Most overrated films of all time

The Common Room Film, Television, Music & Books
#121

Titanic is the most overrated film I’ve ever seen. The only reason I saw it was because I had a few hours to kill and had literally seen everything else at the multiplex. Titanic is at best an average film, and it’s nowhere near James Cameron’s best effort (that would be Aliens). The Abyss was good, but after that it’s been a downhill journey for Mr. Cameron.

I would like to take Chuckles’ “comic-meme” about Planet 51 [see that topic] and insert the poster for Titanic in place of Planet 51. However, that would be greatly disrespectful to Chuckles’ good work.

There is no way in Hades that Titanic’s box-office haul reflects its artistic merits.

I will never see Avatar or any subsequent film directed by James Cameron.

Just to be clear, I am rather displeased with Titanic and James Cameron.

Cheers! Steve

#122

Say what you will about James Cameron, but he knows how to pull in audiences. That’s not something that just anyone can do.

For my money, he’s still one of the best directors of our age even if he’s not one of the most challenging screenwriters. No one hyped Avatar for its groundbreaking narrative, you know.

#123

Agreed except for the “best directors” comment. The pity is that Cameron used to be a much better screenwriter than he is now. It’s almost like he started (with T2) to forget his abilities and offer increasingly bright and shiny spectacle instead. His most creative work was done within the constraint of a tight budget. Sure, he pulls in audiences, just like a themed ride in an amusement park. It would be no surprise to learn that the idea of CameronWorld looms somewhere in his mind. At least he hasn’t said he’s more popular than that other famous guy with the JC initials!

#124

I don’t really understand how HtTYD is over rated. I’m not going to defend Avatar anymore, even though I still don’t see why some of us hate it. It was a good movie. :confused:

Now as for HtTYD, I think some of us are just biased for PIXAR, and any other animated film is less good. Personally, this is the best movie I saw in 2010. I think some of us just want to glorify TS3 by bashing other good animated movies, even though trust me, PIXAR got enough money and praise from Toy Story 3. They’ll be okay.

#125

I think I got bored during avatar because it’s the same story that’s been told every 5 years in cinema history, just cliche. It got way more attention than it deserved.

And I like HTTYD, I don’t think it’s overrated. But I like Toy Story 3 better. And it’s not because I’m “Pixar biased”.

#126

Honestly, it’s extremely hard to compare HtTYD with TS3 when they are such completely different movies. I really enjoyed both of them, and I don’t think either of them is overrated at all; they both deserve the amount of praise they’ve been given.

As for my personal idea of the most overrated film of all time: Citizen Kane. I saw the movie, and could tell why it was such a monumental film for its cinematography; but it definitely wasn’t the best movie ever. I didn’t even really like it that much.

#127

I agree with everything you just said. They are hard to compare. I just don’t understand why all but 2-4 members here prefer TS3. It really disturbs me, because I personally believe HtTYD is a masterpeice. I was bored during Citizen Kane.

#128

The majority of users probably prefer TS3 because… you know… this site is Pixar Planet. And I wouldn’t go so far as to call either film a masterpiece. But they are both really good. And I wasn’t exactly bored during Citizen Kane - it kept my attention. It just wasn’t as good as everyone has hyped it up to be.

#129

Yeah, if I may join IV’s bandwagon…I don’t get why HtTYD is overrated in 2010 let alone all time. More like a pleasant surprise, maybe even a dark horse (or a night fury). Citizen Kane is a fair choice for “best” lists, but it’s no surprise that some folks wouldn’t pick it as a favorite. Agreed, Basil, cinematography is CK’s primary contribution to cinema. However, it was poorly received at first and gained respect over time, and that says something…maybe it was another dark horse?

#130

Thank you, Steve. :slight_smile: And yes, anyone may join my near-empty, minority opinion wagons. :laughing:

I understand that this is a PIXAR site, but you should like films for being fun to watch, not for being Pixar. :confused: I love PIXAR, because their films are wonderful, and I enjoy them. But I enjoy other films too, even if they were made by “that evil company who isn’t PIXAR.” I’m not trying to start a war, it would just be nice if other companies got a break once in a while. :frowning:

EJE, I’m sorry if I offended you. I wasn’t intending to target you, but some people who are biased. :frowning: They know who they are. I used to be one. :blush:

#131

Oh, I wasn’t offeneded! I was just saying what the case was with me.

#132

Oh, okay. I do that a lot, too. Just wanted to make sure I didn’t hurt your feelings. :slight_smile:

#133

Not all! We may disagree on a lot, but I always understand that we’re different, but that’s why we’re friends, I think. having a friend that agrees with you on everything is boring, in my opinion.

#134

Avatar is definitely on there, I mean it’s an okay film but it is really overrated.
But I never got why Titanic was so overrated, yeah I know it’s a bit cheesy but it’s still a good film and I don’t really think it’s ‘overrated’.

#135

Ah, okay. :smiley: That’s good, because a lot of the time, I feel like I’m upsetting you. :laughing:

#136

I’m not that Pixar biased, and I have proof! I really did not care for “Boundin’” in the slightest, and I’m not a fan of Cars (although I don’t outright bash it–I know some people have become upset over that). There is a reason I like Pixar so much, and that’s because they’re so talented. They wow me more than other studios have. I also really, really, really admire how they often do what they want in their story as opposed to what the audience might want or be used to (first 30 minutes of WALL-E, the age of Carl in Up, etc.). It makes for better storytelling. I can’t gush as much about other studios because they don’t give me enough to gush about, that’s all. Nevertheless, I’ll recognize anyone for their beautiful work, regardless of who made it. :3

HTTYD and Toy Story 3 are, indeed, not the best movies to compare with one another, especially since the latter has a gang of established characters. If I had to make a list to see where each film is more successful in my eyes, Toy Story 3 would probably be the winner for these reasons: the humor is more creative and unexpected, there are more scenes that stand out and will stay with me forever, stronger character designs (as I said in another thread, the drawings of the dragons would have been better suited for hand-drawn animation), the story is more gripping and you don’t always know where it will go, there are fewer formulas save for homages to some types of cinema, and the character Bonnie is wonderfully thought out and animated.

I don’t know how to compare cinematography because HTTYD is extremely successful in achieving a live-action sense, but TS3 is colorful and has some stunning employment of natural sunlight (that’s man-made, haha). I also like how they use hue and lighting to reinforce the tone of certain scenes (harsh white lighting in first Caterpillar playtime scene, green hue during the dumpster scene, red hue during the scene-I-won’t-mention-without-spoilers). You would think this stuff isn’t important, but it totally is.

Music is another thing I’m unsure of. Because TS3 is a continuation of a franchise, it’s just too difficult to compare… I also haven’t listened to much of Powell’s score by itself. HTTYD might win this category.

But HTTYD had such amazing animation for Toothless! The one thing that doesn’t make me crazy about HTTYD is how some of the movie is recycled from other movies similar to it, such as a number of characters and their roles in the story. I can tell that the filmmakers were breaking free of their rather restrictive mold, however, with the animation, some of the quiet scenes, and what happens to Hiccup later on.

#137

Hey, q_o_p, great comments! The long posts might be exhausting for you, but they make for first-rate reading.

No doubt there are many ways to consider a movie overrated, and they’re all good–but some popular factors might be box-office haul, Rotten Tomatoes rating, and Academy Award wins out of proportion to perceived quality. Titanic certainly seems to qualify based on its lucre, and if memory serves, Cameron plans to put it out again in 3D, so pile another billion on the total!

Speaking of gold statuettes, I lost all interest in the Academy when Silence of the Lambs took home all those awards. Very good movie, no way in Hades deserving of all those accolades–and therefore highly overrated.

#138

Thanks, JustSteve. To clarify what I said in my post, I like both films about equally… But Toy Story 3 is more inventive and has more of an impact on me.

One interesting to note about How to Train Your Dragon is how more Ghibli-like it is, with the subtle scenes, realistic nature, and all that. I would argue that the final scene in Toy Story 3 is also Ghibli-like, specifically influenced by Miyazaki, but HTTYD has that simplicity throughout the film. The simple scenes are its strongest features, in my opinion.

#139

While we’re on the subject of Miyazaki, I’d argue that Avatar also had shades of him in its simple story and naturalistic themes.

#140

Avatar actually did reminds me of Princess Mononoke a bit, though I prefer Princess Mononoke because I care about the characters a lot more. I didn’t connect with Jake and the gang in Avatar too much.