MovieChat Forums > Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) Discussion > W-A-A-A-Y Overrated!

W-A-A-A-Y Overrated!

posted 13 years ago by raketex
31 replies | jump to latest

C'mon, people - a "7.4" for this movie??!

I had never seen this movie and had great hopes for it after reading some of the imdb reader reviews.

It started off well enough, but I was going to cut it some slack anyway, given that it was the 70's and it had a low budget.

Austin Stoker did a credible job in the lead, and was professional throughout, given what he had to work with. But some of the rest of the people - it was like watching amateur hour.

And Laurie Zimmer - she would go through some extremes, trying hard to be hard-boiled tough-sexy (à la vintage Lauren Bacall in those classic Bogie movies), but just come off being a half-beat off and hard to watch (her acting, that is).

And then there was the pièce de résistance when she is standing woodenly, in that odd slump-shouldered, lobotomized stance looking over her fallen comrade. That was SO stupid-looking!

How some of these scenes got off the cutting-room floor and back into the movie beats the heck out of me.

"7.4"?? I'd give it about a "2.4," worthy of a curiosity look but nothing I'd want to waste my time watching ever again.

[–] Marmadukebagelhole 13 years ago

And then there was the pièce de résistance when she is standing woodenly, in that odd slump-shouldered, lobotomized stance looking over her fallen comrade. That was SO stupid-looking!

One of my favourite bits of the movie. Up to that point Leigh has been resilient and unflappable. I thought it was a great way to convey the exhaustion and the reality of the situation finally overwhelming Leigh for a moment without having her suffer the indignity of bursting into tears or collapsing into the arms of the male hero.

The shot is a really nice tableau of the two male heroes taking care of business while they almost ignore Leigh standing in between them, but it's ok cos we know she's able to hold her own and suffer silently and not being fussed over before picking herself up again.

[–] winston-zedmore 13 years ago

You're a troll is you think this deserves anything less than a 7. It's a classic B-movie, enough said.

[–] slasherfilmsthree 13 years ago

the OP just made my ignore list

[–] King_Kestrel 13 years ago

Ah yes. People with legitimate disagreements over subjective movie evaluations are trolls and should be ignored. Also hated.

----
All your board are belong to Kestrel

[–] talisencrw 9 years ago

Same here. And I hardly ignore any user unless they're extremely aggravating.

[–] Soodinum 9 years ago

Adding real trolls to your ignore list is legit. But doing it because they don't like a favourite film of yours? You're absolutely retarded and childish.

Right or wrong, the OP actually stated reasons and gave examples for their opinion. And they didn't even use that stupid "worst movie ever" title, which would almost warrant an iggy in itself.

So please. Grow up.

'Then' and 'than' are different words - stop confusing them.

[–] raketex 12 years ago

Personally, I would consider any movie rated a 7 or higher to be something I would enjoy watching again because I appreciate the story, the quality of the performances, the technical merits (cinematography, lighting, set design, sound, etc.), perhaps something particularly noteworthy for its breakthrough or trendsetting precedence, etc.

I didn't feel any of that for this movie - there were a couple of good points here and there, but the overall amateurish tone of the movie really turned me off.

Personally, I wouldn't even consider it a good B-movie (unless "B" meant "Bad"). However, that's just my opinion - you can disagree. I just know that I won't be wasting my time ever watching this again -- unless I just want to see how bad some of the acting is.

[–] striderh 12 years ago

I could see why you wouldn't enjoy it raketex, however, I absolutely LOVE this film for the atmosphere alone! The first time I saw it was about 3 or 4 years ago and have watched it about 10 or 15 times since then. Everyone I've shown it to loves it as well. It's just a fun movie, nothing oscar-worthy for sure but just plain ol' shootout fun :)

'Don't let me die with that silly look in my eyes.'

[–] LeonardPine 11 years ago

Stayed up late and watched this on British TV way back in the early 80's when i was a young teenager. I thought it was one of the greatest films i'd ever seen!

Loved everything about it, the action, the dialogue, the violence and the super-cool music! And 30 years later i still love it!

"It is time to keep your appointment with the Wicker Man"

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] A-Guna14 11 years ago

its well made low-budget movie ...but there seems to be some problem with writing(especially dialogues) or acting or both.

[–] Draven65-1 11 years ago

You misspelled underrated.

"The only rules that really matter are these:What a man can do,and what a man can't do."-Capt. Jack

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] nicholas_carton 10 years ago

I wouldn't even say that 7.4 is overrated given that it has nearly 25000 votes and was released in the 70s. If you want an overrated movie then check out 'Oldboy' (2003). That film is an all around weak effort with the exception of its twist and currently sits at 8.4 with over 240000 votes due to some serious conformity by people who like to believe that they are 'alternative'. It's all nonsense really

[–] milan_kovacevic-04 10 years ago

Quite over.-rated, yes.

Not a bad movie but could have been done way better.

[–] markmorris1973 10 years ago

Id say the OP makes some valid points and its not a perfect film, but for me there are a couple of redeeming features, the soundtrack is really good and fits the film, and the ice cream truck scene did stand out for me, but I do agree that Laurie Zimmer didn't do that great a job, but I do agree with the 7.4