MovieChat Forums > Muppets Most Wanted (2014) Discussion > Can someone please explain to me why is ...

Can someone please explain to me why is movie is so despised?

posted 9 years ago by BobThePizzaBoy
21 replies | jump to latest

First off, I will say - I am a huge Muppet fan. So maybe my opinion is a bit biased. But with that said, I think this is a really good movie. It's far from the best Muppet film and there are things I would change but the critical consensus the film has - not as good as the 2011 film, but still satisfying as a follow-up. However, I do not understand at all why the general public despises this movie the way they do. I've heard this compared to Spider-Man 3, Batman & Robin... I legitimately don't get it. Furthermore, it seems like after one movie people have went from welcoming the Muppets back with open arms to flat-out despising the characters. What were people expecting? I guess I shouldn't expect too much since we let Adam Sandler and CG chipmunks become cultural phenomenons. But I don't get why this movie is being as seen as being so terrible. Dislike the movie, sure, but it has no place on a "worst movies ever" list.

[–] goofyball 9 years ago

yeah i dont get it either. but it's mostly liked... rotten tomatoes was 79 percent... but for some reason there's a loud group who hate it. i love it. i thought it was funny and silly and classic muppet like and the songs were fantastic.

i agree it doesn't have the dramatic overtone and heart of the last one but who needs all that teary eyed sappiness again? it makes up for it in just energetic fun. i think some people have made the muppets so important in their lives they have forgotten it's also supposed to be fun. they micro analyze everything. some people hate tina fey. some hate gervais. some hate that kermit is kidnapped. some hate the songs some hate this that and the other.

whats even odder is the hatred for the film makers yet they are the same exact ones who made the last one and won the Oscar for best song and these guys love the muppets. they went out mad made 2 awesome movies when the muppets were dead and some people out there have zero appreciation.

[–] jmarkoff2 9 years ago

The previous movie, while enjoyable, was a rehash of a ton of other Muppet projects. This one was a fun crime-thriller spoof in the nature of Pink Panther. I enjoyed it all the way.

[–] Infiltr8 9 years ago

I thought this one was a great Muppet movie. The cameos, which were a great part of the original films, are back in full force and the songs were great. I had the feeling the whole time that they were doing a throwback to the classics instead of trying to make it in some sort of new 21st century style.

Sail away tiny sparrow...

[–] SataiDelen 9 years ago

^^^This! This is my guess as to why many don't like it. Disney TRIED to make it like the original Henson era, but just couldn't. There were elements of what made the original great, but overall, it just fell way flat. I appreciate the effort Disney made, but the honest truth is that there was just something Henson could give the Muppets, that Disney can't. And I don't recall offhand, as I didn't pay attention to the end credits, and I didn't yet look here at the cast/crew, but is Frank Oz still doing Piggy, and the other voices he used to do? If so, then that makes it even more sad that it was a miss instead of a hit with more people, because he of all people should remember what made the original great, and done more to make this like the original if that is what Disney was really going for.

I recognized from the trailers that this movie was trying to recapture what made the original so great, and that made me happy. But then I actually watched the movie, and it just didn't live up to what the trailers made it out to be. That saddened me. I don't hate this film exactly, but I certainly didn't love it. I laughed in a few parts, but other parts actually made me cringe.

So, kudos to Disney for trying, at least.

EMOTICONS ARE BACK! YAY!   

[–] stevenackerman69 9 years ago

No, Frank Oz is not the voice of any of those characters. He wasn't that even in The Muppets. Eric Jacobsen does those voices now. He isn't bad. I agree with you, it isn't a terrible sequel, but inferior. Maybe because Jason Segel, who was one of the original people involved with the 2011 film as not only Walter's brother Gary, but co-wrote the script, wasn't involved at any level, made it suffer. I think if he had agreed to help out in some way, maybe it would've been okay. I missed him and Amy Adams' Mary in this.

[–] thegr8defender 9 years ago

I had no idea it wasn't liked. My husband and I actually like it more than the last movie and quote Constantine all the time.

[–] goofyball 9 years ago

watched it again finally on cable... so much fun... if you check out twitter you will find people seeing it on starz for the first time love it... it's a well made fun movie that will overcome the internet crank heads

[–] rye9969 9 years ago

I just want a new Muppet Show.....

[–] stevenackerman69 9 years ago

You are getting your wish.

[–] stevenackerman69 9 years ago

I don't feel it is one of the worst films of 2014. But I think it isn't written as well as the Muppet film from 2011 and depends on the Idiot Plot too much. I also felt there were too many cameos, they should've toned it down. I think this has the most cameos in any Muppet film. What was good about the 2011 film was the acknowlegement that the Muppets were dated and past their shelf life and it wasn't like we were clamoring for a revival. This time around, the film depends on a caper plot, like the inferior Great Muppet Caper did. Do we really care about that? There are some good moments, but I didn't think the songs were as memorable this time. Two of the songs sort of grew on me, but that was it.

[–] paperdoll86 9 years ago

My family and I saw it the first day it was released and LOVED it! We were dying laughing..and then it just...died in theaters...
Here is my theory:

The Jim Henson humor is often mistaken. Jim always sort of lamented the fact that people presumed the muppets were exclusively for children. The humor was ALWAYS a little edgy, but again, people seem to overlook it. The last muppets movie was pretty good, but didn't have too much of that. Muppets Most Wanted, I feel, brought back that subversive humor, and audiences wouldn't deal with that.

"We had part of a Slinky, but I straightened it."

[–] stevenackerman69 9 years ago

I don't think it is that, it is just that the story wasn't as good this time. There were also too many gags, which can get tiring.

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] stevenackerman69 9 years ago

Funny thing about those "At the Dance" skits. They phased them out on the show because they felt the writing was pointless and just one liners. Read this in Jim Henson's recent bio.

[–] Shadowslayer 9 years ago

Also some old references would be nice. Such as "Pigs in Space" or "At the Dance Skits" which was crying out to happen at the Waltz sketch.

Uhh... what? The sketch with Waltz WAS the "At the Dance Skit." I mean sure, it had a different camera angle and stuff than the original Muppet Show, but... It had couples dancing around and making one liners. What the heck did you think it was?

[–] stevenackerman69 9 years ago

I didn't hear any one liners there.

[–] scarlettsdad 9 years ago

Personally, I disliked the last one. But this one, I enjoy. The cameos were a little too much--in fact, I had to go back and check to see who some of them were (and suspect no one will remember them in five years). There were a lot of great gags and some of the lines made me laugh out loud. I was even going to buy the DVD, since it's supposedly a flop, but it's asking top dollar. Maybe the critics didn't like it, but the regular folks must like it better. This is the Muppets, not Shakespeare.

[–] stevenackerman69 9 years ago

Well, Shakespeare couldn't write Hamlet every single time. Not all of his plays are good. I actually like the tragedies better than the comedies, because the tragedies are more truthful-we are all going to one day die. Anyway, back to Muppets: Not every Muppet film works. It is how it is done. I think the difference between this one and Muppets was the songs not being as memorable, too many cameos, and not as good writing.

[–] CitizenCairParavel 8 years ago

I loved it!

[–] steveinstantnewman 8 years ago

I don't get it either. I thought the Segel helmed The Muppets of a few years back was overly sappy and pushed the Muppets to the side in favor of Segel/Adams too much. Whereas this one felt closer to a return to form (as opposed to the overly safe, trip down memory lane of The Muppets). I still pine for Frank Oz being back in the mix but that ship has sailed unfortunately.

[–] stevenackerman69 8 years ago

I sort of like the Gary and Mary characters. They were not in every scene in Muppets but they were the supporting humans. Nothing wrong with that. I think The Muppets was smarter because of the fact that it acknowledged that the Muppets hadn't been as popular for several years. Last film in theaters before that was Muppets from Space in 1999, which bombed. This time around, there were just too many jokes and I didn't care for the caper plot. And the whole Constantine fooling the Muppets boarders on Idiot Plot. Constantine gives himself away in several moments but no one catches on? C'mon, the Muppets aren't that stupid.