r/moviecritic • u/Eat-My-Hairy-Asshole • 1d ago
Just watched Se7en for the first time, Pop Culture ruined the movie for me.
I'll keep this spoiler free. Basically, I have never seen Se7en until today. I was browsing this sub, and similar subs, looking for a new (to me) movie to watch. I went into it without knowledge or big spoilers. I only knew two pieces of information. One, is that it had a "twist" ending from spoiler free reddit comments (disagree now that I've seen it, not really a twist. More of a surprise), and two, I know the quote "What's in the box?" from a few references from other shows/movies (I'm thinking of Adam from Workaholics.)
I liked the movie, I enjoyed all 3 performances from the 3 big actors but.... I guessed the ending the second the main character got angry during the stairway scene.
Btw I'm generally horrible at anticipating things like that.
Solid movie, It's a shame pop culture ruined the ending for me even without actual spoilers.
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u/GutterRider 1d ago
Interesting, I still have not seen it and don’t really know what happens at the end. Maybe I should give it a shot. Hope it hasn’t been ruined for me yet!
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u/TheGaslighter9000X 21h ago
Amazing movie, amazing cast, amazing performances and amazing cinematography.
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u/jonatton______yeah 1d ago
It's an old film at this point. It's been referenced so many times you picked up on the tells from other sources - welcome to The Shining for older people. A lot of those movies from that era are also much better upon a rewatch, where you're not fussed with the plot so much as just taking the film in. I don't know enough about film to call Seven influential, but Fincher certainly seems unique.
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u/death_by_chocolate 1d ago
It's a 30-year-old film fer cryin' out loud. What, people aren't allowed to talk about stuff? Popular, influential landmark films are verboten because someone might watch it someday? Quality films really cannot be spoiled and that is why this film is still highly regarded after all this time.
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u/JackTheRippersKipper 1d ago
Agreed, this is a little like complaining that Empire Strikes Back was spoiled for you because you saw a mention of Luke's father being Vader on a TV show. You shouldn't spoil things that have only just been released, but if you're complaining about something over a year old? That's really on you.
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u/Fendenburgen 1d ago
Yep, I'm not watching Titanic because it was ruined by people doing that standing with their arms out thing....
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u/UnderstandingOdd679 1d ago
Right. The Sixth Sense is another one. Most everyone knows the twist from the pop culture reference by now.
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u/Soft-Marionberry-853 1d ago
I never saw 6th sense before I was clued in on the ending and you know what, if I wanted to see it I would have seen it 20 years sooner. There's a point where if you havent seen it and you catch a spoiler its your own fault. Sorry but at some point people should be able talk freely
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u/Eat-My-Hairy-Asshole 1d ago
I feel you on it being 30 years old, so who cares, agreed completely. My point is people have been talking up this movie and its "twist" ending WITHOUT spoiling it, but it just wasn't that big of a twist. If I can guess what's going to happen simply from hearing Adam Devine say "What's in the box?" with literally no additional context than just that quote itself, is it really this great twist everyone has hyped it up to be? I honestly think I would have guessed the ending anyway, even without knowing the quote or that it had a "twist" ending, simply from the dialogue Pitt delivers in the stairway.
All in all my grump isn't with the movie, or with pop culture. It's with people hyping up a twist that wasn't really a twist. Good movie though.
Edit: "Quality films really cannot be spoiled" Well that's just not true at all, at least from a first watch through pov.
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u/Abyss_of_Dreams 1d ago
Except it was a huge twist at the time. Everyone was talking about it because of the twist.
Next, you're gonna tell me you predicted the twist in Memento and that Blair Witch is corny and not scary and that you knew Vader was Luke's father.
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u/papayabush 1d ago
na man this a valid perspective. i feel bad for the people that watched breaking bad after it had a resurgence and was memed EVERYWHERE. so many incredibly crucial moments in the show are just memes now. that’s gotta hurt your watching experience at least a bit. that was how i felt watching the walking dead for the first time recently. there’s a meme of Karl crying that i’ve seen so many times it completely ruined the scene where it actually happens.
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u/Eat-My-Hairy-Asshole 1d ago
Agreed! That was the most surprising moment of the film for me. I really went into this movie with very little knowledge.
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u/Independent-Ice-40 1d ago
Problem is that popculture created an anticipation in you and that anticipation "ruined" movie for you. Movie wasn't ruined by knowing what's going to happen in the end at all, it is just as impactfull on third revatch as is the first time, but now you expected something "more" bugger surprise, and are kinda disappointed that you didn't get it. And I can understand that.
I saw it first time randomly in tv when I was fifteen without ever hearing about it and that was incredible experience, and that ending blew my mind - but not really because a surprise, but because you kinda feel that you know what is going to happen, but you still very much hope it won't.
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u/ghostwriter85 1d ago
I had a similar but opposite experience with A Clockwork Orange.
I was vaguely aware of the plot, but watching the movie connected the dots on so many references. To me, it made the experience so much better.
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u/WalterPecky 1d ago
I guessed the ending the second the main character got angry during the stairway scene
What did this scene give away? That he embodied the sin?
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u/guesswhodat 1d ago
My favorite Fincher film. When it first came out I was definitely skeptical of Pitt but he did an excellent job. Definitely one of my favorite serial killer horrors right up there with Silence of the Lambs.
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u/Zealousideal_Step709 1d ago
I get the sentiment but personally I watched the movie in theaters when it was released and still enjoy it whenever I rewatch it despite knowing what is going to happen. Good movies aren’t good because of one single scene or twist only because people continuously reference them. It’s the entire package that I enjoy and Se7en has a lot to offer on many levels.
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u/SanityIsOnlyInUrMind 1d ago
I mean, it’s a good movie that was made 25 years ago. Blame pop culture all you want, but seems like you just waited too long to enjoy the movie with the rest of us and now you mad about it.
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u/ZugZugYesMiLord 1d ago
In fairness, "pop culture" didn't ruin the movie.
If you go to r/popculturechat or r/popculture, you won't find a single post about Se7en.
It's like saying that pop culture ruined Citizen Kane, because people kept making Rosebud references. Or Jaws was ruined because you heard "We're gonna need a bigger boat."
These are iconic lines from cinematic legends. They transcend pop culture. They are part of history.
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u/PumpkinsDad 1d ago
I guess you had to have been there in the mid 90s. Seven was unlike anything that had come before. And the ending was like a hammer to your chest. Big budget studio films just didn't go that dark.
In fact, New Line hated the ending. The script that Fincher read with that ending (and which got him interested in the project) was an old one and they had revisions made that included a typical Hollywood "happy" ending.
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u/Flashjordan69 22h ago
Go back and watch it again and get that ending out of your head.
Now to watch it and look on in absolute horror as Brad Pitt slowly places the noose around his own neck before hanging himself.
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u/KingXeiros 1d ago
Boy do I have a surprise for you concerning Snape and Dumbledore if you haven't read the books or watched the series....
And I also know who Luke Skywalkers father is.
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u/whodrankallthecitra 1d ago
Watched it again recently. I enjoyed it for the most part, loved the gritty feel and the actors were great. I just didn’t like the end, the whole wrap up of the seven sins thing felt a bit tacky and pointless in the end.
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u/Kubrickwon 1d ago
Pop culture tends to do that. No one today can truly experience a film like Psycho the way it was meant to be experienced thanks to pop culture. No one can truly appreciate the twist in Empire Strikes Back or Sixth Sense thanks to pop culture. It’s both a blessing and a curse.
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u/basis4day 1d ago
That movie really blew up when DVDs took off. And to a certain extent was one of the reasons it took off. The extent of the special features were the gold standard of special additions for a long time.
When I was in college in the early 2000’s, everyone owned that movie.
But the movie itself is almost 30 years old. Hype backlash and “Seinfeld is unfunny” could easily ruin it for viewers at the point. Even if you didn’t know the direct twist, you’ve likely seen enough material inspired by it that it’s way less shocking now.