Movies are a great source of entertainment and can often teach valuable lessons in life. A multi-billion dollar industry, Hollywood has produced some classics that are not only adored in their home country but are also loved by audiences worldwide.
Hollywood films show great scope in the international market and have the potential to overshadow the regional movies. Known for their box-office domination, Hollywood movies are also praised for their unique cinematography and plots.
However, the films produced in the industry are not without their flaws. There are several commercial failures that are hardly able to secure the investment, let alone generate a profit. Even some critically and commercially acclaimed movies are full of mistakes, undiscovered by both the viewers and critics.
Today, let's take a look at five such most overrated movies of all time, which are often hyped and celebrated, while, in reality, they are full of plot-holes.
Before that, please be aware of the major spoilers ahead, and if you have any feedback, don't hesitate to contact us.
1) A Time To Kill
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This Joel Schumacher directorial 1996 film is probably one of the best-rated movies to date. With a cast of several Hollywood A-listers like Matthew McConaughey, Samuel L. Jackson, Sandra Bullock, and Kevin Spacey, the courtroom drama follows the life of a lawyer as he goes against his folks to defend an African-American man in a murder case.
The movie is set in 19th century America, where racial discrimination is still prevalent.
While the screenplay and the execution is brilliant, the multiple-award-nominated-movie fails in its climax.
As Matthew's character Jake Tyler Brigance delivers his closing lines in the case, he urges all the jury members and others present at the court to close their eyes. He then proceeds on to narrate the circumstance under which Carl Lee Haley's (Samuel L. Jackson) daughter was abducted and raped by two white men. Jake asks the people to imagine the girl covered in blood and urine of the men.
As he finishes narrating the crime to the jury, he suddenly asks everyone to imagine the victim as a white girl. While Jake's closing line is clever, it can hardly change the mind of a jury pre-decided on a guilty verdict.
But, one punch-line from the film's protagonist is enough to let a person - guilty of murdering two men and creepling a police officer - walk free.
The movie also agrees to the concept of "an eye for an eye," which fully contradicts the principles followed by the existing judicial system. And, still, "A Time To Kill" is considered one of the greatest movies of all time.
2) The Shawshank Redemption
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Here is another supposed classic, which is full of flaws. This movie follows the plot of a banker named Andy Dufresne (played by Tim Robbins) - who is wrongfully accused of murdering his wife and her lover. After he is sent to the Shawshank State Penitentiary to serve a life sentence, Andy is raped multiple times. Later, he befriends the warden by managing his finances.
With the help of Ellis "Red" Redding (Morgan Freeman), Andy receives a rock hammer and starts digging a hole in the wall under cover of a Rita Hayworth's poster. After a fellow prisoner - who can acquit Andy innocent of the murders - is ordered to kill by warden Samuel Norton (Bob Gunton), Andy finally decides to execute his escape plan.
He steals the warden's shoes along with the paper works of the money, which the warden had been making illegally. Finally, he escapes from a hole; he had been digging with a fork for nearly two decades.
The movie ends with Redding sent free from prison and the two friends re-uniting in Mexico. Although a treat for the eyes, the story does have a few errors.
It fails to explain how the poster, behind which Andy had hidden his escape hole, remains anew for years. Further, the movie also didn't explore the consequences of Andy's actions if the warden had agreed to take the prisoner's statement (the one who could prove Andy innocent). If the warden had released Andy after getting permission from the court, thanks to the fellow cell mate's testimony, the warden would remove the poster, and Andy's plan would have been in plain sight for all.
So, it turns out that getting free in a legal way was never an option for Andy. So, why did he urged the warden to consider the witness? Seems like Andy was to blame for the fellow prisoner's murder, too.
3) Scent Of A Woman
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The 1992 released drama is probably one of the most important films in Al Pacino's career as it won the actor his first and only Oscar.
The movie's final speech, given by Al's character Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade, is still memorable and can be considered a contender for the best movie ending of all time. Further, Frank's tango with the beautiful Donna (Gabrielle Anwar) is also a highlight of the movie. But, other than those, the film is basically two messed up guys touring New York.
Among the two, one is Al Pacino's Frank Slade, a blind as*ho*e as called by his nephew Randy Slade (Bradley Whitford), while the other is Chris O'Donnell's character Charlie Simms - who can't figure out if he should rat out on his classmates or not.
The film ends on a high note with Frank finally finding a woman in his life. While the movie is one of Al Pacino's greatest performance to date, his attitude in the movie is just painful to watch.
Maybe he wanted the character to be not worthy of sympathy until everything turns out well in the end.
4) Interstellar
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Considered one of the best sci-fi flicks of all time, this 2014 Christopher Nolan directorial movie is set in the 2070s. With earth running out of resources and the soil fertile enough to produce only corn, mankind must find an alternate home to continue its existence.
Enters Matthew McConaughey's character Joseph Cooper, a NASA pilot turned farmer. After a series of events, Cooper is sent off through a wormhole to a distant galaxy in a spacecraft named Endurance. From his expedition, he solves a quantum gravity problem from inside a black hole and communicates the data to his daughter, Murphy.
He finally reunites with his daughter, who is much older than him at the time of their reunion. While the science-based in the movie might not be easy to grasp for everyone, Interstellar is truly a treat for the eyes. With flawless visual effects and picturization of a black hole, Christopher Nolan has taken filmmaking to a new level.
But, still, Interstellar is not without its flaws. The main drawback of this classic is the conclusion that Cooper derives from the black hole. Cooper learns that he is responsible for placing the wormhole near Saturn. It also turns out that Cooper was the one who sent himself through the wormhole, and he was also the one who tried convincing Murphy to stop himself from leaving earth.
Then, why didn't it form an infinite loop where the same thing is repeatedly happening?
If this doesn't sound ridiculous enough, the next revelation certainly will. Cooper realizes that it was his love for his daughter that made all the events happen in the first place, meaning love is not only an emotion, but it can also act as a physical dimension. Wow! That's a lot to grasp from a single movie.
The love part really makes the film sound like a chick flick, rather than a sci-fi thriller. But, who cares? As long as the audience can relate to emotions, there's very little place for science.
5) Avengers: Endgame
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The highest-grossing movie of all time, this 2019 fantasy/sci-fi is the last installment of the Avengers franchise. With a cast full of Hollywood A-listers like Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Josh Brolin, and more, Endgame keeps the viewers on edge throughout its three-hour-long running time.
And, the terrific performances by all the actors, makes it all the more fun to watch. But, once the movie revives all the characters, who were killed in the Infinity Wars, it kinda destroys the point of the preceding installment of the franchise.
The resurrection of all the dead characters from the former movie gives the vibes of a Bollywood daily soap, where a cast is murdered in one episode and instantly brought back to life in the next.
Another weakness of the movie is its emphasis on Robert Downey Jr., a.k.a. Iron Man. There are many important superheroes in the Avengers franchise like Captain America, Hulk, Black Widow, Thor, and more. But, the series-ending chose to focus on Iron Man and his sacrifices, probably due to the actor's popularity and fan base.
Robert Downey Jr. a.k.a. Iron Man even gives up his life to save half the universe, so, in a way, he is "half-Jesus." Anyone can agree that's too much glory for a superhero, right? Even Batman saved only Gotham, a city in The Dark Night Rises.
Due to the movie's immense love for Tony Stark, the film feels more like Iron Man 4 rather than a part of the Avengers franchise.