Well said. There's tons of blockbusters and other popular movies from the 80s/90s that were absolutely made for the "masses", but were genuinely great films, and far better than almost any blockbuster from the last 5-10 years, especially all the comic-book stuff. Alien(s), Back to the Future trilogy, Terminator 1/2, Ghostbusters, Beetlejuice, I could go on and on. And of course the LotR trilogy if you look at the early 2000s. Movies just aren't as innovative or risky these days; something as quirky as Ghostbusters wouldn't be made now (but Hollywood is happy to make remakes and sequels of that franchise now, 40 years later).

Film is such a nascent art form. The 90s as “peak blockbuster action” is a valid stance on taste but hard to defend as superior to all that came after. Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight is leagues aways from the 90s Batman, as an auteur friendly and obvious comparison. Pixar another on the animation front.

There have been great films made in every era, but the trend towards tighter writing, more legible and compelling action, and emotionally impactful story telling is strongly trending upwards overall.

And nothing will ever top the merchandising mania of the 80s!

I hope you're referring to Joel Schumacher's kitschy drivel, and not to Tim Burton's masterpieces (both of which are IMO vastly superior to Nolan's take on the subject).

It would be nice if people actually stated why is x better than y rather than expecting everyone to hold the same opinion as them. Makes for better conversations.

I don't get why people having this narrowminded view of literature/movies, you don't see it that much in culinary conversations

In a culinary conversation nobody is trying to make the case that the chicken mcnugget is objectively superior to fresh pasta in a handmade pesto sauce. So you don't need to tell people "please just go away with this mcnugget nonsense". You wouldn't be expected to explain why one is better than the other. Most people that taste food understand immediately what you mean.

Ah yes, "I like things that are more entertaining" has provided so much value.

Random thought outburst, feel free to downvote:

This reminded me so much of Spaceballs! And the yogurt merchandise towards the end! Such a great movie that has so many obvious "flaws" like the mirror under the speeder on the desert planet when they comb the desert. And yet I've actually watched that movie more often than even the actual real Star Wars movies (meaning the first three made - all of which are timeless awesomeness)

For perspective, your comments could be released direct to VHS.

> Any block buster from the 80/90s absolutely shits on 90% of block busters released today

You sure it's not survival bias, as in, you only are thinking and remembering the good ones over a two-decade period and comparing them against what movies came out this year. When in reality, there might be tons of blockbusters in those era that were just as bad as your average one today?