Your favorite vilified movie

[Kyrian007]

I've got 3 I can think of off hand.

Split Second: Rutger Hauer, Neil Duncan, and Kim Catrall. Hauer's character, Harley Stone (yeah, outstanding right) is a caffeine and sugar fueled paranoid gun freak cop on the edge. Neil Duncan is his fastidious rookie partner. And together they fight a monster that is half xenomorph and half Zodiac killer.

Hudson Hawk: Bruce Willis and Danny Aiello singing duets while robbing museums. Oh and a gun that fires exploding plungers.

And the one that really fits the vilified category...

Southland Tales: I'm a huge fan of Richard Kelly. Southland Tales isn't Darko, but I don't really get all the hate towards this movie. I understand why people don't LIKE it, but hate kind of puzzles me. Me, I just love the casting. It's about the worst ensemble cast ever thrown together, and the couple of decent actors in the thing (mostly John Lovitz) are crazily miscast. Its cast like someone cast every part on a dare. And yet, it comes together somehow and works. I loved it, I was glued to my chair. I'm not sure why. Partly its because I don't throw 1 hr and 29 minutes of a movie under the bus if the last minute throws a huge curveball and the ending is terrible. Like Shepard Book, I've always thought the journey was the worthier part.

 

[Strelok]

Mortal Kombat

Considered a cult classic and one of the few examples of a good video game movie, also the fourth highest grossing video game movie.

Have to agree with The Village and Lady in The Water, I quite liked them, though they fall short of the big three M. Night Shyamalan films only real issue with Lady in The Water was the casting of himself as the writer of the book that changed the world, things went downhill after that.

 

[Ihateregistering1]

Mortal Kombat

Considered a cult classic and one of the few examples of a good video game movie, also the fourth highest grossing video game movie.

Have to agree with The Village and Lady in The Water, I quite liked them, though they fall short of the big three M. Night Shyamalan films only real issue with Lady in The Water was the casting of himself as the writer of the book that changed the world, things went downhill after that.

I actually kind of liked Mortal Kombat too, but what bugged me was how badly they butchered Scorpion and Sub-Zero. Yes, Liu Kang, Johnny Cage, and Sonya are the 'heroes' of MK, but let's not pretend like Subs and Scorpion aren't the real stars of the series. They had a way more interesting story arc, so it felt really lame that they just turned them into henchmen for the movie.

 

[pookie101]

Howard the Duck

That movie's great, I don't care what anybody says. Yeah, it has duck boobs, but that seems only "natural" in a universe with humanoid ducks. Yeah, it has some suggested interspecies shit going on, but so did Roger Rabbit. Seriously, the only uncomfortable thing about that movie now is that Jeffrey Jones is in it.

im with you, i dont care what anyone says its an awesome action comedy

my option would be the adventures of buckaroo banzai across the 8th dimension. has the catchiest theme song in film history, has jeff goldblum in cowboy chaps and is as 80's as it can possibly be.. it has a cult following these days and people still ask for the promised sequel

I've got 3 I can think of off hand.

Split Second: Rutger Hauer, Neil Duncan, and Kim Catrall. Hauer's character, Harley Stone (yeah, outstanding right) is a caffeine and sugar fueled paranoid gun freak cop on the edge. Neil Duncan is his fastidious rookie partner. And together they fight a monster that is half xenomorph and half Zodiac killer.

Hudson Hawk: Bruce Willis and Danny Aiello singing duets while robbing museums. Oh and a gun that fires exploding plungers.

And the one that really fits the vilified category...

Southland Tales: I'm a huge fan of Richard Kelly. Southland Tales isn't Darko, but I don't really get all the hate towards this movie. I understand why people don't LIKE it, but hate kind of puzzles me. Me, I just love the casting. It's about the worst ensemble cast ever thrown together, and the couple of decent actors in the thing (mostly John Lovitz) are crazily miscast. Its cast like someone cast every part on a dare. And yet, it comes together somehow and works. I loved it, I was glued to my chair. I'm not sure why. Partly its because I don't throw 1 hr and 29 minutes of a movie under the bus if the last minute throws a huge curveball and the ending is terrible. Like Shepard Book, I've always thought the journey was the worthier part.

ill forgive you for mentioning southland tales purely for loving hudson hawk and split second.. you are the only person ive ever met who ive seen mention split second

 

[TristanBelmont]

Batman and Robin.

Very sill movie with OtT acting and garish lighting, but it was supposed to be. Comic heroes don't have to be serious, there's an inherent silliness to them at the best of times.

Yesssssssssssssssssssssss

I also enjoyed Godzilla '98 quite a bit, probably because of Matthew Broderick.

 

[Nimcha]

Loved the Star Wars prequels. Especially Episode 3, my favourite of the series.

All the hate they get actually makes me enjoy them even more somehow.

 

[Silvanus]

Probably James Cameron's Avatar, which I maintain was a solid action movie.


Matrix Reloaded and the first two Star Wars prequels also have big redeeming features, and are still worth watching.

 

[happyninja42]

Mortal Kombat 1

Actually good movie, and other people thought so.

Mortal Kombat

Considered a cult classic and one of the few examples of a good video game movie, also the fourth highest grossing video game movie.

Have to agree with The Village and Lady in The Water, I quite liked them, though they fall short of the big three M. Night Shyamalan films only real issue with Lady in The Water was the casting of himself as the writer of the book that changed the world, things went downhill after that.

I actually kind of liked Mortal Kombat too, but what bugged me was how badly they butchered Scorpion and Sub-Zero. Yes, Liu Kang, Johnny Cage, and Sonya are the 'heroes' of MK, but let's not pretend like Subs and Scorpion aren't the real stars of the series. They had a way more interesting story arc, so it felt really lame that they just turned them into henchmen for the movie.

From what I've seen in general conversation among gamers and nerds, the Mortal Kombat movie isn't considered very good overall. Sure some people like it, myself included, but there seems to be a strong opinion that it's a terrible movie, and a terrible game adaptation. Hence why I put it in the "vilified" section, as I more often hear people say it sucks than it's good/fun.

I remember seeing that movie when it came out in the theaters. I was high as hell, and basically had the theater to myself. The theater went dark, and that voice screamed out in surround sound "MORTAL KOMBAAAAAT!!!" and thus drums, those fucking DRUMS kicked in with that awesome techno track. I got chills from that shit, seriously. That opening sequence alone was worth my admission xD

Actually, you should check out Film Den over on channel awesome. I forget her name, I think it's Ursula? She does a show called Film Den there, she just recently completed her 2 part review of MK 1, and why she thought it was the best game/movie adaptation there is. Also just having fun talking about a movie she loves. xD I enjoyed her review quite a bit. I would link it, but I'm at work, and trying to go to that site would basically kill my graphic card.

Loved the Star Wars prequels. Especially Episode 3, my favourite of the series.

All the hate they get actually makes me enjoy them even more somehow.

Yeah, I wasn't really angered by the prequels. I didn't find them all that great, but I didn't scream BETRAAAAYAL!! And accuse them of "raping my childhood" like some people do. They were just mediocre scifi movies to me. I've seen WAAAAY worse movies out there. They just had the unfortunate problem of having to deal with 30+ years of compounded nerd frenzy/fandom as far as expectations go.

Southland Tales: I'm a huge fan of Richard Kelly. Southland Tales isn't Darko, but I don't really get all the hate towards this movie. I understand why people don't LIKE it, but hate kind of puzzles me. Me, I just love the casting. It's about the worst ensemble cast ever thrown together, and the couple of decent actors in the thing (mostly John Lovitz) are crazily miscast. Its cast like someone cast every part on a dare. And yet, it comes together somehow and works. I loved it, I was glued to my chair. I'm not sure why. Partly its because I don't throw 1 hr and 29 minutes of a movie under the bus if the last minute throws a huge curveball and the ending is terrible. Like Shepard Book, I've always thought the journey was the worthier part.

The only bit of this movie I liked, was that they actually made a Jane's Addiction reference, and incorporated my FAVORITE song by them into the dialogue of the film. It made no fucking sense, but the JA fan in me sort of squeed when they did it.

 

[FalloutJack]

Zoop

I'm calling it like it is: Your Mileage May Vary. As opposed to how other video game movies have ended up, this was actually fun and entertaining. And being an MK fan, I would know this even at the young age I saw it in.

 

[happyninja42]

Zoop

I'm calling it like it is: Your Mileage May Vary. As opposed to how other video game movies have ended up, this was actually fun and entertaining. And being an MK fan, I would know this even at the young age I saw it in.

Well, my mileage is the same as yours when it comes to those movies, including Annihilation. I'm just calling it like I see it from other sources. But cool, if it's actually not vilified, then great, but I seem to meet/hear the people who don't like it apparently.

 

[FalloutJack]

Zoop

I'm calling it like it is: Your Mileage May Vary. As opposed to how other video game movies have ended up, this was actually fun and entertaining. And being an MK fan, I would know this even at the young age I saw it in.

Well, my mileage is the same as yours when it comes to those movies, including Annihilation. I'm just calling it like I see it from other sources. But cool, if it's actually not vilified, then great, but I seem to meet/hear the people who don't like it apparently.

I could have done without Annihilation. I mean, it's fun enough, but let's just face it... It was an MK3 plot and that's just not so good.

 

[Callate]

One of my favorite movies of all time is 'Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within'. I have only ever met one other person in real life who says they liked it, and I sell dvds so it comes up a lot. I've had people tell me they can no longer be my friend (jokingly) after finding out.

And I've never understood why it is so hated my so many, to me it was a really good movie.

FF:TSW is one of those movies that I'm not at all sorry that I saw (in a theater, no less); it's a technical marvel, visually gorgeous, and probably the best attempt to have something approaching photo-realistic CG actors in leading roles we got until Avatar. And for that alone, I'd agree that it doesn't deserve hatred.

...It also features two scenes of someone running forward yelling "Noooooooo....!" while firing their gun wildly. In close succession. It felt like... Well, what it probably was, honestly: the attempt of someone from outside of the cultural milieu that is responsible for western-style action-scifi blockbusters to create a western-style action-scifi blockbuster, someone who had all the pieces but didn't really understand the tropes and cliches quite well enough to get why they shouldn't be put together in particular ways.

I don't hate it for that; it feels almost unkind to do so. If it hadn't cost $137 million (in 2001...!) to make it, it might well have gotten a lot less criticism. But much like Howard the Duck or Ishtar, a big budget and grandiose expectaions puts the spotlight on every shortcoming.

---

As for me, I'd go with Freejack. It doesn't hold up all that well on a second viewing, I have to admit, but the first time I saw it with the various surprises, lines, and plot twists yet to be discovered... From Mick Jagger's amused bounty hunter to Amanda Plummer's belligerent, shotgun-wielding nun, I have a heap of affection for it.

 

[CrimsonBlaze]

I want to say Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, or as many people might remember it as "that one Michael Bay movie where a giant robot has two wrecking balls for a scrotum."

When I first saw it, I liked all the action...and frankly that's the only reason why I go back to it.

Fun fact: if you only watch parts that involve the Transformers and fast forward the boring human bits, it is actually quite enjoyable. I wonder why they haven't made a purely all Transformer movie, without humans?

And before you say anything, that was a rhetorical question (product placement, money, explosions, human casting, more money, more explosions, continuing a exponentially hated cash cow, did I mention explosions? etc. etc.).

 

[WolfThomas]

3. It has aliens. This one I really don't understand: when I ask people about why Crystal Skull is bad, an extremely common response is just to say "it has aliens in it," and it just baffles me that this is such a huge sticking point. Yes, it is different from the originals, when Indy was hunting for religious relics, but it is also a movie meant to emulate the pulp fiction of the eras they are set in. The originals were set in the pre-WWII time of treasure hunting, tombs in the ancient parts of the world, and stories like The Maltese Falcon or King Solomon's Mines. The 1950's were the time of science fiction, UFOs, distant aliens and Cold War paranoia: the difference in time period made the inclusion of sci-fi entirely appropriate. Just because it is different doesn't mean it is bad.

I didn't like it. But I agree it's not because of Aliens. Nazis hunt religious icons. Communists hunt Aliens in the 50's that all made sense to me.

 

[KissingSunlight]

I didn't think it was possible to dislike Paint Your Wagon until I happened across Roger Ebert's review of it. He rips it apart six ways from Sunday, in his inimitable style, and goes out of his way to make sure the reader understands that he's not just being a curmudgeon about it - he outright loathes the movie, and genuinely feels that it has no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

I did some quick Googling, and there is indeed surprisingly little love for Paint Your Wagon.

Still, I love this magnificent movie. I greatly admire the lavish and ambitious production - the rise and fall of a boom town during the California gold rush, sheds and shanties popping up around a diminutive but gold-bearing creek as a rich and colorful society evolves practically overnight. The setting is so far into the unknown, uncharted territories of the Old West that civilization is viewed as some unseen novelty no more relevant to daily affairs than the tales of Sceherazade, and the rules are made up as needed.

There's a fun, engaging and genuinely poignant main plot concerning the only woman in town being married to two men - which makes sense to the populace because the two men in question are partners sharing one claim, and the only law available for any purpose (mining, marriage, you name it) is the mining law which dictates that what belongs to one partner belongs to them both.

To me, however, the main attraction is the set itself. There is no photographic trickery - the production company actually built the complete, full-scale town in the middle of the woods, and later destroyed it in a magnificent spectacle that must be seen to be believed. No expense was spared - unless you count the legions of extras who make up the bulk of the town's population. The vast majority of these were hippies recruited from nearby San Fransisco, who required no costumes or make-up because they already looked as much like 19th century prospectors as was considered humanly possible! (The movie was made in 1969.)

Oh, and did I mention -

Spoiler

- it's a musical?

Also, if there's one thing I really can't believe, it's that Lee Marvin's singing gets dissed.

Spoiler: Lee Marvin's singing - click to be amazed

I mean, come ON!

Fun fact: This is the only musical (so far) to star Clint Eastwood!

I LOVE Paint Your Wagon. Which is ironic, because I hate musicals. You forgot to mention the all-time classic song from the movie.


I am surprised that nobody mentioned Sucker Punch yet. Man! Did that movie received a lot of hate.

Jupiter Ascending
Bedazzled (Brendan Fraser/Elizabeth Hurley)
Jersey Girl (Kevin Smith)
Actually all Kevin Smith movies that didn't feature Jay & Silent Bob
A Million Ways To Die In The West

I'm sure there's more, but those are the ones I can think of now.

 

[baddude1337]

I really like Predator 2, and consider it superior to the first one, and recognise what it did for Predator lore. The Predator got a greatly expanded arsenal, with the speargun, netgun, smart disc and multiple vision modes all first appearing here.

The actual movie is just good fun, with a pretty good cast. Gary Busey, Bill Paxron and Danny Glover.

 

[Dwarfman]

I'm currently in a playful feud with a good friend of mine because he doesn't like Willow and Lady Hawk. I personally think they are both solid fantasy sword&sorcery movies.

In that regard I also enjoy Johnny Mnemonic. So many people trash this film, but I think it's a really fun romp and a great introduction into the Cyber punk/Shadowrun genre.

Alien vs Predator 2; I thought was a lot of fun as well. Yes the first movie attempt sucked balls deeper than a porn star, and whilst it's successor - no pun intended - could never be called a great film, I just had so much fun watching it! The Preda-alien was awesome - despite the wierd method it used to make more aliens; The pred weapons were awesome - I had a fangasm when I saw the Predator whip out the Pred Pistol; And the humans all died in very satisfactory ways - especially the cheerleader in the hospital. That was just nasty!

Lastly Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Kingdom of the Chrystal Skull. I just don't get the hate for this film, especially in regards to the so called 'lack of realism' and the vitriol against the aliens. The whole hide in the fridge against the nuclear bomb blast made sense for the time. People back then actually thought shit like that would work, so why not make that part of your 'pulp fiction' style movie from the time - Shit! We play a game called Fallout that is - when you think about it - loosely based on the similar 'pulp fiction' and 'popular science' of the same time period! No complaints about realism there!
And as for the aliens...Chariots of the Gods people? Never heard of it? Lucas and Spielberg have. It was a book written in 1968 based around the popular theory that the ancient tribes were influence by aliens. The book makes extra effort in regards to South American kingdoms and culture. People back then really believed that fucking aliens built the pyramids and the huge drawings in South America were runways and obscure instructions for UFOs.

 

[WindKnight]

Star Trek 3 - the Search For Spock.

Tends to get unfairly called bad because of the whole 'all odd numbered trek films are awful' shtick, its really not bad at all, and I really enjoy it. Admittedly, its not as good as 2 and 4, but it is in no way a bad film.

 

[deleted+75193]

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