I have been bombarded with opinions regarding Original Netflix movies. Most people I talk to have a tendency to mention their movies in a negative light. I have heard over and over again that the Netflix originals were inherently bad and or underwhelming.
As a wannabe journalist, I thought to investigate whether that claim was true. This means that I just had to watch a bunch of original Netflix movies and blog about them, which I have done.
I am now ready to make my judgment, are they bad? Do they suck? or are the haters wrong? The answer is more nuanced than that, so let’s explore the question in a little more depth.
Part 1 The Directors
One of the biggest reasons why I feel Netflix has to keep producing original stuff is so they can platform great filmmakers.
Bong Joon-Ho made Okja
Martin Scorsese Made The Irishman
The Coen Brothers made The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
I am a fan of all these filmmakers. Even though the films in question are the weakest from these directors by far. The fact that Netflix provides a place for them to make movies is in my opinion very important. Another favorite of mine, Charlie Kaufman also has a film on Netflix. If the studios have given up on actual legends in Hollywood, in order to pump out bad superhero and Star Wars movies, then so be it.
Part 2 Variety
Netflix gives great variety when it comes to its production. They made a good period piece in “The King”. A trippy as all hell arthouse film like “I am thinking of ending things”, decent sci-fi films like Tau, a great suspenseful movie in The Call, and so on.
I might be burned out when it comes to Hollywood and going to the movies in general, that is entirely possible. It just feels to me like all Hollywood does is make the same kind of “designed by committee” films over and over and over again. Where Netflix is more creative and interesting despite missing from time to time. I would much rather watch a film like “The Harder They Fall” then the new Disney Star Wars films.
It appears to be harder and harder to get a movie made in Hollywood. I have heard Spielberg and Scorcese both talk about how hard it is to get a movie these days. These two are not unknowns, but legends. They might not be marketable anymore.
Hollywood is a business more than anything else. People in Hollywood are only someone if they sell tickets, but that is a discussion for another time. If Netflix is the new home for these kinds of filmmakers then I am all for it!
Part 3 The Quality
Now to what might be the most important aspect of this entire post.
Are they any good?
The boring answer is some are bad, some are decent to good.
The biggest problem with Netflix movies is that none of their films is that remarkable. While I might like “The King” it is not a movie I’m going to watch again, in fact, this sentiment can be said about a lot if not all Netflix films. I might also like the movie Tau, but I would not consider it a top Sci-fi film.
None of the good Netflix films goes above and beyond. They are all fine, decent, and other non-flattery words. They don’t really stand out as something great. None of them are “classics” we are going to revise in the future.
The lack of greats would not really be a problem if all the films were decent, but this is not the case. While some of the films are good, most are terrible. All original Adam Sandler movies are terrible. Most of the films I have blogged about are underwhelming and or bad.
The vast majority of Netflix films are terrible, bad, uninteresting, and sucks. All the good ones are simply nothing special. The problem becomes clear.
HOWEVER! It is worth keeping in mind that the alternative (Hollywood) also produces a lot of mediocre crap. Netflix is at the very least creative in creating new stuff. They try and fail till they make something good. They might not have anything special right now, but I feel they have it in them to make something truly great in the future.