IMDB Top 250's Most Overrated Entry

[gunnar hendershow]

Yeah, just look at the voting distribution. Too many films get a 10/10 or 1/10. It's not definitive in the slightest.

Definitely fantastic source for finding new films though, probably my favorite.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

My main problem is The Departed making the list, when Infernal Affairs, the original and better version doesn't....but then again, its not as big a film, so thats kinda obvious.

And, you know, the Departed was a phenomenal film in its own right, with plenty of details that set it apart from Infernal Affairs as its own film (or to paraphrase Scorsese, I think it was, when he said that the Departed was more a cousin of Infernal Affairs than any closer relation), and that to quantify IA as the better film because it was the original is incredibly stupid. I know you're not explicitly saying the second part and maybe aren't even implicitly saying it either, but that opinion is one I heard way too much by people who often take the same tack on the Seven Samurai/Magnificent Seven films (among others, such as Audition/Hard Candy and Ringu/The Ring). Hell, one guy had the same opinion - and is one of those guys who constantly insist that books are better than the films made from them, no matter what - despite later admitting that he'd never actually seen all of the Magnificent Seven, although he was a prick to begin with.

He didn't say that Infernal Affairs was better BECAUSE it was the original. He said that Infernal Affairs was the original and is ALSO better.

I personally can't think of MANY remakes that are better than the original of a movie but I'm always open to suggestion.

Also, books are generally better than a movie for numerous reasons - mostly down to the fact that they're a more personal experience and involve some personal investment into the reading, along with the need to use your imagination.

I can't hink of many movies I've seen that are better than the book BUT many are excellent in their own right.

Fight Club IS better as a movie because it's basically the novel on screen. It's writing as it's shown, as it's narrated and is brilliant for it.

One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest is a mighty movie in it's own right but face to face with the novel, the novel is superior (although of course the movie had to change it's viewpoint because it would have been hard to have it narrated by the same character as in the book.

[VerbalPuke]

One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest is a mighty movie in it's own right but face to face with the novel, the novel is superior (although of course the movie had to change it's viewpoint because it would have been hard to have it narrated by the same character as in the book.

I agree with that, and honestly I'd say the same for Trainspotting and a Clockwork Orange (two personal favorites of mine, on top of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest). Honestly, I seem to prefer the novel version as opposed to the movie version in many cases if applicable. America Psycho is another example, probably because I love the detail put into a novel, the novels always seem to flesh out the characters better than a movie could.

Edit - I was surprised to see La Haine on the list. I didn't know it had that much notoriety. Looking through the list again, I found that a large number of my favorite films are on the list. No sign of the Warriors though, unless I missed it.

Edited July 26, 2008 by VerbalPuke

[NobBe Nobbs]

My main problem is The Departed making the list, when Infernal Affairs, the original and better version doesn't....but then again, its not as big a film, so thats kinda obvious.

And, you know, the Departed was a phenomenal film in its own right, with plenty of details that set it apart from Infernal Affairs as its own film (or to paraphrase Scorsese, I think it was, when he said that the Departed was more a cousin of Infernal Affairs than any closer relation), and that to quantify IA as the better film because it was the original is incredibly stupid. I know you're not explicitly saying the second part and maybe aren't even implicitly saying it either, but that opinion is one I heard way too much by people who often take the same tack on the Seven Samurai/Magnificent Seven films (among others, such as Audition/Hard Candy and Ringu/The Ring). Hell, one guy had the same opinion - and is one of those guys who constantly insist that books are better than the films made from them, no matter what - despite later admitting that he'd never actually seen all of the Magnificent Seven, although he was a prick to begin with.

He didn't say that Infernal Affairs was better BECAUSE it was the original. He said that Infernal Affairs was the original and is ALSO better.

Fairly sure I disclaimed about that.

[The Kraig]

I have a way of ratings movies.

It's called (Y) or (N). And I have to say, either I'm easily pleased, or most films I watch are (Y).

Mr. Bean Holiday for example. I enjoyed that more than Wanted. But there's films that I really like and can watch again and again like 28 Days Later. So I dunno how effective my system is.

I'm sure there's at least someone else that just does it by (Y)/(N). I know Rotten Tomatoes have a similar system, but that's usually by a bunch of people who make a living off of rating movies. I immediately take their opinion as being null and void, as I don't make a living off of rating movies. My opinion is likely to be much different. And of course there's some people who like to give bad reviews to be different or appear clever. They're like smarks of the movie world.

[GA!]

The Dark Knight is a phenomenal movie - of course I give it about a month before all the tragically hip nerds run around screaming "that movie fucking sucks, aren't I cool for being so edgy and different?!"

At the moment, all the tragically hip nerds are running around screaming "this film is fucking awesome, and your opinion doesn't count if you think otherwise". Go on Rotten Tomatoes and look at the bad reviews for Dark Knight, the reviewers are receiving over 300+ comments of hatred from absolute fuckwits who have no idea of what a review is. I'd much rather have a difference in opinion than a world full of, well, Empire Magazine employees.

[Kaney]

The IMDB lists are always bullshit but I'd still say a good few of them deserve to be on there somewhereabouts. Of the top twenty, and of the ones I've actually seen, the only things that stand out as being ridiculous are the Lord Of The Rings films, and the Dark Knight, but TDK will come down in score over time, though I expect it to still rate fairly highly.

I have to say, I like seeing people talking shit about the tragically hip nerds liking/bitching about a film based on popular opinion, while at the same time GA turns his nose up at Pulp Fiction just because the uneducated peons like it

[Universal]

My not so disagreeing response to your overrated list.

My overrated list.

1. 9.4 The Dark Knight (2008) 115,340 - I'm not seeing this until Sunday but no. A superhero film will never be the greatest film ever made. A Super Hero could be the greatest film era... just this one isn't, but proved that they could eventually get there if taken seriously

2. 9.1 The Godfather (1972) 293,920 - Good but overrated. I have this theory about why Godfather is deemed the perfect film, such as why GTA is deemed a perfect game, why the Sorpanos is deemed a perfect series and why people like gangster rap. We all wanna be gangstaz y'all! I don't think 3 generations of movie-goers and enthusiasts always rating this high on top film lists did it for that reason. Especially since The Godfather has survived 18,500 ZERO votes from the LOTR, SSR (though i don't see beng many immature fans of that) and now The Dark Knight fans. Considering IMDB is mostly made up of people who didn't see the movie when its first came out, thats quite an accomplishment.

6. 8.9 Pulp Fiction (1994) 295,321 - I'm not an A-Level student anymore, Tarantino isn't God. It is still a great film though, but yeah, Tarantino isn't a great as everyone proclaims him to be.

14. 8.8 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) 263,834 - The third film about walking. The LOTR trilogy is great stuff, but i am partically a fan of it. However, it deserves to be where it is right now. However Two Towers deserves to be slightly lower.

20. 8.7 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) 294,939 - The first film about walking.

23. 8.6 Fight Club (1999) 264,674 - A five-star film in my opinion, but not the 23rd best film ever. Yeah, i didn't enjoy this film as much as most, but hey, hundreds of thousands of others did.

25. 8.6 WALL·E (2008) 46,871 - Again. No. No no NO! I will wait till i see it.

31. 8.6 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) 244,221 - The second film about walking.

61. 8.4 Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) 119,808 - Tough one. This is ever so slightly overrated. I am not the biggest fan of british humor, but many are.

66. 8.4 Reservoir Dogs (1992) 152,604 - See Pulp Fiction.

74. 8.4 No Country for Old Men (2007) 118,836 - Slightly overhyped. I get the feeling people said they liked the film out of fear of being called an idiot. I do think it's a great film though. Haven't seen this yet.

81. 8.3 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) 120,147 - My issue with the final act isn't how I don't get it, rather how it doesn't fit with the rest of the film whatsoever. This hasn't stood the test of time, but i will give it another viewing at some point.

82. 8.3 Sin City (2005) 178,128 - Average. Yeah... i agree. It's good.

100. 8.3 Batman Begins (2005) 181,754 - Just saw this last night. The second half of the film has major inconsistency issues.

103. 8.3 Blade Runner (1982) 139,715 - Seen it twice, hated it twice. It just doesn't work. Yup, agree.

109. 8.2 Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) 161,355 - Fanboyed into this ranking. It works though, however, there is a reason its not as high as TESB.

127. 8.2 Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) 165,006 - See Reservoir Dogs.

148. 8.1 Finding Nemo (2003) 111,677 - Why is Toy Story ranked number 181 when this, another in a long line of 'oh no, I'm a cute animal that needs to find his way home' animated films, is ranked higher?

155. 8.1 The Incredibles (2004) 108,766 - A lot better than I expected, but still ranked higher than Toy Story for some reason.

173. 8.1 Trainspotting (1996) 107,596 - Overrated and (in this country anyway) overplayed.

185. 8.0 Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) 127,432 - Oh fuck off. This is a one star film if I ever did see one. It also rivals Knocked Up for the Academy Award for Most Filler.

192. 8.0 Little Miss Sunshine (2006) 100,110 - I don't identify myself as unique, whacky and anti-mainstream. Also: I didn't laugh once. It's a good independent film, that's it.

199. 8.0 Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) 83,815 - I'm embarrassed that this is seen as one of the best British films ever. This film is for people who proudly buy magazines like Nuts and Zoo, common men who wish they could replace their factory jobs with a life of crime.

223. 8.0 A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) 23,072 - I didn't enjoy it.

Wow, I hate lots of things.

The IMDB list is in a state of transition since a new movie became #1, a battle of fanboys ensues between The Godfather (now voted down to #3), The Dark Knight and Shawshank Redemption (like the Godfather, how many immature fanboys could they have?). LOTR did this long ago and both Shawshank and The Godfather survived the wrath. Hopefully, they will again because they deserve it.

Edited July 26, 2008 by Universal

[HeartlineTwist]

The Dark Knight is a phenomenal movie - of course I give it about a month before all the tragically hip nerds run around screaming "that movie fucking sucks, aren't I cool for being so edgy and different?!"

At the moment, all the tragically hip nerds are running around screaming "this film is fucking awesome, and your opinion doesn't count if you think otherwise". Go on Rotten Tomatoes and look at the bad reviews for Dark Knight, the reviewers are receiving over 300+ comments of hatred from absolute fuckwits who have no idea of what a review is. I'd much rather have a difference in opinion than a world full of, well, Empire Magazine employees.

Differences of opinion and all that, sure, but the problem is that some of the more cutting reviews against TDK on rottentomatoes are just plain BAD reviews. I'm all for difference of opinion, but if it comes across like that difference of opinion is the product of the writer just wanting to go against the grain just for the sake of doing it, it's dumb. And that's even talking about the well-thought, well-put reviews that actually justify what they're talking about.

I feel part of the problem comes from the same 10/10 and 1/10 reviews on IMDB. A lot of people come out with absolutely GUSHING praise about a movie. Sometimes this number is so vast and so overwhelming with their response, people who enjoyed the movie and people who didn't enjoy the movie seem to shift their stance to directly combat those people. That's fine. Sometimes the criticisms are well founded. Other times, however, it gets to the point of nitpicking which just makes both sides look bad because one side is talking about trivial shit while the other side looks like a bunch of fanboys for trying to defend it.

This battle is played out on like....every IMDB message board I've seen. Ever.

An important note that Zero spent a lot of time trying to drive home, though: Top 250 doesn't necessarily mean BEST 250. I know that that is semantics, but the difference is based on the inequity between ratings and comparisons of movies, especially because there aren't any real guidelines that guide reviewers between what a 7 star and 10 star is. Some reviewers rate in comparison to other movies, some rate in comparison to movies at large, and some rate in comparison to other films like it. Zero made a good point about this. The people that rate TDK as a superhero movie are probably right in rating it a 10/10, if not just a tad overzealous. It definitely should have a 9 or 10 in relation to OTHER superhero movies. Movies at large...eh...I'll have to wait to decide that one.

In summation, I'm not expecting or even desiring that everyone bows down and worships TDK as the pinnacle of movies, but if you're going to criticize it or any other movie, please try to...

1) ...do so without coming off like you're just trying to be a separatist prick who wants to go against the grain just because or in a quest for attention. A negative review CAN be done well without it seeming like the reviewer is just trying to be different.

2) ...justify your criticisms in some way. Once again, you're entitled to your opinion, but at least back them up with some reasoning. This can help to cut down on the retaliation from fanboys, etc.

3) ...be smart about what you're saying. This kind of ties back into the first one, but, for example, don't make a comment about TDK being "too dark" when that's a pretty faithful representation of the source material and a continuation of the last movie's tone. This goes back to the reviewer's credibility. Comments of this nature can make the reviewer seem ignorant, especially if they don't do what I advised in my number 2.

EDIT: I completely expect transitions to occur with this list and others like it. It wouldn't be speaking too highly of Hollywood if all of our "best" movies were those made long ago. Sure, they stand the test of time, but every movie has to start taking that test somewhere. We won't know if TDK or anything else that's recent will stand the test of time, but if it does, I don't think it's some vast tragedy or failure on the part of the list or those that thinks its placement is deserved. If TDK can go 20 to 30 years and maintain that score, I'd say it deserves it. I'm sure I can find people who don't think The Godfather and Shawshank Redemption belong as high on that list as they are (note: and I'm talking about people who aren't just trying to be different). I guess that's a personal pet peeve is when people try to say that such and such will only be a fad and then go on to say things like "...and will never be a classic like the Star Wars saga or Indiana Jones, etc." A notable example would be the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Sure, the 2nd and 3rd ones weren't that great, especially in comparison to the first, but I think they're good enough to not just be a mere fad. I think the original would definitely deserve to be referenced as an eventual classic of this decade, just like several other films.

Edited July 26, 2008 by HeartlineTwist

[Katsuya]

GA clearly needs to watch Oldboy.