10 Movies That Made Fans Choose Sides
In the world of Hollywood it’s all about the drama.
And perhaps the greatest compliment a filmmaker can receive is the knowledge that fans are
going to leave the theatre talking about their movie.
But what happens when the discussions start to heat up?
Over the past few years, audiences have watched all sorts of conflict play out on screen.
Wether it’s born out of genuine conversation, or the flames being fanned by marketing people,
sometimes picking a side is half the fun of watching a movie.
And viewers don’t have to go very far to find others’ opinions either.
Sometimes a quick scroll through the comments section is all it takes to start a war.
These are 10 Movies That Made Fans Choose Sides.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Three Oscar-winners have played big-screen
Batman at this point, and every new casting decision comes with its own round of outrage.
Nobody can seem to get it quite right.
So when it was revealed that Ben Affleck would be dawning the cape and cowl in Zack Snyder’s
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the internet exploded, and battle lines were drawn.
But Afflecks casting was only the first of many hot debates surrounding the film.
Right down to the poster, everything about the movie is designed to have audiences picking
a side in the fight between Batman and Superman.
After opening to VERY mixed reviews, it seems the actors are divided themselves- with Jeremy
Irons recently speaking out in favor of the film’s bad reviews while other cast members
remain mum.
Chances are, you have an opinion about some element of this movie… even if you haven’t
seen it.
Inception We’ve all heard the saying “perception
is reality.”
And in 2010, director Christopher Nolan gave audiences yet another controversial ending
to argue about.
Viewers watch with anticipation as Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) spins a top.
By paying attention to how the top behaves, the audience can keep track of where the characters
are: in a dream, or in reality.
And after seemingly faltering, the movie fades to black.
Fans have bantered amongst themselves about what it all means.
Was the whole thing a dream?
Did Cobb wake up?
The director has acknowledged the endings ambiguousness, but maintains that that’s
what makes it powerful.
And has encouraged fans to pay less attention to the top, and more attention to the fact
that Cobb doesn’t care if it falls over or not.
If his surroundings feel real then, to him, they are real.
The Twilight Saga: New Moon In the mid-to-late 2000’s, the decades-long
war between vampires and werewolves came to a head.
And all of us were casualties.
The conflict affected millions of teens worldwide as they chose one of two teams: Team Edward,
or Team Jacob.
Thanks to a clever marketing team, Twi-hards were able to pledge their allegiance with
t-shirts, body pillows, and other crazy merchandise.
The love triangle between Bella and her two mythical beast boyfriends is the main theme
in the franchises second installment, New Moon.
After being ditched by Edward (Robert Pattinson), Bella (Kristen Stewart) finds happiness in
her friendship with the charming, wolf-next-door type Jacob (Taylor Lautner).
Some fans saw this as disloyal, and the rift was born.
Wether you believe it’s a testament to the power of advertising, or a legitimate stance
worth defending in bumper-sticker form, the Team Edward/Team Jacob drama really boils
down to this: abs versus eyes.
The Hunger Games A boom in the success of books aimed at young
adults led to a lot of big-screen adaptations.
And one of the most successful franchises to come out of this era is The Hunger Games.
The story follows Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) a young tribute representing her
district in a competition that usually ends in death.
Over the course of Katniss’ adventure, we meet her lifelong friend Gale (Liam Hemsworth)
and fellow-tribute Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), and watch her flip-flop between being in love
with both of them.
Fans of the books and movies alike have strong opinions on which one of them deserves to
be the Mockingjay’s bae.
If you’re still unsure whose side you’re on, there are more than a few online quizzes
that can help you figure it out.
Man of Steel Superman is known for many things, but chief
among them is his moralistic approach to fighting crime.
In 2013’s Man of Steel, director Zack Snyder and writer David S. Goyer tackled the legendary
characters origin story.
And the response was mixed.
The film was criticized for being all style and no substance, and all too reliant on its
action scenes.
But many fans of the character took issue with something else entirely- the ending.
Instead of sending him back to the Phantom Zone, Superman (Henry Cavill) kills General
Zod (Michael Shannon), leading some fans to cry foul.
The hero’s history of taking the high road in all situations was completely overturned.
Even though, as one Screen Ranter pointed out Superman made the same decision all the
way back in 1980’s Superman II.
Iron Man 3 For many fans, seeing how an actor interprets
a character is a nerve-wracking event.
So when The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) finally showed up in 2013’s Iron Man 3, audiences
braced for impact.
Sir Ben Kingsley is a veteran actor who’s used to the pressure of playing well-known
characters, but he probably wasn’t ready for the backlash his performance would cause.
Some believed that director Shane Black’s reimagining of the character as merely an
oddball pawn was an insult to the character.
Fans might have been willing to overlook some of the inconsistencies so long as they could
see The Mandarin’s ten rings of power in action.
But those were changed too, from rings into a network of terrorists.
Talk about a bait-and-switch.
Both the actor and director stand by the adaptation , but they might be the only ones.
Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope Since it was began in 1977, the Star Wars
franchise has produced some of the most iconic moments in popular culture.
Legions of fans, young and old, can quote every installment word-for-word.
Even the bad ones (Phantom Menace!).
And in a group with that kind of passion, canon is king.
So when George Lucas went messin' around with the editing of the Cantina scene in A New
Hope, people noticed.
Some re-releases feature an alternate sequence of events in the showdown between Han Solo
(Harrison Ford) and Greedo.
Many argue that with each edit, the director put Solo’s character development in jeopardy.
The fan reaction was so pronounced that it catapulted another phrase into infamy: Han
shot first.
Star Wars: Episode VI- Return of the Jedi It’s safe to say that more than a few people
were looking forward to George Lucas’ second chapter.
And fans couldn’t wait to take another trip to the galaxy far, far away.
Audiences were able to lose themselves in the elaborate settings while being amazed
by the creative alien races being depicted onscreen.
But when the story took viewers to the forest moon of Endor, things got a little heated.
Some pundits argued that the Ewoks added nothing to the storyline, and instead acted as a marketing
tool to sell toys.
Others just found their appearance distracting- maintaining that there’s no way something
that cute could also be deadly.
Wether you love or hate them, the furry little fighters throw one heck of a BBQ.
Casino Royale Audiences have come to expect that the role
of James Bond is going to be re-cast every couple of movies.
Yet, when it happens, someone always gets offended.
From Connery to Brosnan, casting for the iconic role has always generated lots of attention.
When it was announced that Daniel Craig would be the next Bond, some opponents were quick
to remind everyone that it’s James BOND not James BLONDE.
Beyond hair color, audiences were expecting a certain degree of goofiness from 007, and
some Bond buffs took issue with Craig’s drier, darker take on the character.
But it seems that no one wants it to be over faster than Craig himself, who threw the entire
junket for Spectre (2015) to the wolves, and declared his resentment at having to reprise
his role as the super spy.
One thing is for certain, whoever comes next has a big tuxedo to fill.
Captain America: Civil War It seems like a fair fight is hard to find
these days.
And while many people enjoy comic book movies, others can’t get past the blatant lack of
superhero accountability.
Leveling entire cities and suffering no repercussions.
Thankfully, Captain America and Iron Man are here to buck both of those big screen trends.
In many ways, Civil War is a discussion about accountability.
Told from both angles of an ideological rift, each team is worth rooting for.
But everyone has a favorite Avenger so, naturally, fans are choosing sides.
The drama extends beyond the storyline, as some audience members have noticed more than
a few parallel themes running between Civil War and Batman v Superman.
And if the discussion dissolves into the tired “Marvel versus DC” debate, the internet
is bound to have its own civil war in the comments section.
Sometimes the most interesting arguments are the ones where everyone’s right.
What do you think of our list?
Did we miss any other divisive movies?
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