Godzilla, Titanic, and Avatar were on Chase Bachmeier’s list of most underrated movies in an article he published in a recent cycle. Due to these films being some of the most iconic and successful movies of all time, there was lots of confusion from our readers. I had the chance to sit down with Bachmeier this week and gained a new perspective on films and success, as well as made some edits to the original article for clarification. I found that Bachmeier’s explanations went beyond box office numbers and academy awards, and were instead based on value, culture, and his duty to recognize hard work. 

Bachmeier explained to me that Titanic (1997) is underrated because of its director, James Cameron’s perseverance. He also reasons that although Titanic is a seemingly monumental success, some viewers label it as a cheesy rom-com, and overlook the grandiosity. Similarly, Chase’s most overrated film was Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015). He explains that he enjoys the Star Wars movies, but finds that the franchise is too deeply embedded in pop culture. For this same reason, he included the original Star Wars (1977) at the end of his list. He also explained that he believes the Star Trek Franchise should get more recognition. 

But most importantly, Bachmeier told me about his own experiences with others undermining his work. He understands the time and effort that it takes to produce a film, which not many people appreciate. When I asked him what he would say to our upset readers, he said he was confident in his selections and reasoning. However, I offered Bachmeier the chance to change the titles of each section to “most underappreciated” or “most overplayed or over-referenced,” to which he agreed. He also confessed that he had not seen titles like Forrest Gump (1994) and Napoleon Dynamite (2004) more than once, and couldn’t remember them as well as the others. I also offered to take off those titles altogether, which he agreed would be more accurate. This seemed to clarify the categorization. 

When writing this article, he says he knew that he would spark conflict. However, after speaking with me, I believe he’s been able to see the confusion between his definition of underrated and the general audience’s understanding of it. In talking with Bachmeier, I’ve admired his love and knowledge of films, which leads him to view them differently than the general public.