5. Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone
Warner Bros.Sorry Harry Potter fans. This is the second film in the series to make the list, and while the series is a respectable enough work of filmmaking, it has started some trends that have made mainstream cinema increasingly passe and predictable. Namely, it has put the focus of film on children. Somewhat akin to the criticism of Twilight, without the female specificity, Harry Potter popularized a trend in the adaption of young adult fiction where the main character, a seemingly normal or perhaps slightly picked upon individual, is secretly "The One". While they have been passed over their whole life as insignificant and unimportant, in reality, only he/she can do what it takes to save the world and restore it to balance or some equivalent gibberish. Without trying to rain on everybody's parade, it is the height of passive-aggressive narcissism to be believe because you haven't been recognized as special enough, you are the only person in the world that can save it. Beyond these psychological concerns though, it's also a bit depressing of how little we ask from kids these days. If we look back at a film like Star Wars, enjoyed by countless adults, but also very accessible to and aimed toward children, the subtext of that film included things such as Zen Buddhism and the Vietnam War. Now admittedly, these thematic undertones undoubtedly went over the heads of kids who wanted a Greedo action figure for Christmas, however, deep, deep down in the subconscious of some of those kids, it probably did make an impact, whether they realized it or not. Harry Potter on the other hand seems to reiterate a message kids are already inundated with: you're all really special.