Hot Take: These Award-Winning And Critically Acclaimed Films Really Aren’t That Good
Just because a film is critically acclaimed and won many awards doesn’t mean it’s actually good. In fact, some of them are downright boring, gruesome, and are nothing more than blockbusters (yes, we mean you, Avatar).
So, without further ado, here are the most overrated critically acclaimed films that aren’t even that great.
Pirates Of The Caribbean Franchise
The Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise is the 14th-highest-grossing series of all time, but it seems to rely on one thing to keep it going — the odd antics of Johnny Depp’s character, Captain Jack Sparrow.
The films really have nothing else going for them, aside from the laughs garnered from Depp’s performance. Otherwise, each film is the same: search for the treasure, find the treasure, fight over the treasure, and watch Johnny Depp do Johnny Depp things.
Pearl Harbor
In typical Michael Bay fashion, Pearl Harbor is just another movie with multiple explosions with a strange love story thrown into the mix. While it was technically a box office success, earning $450 million worldwide on opening weekend and an Academy Award-winning Sound Editing film, it’s just not great.
Hey, it was nominated for six Golden Raspberry Awards for a reason!
Les Misérables
There are definitely some theatre people out there that might not agree with this, but the 2012 film adaptation of Les Misérables is a bit overrated. While it wound up winning a Golden Globe for Best Picture, it fell short of winning the Academy Award.
Seriously, the only thing that film has going for it is the first few minutes with Anne Hathaway singing “I Dream a Dream.”
Twilight
While it was a huge phenomenon when released in 2008, Twilight isn’t great. Kristen Stewart might have won an MTV Movie Award for Best Female performance with Robert Pattinson winning the award for Male Breakthrough Performance, but it doesn’t mean they truly deserved them.
The film is really nothing more than a huge cheese-fest that played into the vampire romances of the early 2000s.
Cast Away
It’s tough to hate on a Tom Hanks classic, but Cast Away isn’t one of his better films.
For a solid majority of the two-and-a-half-hour-long film, viewers watch Hank’s character, Chuck Noland, do nothing more than live on a deserted island and talk to a volleyball with blood splattered across it. It gets boring and old fast.
Shakespeare In Love
The 1998 film Shakespeare In Love went on to win seven Academy Awards during the 71st Oscar ceremony. But a lot of people don’t think it should have beat out Saving Private Ryan for Best Picture.
Even a 2015 poll came out with Academy members saying that if there were a revote, they’d chose Saving Private Ryan. That, right there, speaks volumes.
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
Based on the popular video game Lara Croft: Tomb Raider was one of the premiere action films of the early 2000s. But while Angeline Jolie was praised for her performance, earning her an MTV Movie Award for Best Female Performance, the film really isn’t that good.
In fact, it’s a bit cheesy, between the fake accents and Jon Voight not telling Lara “about the Illuminati.”
Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane might very well be considered one of the greatest movies ever made, but it’s really just two hours of Orson Welles screaming at people, into the camera, or at himself.
And unless the viewer is familiar with the history of William Randolph Hearst and his introduction of yellow journalism, the fast-paced story can get a bit confusing and, ironically, boring.
Avatar
Yes, Avatar held the title of biggest box office success before Endgame rolled around. It even won three out of nine Academy Award nominations. Even so, the film is vastly overrated.
It’s literally a knockoff of Pocahontas! Foreigners come to a new land, wanting to find riches and, in the end, warring with the native people. Sound familiar?
The Blair Witch Project
Advertised as a film of “recovered footage,” The Blair Witch Project quickly became a horror film favorite. The thing is, the movie really is all hype and doesn’t deliver on anything remotely scary.
Yes, at times, it can be a bit suspenseful. But the fact that the ending is so up for interpretation doesn’t really do much for the film as a whole.
Watchmen
Director Terry Gilliam explained that he left Watchmen because he thought the complex comic book story was “unfilmable.” At almost a three-and-a-half-hour runtime, he wasn’t really that far off.
While the storyline is decently put together and coherent, the movie is way too long and slow to hold any normal person’s attention span.
The Godfather: Part III
For any mega-fan of The Godfather trilogy, they’ll let anyone who is willing to listen know that watching The Godfather: Part III is beyond optional. The seven-time Academy Award-nominated film has nothing on the other two.
Sofia Coppola’s casting was a mistake; she was way out of her skillset and league. And for a film that is supposed to bring closure to the Corleone story, it does a very poor job giving fans any semblance of the word.
The Harry Potter Franchise
The Harry Potter franchise might be a critically acclaimed and beloved series, but there is a lot that is wrong with it. First and foremost, the series portrayal of Ginny Weasley was just wrong on so many levels.
Secondly, they decided to leave out many aspects of the story that were key to character development, such as Hermione’s huge advocacy for Hogwarts’ house elves.
The Blind Side
Unfortunately, The Blind Side took the story of the NFL played Michael Oher and totally butchered it, making the entire plot more of a waxwork portrayal of how his life was growing up.
Even Oher came out and said he didn’t appreciate the movie showcasing him as someone who didn’t want to learn when, in fact, that wasn’t the case.
Titanic
Considered one of the great silver screen love stories, Titanic really needs to be taken down a few notches. Yes, the story between Rose and Jack is one that made people swoon.
But one aspect of a plot doesn’t make a great story. Shall we return to the whole sharing the door in the freezing cold water debate?
The Hangover
While The Hangover is entertaining, it doesn’t mean it’s a great movie. In fact, dissecting the story, it’s really nothing more than a group of friends doing wild antics in Las Vegas.
It’s full of cliches when, really, all it’s trying to be is a character study of the weirdly different leads.
Moulin Rouge!
In 2001, Ewan McGregor introduced the world to his amazing vocals in Moulin Rouge! Unfortunately, his co-star, Nicole Kidman, kind of brought everything down with her demure singing that really had zero range.
Even so, the film got away with eight Academy Award nominations, winning for Best Costume Design and Best Production Design.
Pride & Prejudice
The 2005 film Pride & Prejudice might be a favorite for Jane Austin fans, but it really wasn’t true to the story, or good, for that matter. First off, the Bennett family is portrayed as ill-mannered country folk, a far cry from their sophistication in the original story.
Not only that, but, at the time, lead actor Matthew Macfadyen really did nothing spectacular in his role as Mr. Darcy.
The Notebook
Considering The Notebook now has a cult following, it’s safe to say that this particular film isn’t all that great (at least, that’s what other cult movies have proven). Even so, the romance drama won a solid eight Teen Choice Awards.
Still, the Gone With the Wind want-to-be didn’t hit its mark quite right.
Grease
When Grease came out in 1978, it was wildly popular, at the time becoming the highest-grossing film ever. But even though it made money at the box office, it doesn’t mean it’s a good flick.
In fact, there is a lot wrong with the movie, namely how Danny treats Sandy, the adult humor that really shouldn’t be in a PG movie, and the numerous illegal activities that are done by high school students.
