8 Overrated Action Movies Everyone Pretends to Love

Big IMDb ratings, big fan bases, and movie.guru scores stuck in the middle. These are fine. Fine is not a classic.

Number one has one legendary phone call, and its fans have particular skills.

1. 8
   Oblivion (2013)4.7

   Gorgeous enough that people swear it's deep. It isn't.

   7.0 on IMDb from 592,214 votes, but the movie.guru score is a 4.8. Tom Cruise and Morgan Freeman share a $120 million screensaver, and the synth score is the real star.
2. 7
   Bullet Train (2022)5.3

   Every assassin is quirky, so nobody is.

   Critics rank it above just 31% of notable movies. That's 127 minutes of Brad Pitt dodging killers who all got the same quirky memo. Tangerine and Lemon deserved better.
3. 6
   Troy (2004)5.4

   Homer did it better, and he didn't have a budget.

   A $150 to $175 million budget, 163 minutes, and a 56 from Metacritic. Brad Pitt's Achilles is elite at jumping. Eric Bana is the only one acting like it matters.
4. 5
   Mission: Impossible (1996)5.8

   The sequels fixed everything this one fumbled.

   $457.7 million worldwide on an $80 million budget, 59 on Metacritic. Tom Cruise is great, Jon Voight is underused, and the plot needs a flowchart.
5. 4
   Sherlock Holmes (2009)5.9

   Sherlock Holmes, but he solves everything by punching.

   7.5 on IMDb from 712,845 votes, 57 on Metacritic. Robert Downey Jr. plans every fight in slow motion before throwing a punch. Cool the first time. Then it's a gimmick.
6. 3
   Watchmen (2009)5.8

   A loyal adaptation that took the satire as a style guide.

   Critics rank it above 46% of notable movies. Zack Snyder makes the violence look cool, the exact thing the comic was poking at. $185.4 million worldwide on a $130 to $150 million budget.
7. 2
   Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)5.4

   The pirate council scene is a board meeting with hats.

   A $300 million budget, 169 minutes, and critics rank it above 28% of notable movies. Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow is still fun, but Keira Knightley is the real captain here.
8. 1
   Taken (2008)6.2

   One famous phone call, then 90 minutes of the same punch.

   Audiences rank it above 82% of notable movies, critics 35%. Liam Neeson's phone speech launched a whole second career. The rest is a dad in a jacket speedrunning Paris.

$705.32 says you answer your next phone call in a very serious voice and regret it.

Share it: X | Facebook | Copy link

Current mood: ready to fight about it