# Movie genres that will always "suck". **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 1, 2005, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genres-that-will-always-suck/328950 "2005-11-01T19:34:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genres-that-will-always-suck/328950/41 "2005-11-02T05:13:09Z")
> [@](#): > > Movies about Mars _Total Recall_ > [@](#): > > Movies about Satan _Rosemary’s Baby, The Exorcist_ > [@](#): > > Movies about Christianity _The Passion of Joan of Arc, The Last Temptation of Christ_ > [@](#): > > Epic scale sci-fi or fantasy films Jackson’s Tolkien Trilogy > [@](#): > > Epic adventure films _Lawrence of Arabia_–almost any later David Lean movie > [@](#): > > Alien running amok movies _The Thing from Another World, Alien, The Hidden, The Borrower_ > [@](#): > > 1. Westerns _Stagecoach, The Searchers, The Oxbow Incident, Ride the High Country, The Naked Spur, The Man from Laramie, Rio Bravo_ > [@](#): > > 1. Anything with the word Star in the title. _A Star Is Born_ (1937 and 1954), _The Star, Tin Star, Dark Star, Starship Troopers_ > [@](#): > > 1. War movies _All Quiet on the Western Front, The Story of G.I. Joe, The Best Years of Our Lives, Mrs. Miniver, We Were Expendable, Twelve O’Clock High, Apocolypse Now, Zentropa_ > [@](#): > > 1. Films based on comic book characters _Superman, Spider Man I & II, Batman Begins, A History of Violence_ > [@](#): > > The Disaster genre Hmm. You might have me there. > [@](#): > > “Gonna Die” movies \*D.O.A. \*(1950) > [@](#): > > Victorian-era dramas _Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde_ (1931), _Gaslight_ (1947), Topsy Turvy, Howard’s End > [@](#): > > animals/insects that have been mutated _Them_ > [@](#): > > musicals _The Merry Widow, Meet Me in St. Louis, The Bandwagon, Dancer in the Dark, Moulin Rouge_ > [@](#): > > Zombie movies. _Dawn of the Dead, 28 Days Later_ > [@](#): > > Vampire movies \*Nosferatu \*(1922, 1979), _Vampyr_, \*Dracula \*(1931, 1992), _The Addiction_ ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genres-that-will-always-suck/328950/42 "2005-11-02T05:16:24Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > Zombie movies. > > Vampire movies. You do realize that you’ve just significantly increased your chances of waking up tomorrow with a couple dozen wooden stakes in your heart and a couple hundred bullet in your brain? ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genres-that-will-always-suck/328950/43 "2005-11-02T05:36:17Z")
> [@xizor](#): > > **Popular Horror Movie, part 2** always sucks. “Aliens” didn’t suck. Although technically not a horror movie itself it was still part 2 of an extremely popular horror movie. > [@kingpengvin](#): > > Don’t forget teen comedy movies. Sure we laugh on first glance but then teh cold light of day hits them and they age… and they never age well. Teen Flicks generally suck. Teen _anything_ generally sucks for anyone who isn’t a teen. And they generally suck for those teens who they were originally targeted at once they stop being teens. That they are obligatory disposable items is kind of given with that “teen” title. Having said that I was under the impression that “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” had aged fairly well. It’s a bit hard to tell since I was in the original demographic for that one, but I hear tell that it’s kept up as well as most movies. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genres-that-will-always-suck/328950/44 "2005-11-02T14:11:22Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > Having said that I was under the impression that “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” had aged fairly well. It’s a bit hard to tell since I was in the original demographic for that one, but I hear tell that it’s kept up as well as most movies. It has. It’s been on one of the movie channels like Encore or Starz the past few months and I still end up watching it. > [@bubastis](#): > > Originally Posted by msmith537 > There are certain movie genres or themes that will always suck. > > Like musicals. Southpark? Okay, maybe I should have said genres that MOSTLY suck. Sometimes there is an exception to the suck rule. Sometimes the genre sucks because every film in that genre will inevitably be a poor version of that film. Like shark movies. Even if you expand it to all sea predators, has there been a shark movie since (Deep Blue Sea, Jaws II thru infinity) that you haven’t been like “meh…just like Jaws”? ---
**Author:** ![party\_store](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@party\_store](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/party_store)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genres-that-will-always-suck/328950/45 "2005-11-02T14:24:55Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally Posted by msmith537_ > Movies about Christianity - Problem is that a messiah that preaches so much love doesn’t leave room for a lot of kicking ass. That and Evangelical Christians are annoying. I’d say it’s not so much the lack of ass-kicking, but any movie about Christianity that stays within the principles of the religion will have a lead character who is, by definition, flawless. Flawless characters may make great deities, but they sure can’t carry a motion picture. That’s why the Old Testament was better than the New Testament - God had flaws, Jesus (and new God) were sinless and all loving. Then again, perhaps the inability to be an interesting main character _is_ a flaw. If there was a movie about Jesus failing to be an actor because of his niceness, that could be good. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genres-that-will-always-suck/328950/46 "2005-11-02T14:39:51Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > _Total Recall_ > _Rosemary’s Baby, The Exorcist_ > _The Passion of Joan of Arc, The Last Temptation of Christ_ > > [snip] > > _Dawn of the Dead, 28 Days Later_ > \*Nosferatu \*(1922, 1979), _Vampyr_, \*Dracula \*(1931, 1992), _The Addiction_ So, are these movies that suck or movies that don’t suck? Of the ones that I’ve seen, I’d put half of them in one category and half in the other. I’d like to nominate for movies that will always suck, movies that have been done before. For example, we’ve had [Twister](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117998/) in 1996. May or may not have sucked. Now, we are going to get [Category 7: The End of the World](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0468988/). Absolutely guaranteed to suck (no pun intended). ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genres-that-will-always-suck/328950/47 "2005-11-02T16:16:43Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Oh and I don’t include Dogma. I meant serious Christianity films. Although in all fairness, I was thinking of those Left Behind movies, PotC, which I haven’t actually seen. So maybe they should be excluded. I will fight you till the end of time over whether \*Dogma \* is a serious Christianity film. I believe it is. Rubber poop monsters aside, that film has some of the most intelligent and down-to-earth discussions of faith and theology I can recall seeing in any modern movie. Also, Wim Wenders’ _Wings of Desire_ is a serious film and might qualify, and is very good. _Left Behind_ is merely seriously schlocky. As others have said, there is no genre that inherently sucks. There are plenty of bad movies, but the potential for a good movie always exists. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genres-that-will-always-suck/328950/48 "2005-11-02T16:33:14Z")
> [@party store](#): > > I’d say it’s not so much the lack of ass-kicking, but any movie about Christianity that stays within the principles of the religion will have a lead character who is, by definition, flawless. Flawless characters may make great deities, but they sure can’t carry a motion picture. That’s why the Old Testament was better than the New Testament - God had flaws, Jesus (and new God) were sinless and all loving. > > Then again, perhaps the inability to be an interesting main character _is_ a flaw. If there was a movie about Jesus failing to be an actor because of his niceness, that could be good. Agreed. Moses movies are good because Moses is a flawed character. And he was badass! I mean he \*iced \* an Egyptian slave master with his bare hands! And man did he flip-out when he found the Israelites worshipping idols! Anyone ever see a good movie about people trapped on a ghost ship (Ghost Ship, Deep Blue Rising, Event Horizon)? ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genres-that-will-always-suck/328950/49 "2005-11-02T16:46:01Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I beg to differ. But _de gustibus non disputandem est_. Is that Latin for, “There is no accounting for taste?” ---
**Author:** ![Dob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Dob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dob)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genres-that-will-always-suck/328950/50 "2005-11-02T17:19:59Z")
> [@](#): > > Teen flicks generally suck I agree, for the most part. But lets not forget _American Pie_, _Breakfast Club_, and the classic and underrated _Sixteen Candles_! ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genres-that-will-always-suck/328950/51 "2005-11-02T17:53:08Z")
Here we are on page 2 already and nobody’s mentioned SNL movies yet? Coneheads, people! CONEHEADS! ---
**Author:** ![ddgryphon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8c91f0/32.png) [@ddgryphon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ddgryphon)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genres-that-will-always-suck/328950/52 "2005-11-02T18:22:23Z")
I don’t think we can actually say something of anything “will always suck” because no one here (and we’re a pretty diverse crowd) has seen all of everything. One can say every example I’ve encountered of “X” sucked, but that is a value statement from an individual point of view. If there were only objective ways to judge things, then we could make easy value judgements, but judgements as a rule are subjective and objective observations tend to be colored by our subjective reactions. To my wife, Horror films will always suck – end of discussion. No amount of intellectualizing or discussion will change that opinion. I’ve also always believed things need to be evaluated within their own context (sort of an artistic version of moral relativism). You can’t compare say [_Birdman of Alcatraz_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055798/) to [_Chained Heat_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085318/). They have similar elements, but are different things, made for different reasons. Each sets out with a different goal and at the end, how well it is acheived depends ultimately on the individuals understanding of that goal. How much it “sucks” is purely an emotional reaction that presumes no critical observation or evaluation of the work. Wait for it. . . . . . . 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genres-that-will-always-suck/328950/53 "2005-11-02T18:30:31Z")
> [@Spiff](#): > > Here we are on page 2 already and nobody’s mentioned SNL movies yet? > > Coneheads, people! CONEHEADS! Wayne’s World, Wayne’s World! Party Time, excellent! ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genres-that-will-always-suck/328950/54 "2005-11-02T22:30:10Z")
And _Blues Brothers._ ---
**Author:** ![Bob\_Loblaw\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@Bob\_Loblaw\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob_Loblaw_1)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genres-that-will-always-suck/328950/55 "2005-11-03T00:40:53Z")
> [@Ghanima](#): > > “Gonna Die” movies also suck. You know, the ones where a main character knows he or she is “gonna die.” Hate those. Well eventually, all main characters die, except immortal ones. So we never know unless the advertising spoils it. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genres-that-will-always-suck/328950/56 "2005-11-03T03:06:28Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Any movie subject can be done well or poorly. I don’t know of any genre that will always suck. Musical science-fiction epics - Yes, Yes, I know, none have been made yet, but we all know it is only a matter of time and yes, it will suck. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genres-that-will-always-suck/328950/57 "2005-11-03T03:22:38Z")
> [@TV time](#): > > Musical science-fiction epics - Yes, Yes, I know, none have been made yet, but we all know it is only a matter of time and yes, it will suck. [Yes](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073629/combined) they [have](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083067/combined), with mixed results. ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genres-that-will-always-suck/328950/58 "2005-11-03T04:52:22Z")
> [@](#): > > Epic scale sci-fi or fantasy films - Narnia, Lord of the Rings, The Matrix, Star Wars sequals. No movie can ever live up to the hype or stand up to the scrutiny of a nerdly fan base who’s benchmark is the wonder of Star Wars seen through the eyes of a six year old. I beg to differ on that. Lord of the Rings was a spectacular adaptation of the novel, even if it did have some alterations it was about as faithful as anybody could expect a movie adaptation to get. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genres-that-will-always-suck/328950/59 "2005-11-03T15:23:16Z")
In addition to the many quality teen flicks already listed upthread, I add _Fast Times at Ridgemont High_ and _Clueless_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-genres-that-will-always-suck/328950.md?page=2)