Overrated/Underrated Geek Media

[Mercurius]

Underrated: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. I just don't get the hate for this film. Or rather, I think much of it is based on the silly notion (especially prevalent at the time) that the One True Way to make a superhero film is the MCU formula which, in hindsight, got tedious. BvS is epic, dark and brooding, with touches of humor sprinkled in. Ben Affleck was surprisingly good; Cavill is great as Superman; Wonder Woman stole scenes and, to be honest, Gal Gadot is visually impressive but too monotone to be an interesting lead and works better as a secondary character, so really shone in her first appearance; and even Eisenberg was excellent as a tech weirdo, even more relevant today. My only real criticism is the monster at the end...just a bit much, a bit too drawn out. Actually, the Man of Steel, Batman v. Superman, Justice League trilogy (if you swap in the Snyder cut) holds up pretty well and I would have liked to see more. This isn't a great film, but it almost feels like a flawed masterpiece that could have been great with a bit more editing.

Overrated: Anything Joss Whedon. And yes, that includes Firefly - which was pretty good, but I don't get the universal worship. To me it is like good 90s SF, which isn't saying all that much considering how bad 90s SF was. To me his stuff was "pretty to very good," but rarely great. He seems MIA these days (cancelled?).

Your turn. Pick one of each, explain why it is under/over-rated, then wait for someone else before giving it another go with two new ones. Oh, a rule: Don't comment on anyone else's. Feel free to emoji react if you must, but let's not devolve into squabbling on the best Doctor Who.

 

[Reynard]

Overrated: Dune. Not just the recent films -- I liked them well enough -- but the whole franchise. It's good, but it isn't the pinnacle of space opera sci-fi many folks make it out to be.

 

[payn]

Underrated: John LeCarre spy novels. Far more interesting than police procedurals or political dramas and less male power fantasy than Ian Fleming novels.

Overrated: Bored of the Rings trilogy. These books are boring an absolute chore to read. Thought the same of the movies. Epic in scope perhaps but snore inducing in execution.

 

[Reynard]

Underrated: Terry Moore's non-SIP comics. Rachel Rising and Echo in particular are really great reads

 

[Bedrockgames]

I don’t know about overrated but I don’t like a lot shoes, movies and books I see are popular in geek spaces I go to. Doesn’t mean they are overrated, just means they are not for me. I don’t really enjoy comics or comic based media (except in rare cases like Lady Snowblood). But I get why people like them. Marvel movies bug me too. I like Kung fu movies, Wuxia, science fiction, etc.

Underrated. Not enough people watch I Claudius in my opinion. More people should see Reign of Assassins, Magic Blade and The Bride with White Hair (they aren’t underrated by fans but more people could enjoy them). I could build a big list here but will limit myself to those. Cheng Pei Pei movies from the 70s need more attention. The End of Eternity by Asimov doesn’t get enough attention. The condor heroes trilogy (it is well appreciated in China but there was a recent translation into English and I wish more people understood the importance of it: they are only up to like the middle of the trilogy at this point, not sure if they will get to Heaven Sword Dragon Sabre or not)

 

[TiQuinn]

Overrated: Deadpool Vs Wolverine - I thought it was hilarious the first time that I saw it, and then I watched it a second time. I suddenly realized the vast majority of the truly funny parts have nothing to do with the fourth wall breaking, pseudo industry commentary and in-crowd references which really makes up most of the jokes, and are just the pure slapstick and self-deprecating remarks that have nothing to do with whether or not you watched another Fox superhero movie. Plus, using old 80s/90s pop songs as emotional crutches one after the other got tiresome. The movie’s gonna age like milk.

Underrated: Horror Movies. I’ve watched most, but not all of the Best Picture noms this year, and the one that really stuck with me was The Substance. I don’t expect it to win, but I think it absolutely should. Horror movies have really been having a moment, and folks have written for years about the depth of commentary that horror movies can have about our culture and society, and our fears.

 

[Mercurius]

Underrated: The Batman (2022). I don't think this is poorly regarded, but I don't think it gets enough credit for being such a good film despite being a few years in the shadow of the Nolan trilogy - and still feels distinct, even arguably more "Batmany" than any other film version. Plus, Robert "Emo Boy" Pattison did a remarkably good job (and wasn't annoyingly emo). Great cast all around. Looking forward to the sequel.

Overrated: Wes Anderson films. Yes, they're good, even very good - especially Royal Tenenbaums. But by the time Grand Budapest Hotel came out I had seen enough. OK, I get it: you're weird and clever and distinctly stylized - that's your shtick. I just don't really need to see any more.

 

[Bomberooski]

Overrated: Chick Fil A. The sandwiches are pretty good but not mind blowing and they are brought down greatly by the waffle fries that seem to always have the edge of the potato on one side. Overall a good option but the Chick Fil A faithful have it as the greatest thing on planet earth. And it is not that.

Underrated: Original Kraft Mac and Cheese. If you’ve been knocking it or you would rather have any other Mac and cheese it just means you haven’t had Kraft in a while or you’re just trying to be a hipster.

 

[DrunkonDuty]

Overrated - anything by Zac Snyder.

 

[Bomberooski]

Overrated - anything by Zac Snyder.

Down goes “300”!!!! NOOOOO