interest. Didn't help any that he was played by Matthew McConaughy. Ugh.
Mankind's quest for enlightenment/salvation. The movie follows one man as he realizes this quest in accordance with what eastern philosophies and western religions have to say about the subject. Our central character, like everyone else, is trapped in the world. He is then pulled out and shown the true nature of the world that he's been living in. Having seen that world for what it really is, he is no longer controlled by it. He's then free to move in and out of it with full knowlege and mastery over it. He even takes on the task of bringing others to the same realization. It's a retelling of the story of Buddha, Jesus and other such figures. It is a simple tale, but I think it does more than add meaningful content to a man's journey. I think it takes one of mankind's most fundamental issues and tackles it head on, and it does so in an innovative and entertaining manner. For that, I think it deserves its place in the pantheon of great and influential movies. As for the five-hour sequel chopped into two movies, I, like most people, think that they added little, if anything to the saga. The first movie told the story and is good on its own. The other two don't diminish that.
I agree that mentioning "Star Trek V" in an 'overrated movies' thread is a bit of a headscratcher, but I'm so glad she did just because it led to this awesome, awesome quote. It reminds me of this hilarious anecdote I heard recently... A little girl is drawing in class. Teacher: "What are you drawing?" Little girl: "I'm drawing a picture of God." Teacher: "But nobody knows what God looks like." Little girl: "They're about to..."