MovieChat Forums > Joe Versus the Volcano (1990) Discussion > Why this film has such a low rating on I...

Why this film has such a low rating on IMDB.

posted 17 years ago by spikez202
15 replies | jump to latest

I've been wondering for a while now, why a movie that I consider to be one of top films of all time has such a low IMDB rating. I usually trust IMDB ratings, revisiting the Top 250 list from time to time to find great movies to watch. Those ratings have usually been pretty accurate, and so I wonder why Joe Versus the Volcano, a simply remarkable film has such a markedly low rating.

Well to give my explanation I will use a quote from the film. This is probably one of my favorite quotes of all time and I feel one has to revisit it every once in a while to make sure they are living correctly, or living at all I should say.

"My father says that almost the whole world is asleep. Everybody you know. Everybody you see. Everybody you talk to. He says that only a few people are awake and they live in a state of constant total amazement. "

This quotation describes a very certain type of person, and those that are awake understand, appreciate and love this film for all it does. So it is those who are asleep, that have given this film such a low rating on IMDB. I'm not surprised ... it just goes to show there are a lot of people sleeping through their waking life. It's unfortunate, but its a message this film tries to convey and it's one people should give heed to.

[–] langster 17 years ago

LOL!

Well put.

It is a great film for so many reasons, but mainly because of its messages and the fact it gets them through without swearing, nudity or mass explosions and over the top special effects.

Not that I mind swearing, nudity, massive explosions and special effects, but It's refreshing to see a movie that doesn't rely on any of the above.

[–] CharteredStreets 17 years ago

People often decide the quality of a movie based on its ending, whether it wows them or underwhelms. I love Joe Versus the Volcano, but the ending just doesn't work; it kind of paints itself into a corner, I don't know what ending would work. But I think that's why it's so underrated. Everything until Joe gets to the island is magical.

If I have to tell you again, we're gonna take it outside and I'm gonna show you what it's like!

[–] haileris-2 14 years ago

"People often decide the quality of a movie based on its ending"

Well, talking about the ending: I could swear that when I first saw that movie as a kid on TV, there was a scene at the end when they were picked up by another boat with Graynamore on it. Now I can't remember all the details; but when I later rented it on VHS, that scene was missing; I even got the original version (I don't live in the US), but again, the movie ended without that scene. Although, IIRC, on the cover of said VHS was a screenshot of Hanks with a captains hat and a gun in his hand, Ryan by his side/in his arm. It was a screenshot of said scene at the end, when they confronted Graynamore. But I never saw that scene again! That totall bothers me! There MUST be a copy of this movie out there with it in it, I saw it on the bl00dy TV!
Little time ago, with internet resources, I found a copy of the original script, and the scene was written down in there.
For me, the open ending also works, but I'd like to see that scene again. It's out there. I'm sure. Anybody knows more about this?

[–] hottypete 14 years ago

I used to have the script with the other ending. It seemed like a good finish, but they must have edited it out. From what I recall the Waponi's flee to the neighboring island, except for the chief who mutters something about how they should have made their own sacrifices to save their island. Joe sees the Waponi's world destroyed by their fear, and is happy that he and Patricia overcame their fear.
Then Graynamore shows up in the Tweedle Dum (after saving the crew from the Tweedle Dee). Dr. Ellison is also on board, but comes clean that he isn't really a doctor saying "unfortunately I have this tendency to do as I'm told". Joe gets kinda mad, so Ellison pulls out a gun saying "I wouldn't want to have to kill you since there's nothing wrong with you". Graynamore offers his daughter the Tweedle Dum if she keeps quiet about all this, and is surprised to find she no longer has a price.
Joe announces that after facing a volcano he's not afraid of a little gun, so he grabs it away from Ellison. Graynamore threatens some kind of revenge as Joe forces he and Ellison onto the lifeboat, to which Joe replies that everyday is a gift and he'd be a fool to live in fear of any man.
As they paddle away, Graynamore tells Ellison that he really likes Joe and maybe they should re-assess their values. Then the Chief pops up from under the water riding Joe's luggage. He's holding onto his little doll shouting "I still have my soul", to which Joe replies "me too". Then they all sail off together into the moon.

I think the movie may have a low rating because when it was originally released, Tom Hanks was mainly known for his goofy comedies. Rather than recognize the meaning, they simply thought of the more serious scenes as not very humoruous. When I recommend it I describe it as a movie about an average Joe who suddenly wakes up to see the entirety of his life, and finds happiness when he no longer allows others to control his fate.

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] btara_ktahn 14 years ago

CharteredStreets:
"Everything until Joe gets to the island is magical."

Are you saying that Joe getting beaten with fish and an octopus stuck to his face aren't 'magical'?!

Don't ask me what I think of you,
I might not give the answer that you want me to.
- Fleetwood Mac, "Oh Well"

[–] robbie_5001 14 years ago

Really Great Movie

[–] cbamity 17 years ago

A bit condescending, but probably true. There are many films that get overlooked in IMDB, although I agree its probably the best source for finding general opinions about movies. "The Road to Wellville" got a criminally low 5.3 for a flawed but great satirical comedy

[–] CharteredStreets 17 years ago

Yeah I didn't mean to make it sound condescending but I think particularly with a really unusual movie likes "Joe..." then people are not quite sure what to make of it and waiting to see how it all comes together at the end.

If I have to tell you again, we're gonna take it outside and I'm gonna show you what it's like!

[–] randomlynx 16 years ago

I agree that this movie is underestimated, I also agree with what others say about the ending. It does lose some of its message and inertia when it gets to that third act.

I also believe that part of the reason this movie doesn't get more credit is because it never seems to take itself too seriously. I like that it doesn't but others may miss the powerful message behind the movie and mistake its humor and charm as a litthe childish and silly. The screenwriter was trying to get across his own feelings after a near-death experience, you can sense that in this movie but you can also lose what it's trying to say by how it says it... if that makes sense :P

[–] spambuck 14 years ago

"Nobody's getting this!"

Plus, if you really understand the movie, you couldn't care less what its IMDB rating is.

[–] notmtwain 13 years ago

Sure but most of us don't have that grade of luggage.

// Will be interested to see if the film's selection for Ebertfest 2012 raises the rating at all. As of today, it is at 5.4 from 18,986 voters.

[–] robsea32 12 years ago

I just watched this for the first time tonight after seeing only the very beginning of it in 1990 at a double feature drive-inn with Gremlins 2. My family was so tired, we ended up driving home just as the opening scene was ending -- but it has always stuck with me even since I was a little kid "If I said that, I would have been wrong!" lol.

Anyway, here I am almost 22 years later and I have to say this movie is CRIMINALLY underrated. What a wonderfully unique little piece of fantasy-comedy.

[–] sdhardman-1 12 years ago

People have different views of the same thing, there are people out there who will tell you that Iron Man 3D is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I enjoy good quality movies, not typical films with $10 million advertising budgets, I love films that are absurd, I love films that paint stylishly bleak scenarios. I do not love this film. For starters, it is billed primarily as a comedy. I have watched this film twice, 20 years apart, and I failed to laugh once at it either time. It is not funny, movies dealing in the absurd need to have some humour to them, and this doesn't(in my opinion, though it got a smile out of me twice, around 37 and 87 minutes). The Hudsucker Proxy had a good budget, was absurd, but at least it was enjoyable and had fair amounts of humour. Most of Hal Hartley's work deals in the absurd, with much smaller budgets, yet are much better than JVTV. Adrienne Shelly's Sudden Manhattan or I'll Take You There, wonderful absurd films. Some of Steven Soderburgh's stuff fits that description. Welcome To The Dollhouse, the list just goes on. The thing is, if you take the humour out of those films, they all become much lesser movies, heck if you want to talk about Spielburg and absurd films, Howard The Duck, much more enjoyable than JVTV....and it was certainly not what I would consider a good, quality film. That is why I gave JVTV a 2/10, and considering the cast and budget behind it, rate it as one of the biggest disappointments in film history, not saying it is the worst film that I have ever watched(I worked in a video store so I have saw a lot of terrible movies, but that is not disappointing if I expect them to be terrible). 5 authentic LOL moments are pretty much all I needed to boost that score up to a 5 or a 6.

[–] moodie-1 10 years ago

You must be one of those people who are asleep. JvtV is one of the greatest films ever made. (Although I do agree with a previous poster that it paints itself into a corner at the end.)