The "It wasn't as bad as people said it was" thread.

[From The Shadows]

Howard The Duck. I actually liked this film. What were they expecting? The comic wasn't exactly Shakespeare.

Now how do you differentiate between really bad films that people still like or films that people say are bad but are actually really good? Or "not as bad?"

[From The Shadows]

I think the bigger problem is Lucas is just not that good with actors. He is amazing at having big ideas and action, but he has never been that good with directing people. That and he had nothing but yes men around him when he did the prequels. He needed someone to say "you know George that scene isn't working" and he had no one there to tell him that. The ideas and plots were good, and I really think if Lucas had let someone else direct the movies they would have been much better.

I'm pretty sure Harrison Ford was the one who changed the line, the response to Leia's I love you, from "I love you too" to "I know." So he at least challenged the script.

[Surf]

It was worse.

Heh, there's A LOT of worse in this thread. I'm a big fan of schlock (1950's thru late 1990's) but I feel way too many movies are getting shot bail here that, I nor I have to feel most others, wouldn't sit through if they were home sick with the flu and didn't have the strength to reach for the remote. Jus sayin'.

[williamtheday]

Santa Claus Conquers The Martians!

[Kirby101]

Now people are just taking the piss. What next "Plan 9"?

[Cyke]

Now people are just taking the piss. What next "Plan 9"?

Remember that there's appeal in movies so bad that they're considered charming, honest, and entertaining, esp in hindsight. There's a big culture of affection (esp. camp culture) for those movies because as terrible as they are, they tend to be made with heart (Ed Wood was terrible by every measure, but no one could snuff out his genuine enthusiasm). Roger Corman movies are often the same, but moreso in that his movies launched some major careers: Jack Nicholson, Martin Scorcese, Ron Howard (for direction, of course), James Cameron, Robert DeNiro, and Sandra Bullock all credit their start under his tutelage, even though his films are pretty schlocky.

By contrast, there are definitely low budget terrible movies that don't even have heart and deserve to be trashed (like much of MST3K's episodes, or any given Asylum movie), but so is it the same with many big budget Hollywood movies made more out of cynicism and cash grabs than with decent intent of art or entertainment.

I'd go so far as to say that Asylum movies are the evil twin lakes of Ed Wood - low budget, corny fare made by folks who don't know what they're doing, but one is built on audience ignorance (Transmorphers? Really?) while the other is at least a sincere attempt to entertain.

[Panic]

I actually enjoyed the Guy Richie King Arthur film. Sure, it wasn't what people want from a King Arthur film, but it was fun, and we finally get to see Excalibur actually show why it would be prized as a weapon.

[Emperor-of-Dragons]

LXG
BvS
X-Men Apocalypse, only issue I had was the special effects.
The First 2 remakes of Texas Chainsaw
The late 00's Friday the 13th
Virus
The Dead, sure it has some pacing issue. But it looks GORGEOUS!
Sucker Punch

[Cyke]

Superman Returns. Let's get some things out of the way -- yeah, it moved at a snail's pace, the actual action was pretty lackluster, and Superman was a runaway dad. So this for sure is far from the best Superman movie.

But then it has lovely moments like this that's all about shared hope (and Ottman's use of the classic Williams score is fantastic):

[Kirby101]

I liked Superman Returns. No reservations.

[Tuck]

I liked Superman Returns. No reservations.

If you watch it shortly after watching Man of Steel, it comes off legitimately good by comparison.

[Sacred Knight]

I'm the opposite. Remembering SR makes me way more forgiving of the couple of shortcomings MOS had.

[Zero Hunter]

If you watch it shortly after watching Man of Steel, it comes off legitimately good by comparison.

Not even a little.

[Speed Force League Unlimited]

Batman Forever is worse than Batman & Robin, yet I find it to be the more hilariously enjoyable of the two. I blame how lame Poison Ivy is in B&R.

Movies that really aren't as bad as people say though:

• Street Fighter: "We can all go home" is a mediocre movie, and it's actually better than Mortal Kombat, I'm not kidding. The camp and pleasant weirdness help making it a thoroughly entertaining flick that I still love to watch to this day. Mortal Kombat is actually bad, but I can watch and enjoy it without needing to splice the problems it suffers from to laugh at it.
• All the Spider-Man movies between Spider-Man 2 and Homecoming: The two movies I named there have more facepalming moments than the underrated three that came between them.

Netflix Iron Fist

I'd read for years on these boards how awful it was. I recently resubscribed to Netflix and decided to give it a go not expecting to make it past the second episode. Imagine my surprise to discover it was the best of the lot.

Not the best, but it is easily underrated and much easier to watch than its reputation suggests.

If you watch it shortly after watching Man of Steel, it comes off legitimately good by comparison.

I saw it before Man of Steel this time, and it is legitimately good without the two being compared. I admittedly watched Superman III and IV before watching the sequel of a different route that ignores those two, that helped a bit.

[TomServofan]

I liked Godzilla 1998 better than the plodding, overly serious Godzilla from 2014.

as a fan of the Japanese films, i think both films failed at attempting to do American Godzilla when he works better in Japan as the upcoming Godzilla King of the Monsters should be an improvement over the 2014 film.