Most overrated SF/F films

[Thunderstorm]

I know I run the risk of being chased by a mob with torches and pitchforks for this, but...Blade Runner. Sorry, thought it was intensely dull, slow, often inaudible and every time I've tried to watch it I fall asleep or get bored. I know it's almost a sacred film to many, but I'll pass.

Blade Runner has been mentioned several times already so you're not alone.

Now for probably being alone - I'll add

Matrix (never bothered watching the sequels). Once they did the 2nd slo-mo scene that was 1 too many. I think I have watched most of it by now in bits and pieces. And it was a ripoff of Dark City to which gets me more pissed at it.

And now to have people faint

Lord of the Rings - it seems nicely filmed and really don't have a problem with the acting I saw but the storyline

I haven't read the books but I'd heard it was a lushly filmed fantasy story so when it came on cable I sat down in front of the tv prepared to be wowed and the voiceover starts at the beginning of the movie - I think my jaw might have hit the floor. When that part was over, I went - oh brother, this is what this is about, you've got to be kidding me. Tried to give it a try anyway but lasted about 20 min before I decided it was a waste of my time (and suspension of disbelief). I watched some more of one of the movies some time later - some scene going up/down a long set of stairs but only lasted 10 min.

[AlbinoMonkeyC]

Blade Runner has been mentioned several times already so you're not alone.

Now for probably being alone - I'll add

Matrix (never bothered watching the sequels). Once they did the 2nd slo-mo scene that was 1 too many. I think I have watched most of it by now in bits and pieces. And it was a ripoff of Dark City to which gets me more pissed at it.

And now to have people faint

Lord of the Rings - it seems nicely filmed and really don't have a problem with the acting I saw but the storyline

I haven't read the books but I'd heard it was a lushly filmed fantasy story so when it came on cable I sat down in front of the tv prepared to be wowed and the voiceover starts at the beginning of the movie - I think my jaw might have hit the floor. When that part was over, I went - oh brother, this is what this is about, you've got to be kidding me. Tried to give it a try anyway but lasted about 20 min before I decided it was a waste of my time (and suspension of disbelief). I watched some more of one of the movies some time later - some scene going up/down a long set of stairs but only lasted 10 min.

Yeah, that's the problem right there.

[Thunderstorm]

Yeah, that's the problem right there.

So then the books have an entirely different plotline and leave out the One Ring stuff? I thought that was the basis of the story and that's my biggest problem.

If the movies aren't any good without the books then they should say so upfront.

I haven't read any of the Harry Potter books, but the 1st and 3rd movies were ok.

[Cold Fuzz]

So then the books have an entirely different plotline and leave out the One Ring stuff? I thought that was the basis of the story and that's my biggest problem.

If the movies aren't any good without the books then they should say so upfront.

I haven't read any of the Harry Potter books, but the 1st and 3rd movies were ok.

Tolkien-style fantasy isn't everybody's cup of tea. Some people react to it in a manner similar to the way a lot of people on this thread were turned off by 2001. I certainly didn't care for 2001 very much.

I actually watched Fellowship of the Ring before I read any of Tolkien's works (including the Silmarillion). The movies stood just fine on their own to me.

[SaberBlade]

I actually watched Fellowship of the Ring before I read any of Tolkien's works (including the Silmarillion). The movies stood just fine on their own to me.

Same here. I hadn't, and still have not, read the LotR/Hobbit/Simarillion books, and the LotR trilogy was great to me. I can understand how people who have read the books may not like them, but I think they should stand on their feet to anyone who just wants a good movie and has not read the books.

[AlbinoMonkeyC]

So then the books have an entirely different plotline and leave out the One Ring stuff? I thought that was the basis of the story and that's my biggest problem.

If the movies aren't any good without the books then they should say so upfront.

I haven't read any of the Harry Potter books, but the 1st and 3rd movies were ok.

no comment.

[jmoz]

I've read the Hobbit, that was excellent. Then I started the trilogy, and was quickly turned off by the excessive descriptions, he seems to describe almost every blade of grass. It got too dense for me with the descriptive detailing. I stopped in the middle of the second one.

I've tried Simarillion but that's also too dense for me. As dense as Hyperion was with his obsession with Keats. I'm just not cut out for appreciation of his work I guess, don't have that strong of a literary background or understanding for it.

I'm looking forward to the Hobbit though. Dwarves are great. Even if they are silly.

[AlbinoMonkeyC]

I've read the Hobbit, that was excellent. Then I started the trilogy, and was quickly turned off by the excessive descriptions, he seems to describe almost every blade of grass. It got too dense for me with the descriptive detailing. I stopped in the middle of the second one.

I've tried Simarillion but that's also too dense for me. As dense as Hyperion was with his obsession with Keats. I'm just not cut out for appreciation of his work I guess, don't have that strong of a literary background or understanding for it.

I'm looking forward to the Hobbit though. Dwarves are great. Even if they are silly.

Dwarves are fun!!

[Cold Fuzz]

I've read the Hobbit, that was excellent. Then I started the trilogy, and was quickly turned off by the excessive descriptions, he seems to describe almost every blade of grass. It got too dense for me with the descriptive detailing. I stopped in the middle of the second one.

I've tried Simarillion but that's also too dense for me. As dense as Hyperion was with his obsession with Keats. I'm just not cut out for appreciation of his work I guess, don't have that strong of a literary background or understanding for it.

I'm looking forward to the Hobbit though. Dwarves are great. Even if they are silly.

Tolkien's syntax in the Silmarillion is pretty extreme but it does soften up as you progress through the book and you get used to it. The first introductory chapters of Fellowship of the Ring were almost unreadable for me, actually.

Now that poem Hyperion is some dense stuff by Keats. That kind of literature I just can't get into. My English Lit. professor from 14 years ago would be so sad to hear me say that.

[Thunderstorm]

no comment.

Hey everyone has their likes and dislikes, yours is Star Wars - mine is LOTR

[AlbinoMonkeyC]

Hey everyone has their likes and dislikes, yours is Star Wars - mine is LOTR

I don't dislike Star Wars, I just can't stand it when people hate on the newer trilogy. Or say it's the best thing since sliced bread, as that title belongs to Stargate.

[Sp!der]

It is still Avatar... and it ever will be.

[Purgatory]

I think LotR is a work of art and is pretty basic, at least as far as epic descriptive fantasy fiction goes. You have to realise that Tolkien was trying to make up for a perceived lack of genuine mythology within the English-speaking world. He seems to have been trying to replicate the Norse kind of fantastical mythology. I guess his wider achievement was in creating a whole genre of fiction that many try to plagiarise today for their own posterity. Not that I dislike fantasy as a genre, nor do I refuse to . . . dabble in it myself, I just think that Tolkien's achievements were exceptional whether you like them, dislike them, whether you admire or are annoyed by his style. I'm a massive fan of Lord of the Rings, it's a bit weird and gay (not in a gay way), but has stood the test of time in that it's still very readable today and seems modern enough to me that it might have been written yesterday. The Silmarillion on the other hand is utter bile, reams of names and places and back-story that go nowhere for a long time.

[j_talyn]

Avatar = Incredibly Over-rated, as are all James Cameron movies. He's just not into solid writing, more style than substance.

Matrix Reload and Revolutions = Really????

2001 = Boring!

Star Trek IV... like really? no offense.... but its the one even numbered Trek that is the weakest.....

[xxxevilgrinxxx]

When I first heard that LOTR was going to be made into a movie, I kind of cringed. LOTR was the first book I ever bought with my own money and gets re-read on a fairly regular basis. It's near and dear and I feared a hatchet job. While the movies are in no way like the books, the feel of it was there. I don't think they were overrated at all and on top of that, a whole lot of people ended up reading the books into the bargain.

Avatar still takes that cake