Avatar: The Way of Water looks to be both one of the year’s biggest financial hits and one of James Cameron’s most personal movies to date. However, the original film remains divisive, even if it simultaneously stands as one of cinema’s biggest success stories to date.
Cameron’s original trip to Pandora isn’t the only movie many Redditors find underrated, however. What is surprising is just how much they seem to agree on which movies lack their proper respect, and how hesitant others are to disagree. When it comes to Movie 43, everyone can agree on what it is, but these films proved divisive at first (though they have their adamant defenders).
Last Action Hero (1993)
Redditor jimmkitts added Last Action Hero to an underrated movie discussion and wrote that they “never hear anything good” about it, but they and their sons have a lot of fun with it. At the end of the day, that’s what the ultimate goal is for many directors, whether they’re worthy of Oscar gold or not. The adventure of Jack Slater is entertaining enough to warrant another movie, as fans would love to see this Schwarzenegger character come back.
Redditor b_fellow also added a reason why it holds even more appeal with modern audiences: Its connection to Game of Thrones via cast member Charles Dance. In the Redditor’s words, “Well it’s more enjoyable…knowing Tywin Lannister is in it.” Dance’s villainous, grinning Mr. Benedict is one of the movie’s highlights, and the actor alone makes it worth watching.
Hulk (2003)
Victory33 believes Ang Lee’s cerebral but misguided take on Marvel’s The Incredible Hulk has enough merit to label it underrated. With that being said, their praise wasn’t the most effusive, claiming they “didn’t think it was horrible.” The suggestion generated a lot of interest, though, like from ABitChaotic, who wrote that they’ve “been defending this movie for years.”
Hulk is a movie with a lot on its mind and, while that does some major damage to its pacing, it also helps it stand out amidst the burgeoning glut of early aughts superhero films.
The Village (2004)
Redditor kbamy added Shyamalan’s follow-up to Signs, The Village, to a thread for “bad” movies that really aren’t so much. They weren’t alone, because jayboosh added that they “really liked this movie,” having “seen it multiple times” and they still found it impactful. Which is saying something given the controversy attached to its ending.
IAmALobster even added that it’s one of their “favorite movies,” horror or otherwise. They believe the film’s ultimate failing was its marketing as a horror film (which it also tries to be fairly consistently, extending well past marketing). In their words: “My favorite parts were the gorgeous setting, Joaquin Phoenix, and that beautifully haunting soundtrack.” The Village is undoubtedly a letdown after Signs, which in and of itself had a controversial ending, but it earns a lot of points for atmosphere.
Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge Of The Sith (2005)
Maelstrom112 felt that the third and final Star Wars prequel, Revenge of the Sith, has gotten a bad rap over the years. And, unlike with Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace and Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, they believe it’s reputation needs to improve. Then, that thread’s OP added some high praise: “That’s one of my favorite films of all time”
Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith holds the highest reputation of the prequel trilogy, but it’s far from perfect. Even still, it’s loaded with memorable set pieces, some excellent performances, and one of the best villain introductions in the Star Wars movies.
Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006)
OBabis posited that “The Pirates sequels” remain underrated. However, they qualified that they meant only Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. In their words: “The set pieces are fantastic and I think the interactions between Rush, Depp, Bloom, and Knightley were a lot of fun.” There are also some deep quotes from the usually comedic Jack Sparrow, though they’re always delivered with his trademark laissez-faire attitude.
RoadWarriorBarnes called Dead Man’s Chest their “favorite of the series,” qualifying it with one area where the first sequel actually managed to surpass the original: The villain department. Geoffrey Rush was phenomenal as Captain Barbosa in the original film, but the combined power of still-impressive mo-cap and the gravity of Bill Nighy’s performance make Davy Jones unforgettable.
Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Marc_Jay_Mack started a thread to find out what people felt was the most unfairly hated movie of all time. They kicked it off with Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3. Redditor RoastBeefDisease agreed that its poor reputation was unjust, writing that “Of the Toby trilogy” it’s their “second favorite.”
The issues with the film are well-documented and, while it was the biggest film of 2007, it was also arguably the biggest letdown. But Spider-Man 3 is only weak in comparison to director Sam Raimi’s leaner first two installments. If taken on its own merits, the trilogy-capper is a fun diversion with one excellent villain (Sandman). Furthermore, now that Tobey Maguire has come back for at least Spider-Man: No Way Home, there’s less of an incomplete feeling to his arc.
Speed Racer (2008)
The Wachowski’s $120 million (via Box Office Mojo) Speed Racer adaptation opened just one week after the release of Iron Man. Naturally, Iron Man blew Racer out of the water, but the few who saw the latter in theaters knew there was something the critics were missing.
Buckaroosamurai brought up the Wachowskis’ film, which has seen its reputation grow considerably in recent years, writing that it’s “Amazing” and “pushes technical filmmaking to crazy limits.” Apparently, it also reached Kaynineteen in a sweet and impactful way: “I tear up every time I watch the ending race.” The movie isn’t for everyone and runs on the long side, but it’s visually stunning and features note-perfect performances from Emile Hirsch and Christina Ricci.
Watchmen (2009)
Tapeworms liked Snyder’s adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen quite a bit, writing that “the fans of the comic hate it because it’s not faithful enough” while those unfamiliar with the source material were just left scratching their huge heads. The Redditor then labels themselves as a member of the former, but admit to liking the movie as well, giving their take that the movie is a smashing success in terms of capturing the comic’s visuals.
While superhero movies have dominated Hollywood in the last decade or so, many comic book fans would praise Watchmen for trying to do something unique and original. It allowed the audience to see the darker side that comes with the vigilante life and made the characters a lot more flawed and relatable.
Prometheus (2012)
Prometheus can be a hard movie to stomach because not only is it grisly, it’s unpleasant, as the film contains quite a few of the most despicable characters from the Alien movies. It’s also a film with some seriously lofty expectations of itself, but like Peter Weyland and his crew, it asks more questions than it’s prepared to have answered.
TurnNburn particularly defended Scott’s film with “I’m getting pretty f****** sick of the people that say it wasn’t a good movie. It was a decent movie.” They then qualify how it’s all about the individual: “Movies are subjective and not everyone likes the same thing. A movie I may find dull and boring others may find to be a cult classic.”
Cats (2019)
2019’s adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats started generating toxic word of mouth from the moment the first trailer aired. With visuals that pushed the uncanny valley to a new depth, Tom Hooper’s film swiftly became somewhat of a punchline. However, it’s begun to generate its inevitable cult fan base.
Newbielurker wrote, “Cats. Look it’s weird, but it’s not any weirder than its source material, and the storyline is actually an improvement.” While it might not have impressed the critics, it’s fair to appreciate the hard work that went into making the film look great (if not also creepy). Those who worked in the CGI department deserve a lot more praise considering that they managed to make the cats so real.
