TCTTS said:

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I will say, Fincher's The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is definitely underrated. But is finally starting to get its due, at least online, has been mentioned as of late on podcasts I listen to, etc. I wasn't super high on it in the theater, but I now rewatch it probably once a year and it's just incredible.

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So good.

I don't know if I'd call him underrated, but personally I don't put him at the top level of movie directors (for me, that would be Spielberg, Nolan, Villan?? however that name is spelled).

Fincher has made some damn fine movies, starting with Se7en. But I haven't been compelled to see every thing he has made. For instance, I probably didn't see Fight Club until a decade after it was released. Then you have his first movie, Alien 3. I doubt there is anyone posting on this board that is a bigger fan of Alien (the original film) and the series overall. Alien 3 had some really good moments, and visually it was just as good as its two predecessors. But 20th Century Fox was notorious for sticking its nose where it didn't necessarily belong during production of not only the third movie but the previous two as well, mostly for financial reasons; Ridley Scott and James Cameron had at least made movies prior to their xenomorph movies, so were able to combat that interference to a certain extent, but Fincher didn't have that ability at that time in his career, and it showed in the final product. I don't blame Fincher for that, though.

I think he's underrated as far as fame goes, but his filmography is properly rated. He's not in that S-tier top 5 group, but he's somewhere in that next group. I think Linklater is that same category where people don't know who he is, but still love his movies.

William Foster said:

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TCTTS said:

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I will say, Fincher's The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is definitely underrated. But is finally starting to get its due, at least online, has been mentioned as of late on podcasts I listen to, etc. I wasn't super high on it in the theater, but I now rewatch it probably once a year and it's just incredible.

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So good.

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My wife and I watched it for the first time a month or so again. I had no idea what it was about at all. had some very tough to watch parts, but really intense. Is it similar to the book (assuming someone read the book)?

Other than Seven and Fight Club, I haven't seen a single Fincher movie more than once.

The Porkchop Express said:

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William Foster said:

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TCTTS said:

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I will say, Fincher's The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is definitely underrated. But is finally starting to get its due, at least online, has been mentioned as of late on podcasts I listen to, etc. I wasn't super high on it in the theater, but I now rewatch it probably once a year and it's just incredible.

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So good.

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My wife and I watched it for the first time a month or so again. I had no idea what it was about at all. had some very tough to watch parts, but really intense. Is it similar to the book (assuming someone read the book)?

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It's a pretty faithful adaptation IIRC. The following two books were also really good.


If I remember, the author died before any of it was ever published.

I would also agree he's not underrated. I will say in my personal opinion, he's been overtaken by Villenueve though.

Both directors are damn near an automatic watch for me, but I'm more excited for a new DV movie now than a Fincher movie.

I put Prisoners right alongside Seven and Zodiac as far as noir thrillers go.

My current Fincher rankings...

I need to watch it as well, as it's definitely been a while and could potentially overtake Button for me. On one hand it's a great movie and a fun premise, but it's also one's that's so ridiculously preposterous, which knocks it down a peg or two for me.

Oh for sure, it starts fairly reasonable then goes completely off the rails.

But the fact that it does and Fincher still has you totally bought in shows how good he is.

Sea Speed said:

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GIF Reactor said:

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I see that I am clearly alone in my indifference for The Social Network. It was ok, but nothing I'd care to re-watch.

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I will take it a step further and say that I never saw it nor have I ever had any sort of desire to see it. Seems so incredibly lame to me.

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If I can count 2010 as the first year of the decade, then The Social Network is a top 3 film of that decade for me.

I need to watch The Game again. That movie rips.

I'm of the same opinion on The Social Network. I think it's good and have seen it a couple of times, but I have never understood the heralding of it being a masterwork.

I definitely don't put it on the same level as I do Fight Club or Se7en.

Lathspell said:

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I'm of the same opinion on The Social Network. I think it's good and have seen it a couple of times, but I have never understood the heralding of it being a masterwork.

I definitely don't put it on the same level as I do Fight Club or Se7en.

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Off the top of my head, Social Network excels at

1) dialogue - both pace and quality of it
2) being about Facebook, despite Fincher knowing nothing about Facebook, and the website being on screen for what, maybe 25 seconds?
3) Brilliant casting - Jesse Eisenberg probably also deserved an Oscar, and despite it being stunt casting, Justin Timberlake is really good as Sean Parker the Massive D8Bag
4) phenomenal you can't believe it's CGI CGI on the Winklevoss twins
5) Making a rather straightforward book into a really compelling movie.
6) Being pretty prescient at exactly what kind of person Zuckerberg appears to be - i.e. not golly gee whiz I just like to code
7) Early work by Rooney Mara and smoke show Dakota Johnson
8) Brilliant look at the separate worlds of college if you're connected (the Phoenix club) and if you're not, and how guys like Zuckerberg changed all that.
9) The aforementioned Saverin / Parker exchange when Eduardo gets effed over.
10) The scene with the Winklevoss twins and the Harvard president - whose real life equivalent has confirmed happened.

Very well said.

Head Ninja In Charge said:

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He's one of the most famous film directors of all-time. Not underrated.

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But he seems to be much less of a mainstream household name. I bet a lot of average people who have seen some of his movies have a harder time associating him with his projects than they would Tarantino, Scorcese, Nolan, Spielberg etc.

You just don't hear his name as much either.

Would it be fair to say that Aaron Sorkin deserves a lot of credit for some of the items on your list (i.e. dialogue pacing/quality)? I think the 1-2 punch of Fincher's direction + Sorkin's screenplay is what really makes this movie stand out.

Maybe that's not a fair question in a discussion strictly about directors...

The Porkchop Express said:

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Lathspell said:

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I'm of the same opinion on The Social Network. I think it's good and have seen it a couple of times, but I have never understood the heralding of it being a masterwork.

I definitely don't put it on the same level as I do Fight Club or Se7en.

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Off the top of my head, Social Network excels at

1) dialogue - both pace and quality of it
2) being about Facebook, despite Fincher knowing nothing about Facebook, and the website being on screen for what, maybe 25 seconds?
3) Brilliant casting - Jesse Eisenberg probably also deserved an Oscar, and despite it being stunt casting, Justin Timberlake is really good as Sean Parker the Massive D8Bag
4) phenomenal you can't believe it's CGI CGI on the Winklevoss twins
5) Making a rather straightforward book into a really compelling movie.
6) Being pretty prescient at exactly what kind of person Zuckerberg appears to be - i.e. not golly gee whiz I just like to code
7) Early work by Rooney Mara and smoke show Dakota Johnson
8) Brilliant look at the separate worlds of college if you're connected (the Phoenix club) and if you're not, and how guys like Zuckerberg changed all that.
9) The aforementioned Saverin / Parker exchange when Eduardo gets effed over.
10) The scene with the Winklevoss twins and the Harvard president - whose real life equivalent has confirmed happened.

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Agree with all of this. The opening credits/scene of Social Network is also pretty awesome. Reznor's score to open sets a great tone for the whole film IMO.

Head Ninja In Charge said:

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He's one of the most famous film directors of all-time. Not underrated.

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I don't know, I get what Sea Speed and others have said. He isn't a household name like Spielberg, Tarantino, Nolan, Kubrick. Maybe he should be.

I think that's what the OP is getting at. Obviously us dolts on the Entertainment board will think he's well known, famous, and probably rated just fine. But when you think about general public knowledge that changes a lot.

FWIW, I too enjoyed Benjamin Button quite a bit. I have liked just about everything from Fincher that I have seen, but I have not seen all of his movies. Looks like I need to add a few of these to my watch list!

I think it depends on the definition of "underrated." If we're talking "not as widely known among the general public," then yes, he's underrated. But if we're talking "valued among movie fans/industry professionals," then I would argue he's properly rated.

Regardless, whether people realize it or not, Fincher is easily one of the most influential directors of the past three+ decades, MAYBE even more so than Scorsese, and definitely more so than Villeneuve. If only because of Fincher's work in commercials and music videos as well, seeing as, combined with his movies of the era, the dude basically established THE predominant '90s aesthetic that so many are still trying to copy to this day. From super models and Madonna to Apple, Gap, Nike, etc, his particular look/shooting style defined a generation of pop culture marketing at the absolute peak of pop culture marketing. What Spielberg is to a certain brand of action, adventure, and childlike wonder, Fincher is to the world of marketing, which he still manages to weave seamlessly with his incredible film career.

TCTTS said:

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I think it depends on the definition of "underrated." If we're talking "not as widely known among the general public," then yes, he's underrated. But if we're talking "valued among movie fans/industry professionals," then I would argue he's properly rated.

Regardless, whether people realize it or not, Fincher is easily one of the most influential directors of the past three+ decades, MAYBE even more so than Scorsese, and definitely more so than Villeneuve. If only because of Fincher's work in commercials and music videos as well, seeing as, combined with his movies of the era, the dude basically established THE predominant '90s aesthetic that so many are still trying to copy to this day. From super models and Madonna to Apple, Gap, Nike, etc, his particular look/shooting style defined a generation of pop culture marketing at the absolute peak of pop culture marketing. What Spielberg is to a certain brand of action, adventure, and childlike wonder, Fincher is to the world of marketing, which he still manages to weave seamlessly with his incredible film career.

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Unless stated otherwise I always think of overrated/underrated from the general public standpoint. In this case he is Underrated. If I asked a random person if they recognized these names, only 1 would stick out: Spielberg, Tarantino, Nolan, Kubrik, Fincher. End of debate there, for me.

Some might argue Steven Spielberg might be more suited for that title.

TCTTS said:

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I think it depends on the definition of "underrated." If we're talking "not as widely known among the general public," then yes, he's underrated. But if we're talking "valued among movie fans/industry professionals," then I would argue he's properly rated.

Regardless, whether people realize it or not, Fincher is easily one of the most influential directors of the past three+ decades, MAYBE even more so than Scorsese, and definitely more so than Villeneuve. If only because of Fincher's work in commercials and music videos as well, seeing as, combined with his movies of the era, the dude basically established THE predominant '90s aesthetic that so many are still trying to copy to this day. From super models and Madonna to Apple, Gap, Nike, etc, his particular look/shooting style defined a generation of pop culture marketing at the absolute peak of pop culture marketing. What Spielberg is to a certain brand of action, adventure, and childlike wonder, Fincher is to the world of marketing, which he still manages to weave seamlessly with his incredible film career.

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This is interesting. Can you provide an example of this aesthetic?

We just watched Zodiac in the last year for the first time. Great movie.

Haven't seen Button or The Social Network. Never had any interest in those but maybe we should check them out.

Alien 3 is a bit of a stain on his record but you can't win them all.

Have you not seen his movies? They're very unique to Fincher's aesthetic.

Hell, Matt Reeves specifically pointed to the aesthetic of Se7en and Zodiac when describing the aesthetic they were going for when filming The Batman.

As for Fincher's music videos, these are just a select few of his dozens of early credits. Mainly, notice the general cinematic quality, the lighting (with lots of deep, dark shading/shadows), the little story vignettes he sprinkles throughout a few of these, the subtle use of smoke here and there, etc. It can be hard to describe an overall "aesthetic" or a "vibe," but basically music videos didn't really look or feel like this before Fincher...