MovieChat Forums > 8MM (1999) Discussion > Anybody else believe this was one of the...

Anybody else believe this was one of the most unfairly reviewed movies?

posted 12 years ago by cubstml
48 replies | jump to latest

Of all movies critics disliked but "average Joes" enjoyed(Man on Fire, Suicide Kings, The Punisher, Spider-Man 3) this one was the most shockingly disliked. I personally thought that this movie was excellent and I just don't understand why it was so horribly reviewed. Does anybody else think it's panning was unfair?

Most of the Saw films are garbage in my opinion(Except 1,2, and 6) and they weren't nearly as disliked. Anybody else agree?

"You still have your gun, so use it. Just do me a favor, don't shoot it out the window."

[–] anikor 12 years ago

I agree.

[–] zeekmati 12 years ago

It was and continues to be underrated. Worth a watch as it is quite disturbing and throughout the entire film, it was hard to see how it would end.

[–] JamesWood-s 12 years ago

I agree this was unfairly reviewed. It kept me thinking and I think it's a good film.

[–] castanz 12 years ago

Fair or not that is the average perception of the movie. The rating is just an average. Some people may have only watched the first 10 minutes and stopped. It wasn't there kind of movie so they may have given it a 1. Or they even watched it to the end and really knew it wasn't there kind of movie. Those people are going to pull down your average by a whole lot.

The people who start watching a Saw movie know what they are in for at the very start so you don't have the "pull down" people.

[–] mickeymyhorse 12 years ago

I agree w you 100%. This movie was flushed down the toilet by critics & reviews. As I said on a different post, I thought Cage did a great performance. & its one of my favorites w him.
I always thought it was the content of the movie that people couldn't except. Idk, but I never did pay to much attention to critics. They rave about some movies w high reviews, that I think are pure garbage. To each his own I guess. :)

[–] manram24 12 years ago

I never read any of it's reviews, the fact that they were negative is weird though, I thought it was a good movie.

Y'know, I could eat a peach for hours

[–] cubstml 12 years ago

Yeah I know right?
Even weirder was how much they straight up hated it!

"You still have your gun, so use it. Just do me a favor, don't shoot it out the window."

[–] ragnarok-1 12 years ago

It is no masterpiece, but it probably was more maligned for its subject than its content or structure.

As much as people like to think that they are able to separate their view of the film from its subject most people really can't. It is an emotionally loaded film that deals with very dark subject matter and a very ugly aspect of society.

Despite its horrific subject it does so in largely exploitation-free manner. Thus, avoiding one of the classical ironies of cinema: exploiting the very subject you seek to condemn.

[–] shadesofhades 12 years ago

I have just watched this film for the second time, and I agree with you completely. I was even going to begin my post by saying that while I don't put it in the same bracket as, say, Taxi Driver, I really don't understand the reviews - 'unpleasant', complaints that Nicolas Cage is 'wooden', a 'boring' script, and so on - that this film gets. I was going to go on and say that it doesn't fall into the same trap that Natural Born Killers (among many) does and glory in the same thing it's supposed to be condemning. But you've beaten me to it, sir (madam?).

On a slight tangent: does anyone know why the Capote was changed from Music for Chameleons (script) to In Cold Blood (film)? I can see why - and here I'm referring to films in general, not 8mm - some scenes might be cut for budgetary reasons, or a talky scene changed to a more visual one, but to change one Capote to another just baffles me.

[–] ella_leona 11 years ago

Extremely. Best movie I've seen in a while - gritty, haunting, good story with unexpected surprises, not even a nic cage fan but felt he was really good in his role. Joaquin phoenix was great too. As uncomfortable as the subject matter is I can't understand why anyone would rate this poorly, I think it was handled very well considering.

[–] NeonManiac0 11 years ago

I agree, I think it's a very underrated film and deserved better reviews. It's highly unsettling to watch and the acting from all is excellent.

[–] Killingforcompany 11 years ago

I think this is a great example of a film that is still good despite its flaws. I mean, if any of you have ever read the original script; it would have been nice had they stuck to it more. Some of the problems with the movie are that it was actually toned down to a degree. It could have been a much darker film, but then I think that the studios heads were afraid that it would have alienated mainstream audiences too much. But despite some of those flaws, I really think that there are some things that this film nails completely. There is a foreboding sense of dread throughout the movie, and Cage’s descent into the seedy underworld of pornography is pretty well done.

[–] MyDarkStar 11 years ago

How was it toned down from the original script ? What was taken out ?