"The Plot Seemed Like It Was Written By A Child": 29 Super-Popular Movies People Think Are Wayyyy Overrated
A while back, we asked the BuzzFeed Community to tell us the movies they didn't understand the hype for, and we got a ton of responses. So, here are 29 beloved films people hated with a passion!
We also used some replies from these two threads.
1.Dune
"As a huge Denis Villeneuve fan, I never thought I’d be disappointed. But I could never get behind the story, the slow buildup, or most of the characters."
"They put all of their focus on the visuals and forgot about developing the characters. The whole movie felt like nothing happened, and none of the characters had time to develop personalities, somehow."
"I was struggling to stay awake during Dune."
2.Wonder Woman
"My friend said that the first Wonder Woman movie was 'phenomenal' and that she was going to watch it for a second time and invited me along. I waited until it was on cable. I'm glad I didn't spend the money on a ticket. For me, it was meh."
3.Avatar
"Avatar. All the hype 15 YEARS TO MAKE, GOING TO BREAK ALL THE RECORDS, JAMES CAMERON'S FIRST MOVIE AFTER TITANIC!! So long, so boring."
"Watched about 20 minutes before I went to sleep. Woke up halfway through the battle toward the end. Went and made a sandwich instead of watching the ending."
"The visuals did not distract me from the story being a direct ripoff of Pocahontas /Dances with Wolves."
"Great 3D, but the plot seemed like it was written by a child."
"I didn’t like Greta Gerwig’s Little Women, and other women act like I’m a POS because of it. My MIL showed it to me and was convinced I would be obsessed with it, but I found all the characters overly simple, boring, or annoying. There’s so little mainstream female-made content we get to enjoy, and this was just another disappointment."
"It was the boomiest boomer movie that ever boomed. It's literally 'old man puts young millennial hotshots in their place, the movie.'"
"When he LITERALLY threw the rule book in the bin, I was fucking out."
"The obligatory topless football scene at the beach just because of the volleyball scene in the first movie made me realize Maverick is just rehashed and has little innovation or originality; it’s just fan-service for fans of the original."
"The only thing making it fun was the action — literally everything else was so bland and goopily sentimental, just like the first film."
"In the original you had F-14s dogfighting A-4s, that was pretty cool and highly authentic. But the way they forced it into being about F-18s making a Death Star run, and then magically ending up with an F-14 fighting Su-57s and winning? Suddenly Stealth looks like a documentary."
6.Hereditary
"I'm a huge fan of horror, and this was just a giant mess. It didn't know what it wanted to be, which was disappointing. Toni Collette was amazing, but then again, she always is. I can't believe the names I've been called for saying I don't like it. But I remember walking out of the theater and listening to a lot of folks saying 'What the hell did I just watch.' That was the best part of the movie."
"Hereditary was so boring and just not scary/spooky at all. I was just bored. The acting is the only thing that saves it."
7.Paranormal Activity
"I thought it was going to be terrifying and watched it late at night with the lights off to maximize creepiness. It was so lame and not scary that at the end I remember thinking, 'That was it?' It's scored so many prequels, sequels, etc. when it was just not good."
8.IT (both parts, but especially Chapter 2)
"The new version of IT, especially part two. There’s a reason why the book starts with the characters as adults and only gradually you discover what happened to them as kids. By doing it backward, they pretty much killed the suspense for the entire part two, because you already know what’s haunting them, and the whole movie is pretty much just waiting for Pennywise to jump out of somewhere. Even as someone who is terrified of clowns, this was two hours of boredom with 'Oh, an abandoned house. It would be a real, real shame if there was a homicidal clown hiding in there somewhere.'"
9.Dunkirk
"Definitely Dunkirk. If I hadn't been with someone, I would have left halfway through. Dull and duller. Also, I'm not usually one to nitpick technical aspects, but fighter planes don't magically turn into gliders. Yes, you can glide a plane out of fuel to a runway. You cannot glide a plane back and forth across a beach, never losing altitude or speed. Also, those were clearly modern apartment blocks in the background of the fighter plane scenes."
10.Avengers: Endgame
"When I first saw Avengers: Endgame, I was very disappointed. The way they treated Thor and Hulk, a lot of the comedy not working, a rat saving Ant-Man, Thanos sucking...it didn’t help that me and my family went to a 2:30 a.m. showing Friday night. I distinctly remember walking out of the theater, tired eyes staring off, realizing I had waited a whole year for THIS. Now my opinion has changed — I’d give it a 6/10 — but my younger self was completely justified."
11.La La Land
"La La Land was horrible, and it was hard because I loved most of the actors and actresses. I cried because of how bad it was especially because I had heard such good things about it."
"I love musicals, I love dance sequences, I love Ryan Gosling *AND* Emma Stone! I was so excited for this movie, it won awards…I have to say. I truly hated it, especially the ending."
"La La Land is garbage, I wish I could get that time back. The world did not need a movie about Ryan Gosling white-mansplaining jazz to John Legend."
12.Barbie
"I liked the Barbie movie, but I didn't think it was as amazing or revolutionary as everyone is making it out to be. There are a ton of other movies and shows with the exact same theme and message. Maybe it's because I'm currently watching Handmaid's Tale, so Barbie kinda pales in comparison, LOL."
13.Gone Girl
"I was ecstatic when I found out they were making a movie of the book, but just as I feared, the plot twist that made me gasp out loud when reading wasn’t done any sort of justice on screen. It was disappointing to say the least."
14.Midsommar
"Everyone hyped it up, saying it's the best horror movie ever. I almost went to see it in theaters. A couple of years later, I watched it online, and it was honestly just a boring waste of time."
"I thought it was bloated garbage."
"Midsommar was a waste of my time. Florence Pugh owes me 2.5 hours of my life back."
15.The Batman
"Hot take but The Batman. Bored me to tears, and the action sequences were underwhelming. I’m especially disappointed because I wanted to like this movie so, so badly. Because the trailers were incredible."
"It’s like, 'here’s the backstory of this person and this person and this person.' Give me some fucking action."
16.Frozen
"So many people were talking how it was the best Disney movie EVER, even beating out The Lion King, which is a big claim to make. The movie wasn't bad by any means, but it didn't even remotely live up to the hype, and therefore, left pretty disappointed in it."
"To be clear, this was after it had been out for a little, and "Let It Go" was everywhere. I finally had the opportunity to see it on TV, and just kind of thought it was lame. Characters commenting on how fast Anna fell for Hans felt too much like movie meta-commentary which I don't love, and while I actually like the twist villain, keeping that secret made all the previous movie conflict feel contrived."
17.A Quiet Place
"It's not a poorly made movie, and I don't like to nitpick plot holes in movies much. But to me almost every major event/element in the movie was mind-numbingly stupid, unbelievable, or just didn't make any sense.
I get suspension of disbelief, but everything about this movie just seemed dumb to me."
"I struggled to immerse myself because it just didn’t make any sense. I was very surprised by the score on Rotten Tomatoes."
18.Inside Out
"It was a new Pixar movie, and by all reports, one of the best ones in a while.
Both my partner and I hated the movie. Felt like it was not only a poor representation of how people process emotions, but it otherwise was just a long string of emotionally manipulative scenes that didn't work because we didn't care about any of the characters."
"I thought it really failed at what should’ve been a fun buddy comedy/adventure. The relationship between Joy and Sadness is never developed. Sadness is just dragged around like a football until Joy realizes she is useful. I wanted to see more give and take as the polar opposites learn something from each other.
I feel like the message about allowing negative emotions to exist would’ve come about more naturally this way, and we’d have felt more attached to our two lead characters. Instead, the movie directs our emotional investment to…an imaginary friend who appears for a few scenes and then dissolves? Cheap."
19.The Shape of Water
Suggested by u/CousinGregory
"One of the most overrated movies ever. Boring as hell and disappointing. I was so disappointed that I literally gave the Blu-ray to my roommate at the time. "
"I found it profoundly disturbing. The sex scenes between the lead and the creature felt like bestiality to me."
"It's one of those movies that gets dumber and dumber the more you think about it. Like, her friend reacting with a simple, 'Oh, you' to what is basically zoophilia is just the icing on the cake."
20.Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
"It had lots of Oscar wins, and there was so much buzz. When I watched it, I was just so disappointed. Was waiting for at least a mind-blowing plot twist, but it never happened."
"Birdman was the worst, most self-important piece of garbage I've ever seen in a theater. I almost walked out. I only stayed because I was with my husband."
21.Joker
"It was way overhyped and never lived up to what I thought it would."
"Whenever someone calls that movie deep, I get confused; it brings up so many things without ever taking the time to talk about anything or explore anything well enough to say it has a cohesive theme."
"One of the clearest examples of a screenplay being adapted to an established IP; otherwise it would never get greenlit. It should've been called The Clown or something and had nothing to do with the Batman universe.
Instead we got this half-assed attempt at being a part of this universe. There's a good screenplay in there or at least there once was on someone's hard drive."
"It's just a poor man's Scorsese film with a Batman theme inserted into the script to sell it. If this movie had come out exactly the same except the 'Joker' was just a generic clown, it wouldn't have done 10% of the box office it ended up doing."
22.Bohemian Rhapsody
"Acting and casting was good. I was able to look past some of the creative changes to the actual story for the sake of pacing and fluffing up what would be a pretty boring story in real life. But the editing was AWFUL. Rather than flowing into anything, the movie is basically just a series of short scenes that kind of tie together into a story (which incidentally isn't all that accurate). Somehow this won an Oscar for editing."
"Bohemian Rhapsody was just a movie. I watched it, and my reaction was basically 'well, that's a movie I've seen.' Literally the most mundane movie I've ever seen."
"I hated Bohemian Rhapsody as well and didn’t get the hype for the movie or performances. I thought Rocketman did a better job with a similar type of movie (though Bryce Dallas Howard’s casting was inexplicable)."
If you don't know what they're talking about re: the editing, here's an example:
I've just been reminded that Bohemian Rhapsody won an Oscar for Best Film Editing. Let's hope tonight is less embarassing. pic.twitter.com/JKER7q9KV5
— Amon Warmann (@AmonWarmann) April 25, 2021
20th Century Fox / Twitter: @AmonWarmann
23.Everything Everywhere All at Once
"I absolutely hated how they chose to end that movie. ... The core of the movie was the relationship between Evelyn and Joy. The movie did an incredible job of showing the relationship dynamics between an emotionally abusive parent and their child. ... Joy is suicidal and has spent the entire movie seeking out validation from and connection with Evelyn. The movie very clearly shows us that Joy's feelings are a result of how Evelyn has treated her. This is seemingly true in every universe. ... The movie did a great job showing this kind of relationship, why it's bad, and even some of the causes of it with the generational trauma aspect.
At the climax of the movie, it tells us that Evelyn has decided to be kind and that she and Joy will mend their relationship. They talk the parking lot, join in a tearful embrace, and heal together. It's a very touching moment, a happy ending, and gives us all a great resolution to the story... At least that's what the movie wants you to think.
What we actually see is Joy, having just attempted suicide and having informed Evelyn that their relationship is making them both miserable, telling her mother that she is going to leave. Joy is then is stopped by Evelyn. Does Evelyn apologize for her actions here? No. Instead, Evelyn doubles down on all of the criticism telling Joy that she is fat, selfish, and there is no logical reason for anyone to want to be with her. Then adding that she will also choose to be there with her.
This is not a happy ending; this is not the cycle of abuse being stopped; this is not the end of generational trauma. It's just Joy returning to the same old toxic relationship where her mother emotionally abuses her, but the movie frames it like it is a heartwarming moment. It's Evelyn finally giving Joy a shred of the validation she has been seeking, but not actually changing in any meaningful way. It is just solidifying their toxic and abusive relationship, and telling others to do the same.
For me, this ending is so insidious that I can't enjoy the movie. The core of the movie is a mother-daughter relationship, but they fuck it up so badly at the end. Maybe the writers should have spent less time cramming in one last 'raccacoonie' joke and actually devoted an ounce of brainpower to the emotional core of the movie."
24.Mad Max: Fury Road
"It's ridiculously simplistically plotted, the theme of male toxicity vs. female fecundity is as subtle as a brick to the head, the dialogue is asinine, and the protagonist was clearly never going to be Mad Max, so it was a bald-faced bait and switch.
Sure, the action scenes are awesome, but great stunts and camera work can't offset all the flaws of this turd."
25.The Hateful Eight
"It's a completely stupid, boring, trashy, long movie that sucks the life out of you.
Quentin Tarantino is a brilliant director. I haven't kept up with all his recent movies, but his wanting to use the n-word in every sentence throughout that movie is just too immature. The dude's mind is stuck in that one scene in Pulp Fiction. Time to move on."
26.Spider-Man: Homecoming
"It already ticked me off that we were getting a new Spider-Man, and I didn't know who the new Spider-Man was (because I didn't watch Civil War), but the previous movies were great, what could go wrong?
I hated the entirety of the movie. He's the most age accurate Spider-Man, but I really hate how he has a 'special suit' that Tony made for him, and unlike the other Spider-Man movies, he didn't make his own, and was handed it over."
27.Skinamarink
"Skinamarink got so much hype, I rented it right away because I was expecting this really cool game-changer. It really is boring, stupid, you can barely see it, and we should not have to use our imagination this much. Even the last sort of goofy reveal of a shape or whatever, I was like, just fucking roll credits."
"I'm a horror fan, always looking for the next film to scare the shit out of me. Enter bloody Skinamarink. Now, I'm a film festival girlie, I can handle experimental, slow moving, weird, all of that. It's not a problem for me, but that bloody movie did my head in. It's 90 minutes of shots of the corners of rooms, and badly tracked public domain cartoons that flicker so much it set off my migraines. There's two moments across NINETY MINUTES that are even a tiny bit disturbing, and one of those is literally the last scene. They say it's supposed to tap into your childhood fears, and play on that, but all it did was bore me silly."
"I expected to be scared or to have some old childhood fear of mine perk up (like many people said online, calling it a 'genius movie'), but instead it was just grainy pictures of corners, a fucked-up little phone, and short parts of cartoons."
28.Elvis
"I expected something more than just one montage scene after another."
29.And finally... Citizen Kane
"Eff anyone who says it's a 'must see.' It is not a must see unless you're a film student or studying history, and even then...Rosebud is a sled. There. You're welcome."
What movie is everyone obsessed with that you can't stand? Let us know in the comments!
Submissions have been edited for length/clarity.
