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."

[–] trek79 11 years ago

Absolutely man, I'm a Nick Cage fan but that is not what is great about this film, I give it a solid 8/10, and that is high praise from me. This has a lot of impact and forces you to question yourself.

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] slainzcasl 10 years ago

I think it is an excellent film.

[–] patkav6 10 years ago

Absolutely it is. I saw it in the theater with friends and we all enjoyed it, yes, it's a rough subject, but it's a gripping thriller. And it's not nearly as gory as those saw movies that get a pass. Anyone who I talk to who saw it liked it. Cage was brilliant, tough but calm. I read the script and not much is different really.

I mention the plot of 8mm to people and they cringe, but if you watch real crime documentaries then you know these tragic stories do exist in the world, the average person may just not be interested in hearing about it or seeing it depicted in movies.

I watch 8mm often, gritty and tense.

[–] ma_marcil 10 years ago

I totally agree with the OP as well. It actually does not surprise me that much that critics did not like this movie, though for once, ironically, one of the most famous "reviewers", the late Roger Ebert, actually gave the movie a good review with his traditional 2 thumbs up. I think Ebert's review nailed it in terms of expressing that the movie felt real and that it was not a typical Hollywood movie at all. Cage's character, especially, was a character that I could really relate to, as I could feel his disgust, his anger and his pain in the end. And the supporting cast was just perfect; from Joaquin Phoenix as Max to (the late) James Gandolfini as Eddie Poole to Peter Stomare as Dino Velvet to Catherine Keener as Tom Well's wife, they all gave their best in my opinion.

Bill Foster: I'm the bad guy?...How did that happen?

[–] Hardboiled_frog 10 years ago

this movie is a masterpiece! Man.. a **** 6?!!!! it deserves an 8.3/10 at least! what a strange world we live in..

[–] manram24 10 years ago

I agree. It's intense and the way Tom gets so deeply involved emotionally in the girl's murder and how this case changes him is what makes the movie for me.

Y'know, I could eat a peach for hours

[–] Testpattern 10 years ago

by manram24 » Thu Feb 5 2015 13:33:41
IMDb member since November 2012

I agree. It's intense and the way Tom gets so deeply involved emotionally in the girl's murder and how this case changes him is what makes the movie for me.

As Max California so adeptly stated, "When you dance with the devil it doesn't change him, it changes YOU"

"If people like you don't learn from what happened to people like me..."-Professor Rohl

[–] yusef-ghanima 9 years ago

the movie has a very interesting theme, but it's very badly executed with so many mistakes and over drama. the stupidity of that man trying to reach a gun under a car, instead of simply go a round and get it, like he eventually did, after giving cage the chance to free himself, this amount of stupidity is unheard of in hollywood.

i mostly will not be able to answer your reply, since marissa mayer hacked my email, no notification

[–] ajaddiction2004 9 years ago

I'm glad most of you agree its a good movie. I always liked it and was a big seven fan. I think it had a lot of that following so when people saw it, it surely wasn't seven. The writer walker had problems with director that probably were followed by his fans and critics who panned this. Now that time has caught up, I don't think we can say Andrew Kevin Walker was the second coming of crime fiction screenplays some might of thought he was. Anyway, you have Gandolfini that people are discovering his greatness after his death. And Pheonix who has flew pretty close to the sun on many recent performances. And of course, Peter Stormare gives a creepfest of a performance too.

[–] kidmansshootingstar1994 9 years ago

Put it this way, I enjoy this movie so damned much, that even though I've viewed it multiple, silly multiple times, whenever it may be on the tube, I'll stop everything to sit down and watch it...... again! To me it is that damned good.

I'm not a tremendous Nic Cage movie fan and or follower of the movies that he has been in, but Cages role in the extremely strong 8MM. was really something to thoroughly wrap your cinematic 'senses' around, take in the entire movie production, and finally when the credits start, gladly chalk up the flick as a personal forbidden type of cinematic fruit deep down inside your psyche, a place reserved for flicks of this deal and magnitude.

I could not help but cheer wildly (Inside myself) when Cages character called the girl victims Mother, revealing the girls tragic fate, prodding the Mother to instill some very much needed severe revenge/vengeance mindset to perform his/the job that most needed to be dealt out in its most proper delivery. I was so damned proud of Cages character, especially at that direct point in time in the movie.

Finally a director let the scene play out just like it oughta get done! The correct way, all the way through! He hesitated at very first, but he more than finalized the job. Now that's a hero spot in a movie, one of the first that I've seen. Meaning written up, as I would of wrote it down/up, and in real life would have taken care of the situation.

Whoever hasn't had the privilege to watch this one, is truly and definitely missing out on some kind of cinematic treat, that shows major strength in every aspect of filming, direction, top-shelf acting performances. Overall, a pure gemstone of celluloid brilliance! ! !

[–] Suriname86 9 years ago

I always thought this movie was amazing, well-done and ahead of its time. It came out almost two decades before "The Counselor" and "A Serbian Film." You can say it's the movie that started it all. People, critics in particular, weren't ready for it at the time.

[–] andyd-1 9 years ago

I would say fight Club was the worst 'reviewer' blunder, it got little praise, possibly because the issues portrayed immediately resonated with ordinary people, but older 'successful' critics probably missed them