Star ratings ****

Recently a reader commented about my rating for The Eiger Sanction.

"You might be getting tired of the movies because this is the first 2 star movie you have done and it really is not all that bad...It sure beats Tarantula...Which brings up a great question..Are all rankings the same?...In other words, can a movie earn a higher ranking than another movie even though it was not as good. I think the instance we have here answers the question in the affirmative...Tarantula is not as good as Eiger sanction, but in its genre it represents well...I think therefore, a movie earns its own rating and is independent from other films."


For me every movie stands on it's own and is rated according to how I felt about the film. Many factors fall into rating a film. The first thing I want to know is was it entertaining? Did it hold my interest and have me involved. I also factor in the quality of the film making. And I might also measure it against other films of it's type, or genre.


Tarantula received **1/2 stars because it is a fun entertaining film. I had a hoot watching it, even though I frequently made fun of the out-dated acting style and special effects. But for a film made in 1955 it holds up and is a good example of the giant monster movie from the 50's, the best of them being "Them!"
The special effects are good enough to make the movie watchable and there are a few moments of suspense. The film is a great example of a good Hollywood "B" picture.


I rated The Eiger Sanction ** stars because it is a thriller that does not thrill. It is too long. The plot makes no sense and it is full of cheap cliches instead of intelligent writing. The mountain climbing is authentic, but the audience member hardly knows what's going on. The film uses tons of exposition dialogue so the audience can have a clue as to what the plot is all about. The surprise "twist" ending does not work at all. It's a bloated big budget picture. Director Eastwood spent so much time learning how to mountain climb for the film that he forgot to focus on the suspense elements of the story. It was hard to sit through and I wanted to reach for the fast forward button many times. This film may have been fun when I was 15, but it sucks now. The novel the film was based on was a spoof of all the James Bond novels and spy fiction of the 60's and 70's. None of that was captured in the film, instead they make the material deadly seriously and make a deadly dull film. Yes the movie is "that bad". I suggest you watch Tarantula and The Eiger Sanction and see which one you had more fun watching.


The Eiger Sanction is not the first film I gave a low star rating too. Prince Of Persia: Sands Of Time, 1941, Sixteen Candles, Spider-Man 3, Twilight Zone: The Movie, The Tooth Fairy and Hook all received two stars or less.

Rating a film is personal and is only meant to indicate how I felt about a particular movie. Other people may feel differently. Ratings are also fluid and subject to change. A movie I would have rated highly when I was younger might not fair so well when viewed again. Also a movie could age well over time and may become more appreciated after repeated viewings. If a movie is rated *** stars or higher I would generally recommend the film for others to see. Below *** stars and matters of personal taste and preference come into play.