The 5 most over-rated movies of all time (in my humble opinion)

Over the years, a lot of films have been certified ‘classics’ and ‘masterpieces’. On an average, I think at least a dozen films a year are considered to be ‘the greatest movies ever’. This is partly because of advancement in the art of film making and mostly because of the moral and intellectual bankruptcy of the current generation of movie goers who have been accustomed to watching very mediocre and uninspired cinema. Thus any movie that seems above average is deemed an instant classic. Here I am listing 5 movies which I think were not necessarily bad, but just very overrated and didn’t deserve the kind of acclaim they got,
WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS

5. 3 Idiots: I can already see a look of shock and outrage among the people who are reading this. One of the best movies of the year and I call it overrated? On what basis? Well it’s really simple. 3 Idiots is a good movie, no doubt about it, a crowd-pleaser with a good dose of comedy, emotion and moral and social messages thrown in. Who doesn’t like that? And I always maintain that I liked the movie, but the kind of pre-release publicity and system changing claims that the cast and crew (I’m looking at you, Aamir) made just weren’t warranted. The whole lesson to be learnt from the movie cannot work in the real world because people are NOT good at what they like all the time. If people took the advice the movie gave literally, they are going to be a lot more disappointed with life than they are now. Plus, talking in pure movie making terms, the way the plot wavered between light hearted banter to the more serious, emotional scenes seems very forced and unnecessary, almost like they tried too hard. So in short, a good movie but not the best way to convey a social message.

4. Se7en: Okay, I can already see the knives coming out already. Se7en is considered a cult classic and one of the best movies of all time. How can I dare call it overrated? Well again, I like this movie; I just don’t think it’s the greatest movie of all time because although the plot and the pacing are near perfect, the end is very hurried and almost convoluted. Kevin Spacey, in a ten minute role overshadows both Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, but the reasons for the killings are never clear. Is he angry at the world? Is he a psychopath? Plus Pitt’s hamming in the end does not get any bonus points. And the movie ends with no real closure, what happened to John Doe, what happened to Mills? In a bid to be clever and ambiguous, all they did was end up confusing the viewer. And I like to watch movies that have REAL endings.

3. The Graduate: Dustin Hoffman’s greatest achievement as an actor, right up there with Rainman, and supposedly one of the greatest movies of all time. Okay, straight up, I did NOT like this movie. There was nothing redeeming or memorable about it, except that fact that an eighteen year old having an affair with his parents’ friend was considered very bold in the 60s. Other than this, there was nothing about this movie that seems extraordinary or outstanding. The plot is paper-thin, the actors other than Dustin Hoffman and Mrs. Robinson (Anna Bancroft) don’t seem to be doing anything at all, and the score which mostly consists of Simon and Garfunkel songs, loses its charm much before the movie ends. And the end again is infuriating because the events leading up to make seem so clumsily directed and edited that its almost a slap on the viewer’s face. I do NOT recommend, not just overrated, but plain disappointing.

2. Slumdog Millionaire: Yes, the same movie that put India and Mumbai on the world map. As a city and country full of crime, slums, thieves and poverty. Any Indian who called this an accurate depiction of India has obviously never been to Mumbai and has no idea about the city. The movie is not really bad, but it’s certainly not extraordinary. The acting was average and the storyline was nothing special. In fact some of India’s finest actors have been reduced to caricatures of themselves especially Irfan Khan, who had no business being in a movie like this playing a self depreciating role like the one he did. I can’t really fault the direction as such, but the depiction of India and the stereotypical depiction of Indians were quite insulting to watch as an Indian. They forgot that Mumbai also consists of places like Malabar Hills, Carter Road and other rich and beautiful areas. And the worst part was during the (undeserved) Oscar acceptance speech; Danny Boyle thanked the city of Mumbai and the ‘true’ spirit of its slums almost in a condescending way. This movie in a way has magnified the third world image of India around the globe.

1. No Country For Old Men: This is the movie that has literally made sure I never watch any Oscar winning movie again. I hate, hate, HATE this movie. Thinking about it makes me angry and want to kill the directors (the Coen brothers) who have also directed other overrated piles of steaming garbage like Fargo, Raising Alabama, Burn after Reading etc. But this is truly their Magnum Opus of pretentiousness and self ego stroking. Adapted from a Cormac Mccarthy novel, this ‘western’ is literally a mish mash of randomness to a point of infuriation and frustration. The reason Mccarthy was able to get away with it in the book was his writing style and sparse use of prose which adds a very visual feel to his novels (see: The Road). But in the movie, it’s literally like not one person seems to know what they are doing there. Javier Bardem is randomly killing people, Josh Brolin in randomly on the run, Tommy Lee Jones is randomly waxing eloquence without it meaning anything, and then suddenly the movie decides to stop in the middle of nowhere and ends. This movie won four Oscars, which still makes my head spin. Probably I’m not ‘smart’ enough for this kind of cinema, but I would love to see if anyone else is. Please watch this movie and tell me if it made any sense to you. If it did, you owe me a long detailed explanation.