10 Unpopular Opinions About Netflix Original Movies, According To Reddit
Netflix has released several original movies that are essentially loved on a universal level by Redditors, like The Irishman, The Trial of the Chicago 7, and I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore. The Old Guard also has its fair share of fans.
However, there are other examples where some Redditors can go very much against the grain. Whether it's a movie that's been widely dismissed by critics and general audiences or a project that ended up becoming an Oscar darling, there are viewers who are prepared to die on the hill of opposition.
Reddit user arkhamtimes333 started a thread to write, "I have watched most of what Netflix has to offer for original tv shows but never gave a thought to watching the movies until I watched Bright. I thought it was not that bad. I liked the world they created more than the movie itself but it was still pretty good."
Bright probably will not be remembered as one of either David Ayer or Will Smith's best movies, but it was a major hit for the streamer. It appears it also has its fans, even if they are limited in comparison to the number of detractors.
One Redditor, ifunnydog2779, disagreed with the large number of fans when it came to Bong Joon-ho's Okja: "I didn't like Okja. What they did with the languages was clever, but the characters and writing were dull and felt uninspired. The ending was unexpected but underwhelming. I know where they were going with it but it just didn't work for me."
Okja is one of Redditors' favorite Netflix original movies, and it is one of the most objectively creative movies the streamer has released. So "dull" and "uninspired" are interesting terms to describe what many viewers see as a fascinating film.
Overall, Okja was a well-received, quirky action-adventure movie with a terrific cast and unique tone. Matthewceratops brought up one specific actor's performance in Joon-ho's movie, writing that the "almost unbearable performance from Gyllenhaal left me disappointed."
Only one Redditor, ChappieBeGangsta, seemed to agree, going so far as to point out the very thing many others defended: "He was trying WAY too hard to be a 'character'. He needed to turn it down at least like 25%. He was like Bugs Bunny." Gyllenhaal's performance was exaggerated, but that just meant it was in line with the film's intended tone. While that worked for many viewers, it did not mesh as well with others, as is evidenced by these Redditors' comments.
A now-deleted user wrote that "Death Note is quite solid, even if it has no reason to exist. Trust me, if it wasn't an anime adaptation, the movie would've gathered a fandom already."
Death Note may be one of Netflix's lowest-scoring original horror movies on Rotten Tomatoes, but apparently, it has someone willing to champion it. Even still, the film's ratings on Metacritic are informative. Its Metascore of 43 signifies mixed reviews, but its user score is quite a bit lower at 3.2, which is a stand-in for an unfavorable reception by the general audience. It seems most viewers would be inclined to dismiss the film, regardless of the source material.
Axxxoop was the sole defender of Sandler's Sandy Wexler, writing, "The one where Adam Sandler plays a Hollywood agent isn't so bad. It has heart and there's a scene towards the end with James and Sandler that caught me by surprise and I laughed out loud like a dumb baby boy."
To each their own, and the Redditor doesn't call Sandy Wexler a classic or anything, but the majority of Netflix viewers would consider it on a lower tier compared to Sandler's The Meyerowitz Stories (2017) or Uncut Gems (2019).
A nominee for Best Animated Feature at the 92nd Academy Awards, Klaus was met with critical acclaim in spades. However, one Redditor found it overhyped. Chinoiserie91 claimed that "It looks great, but it’s pretty standard kids Christmas film." They were alone in this, however, as seen via the 160 upvotes for wereinthedark's post: "Klaus is an absolutely amazing animated movie that everyone should watch."
Natto__ agreed with the positive view, "I can't believe I had to scroll down so far to see Klaus get a mention. Excellent movie, I highly recommend." Most agree that Klaus deserves the attention it has received, and though it is only a few years old, it already has a loyal fanbase behind it.
A now-deleted user left behind a fairly interesting theory about The Do-Over, one of several movies Adam Sandler has made for Netflix. Had it been released theatrically, they "firmly believe that it would have gotten great reviews and done very well in the box office."
According to Sandler's Rotten Tomatoes page, his 2016 team-up with David Spade received reviews on the low end of his six released Netflix comedies. The Ridiculous 6 (2015) sits at zero percent, while The Do-Over has a nine percent score. Sandy Wexler (2017) did better at 27 percent, and The Week Of did comparably poorly at 26 percent. After those four films, Netflix re-upped with Sandler for four more: 2019's Murder Mystery at 45 percent, Hubie Halloween (2020) at 52 percent, and two more on the way. While there was an upwards trajectory, the Redditor's choice was next to last, regardless of where or how it was released.
Lowfat_cheese took issue with one particular aspect of the film, positing that "Apostle would have been good if the main cardboard cutout character wasn’t in it and it was just about the three cult leaders vying for power."
However, Lowfat_cheese later elaborated that it wasn't so much about the performance from actor Dan Stevens as much as it was the aspects surrounding the acting: "Nothing against the actor but he was given almost nothing to work with. All the emotional weight and compelling character development went to any character but his." In any case, the film has received generally positive reviews, with many praising the lead performance, which has helped to make it one of Dan Stevens' best horror movies.
Anonymous_Goat had a fairly mixed response to David Fincher's Mank, a dramatized biopic about Herman J. Mankiewicz, the screenwriter of Citizen Kane. Specifically, the Redditor called it "a movie about screenwriting with a bad screenplay. Hard for me to get past that." Then, the Redditor goes on to posit another potentially unpopular opinion: "Oldman is a legend, but he was kind of miscast here as well." But they then give the film some due credit, writing, "It's not a terrible movie or anything, but I think it will be largely forgotten 5 years from now."
The Redditor's opinions aren't particularly disagreeable, save for it having a "bad" screenplay. Granted, the film received 10 Oscar nominations, and none of them were for the screenplay, but Jack Fincher's screenplay could hardly be considered weak.
Redditor momsaidnoe started a thread asking others to describe the appeal of Noah Baumbach's Marriage Story, the Academy Award for Best Picture nominee starring Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver. While they first acknowledge the film's importance, the Redditor then writes, "I don't understand why it's so amazing. Personally, I found it to be vapid and dry. The only thing that I took out of it was that lawyer suck. Can someone please explain to me why it's so good? I'm sorry I just don't get it."
The characters in Marriage Story aren't particularly flashy, but they're far more complexly layered than they are "vapid and dry." Not every audience member has connected with the film, but it has certainly found praise among many.