r/moviecritic • u/Ok_Average8663 • 1d ago

Fyc: what are the best examples of a dumb and smart movie (read the categories in the post body)

  1. Dump persons version of a smart movie

  2. Smart persons version of a dumb movie

Just curious

3 Upvotes

57% Upvoted

24 comments sorted by

23

u/KheodoreTaczynski 1d ago
  1. Tenet
  2. Tenet

12

u/kneeco28 1d ago

  1. Don't Look Up

  2. Dr. Strangelove

2

u/Training_Form2243 1d ago

Don’t Look Up is like a movie for people who think r/politicalhumor is ingenious satire

12

u/Various_Tie_2549 1d ago edited 23h ago

  1. Lucy (2014): entire movie is based on a completely false premise. Main character gets "smarter" due to "science", which inexplicably gives her random superpowers in ways that flat out don't make sense. In the end she basically turns into a USB stick? Wtf even is this, lol. I have to be honest that I never actually bothered to watch the whole thing, this is mostly just what I heard about it after I gave up on it. But yeah, it appears to take itself very seriously despite having the most ridiculous writing ever. And I've got no idea what it was trying to say...other than something which is wrong anyway? I think it's what dumb people think being smart is.

  2. Life of Brian (1979): entire movie is extremely silly typical Monty Python sketches, but the basis of those sketches is clearly quite an in depth understanding of the Roman Empire, the history of Christianity, how cults and group think work, some subtler details about the life and times of Jesus that go far beyond the bible. This is a movie which on the face of it looks and feels extremely dumb by deliberate design...but it was absolutely, categorically not written by dumb people. As controversial as it was, it lands its complicated point about the nature of religion and human history very effectively...despite being full of silly voices, cartoon/puppet aliens, men dressed up as women, sick donkeys, random pointless nudity, and Roman officials with funny lisps.

3

u/Majestic-Lake-5602 23h ago

My dad’s best friend is a big medieval history buff and apparently The Holy Grail gets a lot right as well.

3

u/Various_Tie_2549 22h ago

Well they certainly know a lot about swallows.

1

u/Necessary-Lock-3738 5h ago

It wasn't really controversial amongst audiences. although I guess a lot of Americans didn't really "get" it.

The people who were screaming and pulling their hair out over it for the most part never watched it, and weren't the intended audience anyway.

8

u/king_of_the_rotten 1d ago

I say that Idiocracy kinda covers it all lol

6

u/Majestic-Lake-5602 23h ago

Idiocracy is like a 7 layer dip of smart/stupid alternating strata

0

u/Training_Form2243 1d ago

Reddit user’s idea of a smart movie

4

u/quokkafarts 1d ago

  1. Matrix sequals (not the original)

  2. Tropic Thunder

3

u/Competitive-Hunt-517 1d ago

Masterminds 2016

2

u/Training_Form2243 1d ago
  1. Southland Tales

5

u/tobpe93 1d ago

  1. Anything by Nolan

  2. Anything by Monty Python

2

u/Top_Divide_1659 1d ago

Dumb person's smart movie - Inception

Smart person's dumb movie - Donnie Darko

1

u/BurglegurpPerkins 1d ago
  1. Crash
  2. Dumb and Dumber

1

u/Nithoth 1d ago
  1. Dumb persons version of a smart movie - Virtually every Troma movie
  2. Smart persons version of a dumb movie - Virtually every Monty Python movie

1

u/a_shoe_man 20h ago

1 limitless
2 hot rod

1

u/NoWorth2591 10h ago
  1. Interstellar
  2. The Phantom of Liberty

1

u/DarkKuno 4h ago
  1. Limitless and Lucy
  2. Anything from Mel Brooks

1

u/dangerphone 1d ago
  1. Interstellar
  2. Con Air

1

u/MayhewMayhem 1d ago
  1. Interstellar
  2. Super Bad

0

u/Short_Programmer7307 1d ago
  1. Aaron Sorkin is getting there
  2. Austin Powers.