It’s been said time and time again that a classic is something that is often quoted but rarely read. The same can be said about some of our “favorite” films, heralded as classics of the age.
However, it’s my assertion that we watch many of our ” favorite ” films through the lens of rose-colored glasses. See what I mean and check out these “classic” movies most people love that are actually just plain boring .
‘There Will Be Blood’
In this self-indulgent period piece, Daniel Day-Lewis doesn’t just drink our milkshake — he also completely wastes nearly three hours of the audience’s life. The entire “I’m an oil man” speech is redundant and only serves to annoy and aggravate.
‘Avatar’
If you left the theater with a feeling of familiarity after watching Avatar , that’s not a coincidence. All James Cameron managed to do was to cherrypick the best aspects of Fern Gully and Dances With Wolves , and then slap them together.
‘True Grit (2010)’
Jeff Bridges may indeed be “The Dude” but as was plain to see in his portrayal of Rooster Cogburn in True Grit — he will never be “The Duke.” This reboot was little more than an insult to the legacy of John Wayne.
‘Captain America: The First Avenger’
Captain America is about as vanilla as superheroes come. He’s whiny, self-righteous, and incredibly dull to watch on screen without his supporting cast of Avengers. I’d even go as far as to say that First Avenger is one of the most-boring Marvel movies ever made.
‘The Revenant’
I will never understand how Leo won an Oscar for his role in The Revenant. Don’t get me wrong, I think that he’s a phenomenal actor, but for a good two hours of this film, he does little more than grunt and groans.
‘Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope’
Before you say anything, ask yourself one question — when is the last time you’ve sat down to watch A New Hope ? I’m not saying it’s a bad movie but I guarantee you it’s not as action-packed or exciting as you recall it being. It also doesn’t hold a candle to The Empire Strikes Back .
‘The King’s Speech’
Colin Firth is deserving of recognition for his incredible performance as King George VI, but the movie as a whole is about as exciting as a trip to the dentist. How this film ever managed to win the Academy Award for ” Best Picture ” is beyond me.
‘The Godfather’
Are there glimmers of greatness in The Godfather ? Without a doubt. But I have yet to see any movie that clocks in at a three-hour runtime that couldn’t have been neatly wrapped up in two. Also, all of the scenes with Michael in Italy felt like little more than filler and were totally irrelevant to the overall plot and storyline of the film.
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‘Rear Window’
I’ve never been able to understand how Rear Window managed to rack up so much acclaim over the years. I’ll admit that for the time the cinematography was groundbreaking, but it doesn’t erase the fact that the whole movie is basically just Jimmy Stewart peeping through a camera lens for two hours.
‘On Golden Pond’
The film On Golden Pond does manage to get one thing right — Norman Thayer Junior (Henry Fonda) is an irredeemable old poop. This movie is a blatant attempt at emotional manipulation and does little more than play up cliche familial relationships and predictable tropes.
‘The Blair Witch Project’
The Blair Witch Project might not have been the first found-footage film , but it undoubtedly was the biggest contributor to the rise of the genre’s popularity throughout the ’00s and beyond. It’s not exciting or scary — it’s just plain nauseating.
‘The Deer Hunter’
Just because a film has a star-studded cast doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s worth a damn. The Deer Hunter feels as if it’s 12-hours-long, and were it not for the climactic “Russian roulette” scene at the end, would likely be all but forgettable.
‘Titanic’
Titanic may have been the film that helped launch Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet’s respective careers, but as far as I’m concerned it contains two of their worst respective performances. The hokey writing and highly implausible love story certainly don’t help matters.
‘The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy’
The only thing more boring than reading J.R.R. Tolkein’s “The Lord of the Rings” is watching Peter Jackson’s unfathomably long trilogy play out on the big screen. What’s even worse is that someone saw fit to release a director’s cut which adds another ungodly 2.5 hours of total runtime.
‘Pulp Fiction’
Not only does Pulp Fiction ‘s predictable attempts at plot convergence come off as forced, but Tarantino’s attempts at advancing the scene through dialogue make it feel as if the acclaimed director is doing his best impersonation of Richard Linklater . this film is seven different movies in one, and none of them are any good.
