15 Films Audiences Got Right (But Critics Got Wrong)
3. Zero Dark Thirty
Rotten Tomatoes: 91%
IMDb: 7.4
Despite being widely loved by critics, Kathryn Bigelow's war thriller chronicling the hunt for Osama bin Laden following 9/11 hasn't done as well with audiences, as displayed by the IMDb rating and only a 6.9 audience score on Metacritic. And why would it do well with audiences?
This is a film without any depth, artistry, emotion, warmth, humanity or soul that unfolds in a truly robotic manner. It's further let down by Bigelow's strangely poor direction; the visuals in this movie consist of workmanlike handheld cinematography that feels stunningly lazy. Aside from great acting this mostly makes for a very indifferent and frequently downright dull viewing.
Perhaps critics were drawn to the film's realistic, factual style and admittedly impressive narrative construction, but whatever their reasons they cut this movie an awful lot of slack and the considerably more muted reaction from audiences is absolutely right. Some still argue that this should've won Best Picture over the far, far superior Argo, but if it had won the big prize it definitely would've faced even more backlash than it already has. Make no mistake: this did not deserve such high levels of acclaim.
Should Be Rated: 40%-60%