# What movies got rave reviews by the critics, yet were vastly overrated? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 23, 2009, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-got-rave-reviews-by-the-critics-yet-were-vastly-overrated/518618 "2009-11-23T08:16:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-got-rave-reviews-by-the-critics-yet-were-vastly-overrated/518618/21 "2009-11-23T20:41:36Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > “The Dark Knight”. I really wanted to like this out of respect for Mr Ledger’s memory but it didn’t really do that much for me. I do think his performance was the best part of the movie but that’s not really saying all that much. I’m glad that I saw it when it came out as I,like so many people, was shocked and saddened by his death, but I don’t know that I’d ever bother to watch it again. I didn’t think Dark Knight was worth its hype either, and I even wrote a post about it back in June. > **[The Dark Knight](http://scriptcleaners.blogspot.com/2009/06/dark-knight.html)** > > The Dark Knight. When this movie hit the theaters, a lot of people were calling it the best “comic book movie” made and talked about how it ... (Don’t read it if you don’t want to). ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-got-rave-reviews-by-the-critics-yet-were-vastly-overrated/518618/22 "2009-11-23T21:04:46Z")
> [@tacoloco](#): > > One word: Brazil > > A truly lousy film by an overrated, mostly hack director\* > > - Time Bandits excluded Wow. Your experience was so different from mine that “night” and “day” doesn’t even begin to cover it. I saw it in the theater, and was so knocked out by the film, so literally stunned that I was still in my seat after the credits ended and the theater lights came up trying to get everything together to stand up and head home. I was poleaxed by this film and consider it one of the greatest films ever made. You didn’t happen to [see this film on TV](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazil_%28film%29#Video_releases) did you? ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-got-rave-reviews-by-the-critics-yet-were-vastly-overrated/518618/23 "2009-11-23T21:48:05Z")
The Departed. I wrote a lengthy post awhile ago discussing my issues with this truly, truly mediocre film. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-got-rave-reviews-by-the-critics-yet-were-vastly-overrated/518618/24 "2009-11-23T22:12:08Z")
Gladiator - Okay, but hardly Best Picture (which it won) quality. Drag Me To Hell - I was pretty disappointed by this, in large part because of the rave (92% on Rotten Tomatoes) reviews I’d read that convinced me to see it in the theaters instead of waiting for DVD. Sorry, it just wasn’t that great. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Hen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@Small\_Hen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Hen)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-got-rave-reviews-by-the-critics-yet-were-vastly-overrated/518618/25 "2009-11-23T22:53:28Z")
Wall-E was visually gorgeous, but had, IMO, the worst plot of any of the Pixar films. It practically beat you over the head with its green message, and the characters were easily forgetable. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-got-rave-reviews-by-the-critics-yet-were-vastly-overrated/518618/26 "2009-11-23T23:40:32Z")
I think I enjoyed Gran Torino a little bit the first time I saw it but the second time I watched it I absolutely hated it. The acting was terrible on all fronts, Clint Eastwood was really only mediocre. I don’t know, does Napoleon Dymanite count as rave reviews (71%)? I didn’t find that particularly funny. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2009, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-got-rave-reviews-by-the-critics-yet-were-vastly-overrated/518618/27 "2009-11-23T23:50:32Z")
**Eyes Wide Shut**. Rich people really like sex, and will kill to keep this a secret. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-got-rave-reviews-by-the-critics-yet-were-vastly-overrated/518618/28 "2009-11-24T00:11:17Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > The title of this thread should be “What movies got rave reviews by the critics, yet I didn’t like?” It’s not that anything in particular was bad or overrated about any of the movies mentioned so far; it’s just that you didn’t like them. Yeah, overrated is such a silly term. It’s basically “what movies did you not like that other people did.” ---
**Author:** ![tacoloco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tacoloco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tacoloco)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-got-rave-reviews-by-the-critics-yet-were-vastly-overrated/518618/29 "2009-11-24T00:53:02Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > Wow. Your experience was so different from mine that “night” and “day” doesn’t even begin to cover it. I saw it in the theater, and was so knocked out by the film, so literally stunned that I was still in my seat after the credits ended and the theater lights came up trying to get everything together to stand up and head home. I was poleaxed by this film and consider it one of the greatest films ever made. > > You didn’t happen to [see this film on TV](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazil_%28film%29#Video_releases) did you? I’ve seen the theatrical version and the director’s cut on Lasderdisc. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-got-rave-reviews-by-the-critics-yet-were-vastly-overrated/518618/30 "2009-11-24T00:58:49Z")
I would have to definitely agree with Gladiator. It had the feel of a circa-1970s TV miniseries that might have starred Richard Chamberlain. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-got-rave-reviews-by-the-critics-yet-were-vastly-overrated/518618/31 "2009-11-24T01:08:24Z")
Fargo AND Pulp Fiction. I thought both were just appalling. It’s not that I can’t intellectually understand why they are so much admired by critics, but I really, really did not enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-got-rave-reviews-by-the-critics-yet-were-vastly-overrated/518618/32 "2009-11-24T01:45:50Z")
> [@tacoloco](#): > > I’ve seen the theatrical version and the director’s cut on Lasderdisc. OK, you get points for giving it a fair shake then. Sorry it didn’t work for you. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-got-rave-reviews-by-the-critics-yet-were-vastly-overrated/518618/33 "2009-11-24T01:49:15Z")
> [@drm](#): > > I don’t know, does Napoleon Dymanite count as rave reviews (71%)? I didn’t find that particularly funny. We saw that in the theater at a sneak preview, and thought it was one of the least funny comedies we’ve ever seen. My reaction was that it was a film by the cool kids about outcasts. Actual outcasts don’t make films about outcasts, they make films about the cool people they wish they were (see: Tarantino, Quentin). ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-got-rave-reviews-by-the-critics-yet-were-vastly-overrated/518618/34 "2009-11-24T05:40:55Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Apocalypse Now… Made absolutely no sense, and was boring as fuck… We figured out that it was being played out of order, so we rented it, and sat down to watch it. I still kept falling asleep, and it made fuck all for sense. There were a few interesting scenes - the napalm strike, and the helicopter flight leaving with Ride of the Valkyries, but in general a huge boring mass of bullshit. Agree 100% . ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-got-rave-reviews-by-the-critics-yet-were-vastly-overrated/518618/35 "2009-11-24T05:49:54Z")
Another vote for Titanic. Hated every minute of it. I wish I could remember who said (on a TV talk show) that the reason 12-year old girls liked it so much was because the script sounded like it had been **written** by one. . ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-got-rave-reviews-by-the-critics-yet-were-vastly-overrated/518618/36 "2009-11-24T05:55:08Z")
I’m Not There. I’m guessing it was praised by critics, I know some of the actors were nominated for it but I couldn’t get past the first 15 minutes. It was dull and confusing and all over the place. It was artsy for artsy’s sake. ---
**Author:** ![wedgehed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8edcca/32.png) [@wedgehed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wedgehed)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-got-rave-reviews-by-the-critics-yet-were-vastly-overrated/518618/37 "2009-11-24T06:13:41Z")
**Tootsie** - I thought comedies were supposed to be funny. **The Deer Hunter** - What utter crap. ---
**Author:** ![Lethal\_Babydoll](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3be4f8/32.png) [@Lethal\_Babydoll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lethal_Babydoll)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-got-rave-reviews-by-the-critics-yet-were-vastly-overrated/518618/38 "2009-11-24T11:49:41Z")
I remember when \*\*The English Patient \*\*came out with all the critical buzz. A lot of people I know went to see it. No one liked it. “Would you just die, already!” seemed to be everyone’s reaction. \*\*And There Will Be Blood. \*\*Ugh! Nothing in art should be that bleak. Toss us smile. Life is funny. ---
**Author:** ![Dorothea\_Book](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Dorothea\_Book](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorothea_Book)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-got-rave-reviews-by-the-critics-yet-were-vastly-overrated/518618/39 "2009-11-24T14:17:48Z")
Agree with **Freudian Slit** , _Gosford Park_ was a great movie–not overrated. The movie that takes the bill for me in this category is _Mulholland Drive_–pretentious bullshit masked as meaningful art. Not. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2009, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-got-rave-reviews-by-the-critics-yet-were-vastly-overrated/518618/40 "2009-11-24T14:18:59Z")
> [@Small\_Hen](#): > > Wall-E was visually gorgeous, but had, IMO, the worst plot of any of the Pixar films. It practically beat you over the head with its green message, and the characters were easily forgetable. Agree with this. It _was_ really pretty, but I just didn’t connect with it like I have the other Pixar movies. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-got-rave-reviews-by-the-critics-yet-were-vastly-overrated/518618.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-got-rave-reviews-by-the-critics-yet-were-vastly-overrated/518618.md?page=3)