Five Underrated Commercial Movies For You To Watch

Here's my list of five of the best commercial movies ever made, all of which were much better than they had any right to be, and therefore, are severely underrated/underseen

Hailee Steinfeld in 'Bumblebee' (CREDIT: Paramount Pictures)

by Jack Linsdell

With cinemas currently closed due to the Coronavirus pandemic, and with audiences (you guys) having plenty of spare time at home, I decided to continue my "movie list" series by counting down five commercial movies that are worth your time because they are much better than they ever had any right to be. To be clear, I'm defining a commercial movie as a film based on IP (books, toys, comic books etc.), or as part of an existing franchise, whose sole purpose of being made was to make the studio money. Commercial movies are, therefore, widely-appealing to the masses to maximise their potentional profits, and often kid-friendly too, which often has a big impact on their quality. However, for these five movies listed below, the managed to maintain (if not exceed) their quality despite being commercial flicks. 

War of the Worlds (2005)

Tim Robbins, Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning in 'War of the Worlds' (CREDIT: Paramount)

Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds, is one of many adaptions of the popular book by HG Wells, but by far the most prolific one. Despite it's commercial success (it earned an impressive $603 million worldwide on a $132 million budget), it was largely ignored or panned by critics, and I'm not talking about any source material discrepancies or fan complaints either. But, despite starring Tom Cruise (one of the greatest commercial actors around), in one of his best performances ever, this sci-fi/action-thriller is more than just a big-budget adaption of a book (think Hunger Games, sorry). War of the Worlds is one hell of a thrill ride for it's 116 minute runtime, with plenty of action. However, it's not just explosions. No, no, no. It's action with stakes, with progressions and twists you don't see coming. It's also gritty and actually really tense - the aliens are actually really scary, even watching it as an adult. Added to that, screenwriters David Koepp and Josh Friedman manage to add a lot of potent emotion, vulnerability and relatability to the movie through the creation of a solid, family unit. The Farrier's (Cruise, a young Dakota Fanning and Justin Chadwick) are a family we spend most of the movie in peril with, as they try to survive the alien invasion, and because we really believe in their relationships with one another, the action becomes much more tense as a result. I'm not sure Spielberg is capable of making a bad movie, but War of the Worlds, one of his more commercial projects, is far from that. At a base line, it's entertainment done well, and right, but it's emotion, well-written characters and killer performances make this a commercial movie better than it ever had any right to be. 

The 5th Wave (2016)

Chloe Grace Moretz in 'The 5th Wave' (CREDIT: Sony Pictures)

Regular readers know that J Blakeson's The 5th Wave is one of my favourite movies of all time (and, one I take inspiration from as a filmmaker too). Firstly, it stars one of the top and favourite actresses around in Chloe Grace Moretz - which is all you need to know really. She plays Cassie Sullivan, one of the only survivors of five attacks (including natural disasters, disease etc.) by an alien race known as "The Others" on earth. She has to stay alive whilst trying to rescue her little brother Sam after they were separated earlier in the story. It's a very gritty, realistic and tense survivalist-thriller, which never fails to be short of engrossing and entertaining, which is surprising (in a good way) considering it's targeted at teenagers (it's based on Rick Yancey's YA novel of the same name). J Blakeson (who has another film coming out within next year or so) directs the hell of the this one, proving himself to be a very competent filmmaker and storyteller. Although the brainchild of the author Rick Yancey, who has created a remarkable and original story through the trilogy of novels (this only based on the first one), screenwriters Susannah Grant (whose Unbelievable series was sublime), Jeff Pinkner and Avika Goldsman have crafted and brought to life some of the best emotional storytelling ever in a commercial movie, period. And, aided by first class acting talent (Nick Robinson, Ron Livingston and Alex Roe amongst others), we get characters we really invest in, as well as a whole romantic subplot that is told completely visually without one word of dialogue or "signposting". Furthermore, the movie is a lesson in emotion, especially in how good Henry Jackman's score is. The 5th Wave, a underseen (only $109 million worldwide) and hugely underrated commercial movie, is one fine example of excellent filmmaking - one that should be on the school curriculums. 

Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children (2016)

Ella Purnell and Asa Butterfield in 'Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children' (CREDIT: 20th Century)

Apart from being a ridiculously long title for bloggers like me to keep writing out, Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children is hands down director Tim Burton's best film. If, you're already his fan then I don't need to persuade you. But, to those that couldn't care for his work (like me), this 2016 fantasy-adventure is a very well-made and compelling movie. It's greatest compliment is that you've never seen a movie like this before, but it isn't remotely weird or eccentric enough (like most of Burton's other flicks) to be a black mark against it's name. In fact, it's peculiarities are what provides most of the comedy (yes the movie is very funny) and emotion. With an awesome cast of (deep breath) Asa Butterfield (one of the best British young actors in the business), Ella Purnell, Samuel L. Jackson, Eva Green, Judi Dench, Allison Janney and Terence Stamp, we get an acting treat by seeing all these talents clearly having fun in their roles. The central love story between Butterfield and Purnell is subtlety done, yet beautiful and moving, whilst Butterfield's relationship with his overbearing father (played brilliantly by Chris O'Dowd) provides a lot of emotional grounding to this fantasy movie. It's themes, all about embracing your flaws and defects really do hit home, and despite being a movie technically aimed at kids, this one is dark and adult enough in key moments to make it more sophisticated entertainment. Although based on an acclaimed novel by Ransom Briggs, you wouldn't expect a movie penned by Jane Goldman and directed by Tim Burton (both of whom I don't rate at all) to be this good or well-made. But, Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children is an aimed-at-kid's flick that somehow manages to provide an audience with adult storytelling in a cover of escapist entertainment. It also manages to feel so original despite belonging to a well-worn genre that it gets many marks for that. Oh, and Butterfield's Time Freak is highly recommended too!

Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018)

Rebecca Ferguson and Tom Cruise in 'Mission: Impossible - Fallout' (CREDIT: Paramount)

The sixth instalment in Tom Cruise's beloved action series, Mission: Impossible - Fallout is not only the best Ethan Hunt adventure yet (and that's saying something), but one of the best-made action flicks ever produced. Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie returns to the franchise here (and he'll return for instalments 7 and 8 when this virus allows them to finish filming) to write, produce and direct a much darker and more emotional Mission movie, and it pays off, big time. With the standard McQuarrie sharp, clever dialogue, complex plotting and engaging action, Fallout has a really complex and seemingly complicated story with plenty of twists and turns. However, underneath it all, it's actually so simple and easy to understand, you get the best of both worlds. Lorne Balfe's score is one of the best soundtracks ever written for an action movie, whilst the long takes, realistic action and plenty of daredevil and nail-biting stunts (all performed by Cruise, as normal) give this movie an elegance, style and quality you do not expect from a commercial action movie, especially one belonging to such a big franchise like this. McQuarrie has cemented himself as being one of the best filmmakers in the business, and to me, he's up there with the greatest storytellers of all time - this will be his masterpiece, no doubt. He finds a way to bring the elements you expect (witty jokes from Simon Pegg, mask gags, the theme tune and the whole "Hunt's team work together to save the day" plot strand) in the way you don't, or haven't seen done before. Mission: Impossible - Fallout is very much a very entertaining commercial movie. But, like all of these listed here, gains a merit for actually being such a well-made film, which it doesn't have the right to be. 

Bumblebee (2018)

Hailee Steinfeld in 'Bumblebee' (CREDIT: Paramount)

Again, the Transformers series isn't known for being particularly full of well-made, raved about movies. I would largely agree, although Transformers: Dark of the Moon is a really enjoyable action extravaganza. However, Travis Knight's 1980s-set coming-of-age/family drama is technically a prequel to the Michal Bay five-film series, and this allows Bumblebee to be a very different (and better made) commercial movie. Starring another of my favourite actresses Hailee Steinfeld in the lead role, this charts how the Transformer, known as Bumblebee, first came to earth and formed a connection with struggling teenager Charlie Watson. Despite having a more kid-friendly PG rating (the main series has 12's), it manages to provide light entertainment, with plenty of comedy, charm and awkwardness that comes with adolescence, as well as having enough brutality in it's violence and adult emotional relatability as it can get away with. Steinfeld is terrific as always, especially reuniting with her Barely Lethal co-star Jason Drucker who plays her little brother, capturing all the emotion and vulnerability of Charlie's teenage personality. It's period setting also sets it apart from the main series by playing on adult's nostalgia of the 1980s, with plenty of references in costume, props and of course the soundtrack to one of the best periods of the modern times. It's a very fun movie, and despite revolving around a robotic Transformer, is a very human and grounded film, that provides entertainment for everyone in the family. Bumblebee works so well because it moves well away from the type of commercial action flick that the series had become known for. With more emphasis on story, character, emotion and setting than the Michael Bay sci-fi actioners, Bumblebee becomes a really well-made movie that we absolutely weren't expecting to get when it was released. I hope we get Bumblebee 2 in the future. 

So, there you go. Here's five commercial movies you may or not have seen. Either way, I recommend all of these films to you because they are fine examples of how commercial movies can sometimes be more than entertainment that makes (or doesn't) money. Sometimes, they can be entertainment done well and done right. But sometimes they can also be really well-made movies too, ones that are so well-done that we don't expect to be as entertained and moved as we were. Stay safe out there everyone and happy movie watching!