taksraven Posted April 2, 2010 Posted April 2, 2010 Since we have Best SF film and Worst SF film threads, now its time to try to cover some of the middle ground. Its simple, talk about SF films that you think are badly underrated or overrated, just make sure you specify which category the film you are talking about fits into to avoid confusion. Of course, some of us are going to agree/disagree, but lets not get too narky if a "sacred cow" comes under the microscope...... I'll start with one in each category. An underrated film (the one that actually got this thread started) was "Reign of Fire". Certainly not a Shakespearean classic, but also not the pile of dung that many of the reviewers said it was either. Great B-movie fun. (The B-movie genre of SF does have a battered reputation though) An overrated film, Blade Runner. I'm not saying that its a really bad film or the worst film ever, I just don't think that it deserves to have the reputation that is attached to it. OK, lets run with this..... Taksraven Quote
Tober Posted April 2, 2010 Posted April 2, 2010 I liked Avalon. It's about a girl who fights in a virtual world. It has a bit of The Matrix in there but is not heavy on action, instead focusing on the mundane. From director Mamoru Oshii who gave us Ghost in the Shell. Friends have absolutely loathed this film tho, so you've been warned. Quote
Tober Posted April 2, 2010 Posted April 2, 2010 And Gattaca. One of my top 5 sci-fi faves. It's more of a drama than action movie tho. Might explain why it often gets passed over. Quote
Agent ONE Posted April 2, 2010 Posted April 2, 2010 I loved Lionheart, with Van Damme. People laugh at it but I thought it was just great. Quote
mikeszekely Posted April 2, 2010 Posted April 2, 2010 Are we going to be like the local bookstore, and lump fantasy in with sci-fi? Because I'd like to toss my vote in for the entire Lord of the Ring Trilogy. Yes, a lot of the actors did a good job and there was some great visuals. There was also a lot of walking and crying. For underrated, I'll nominate Alien Vs Predator. Yes, it was bad. But considering that it seems more shunned than a medieval plague-carrier, it really wasn't that bad. It didn't try to be anything more than it was; a flimsy excuse to have two factions of extraterrestrial movie monsters duke it out. Besides, AvP Requiem came out later and showed us just how bad and AvP film really can be. Quote
Marzan Posted April 2, 2010 Posted April 2, 2010 Underrated: Sunshine The Final Countdown eXistenZ Overrated: Avatar The Matrix sequels Quote
CoryHolmes Posted April 2, 2010 Posted April 2, 2010 Underrated: Star Wars prequels AvP and AvP: R Stargate: Universe Tron Overrated: BSG Matrix sequels Titanic Dark City Quote
Agent ONE Posted April 2, 2010 Posted April 2, 2010 ...the entire Lord of the Ring Trilogy... There was also a lot of walking and crying. Yep Quote
DarrinG Posted April 2, 2010 Posted April 2, 2010 There was a good bit of walking and crying in Apocalypto but I just watched that again on Blu-ray. 9.8 out of 10 for me. But its not Sci-fi . . . Was that movie over-rated or under-rated? Quote
eugimon Posted April 2, 2010 Posted April 2, 2010 (edited) underrated: Moore's BSG overrated: All things Star Wars except for Empires Strikes Back. (and if fantasy is included) The Passion. Edited April 2, 2010 by eugimon Quote
Bri Posted April 2, 2010 Posted April 2, 2010 Overrated: Lord of the Rings trilogy. Some terrible casting choices, Sauron is less threatening then a cartoon villian and Golum's about as irritating as Jar Jar. Underrated: Pleasantville, love the acting and innovative use of color as a story element. Quote
mechaninac Posted April 2, 2010 Posted April 2, 2010 My vote for one of the most overrated sci-fi films of all time goes to 2001: A Space Odyssey... in my opinion, one of the most boring movies ever made; although I do think it's a technical masterpiece. As for underrated, for some odd reason I like Wing Commander... it's mindless, riddled with mediocre and/or over-the-top acting, and the rapiers are fuggly as all hell, but I find it entertaining in a guilty pleasure sort of way. Quote
Funkenstein Posted April 2, 2010 Posted April 2, 2010 AvP is underrated because it wasnt particularly good. AvP:R was so bad that Robert Rodriguez had to make a Predators movie. Underrated: Contact Overrated: Star Wars - Its fantasy for people who dont like horse drawn carriages. Quote
anime52k8 Posted April 2, 2010 Posted April 2, 2010 Overrated: Star Wars - Its fantasy for people who dont like horse drawn carriages. THANK YOU I also second sunshine for underrated. dark city was awesome damnit Quote
Duke Togo Posted April 2, 2010 Posted April 2, 2010 Overrated: Avatar. That is all. Pretty much. It's hard to dispute that, even if you like it. Matrix, as well. Underrated? Gattaca and Dark City. Quote
aquilon Posted April 2, 2010 Posted April 2, 2010 Underrated: Sunshine Overrated: The Matrix sequels Sunshine got so-so to bad reviews. When I saw it on DVD I was pleasantly surprised it was as good as it was - even the crazy slasher part wasn't so bad as it dovetailed into "the sun is God" plot point... And the Matrix sequels were almost unbearable w/ all their existential crap that made no sense.... Quote
eugimon Posted April 2, 2010 Posted April 2, 2010 the matrix is just two parts regurgitated Buddhism with one part daoism with a little judeo-christian sprinkled on top for sh!ts and giggles. Quote
Vepariga Posted April 2, 2010 Posted April 2, 2010 Over-rated: Avatar, sure i enjoyed the film,but its treated like its the best thing ever to grace the screens. Under-rated: Moon , sam rockwell is great. Quote
mikeszekely Posted April 2, 2010 Posted April 2, 2010 My vote for one of the most overrated sci-fi films of all time goes to 2001: A Space Odyssey... in my opinion, one of the most boring movies ever made; although I do think it's a technical masterpiece. Yes! The long, drawn out shots made space exploration seem more tedious than anything else. And a lot of stuff happened to Bowman after he went through the monolith gate in the novel, while the ending to the movie was just an acid trip on film. Quote
RD Blade Posted April 3, 2010 Posted April 3, 2010 Under-rated: Unbreakable Serenity Over-rated: Logan's Run Quote
Duke Togo Posted April 3, 2010 Posted April 3, 2010 Under-rated: Unbreakable Oh wow, yes, definitely. One of the best "comic book" movies ever made. Quote
BeyondTheGrave Posted April 3, 2010 Posted April 3, 2010 Mediocre: Casshern Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow Both are watchable but not omg you need to see this Overrated: Star Wars (see all previous post) The Dark Knight... Nolan's Batman isn't too intelligent. Star Gate (anything after the 1st movie) Serenity District 9 2012 12 Monkeys Contact Underrated: The Hulk The Incredible Hulk (granted Liv Tyler is not the best actor) The Incredibles Moon Quote
macrossnake Posted April 3, 2010 Posted April 3, 2010 Over-rated: Avatar Batman Begins Serenity Under-rated: Gattaca Dark city Donnie Darko Blade Runner Soylent Green Children of Men The Incredible Hulk Quote
Duke Togo Posted April 3, 2010 Posted April 3, 2010 Star Gate (anything after the 1st movie) They only made one movie, BTG. Quote
Ghost Train Posted April 3, 2010 Posted April 3, 2010 Lol, no offense but a lot of the underrated films you guys are posting have been generally well received. Quote
Duke Togo Posted April 3, 2010 Posted April 3, 2010 Lol, no offense but a lot of the underrated films you guys are posting have been generally well received. Yeah, I mean, Blade Runner and Children of Men? Two of the most critically acclaimed sci-fi movies ever made? Totally underrated, lol. Quote
Gubaba Posted April 3, 2010 Posted April 3, 2010 OVERRATED: Macross - Do You Remember Love UNDERRATED: Robotech - The Untold Story Quote
RD Blade Posted April 3, 2010 Posted April 3, 2010 OVERRATED: Macross - Do You Remember Love UNDERRATED: Robotech - The Untold Story LOL! Well played, sir. Quote
Agent ONE Posted April 3, 2010 Posted April 3, 2010 Overrated: The Matrix sequels How can they be overrated when people hated them... I see a lot of movies in this thread being listed as overrated, and they aren't overrated. They just sucked and that was the consensus. The Matrix sequels sucked so bad I actually threw away the first matrix DVD. I just can't watch it anymore. Quote
Gubaba Posted April 3, 2010 Posted April 3, 2010 How can they be overrated when people hated them... I see a lot of movies in this thread being listed as overrated, and they aren't overrated. They just sucked and that was the consensus. The Matrix sequels sucked so bad I actually threw away the first matrix DVD. I just can't watch it anymore. I saw the first movie and thought it was...all right (which I guess means I would categorize it as overrated). It was stylish and fun, but its reputation at the time for being "deep" was completely unwarranted. Considering my lukewarm reaction to it, when I started hearing reports about how even people who really liked the first one didn't like the second, I figured I'd just skip it. I still haven't seen either sequel. Quote
Twoducks Posted April 3, 2010 Posted April 3, 2010 Overrated: The Matrix (yes, the first one) Underrated: Dark City (came before The Matrix, was a shitload more distubing, deep and original. At least your memories were real in the matrix, in Dark City each night you had a different life ) Quote
eugimon Posted April 3, 2010 Posted April 3, 2010 How can they be overrated when people hated them... I see a lot of movies in this thread being listed as overrated, and they aren't overrated. They just sucked and that was the consensus. The Matrix sequels sucked so bad I actually threw away the first matrix DVD. I just can't watch it anymore. because the expressed hatred is not nearly deep enough, thus, overrated. Quote
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