8 Beloved Movies That Aren't As Clever As People Think They Are

If you've been ever been a little annoyed at hearing a little too much buzz about the same movie and thought to yourself, "That doesn't seem deserved," maybe you were right. There are plenty of big movies that get way too much prestige or attention that they just haven't earned. Here are eight of them.

1. Brave

Brave won an Oscar for best animated film of the year, but if you ask Wreck It Ralph fans, it did not come close to earning it. While it might not be a crime to eke out a win in a small category, most detractors of Brave criticize its weak story and characters that just didn't grab our hearts the way WALL-E or Carl Fredricksen did.

2. The Dark Knight Rises

We thoroughly enjoyed the conclusion of Chris Nolan's Batman trilogy... Right? Didn't we? If you didn't mind the dozens of gaping plot holes, foolish character decisions, and insanely convenient interventions from one minute to the next, then you were had. The love you had for Batman Begins should not extend to the Dark Knight Rises. They're separate movies and they should be evaluated on their own merits. 

3. Lincoln

Lincoln was considered for a Best Picture Oscar. But two and a half hours of people sitting and debating the same three conversations over and over again doesn't even make a good play, let alone a worthwhile movie. Sometimes, movies get nominated when they don't deserve it. But we haven't seen this kind of discrepancy since The Godfather 3.

4. The Pink Panther (1964)

Some classics hold up, and some do not. If you've suffered through the classic Pink Panther that turned Peter Sellers into an icon, you'll wonder how it happened. A movie that simply isn't funny, crawls seemingly forever, and is generally difficult to keep your eyes on doesn't deserve a major franchise to follow it. And yet a household name was born in The Pink Panther.

5. Blade Runner

Blade Runner is a classic film that's shown in more college film classes than any other non-Kubrick movie. It's visually stunning, and it begins an era of movies that could paint a vivid picture of a future few could otherwise imagine. But if you can get through Blade Runner without taking a nap, you're in a rare minority.

6. Happy Gilmore

Billy Madison was about a loser who indulges in ridiculous nonsense all day long. His journey fit the movie and its humor, which is far more than Happy Gilmore can say. Happy Gilmore takes the same tone too far with characters that don't have anything to do with alligators and Bob Barker.

7. Scarface

Scarface is easily the most referenced, rapped about, quoted, and revered bad movie of all time. At a running time of nearly three hours, it would bore most mortal viewers to death.

8. Avatar

Avatar made more money than any other film in history. It also boasted what might be the largest marketing budget of any film in history. Coincidence? I think not. While Avatar's effects were stunning, they duped audiences in to spending $3 billion. And for a movie that's simply not that entertaining.