IMDb is one of the most popular platforms for audiences to express their opinions on movies through star ratings up to 10. Looking back at some of these 2019 movies though, some of the ratings seem a little dubiously high. This is not to say that the following movies are bad, but it is to say that audiences may have been a little too generous in their assessment of them.
10. Us
Following his great horror/thriller Get Out with this movie, Us is a great example of people convincing themselves that a movie is better than it is. It currently holds a 6.9/10 rating on IMDb. Due to the widespread appeal of Get Out, people desperately wanted Jordan Peele’s next horror movie to be great but upon reflection, it sort of just felt like “meh”.
While Us has plenty of merit throughout, its convoluted story laced with plotholes and heavy-handed approach make it far less effective and regrettably forgettable especially when paired with Get Out. While it should satisfy horror buffs, Peele can hopefully make his next movie something of more universal interest.
9. Alita: Battle Angel
An exciting, visual effects extravaganza, Alita: Battle Angel impressed audience with its heavy use of state-of-the-art effects, earning a 7.4/10 on IMDb. However, this response was very subjective as it saw the movie get a disappointing return at the U.S. box office (granted, worldwide it was more popular).
Viewers familiar with the source material flocked to the theatres, leaving everyone else to stay home. Because many people stayed home, they were unable to express a critical opinion on the film and therefore didn’t contribute to the IMDb score. Had they, this movie’s score would be significantly lower as an objective critique of the movie would see it as a movie that satisfies its target audience but very few others. The movie comes across as bombastic noise with little reward and while the effects are impressive, the thinly crafted characters and light narrative make it all for nought.
8. Glass
With the exception of The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable and Split are probably M. Night Shyamalan’s most well-received movies both with critics and audiences so a crossover was bound to go over well. As with a number of the different sequels and reboots on this list, audiences let their prior interest take precedent and thus rated this movie well with a 6.7/10. While still lower rated than both of the movies that it crosses over, Glass nonetheless has a score that is simply too high.
A score of 6.7 promises some objective quality but it’s hard to recommend Glass to anyone who wasn’t previously a fan of Unbreakable and Split. In this way, the rating was influenced by little objective critique and as a result is deceptively high.
7. Skin
The distribution company A24 has developed a reputation for putting out quality films. Skin, although having plenty of quality moments, just doesn’t rise to the 7.4/10 rating that it received on IMDb. Earning a higher rating than the company’s other critically-acclaimed films like Hereditary, The Witch, and High Life, Skin doesn’t live up to its impressive score. Featuring staples of low production value like constant handheld and jump cuts, it’d be incorrect to say that Skin is amateurish but it would be proper to say that the director needs to mature in style and vision.
While Jamie Bell gives an impressive performance in the leading role, the other characters feel far less nuanced, limiting believability. The movie also feels like its cheaply pandering to people’s strong feelings on a topical issue and such a heavy-handed approach will likely make this movie fade into obscurity as opposed to having the longevity of a movie with subtler substance.
6. Booksmart
Everybody loves a good coming-of-age, teen comedy and often times these kinds of comedies makes for the best individual viewings. However, upon reflection, these movies don’t have the longevity that they should. Such is the case with Booksmart which holds a score of 7.3/10 on IMDb. Full of heart and comedy and uplifting values, Booksmart is very good until you realize that it’s a blatant rip-off of Superbad.
Sharing the same plot, two teenagers feel as though they haven’t lived up their high school years and set out to do so before heading to college, as well as too many clichés to list here, Booksmart simply makes commentary that audiences have seen/heard many times before. Pleasing cinematic techniques suggest that Olivia Wilde has promise as a director but the blatant borrowing from movies like Superbad, Can’t Hardly Wait, Easy A, and Edge of Seventeen (as well as many others) makes Booksmart not live up to its title or its IMDb score.