Support NeoGAF

[whytemyke]

Ok. So I didn't keep up a side-tangent argument in another thread, I figure I'll start my own so we all can argue and bitch about people who we think are/aren't over-rated, and gripe about what we think, too, and why I probably suck cuz I have opinions that are wrong.

-Overrated Actors:
Denzel
Deniro (really good, but not a god of film like so many make him out to be)
KEVIN COSTNER (how does this guy still have a career? He should have been hanged after Robin Hood)

-Underrated:
Paul Giamatti
Tom Cruise (This is debateable.... I think the hype he gets is more cuz he's tom cruise rather than the fact that he's an awesome actor. Just endure Interview with the Vampire to see how awesome Cruise really can be on screen.)
DUSTIN HOFFMAN


let the flaming begin.

 

[DMczaf]

-Overrated Actors:
Denzel

 

[karasu]

Paul Giamatti is more appreciated than ever!

Underrated:

Patricia Clarkson
Jeffrey Wright
Philip Seymour Hoffman


Overrated:

Edward Norton
Russel Crowe
Tom Hanks
Brad Pitt(he wouldn't work at all if he looked like Paul Giamatti!)

 

[effzee]

considering his catalog of work...cruise has to be considered a good actor..but i think his fame for his look, his love life, and his bizare behaviour overshadow that.

i was impressed when he made the last samurai...last guy i expected in that movie....he made it work...one of my fav movies...and then collateral.

 

[TheDuce22]

Cruise plays the same goddam character in every movie I have seen him in.

 

[siege]

I was just checking out Tom Cruise's bio on IMDB and that nutcase has made over $280 million dollars since Rain Man (not including profit percentages he usually signs for on films.) He's gonna get 20% of War of the World's take.

Insane.

 

[WrathOfOtaibah]

Overrated:

Kate Hudson - Whenever she's in a movie, Hollywood Entertainment shows has to stop and devote a whole episode to her. I remember when she did a movie with her mom, those dumbass entertainment shows couldn't stop talking about it.

Julia Roberts - She is the symbol of chick flick but she is terrible but is thought of as a legend. Pfft. Hardly.

Ben Stiller - Stop shoving him into every comedy. He's not that funny and his whole "I'm a confused pud" act wore out 500 of his movies ago. Maddox hit the nail on the head here.

Thats it but there's plenty more. I'd add in the celebrities in the news (Cruise/Holmes, Pitt/Jolie, Lohan) but that doesn't reflect their acting, no matter how bad it is.

 

[AB 101]

Gene Hackman is one of my favorites.

Also partial to DeNiro and Pacino myself. Also Connery and Nicholson.

Jean Reno is pretty cool too.

Guess I just like more of the oldtimers.


Julia Roberts is fucking overated.

 

[Matt_09]

Don't flame me for this one, but this guy cannot act ( although i admit he owned Bud in Kill Bill). He gets by because he is the coolest mutha fucka on the planet.

 

[DJ_Tet]

Cruise plays the same goddam character in every movie I have seen him in.

lol

Like I said, your "Denzel" critique can be applied to any prolific actor. Hoffman is the exception rather than the rule.

I love Cruise btw, I too think he's somewhat "underrated" for what he's done. I just think that "He plays the same guy in every movie" is a cop out, no matter who the actor is.

 

[lexi]

lol

"He plays the same guy in every movie" is a cop out, no matter who the actor is.

Rob Schneider

 

[chinch]

LOL. good flame/joke thread. I think you have reversed the Over/Under rated dudes

-Overrated Actors:
Denzel
Deniro (really good, but not a god of film like so many make him out to be)


-Underrated:
Paul Giamatti
Tom Cruise (This is debateable.... I think the hype he gets is more cuz he's tom cruise rather than the fact that he's an awesome actor. Just endure Interview with the Vampire to see how awesome Cruise really can be on screen.)
DUSTIN HOFFMAN

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

DeNiro was once a god of films, but he has made many questionable choices for movies over the past 10 years which have really eroded his legacy. (See Godsend and Hide and Seek for examples!)

 

[cubicle47b]

Underrated -

 

[DJ_Tet]

Rob Schneider

I didn't realize he was prolific. There must bet 20 crappy direct-to-video sequels he has starred in that I thankfully missed.

 

[robertsan21]

underated:

Paul Giamatti
Tom cruise
keanu


Overated:
Denzel washington!!!! i hate him!!!

 

[AeroGod]

Keanu is underrated

 

[Jill Sandwich]

Overrated:

Underrated:

Notable mention:
Brian Dennehey

 

[Matlock]

Cruise plays the same goddam character in every movie I have seen him in.

Thomas Cruise Mapother IV as: THE COCKY AND FUNNY MAN in: every fucking movie he's been in

Risky Business: Cocky, funny, and dancing in his undies.

All The Right Movies: Cocky and funny football player.

Legend: Cocky and funny enough to both bed the legendary Mia Sara and take down Tim Curry.

Top Gun: Cocky and funny pilot who gets into more cockfights than dogfights.

The Color of Money: Out cocky and funnied by just a little bit by Paul Newman.

Cocktail: Funny guy in a movie whose name includes the word "cock." This just writes itself.

Rain Man: Cocky and funny guy who goes cross-country with retarded brother.

Born on the Fourth of July: Cocky and funny, even sans cock.

Days of Thunder: Cocky and funny with NASCAR!

Far and Away: Cocky and funny Irishman.

A Few Good Men: YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE COCKY AND FUNNY

The Firm: John Grisham with an injection of cocky and funny.

Interview With the Vampire: Cocky, funny, gothy, and timeless. The person who followed his role in the horrible "Queen of the Damned" was neither cocky nor funny, so that was the death of that movie.

Mission Impossible series/Minority Report: Government agents can be cocky and funny as well, even if the whole world is after them. Even their own.

Jerry Maguire: SHOW ME THE COCKY AND FUNNY

Eyes Wide Shut: Cocky and funny, but somehow made a movie that had somewhere in the neighborhood of a NC-17 for sex completely boring.

Magnolia: RESPECT THE COCKY AND FUNNY AND TAME THE see you next tuesday.

Vanilla Sky: Hideously disfigured? Or is he? But he's still cocky and funny!

The Last Samurai: Cocky and funny in the land of the rising sun.

Collateral: The cockiest and funniest hitman around!

Taking a look ahead, we have "War of the Worlds," which he looks more scared in the media so far than either cocky and funny. I'm guessing he'll laugh, toss his hair a bit, and make a joke about spreading the cold virus--which will be the cocky and funny death of the aliens.

 

[Tedesco!]

Over rated:

Al Pacino. All he does is yell. This has been happening since Scent of a Woman, with Heat being the only notable exception where it didn't seem out of place. Before that he was a good actor; now all he does is chew up scenery.

Ben Stiller.

John Travolta. This guy has been living off of his Pulp Fiction fame for-fucking-ever!

 

[sonicfan]

Ok. So I didn't keep up a side-tangent argument in another thread, I figure I'll start my own so we all can argue and bitch about people who we think are/aren't over-rated, and gripe about what we think, too, and why I probably suck cuz I have opinions that are wrong.

-Overrated Actors:
Denzel
Deniro (really good, but not a god of film like so many make him out to be)
KEVIN COSTNER

Watch your mouth dog.

Who am I to argue???

(but I thought he was good in Open Range, with somebody I like, Robert Duval.)

 

[The Bookerman]

Overated:

Susan Sarandon.(ughhh).
Tim Robbins...(did anybody see Antitrust?)
Brad Pitt(one good film(Fight Club) and the rest = Cocky and funny crap.

Underated:
Christian Bale
Ed Harris
Micheal Keaton

 

[Ash Housewares]

overrated - everyone you like
underrated - everyone I like

*yawn*

I don't think Costner is overrated, I don't really ever hear anything good about him anymore

 

[jenov4]

For me, it's definitely Samuel L. Jackson. He's got no range and always the same thing in every movie I see him in.

I don't agree with Denzel being over-rated, the guy's an amazing actor.

 

[Cosmic Bus]

William H. Macy and Philip Seymour Hoffman are pretty much the most underrated people in Hollywood. They can both carry a movie with ease (see: Panic; Love, Liza) but are almost entirely relegated to smaller supporting parts. John C. Reily could fall into this category, as well.

Philip Baker Hall's pretty kickass, too, but he's taken some seriously shit movies over the past few years. His one man show in Altman's Secret Honor practically validates his entire career, though.

And for the record, I fucking love Kevin Costner, but he's really not a terribly good actor. Still, I'll see almost anything he does.

 

[aparisi2274]

over rated Actor of the Century

SEAN FUCKIN PENN

 

[Cosmic Bus]

You've gotta be kidding me.

 

[Gattsu25]

For the record, Denzel HAS been playing very very similar roles recently.

*cough*

 

[scorcho]

Underrated -

considering that he's been referred to as one of the best character actors in hollywood, i wouldn't consider him underrated at all. underused? yes, but i like that he stays far, far away from Hollywood 'blockbuster' films.

 

[aparisi2274]

You've gotta be kidding me.

nope I think he is an over rated hack, because he made a few critically acclaimed movies in the last few years he think's who he is, and that his shit dont stink, and he has no sense of humor anymore. I really think he is an over rated hack.

Shanghai Surprise???

I give him credit for movies like Carlito's Way, Colors, Mystic River, ect...

 

[brooklyngooner]

William H. Macy and Philip Seymour Hoffman are pretty much the most underrated people in Hollywood. They can both carry a movie with ease (see: Panic; Love, Liza) but are almost entirely relegated to smaller supporting parts. John C. Reily could fall into this category, as well.

I agree completely.

I can't say that he's underrated, as he's won awards and been nominated, but of his own choosing he is not talked about much: Daniel Day Lewis.

For me, the most overrated actor these days by far is Tim Robbins. I don't believe eyebrow twitching and half-stuttering equals good acting. As far as actresses go, Julia Roberts winning an award for anything acting-related is farcical, obviously. But of the more taken-seriously set I would say Renee Zellweger and Julianne Moore.

Can't agree with the Sean Penn and Edward Norton bits tho.

 

[scorcho]

For the record, Denzel HAS been playing very very similar roles recently.

i mean, honestly. has he ever played a character that wasn't black? thespian my ass.

 

[VistraNorrez]

over rated Actor of the Century

SEAN FUCKIN PENN

Agreed. His whole career is based off wanting to be Deniro. Although he has yet to take the slippery slop of Bobby.

With that said, he is a decent actor, just not all that. I Am Sam was terrible, just atrocious. He stunk on ice in that.

 

[jenov4]

HEY MAN HE PLAYED JULES~!

:lol exactly! I loved him in Pulp Fiction, but whenever I see him in other movies, I always expect him to bust out that bible verse and put a cap some someone's ass. I totally expected him to do that in Star Wars!

 

[aparisi2274]

Agreed. His whole career is based off wanting to be Deniro. Although he has yet to take the slippery slop of Bobby.

With that said, he is a decent actor, just not all that. I Am Sam was terrible, just atrocious. He stunk on ice in that.

ITAWTP!!!

I am Sam was utter CRAP!!!!

21 Grams was ehhh.

Mystic River was good.

To this day, his best role was Spicolli, and he wont even acknowledge it. I mean look at him at this years oscars. Chris Rock made a joke about Jude Law, and Penn comes out all serious, defending law. I mean WTF dude, did anyone ask you for your 2 cents.

 

[Rlan]

Rob Schneider

Rob Schneider is a carrot!

A ba doo be doo! doobedoobedobedo!

 

[Liu Kang Baking A Pie]

Underrated:

 

[milanbaros]

Over rated:

Al Pacino. All he does is yell. This has been happening since Scent of a Woman, with Heat being the only notable exception where it didn't seem out of place. Before that he was a good actor; now all he does is chew up scenery.

Ben Stiller.

John Travolta. This guy has been living off of his Pulp Fiction fame for-fucking-ever!

Was Carlito's Way after Scent of A Woman because that is perhaps his greatest performance of his career imo. Donnie Brasco is also fantastic but nothing compared to Carlito's Way. He has the character trying to escape so well, he did it well in The Godfather II and III but CW took it to a whole new level.

 

[6.8]

underrated:

 

[Escape Goat]

tom cruise

julia roberts

UNDERRATED?

-Christina Ricci

 

[Blackace]

Over rated

Tom Hanks

Hugh Grant

Michael Douglas

Halle Berry

Billy Bob Thorton



Under Rated

Benico Del Toro

Don Cheadle (the man everyone knows but doesn't know his name)

Michael Keeton

Kevin Spacey

James Cromwell

 

[Foreign Jackass]

Over rated


Billy Bob Thorton



Under Rated

Kevin Spacey

Come on.

Oh, and, he might not be overrated, as he is pretty good, but god I hate Russell Crowe.

 

[totoro'd]

underrated:

:lol :lol

 

[karasu]

William H. Macy and Philip Seymour Hoffman are pretty much the most underrated people in Hollywood. They can both carry a movie with ease (see: Panic; Love, Liza) but are almost entirely relegated to smaller supporting parts. John C. Reily could fall into this category, as well.

Philip Baker Hall's pretty kickass, too, but he's taken some seriously shit movies over the past few years. His one man show in Altman's Secret Honor practically validates his entire career, though.

And for the record, I fucking love Kevin Costner, but he's really not a terribly good actor. Still, I'll see almost anything he does.

Sounds like a PT Anderson fan.

 

[jett]

Christian Bale (his perfrormance in American Psycho is fucking perfect)
Tom Cruise(damn fine actor that gets too much hate for being a prettyboy)
Brad Pitt(same deal as Cruise)
Phillip Seymour Hoffman
Jude Law
Don Cheadle

Overrated:

Julia Roberts
Renee Zellwegger


Also, you don't fucking call Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro overrated, you motherfuckers.

"Who the FUCK is calling ME overrated?"

 

[shantyman]

Overated:

Brad Pitt(one good film(Fight Club)

You forgot 12 Monkeys.

 

[SickBoy]

Underrated:

Leonardo DiCaprio (oh, all the chicks loved him in Titanic, but he's so lame!)

George Clooney (to steal from the GA cliche of thread, he may just play cocky&funny, but he plays it damn well, while some people would suggest he's pure hack)

Others from this thread: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti (although I think he's finally getting some credit after Sideways), William H. Macy

As for overrated, I'll go with Russell Crowe and leave it at that. I've liked some of the stuff he's been in, but beyond that, I don't think he's some crazy talent.

 

[Kabuki Waq]

Whoever listed Al Pacino as overrated should be shot on the spot.

Denzel is not overrated except for his performance in TRaining day.

underrated:
Bruce THE FUCKING MAN CAmbell
Ethan Hawke
Jim CArrey
Uma Thurman
Bill Paxton


Overrated
Sam JAckson
Julia Roberts
Jodie foster
Gwenth Paltrow
Jamie fox

 

[Escape Goat]

How can Jodie Foster be overrated? This accusation makes me sad.

 

[SickBoy]

Yeah, and I'm with Kabuki on Jim Carrey in serious or semi-serious roles... I'm apparently backwards here... I generally make a point of not seeing Carrey comedies, while I haven't missed anything he's been in that's halfway serious (Man on the Moon, Truman Show, Eternal Sunshine, etc... hell, I even rented the Majestic on video