Movies. I love them. You love them. Even your grumpy old neighbor across the street loves him some old John Wayne movies. Some are bad, some are good, but there are some that just seem to get picked on an awful lot. Now granted, many deserve criticism, but others I feel are unjustly slammed. This is my list of movies that are generally hated by the public that I enjoyed. I will defend the undefendable, give voice to these poor films that can't speak for themselves, and enrage many of you haters that just love to hate. These movies are by no means perfect (actually not even close) but don't deserve to be the hate magnets they've become. (Copy-cat disclaimer: This was not my idea, I saw it on another website and ever since then many others have also done it. Sometimes I just can't think of good ideas okay.)
5. The Star Wars Prequels
Since I eventually always break the rules of my own lists, I'll start this one out by actually defending three movies. Yes, I'm referring to the Star Wars prequels, which most of the hip internet calls "The Time George Lucas Ruined My Childhood." Let's start there, by conceding a point. The prequels and the originals are very different. If you grew up with the originals, and didn't like the new ones, then fine. That's just a matter of personal taste. But please don't make the arrogant assumption that they are the worst movies in the world and ruin the originals. YOUR childhood may have been influenced by Episodes 4-6, but MY childhood was equally influenced by 1-3. In the same way YOU are willing to overlook plot holes, errors, ewoks, and cheesy dialogue in your beloved films, I can overlook plot holes, errors, Jar Jar, and cheesy dialogue in MY beloved films. And don't get me wrong, I love the originals. Return of the Jedi is probably my favorite of all. But don't act like they're vastly superior to the current offering.
I knew almost nothing of Star Wars until Episode I came out when I was eight. I went and saw it, and my entire world changed. That's a pretty nerdy thing to say, but come on, I was eight. Star Wars instantly became the coolest thing ever for me, and for that reason, The Phantom Menace will always be important to me.
Who could forget classic moments like the pod race, Yoda fighting with a lightsaber, or that amazing Darth Maul duel? The prequels have a lot of great stuff, and Ewan McGregor is awesome as Obi-Wan Kenobi. Yes, Jar Jar is annoying, and Anakin has some awful pick-up lines (don't we all though?). Nevertheless, these movies were, are, and still will be fun in 10 years when I'm watching them with my kids. And that's what it comes down to in the end.
4. Superman Returns
C'mon Clark, don't give me that look. I still like your movie.
But the point is, this is still a solid movie. I wouldn't call it great or amazing, but it's no slouch. Superman does all sorts of super things, including getting shot in the eye in slow motion. Tell me that's not cool. Brandon Routh was a dead ringer for Christopher Reeve, and Kevin Spacey was an excellent Lex Luthor. Best of all, it packed a strange emotional punch, especially at the end scene when Superman falls from the sky, and the people rally around to save him. I can think of quite a few Superhero movies better than Superman Returns, but I can also think of many more that are worse. So stop with the hate.
3. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
I absolutely love Indiana Jones. I would put Raiders of the Lost Ark in my list of favorite movies ever. So naturally I was more than a little excited for the long awaited Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. This is a polarizing movie my friends. I've had almost heated arguments with very close acquaintances on this one. It all seems to boil down to one word: aliens.
Many people hate hate hate this movie because the premise is behind an alien artifact, and the weird little guys even show up in the end to say hello. For whatever reason, this was not okay and people exploded. I know that 1-3 were about ancient religious artifacts, and man were they great. Why then, tell me, can't Indy experience a close encounter every now and then? The film is set in the perfect era for it. The first three are in WWII times, and the religious artifacts were cool, groovy, and most importantly relevant. Crystal Skull is in the late 50s, as the world is getting their Cold War on and interest in space is reaching a fever pitch. Makes perfect sense to me!
Indy 4 has it's "I can't believe they put that in there" moments like CGI gophers, falling off a waterfall, and Shia LeBouf getting hit in the crotch my plants while riding a jeep. I'm with you guys. That was really dumb and a poor decision. Actually, let's just write off Mr. LeBouf as a poor decision overall.
Sorry Shia, but your best work by far was on Even Stevens.
But overall, Indy 4 had everything I wanted to see in an Indy movie. I still think Raiders and The Last Crusade are a cut above, but it's absolutely at least as good as Temple of Doom.
2. Green Lantern
Wow, where to begin. I'll be frank, people hate this movie. Critics, internet fanboys, and the average joe who has been influenced by the first two groups unanimously agree that this movie made them all dumber. Many people I've talked to haven't even seen it because word of mouth was so stupendously bad. Even I hesitated to see it when I got home from my mission.
The honest truth is that Green Lantern wasn't as good as it could have been, and had some flaws. But people! It wasn't that bad! When all was said and done, I had a fun time watching it and felt pretty entertained. I thought Ryan Reynolds was a pretty good Hal Jordan, and that his origin was handled fairly well. Changes were made, and that's fair game to criticize, but good grief. I saw this one on TV the other day and it had a putrid 1 out of 4 stars in the description. I've never even seen that few!
I'll admit, there's too much CGI, but they do some pretty cool things. When Hal makes the racecar track to save a guy, and a pool of water break the woman's fall, I was pretty impressed. This is by no means an excellent movie, and probably even my least favorite of this list, but it's a fun, popcorn muncher that will keep you entertained for a few hours.
1. Spider-man 3
Here's the grand-daddy of them all. Some of you and probably stewing in your chair right now, thinking "how could this idiot know-it-all defend a crapfest like that?" Well you're about to find out. And don't call me names.
Spider-man 3 was not well received amongst most of society. Like other movies before it, bad word of mouth spread initially and everybody jumped on the hate train. It literally became cool to hate this one.
First the concessions; it tries to do to much. Too many villains. It killed any hope of a fourth movie by killing most of the characters (what Spider-man villains were even left standing after this one?). The Peter-Mary-Jane relationship is also completely played out; we basically get a repeat of Spider-man 2 romance, only this time Mary Jane sings instead of acts. This is a step backward for both characters.
However! Spider-man 3 also does things considerably well. The action is topnotch. There were some really well done fight sequences and special effects. It also has what I consider a great message of forgiveness with the Sandman story line. Don't tell me you weren't touched when Spidey forgave Sandman for accidentally killing Uncle Ben! (Now that change in origin was questionable, but at least handled well).
Now we reach the subject of Emo-Peter Parker. In the comics, when Peter gets the venom suit he's normal for awhile, then kind of a jerk. In the movie, he's a sort of emo looking dude who just wants some action with Gwen Stacey. People hated this, but in all honesty, I was sort of amused. Peter's a good guy! Even under the influence of an evil alien he's not going to go completely off the deep end. When he plays the piano and dances with Gwen at the bar, I was laughing. Not everyone has a dark side that's a viscous, brooding character. Some of our dark sides are more similar to Saturday Night Fever. That is the case with Peter Parker.
No comment.
Spider-man 3 was not nearly as good as number 2 (which I hold as one of the greatest comic movies), but wasn't a complete train wreck. Questionable decisions were made (Sandman killing Uncle Ben, Gwen Stacey just being some random blonde girl) but overall I think people need to lighten up and just enjoy this one.
So that concludes another list. What thinkest ye? Am I incorrect, and these movies actually do stink? Any other ones that are wrongfully accused? Let us know in the comments below.
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