Many times, films will get undeserved criticism that almost makes it seem that the critics are just trolling in hopes that the film bombs. Of course, that isn’t unusual and people should not be surprised when it happens. However, when that happens, films suffer from it at the time of their release.

Those films may not have gotten such a warm reception because of the time they came out, the audience that they were trying to cater to or any number of factors. Here is a list of films that are way better than people realize.

The Lion King (2019)

The Lion King 2019 [credit: Disney]

This 2019 Disney remake was released to a divided critical reception but, nevertheless, made over $1 billion at the box office. Critics described the film as soulless and lacking emotions in the characters with the advanced CGI, which was said to dip down to the uncanny valley.

I saw this film on Disney+ and I have to say that this was incredibly amazing. I was astounded by the visual effects and how they made each character look like something out of a nature documentary. My friends from college even thought that the animals were real. Jon Favreau’s direction is something to be praised. 

Dumbo (2019)

Dumbo 2019 [credit: Disney]

I talked about this before and why the critics also got this Disney remake wrong. It stars Colin Farrell as wounded war veteran Holt Farrier who happens upon a big-eared baby elephant with the ability to fly.

Many critics praised Tim Burton’s direction but claimed that it lacked emotional depth which is the craziest thing that I ever heard of because this movie was the definition of raw emotion that was so poignant in its execution that it rivals that of the 1941 animated version. This was definitely another case of butt-hurt critics that were upset that a classic Disney IP was being remade as a cash-grab.

I don’t care if it was a cash-grab. I still loved this movie and thought it was as good as the 1941 film it’s based upon.

The Call of the Wild

Call of the Wild 2020 [credit: 20th Century Studios]

Audiences were greeted with this CG dog-filled 2020 film about a large Saint Bernard named Buck, who is stolen and sold for money and becomes a sled dog with Harrison Ford supporting him when he can in a lovable man’s best friend film.

The film was criticized for its CGI claiming that, like The Lion King, the animals dipped down into the uncanny valley. Again, this is just borderline nitpicking. The CGI never feels like it’s overcrowding the canvas of the film and, instead, it enhances the narrative with an incredible look at the technology standard and buoyed by an emotional narrative.

Balto

Balto [credit: Universal Pictures / Amblin Entertainment

Here’s another dog story that 90s kids are a little more familiar with. This animated dog story tells the tale of an outcast wolf-dog hybrid named Balto who attempts to bring back medicine across the freezing cold of Alaska to the ailing citizens.

Critics described the film as having bland characterization, which is something incredibly strange to note after watching the film. It has all of the tropes of a classic Disney animated film without having the title of Disney. Its score by James Horner is inescapably magnetic with an incredible voice cast from Kevin Bacon and Bridget Fonda.

A Troll In Central Park

A Troll in Central Park [credit: Warner Bros.]

Again, if you grew up or were born in the 90s, you probably also remember this movie and watching it on VHS. This is the story of a troll named Stanley who is banished to Central Park for being too nice. He encounters two children as they help him take down the evil Troll Queen Gnorga.

The film was maligned for being childish and immature. However, I remember watching the film and smiling from ear-to-ear with pure joy flooding my countenance and being filled with the splendor of happiness. Long story short, this film is colorful and worth a look. 

 It was just a few years ago that Oscar-nominated actor Bradley Cooper was courting offers from tons of directors such as Adam McKay, Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino before settling on two films that released last year and were nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Cooper selected the lead role in Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley and a small, supporting role in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza. Following the success of his own directorial debut, A Star is Born, Cooper was highly coveted and now, he’s about to work with the most famous filmmaker of all-time. 

According to Deadline, Bradley Cooper will star in the latest film from Steven Spielberg which will be a new original take on the legendary character Frank Bullitt played by Steve McQueen. The report details that the movie is not a remake of the original film, Bullitt, but a completely new idea that is centered around the character from the 1968 crime thriller. In the original movie, Bullitt is a sensible police officer from San Francisco who’s on the hunt for a mobster that killed one his witnesses in a case he’s on. The role is one of the more quintessential roles of McQueen’s career, so it’s interesting that someone of Spielberg’s stature would want to recreate the character for an actor such as Cooper. Having said that, this is an all-star pairing and continues Cooper’s streak of working with some of the best working directors in Hollywood. The film will be written by Josh Singer, who previously penned Spotlight and The Post.

The report also notes that the development of this project has been in the works since the COVID-19 pandemic. Spielberg and Cooper have been trying to work together ever since American Sniper, a film for which Cooper earned his third and fourth Oscar nominations, which eventually was helmed by Clint Eastwood. After that partnership fell through, Spielberg reached out to Cooper to direct his Leonard Bernstein biopic, Maestro, which Cooper eventually obliged. Following his performance and achievement in directing A Star is Born, Spielberg thought that after years of developing Maestro but maybe not having the time to direct himself, he handed the film off to the multihyphenate. Spielberg is currently on a press tour for his semi-autobiographical film, The Fabelmans which stars Paul Dano, Michelle Williams and Seth Rogen coming off of the heels of his incarnation of West Side Story which released in 2021.

This sequel to a horror classic needs more love and attention nowadays!

If there is any horror film synonymous amongst film fans and horror movie veterans, it is William Friedkin’s masterpiece The Exorcist, and for good reason! It’s a living nightmare of a film; a cinematic embodiment of what it means to fear for your own life especially when it comes to the residential home life. Also touching subject matters of helplessness and grief. Friedkin not only created something atmospherically disturbing but metaphorically terrifying as well, thus creating a classic status towards the film. And while many horror sequels attempt to capture that “lightning in a bottle” energy that its predecessor has created, some succeed and some fail at doing so. It is rare for a film to even be better than that first film, but William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist III is one of those rare instances where it completely outshines the original.

The Exorcist III [cred. Morgan Creek Prod.]

Set 15 years after the original film, The Exorcist III is a film that pulls a Halloween III: Season of the Witch approach of storytelling and not particularly be about any sort of monster rather than a social issue. In this film’s case, it is about the mysterious “Gemini Killer”. We see Lt. Kinderman solve the case through hospitals and even his own nightmares. Sure, the film does not seem like a straight sequel to the original film, but that’s the genius of it all. Kinderman and Father Dyer are still shaken after the events from the previous film, both meeting up once a year to catch up and try to forget. Doing so by either drinking or seeing a movie, both still living normal lives up until that day rolls around the corner. George C. Scott plays the role of Kinderman with such explosive range; from his most emotional and down-traught to his craziest when he comes close with Brad Douriff’s “The Gemini Killer”. Speaking of Douriff, he is an absolute standout and a delight to watch on screen. Even in other films, he is always the best-acted one not only in the room but in the cast listing and The Exorcist III just might be my favorite performance from him. On the surface, The Exorcist III is a typical mystery-thriller but it truly is elevated by its atmospheric tone and off-the-walls third act. What elevates it in terms of creep-factor and effectiveness of being considered in the horror genre is its slow-burn aspect and unexpectedly hitting the audience with startling imagery. Tonally, compare The Exorcist III to Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, both completely different films from their predecessor but sequels that reinvent the wheel in their franchises. The Exorcist III plays the same in terms of structure from the first film; depicting a man who is living in a nightmare and is constantly haunted by his past and is constantly battling that struggle via recent events. The Exorcist III is the perfect Halloween film and one of my favorite horror movies of all time and will consistently rewatch it and be mesmerized that a film like this exists in our lifetime.