Bracket: Best Summer Blockbusters - Round One
We are not just Big Time Movie Boys, but also Big Time Bracket Boys, so we figured now is a better time than ever to do our first bracket while at Barstool. Since it is summer, we decided to start with a Best Summer Movie Bracket.
All movies and seeds were determined by an audience vote. We had zero input and will have no input on the actual voting each round. We just decided to give our thoughts below. Each region is broken down below, with the vote at the end of this post. Enjoy!
1. ‘The Dark Knight’ vs. 8. ‘Bad Boys II’
Jeff: This is the number one overall seed going up against a lower tier mid-major team who got lucky in their conference tournament after winning 14 regular season games. Not even close.
Pick: ‘The Dark Knight’
KenJac: Will Smith dribbles up the court and throws a pass to Martin Lawrence. “Shit just got real,” he says, as he sinks the shot and beats the buzzer! Final score: ‘Bad Boys II’ 79, ‘The Dark Knight’ 198.
Pick: ‘The Dark Knight’
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4. ‘Saving Private Ryan’ vs. 5. ‘Ghostbusters’
KenJac: Probably the biggest wash in this whole round, ‘Saving Private Ryan’ is the greatest war movie in history going against a goofy 1980’s fantasy-comedy movie. Is it a little too dark and gloomy to be considered a summer blockbuster? Probably, but it’s one of the GOAT’s and that needs to be respected.
Pick: ‘Saving Private Ryan’
Jeff: Already a disagreement! I like both movies, but I am a huge ‘Ghostbusters’ fan. Let me take this time to say that the 2017 ‘Ghostbusters’ movie was awful, not funny, a disservice to a good cast and a reminder of how well the original movie holds up.
Pick: ‘Ghostbusters’
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3. ‘Aliens’ vs. 6. ‘Toy Story’
Jeff: This is tough because I love ‘Toy Story’ and consider it an all-time great movie, but Aliens is one of the top two or three best sequels ever made and just fuckling badass.
Pick: ‘Aliens’
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KenJac: ‘Toy Story’ is a gold standard Pixar movie. Everyone knows what it is and has seen it, you might not be able to say the same for ‘Aliens’.
Pick: ‘Toy Story’
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2. ‘Jaws’ vs. 7. ‘Batman’ (1989)
KenJac: ‘Jaws’ is a benchmark in the suspense-thriller genre that was the gold standard for years, while the 1989 ‘Batman’ isn’t even the best movie about the titular superhero.
Pick: ‘Jaws’
Jeff: Agreed with KenJac, ‘Jaws’ remains a great, and scary, thriller and the definition of a summer movie. I disagree with the audience on the seeding here, this should be a 1-seed. Shoutout to Michael Keaton, though.
Pick: ‘Jaws’
1. ‘Independence Day’ vs. 8. ‘Armageddon’
Jeff: Two awesome movies that are both not all that good when you break them down as “films” like a nerd (like I usually do). But this is easy, ‘Independence Day’ is an iconic summer and July 4th movie.
Pick: ‘Independence Day’
KenJac: I love both of these but have to go with ‘Independence Day’. One of the all-time summer blockbuster movies like Jeff said. Please forgive me Harry Stamper!
Pick: ‘Independence Day’
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4. ‘Die Hard’ vs. 5. ‘The Hangover’
KenJac: Arguably the pinnacle of 80’s action films, ‘Die Hard’ is a classic that’s very rewatchable still to this day.
Pick: ‘Die Hard’
Jeff: While ‘The Hangover’ hasn’t exactly help us all that well, this is still tough one for me because it reminds me of summer. But, despite ‘Die Hard’ reminding me of the holidays, I have to give it the win.
Pick: ‘Die Hard’
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3. ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ vs. 6. ‘Gladiator’
Jeff: This is another tough one because I am surprised that ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ even made it on here. It did come out in the summer, despite the hype being in the following winter, and it is one of my Top 5 favorite movies, so I will advance it to round two.
Pick: ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’
KenJac: ‘Gladiator’ no question. Both are absolutely phenomenal movies, but ‘Gladiator is objectively one of best in the history of cinema. It’s one of those rare films that captured both the critical and general audience, winning 5 Academy Awards including Best Actor and Best Picture, as well as ending up the 4th highest grossing movie of 2000.
Pick: ‘Gladiator’
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2. ‘The Avengers’ vs. 7. ‘Star Wars’
KenJac: I mean, c’mon.
Pick: ‘Star Wars’
Jeff: How the hell is ‘Star Wars’ a 7-seed?
Pick: ‘Star Wars’
1. ‘Jurassic Park’ vs. 7. ‘Lion King’
Jeff: Damn. This is easily the hardest matchup, because ‘Jurassic Park’ is dynamite, but ‘The Lion King’ is a stone-cold classic. I’ll open myself up to hate and just take ‘The Lion King’ here.
Pick: ‘The Lion King’
KenJac: Man, fuck. I don’t want to choose. With my back against the wall, I’m picking ‘The Lion King’ but please let the record show that the choice was made under duress.
Pick: ‘The Lion King’
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4. ‘Superbad’ vs. 5. ‘The Dark Knight Rises’
KenJac: ‘Superbad’ movie remains one of the best comedy movies ever made, and ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ isn’t even the best of its own trilogy.
Pick: ‘Superbad’
Jeff: I think ‘Superbad’ is the best comedy ever made, which might be a bold take, but I stick by it. While I am not sure it is totally a “summer blockbuster,” it’s on the bracket, so I have to pick it.
Pick: ‘Superbad’
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3. ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ vs. 6. ‘E.T.’
Jeff: A little disrespect for ‘E.T.’ being a 6-seed and I am going to give the movie its rightful due, despite still loving ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’.
Pick: ‘E.T.’
KenJac: I know ‘E.T.’ is a classic, but ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ is still the best movie out of a trillion dollar franchise and one of the best comic book movies ever made. I watch ‘E.T.’ maybe once every 5 years, but I could watch ‘Guardians’ once a month easily.
Pick: ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’
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2. ‘Back to the Future’ vs. 6. ‘Spider-Man 2’
KenJac: I’m not a huge ‘Back to the Future’ stan, but its impact on cinema on our cultural lexicon is unquestionable. ‘Spider-Man 2’ is, well, certainly a movie.
Pick: ‘Back to the Future’
Jeff: I, unlike KenJac, am a huge ‘Back to the Future’ stan. Like a few movies in this bracket, it is of my Top 5 favorite movies and a “desert island’ movie for me. I also think it is weird a lot of people don’t love new comic-book movies, but love ‘Spider-Man 2’. I think it’s fine, but a bit of an overrated comic-book release.
Pick: ‘Back to the Future’
1. ‘Empire Strikes Back’ vs. 8. ‘Top Gun’
Jeff: I think ‘Empire Strikes Back’ is one of the best movies ever made, so this really isn’t much of a contest. I think ‘Top Gun’ didn’t deserve to be in this bracket, I’d have picked something like ‘Step Brothers’, ‘American Pie’ or ‘Animal House’.
Pick: ‘Empire Strikes Back’
KenJac: Like Jeff said, ‘Empire Strikes Back’ is one of the best overall movies ever made, well beyond the box of it’s genre, universe etc. There’s really no question here.
Pick: ‘Empire Strikes Back’
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4. ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ vs. 5. ‘Toy Story 3’
KenJac: ‘Toy Story’ and ‘Indiana Jones’ are two of the best trilogies ever made, but ‘Raiders’ is simply too important to not get the win.
Pick: ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’
Jeff: I do agree that the movie is important, but I can’t look past the fact this is a Best Summer Blockbuster bracket and not favorite. ‘Toy Story 3’ is virtually a perfect movie and deserves the win here.
Pick: ‘Toy Story 3’
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3. ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ vs. 6. ‘Inception’
Jeff: ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ is a fun movie and the best of a franchise that continues to get worse and worse. With that said, ‘Inception’ is such a great action-thriller with some of the more creative elements infused in a movie we’ve seen in quite some time.
Pick: ‘Inception’
KenJac: While I personally liked ‘Inception’ more, ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ is one of the better adventure movies in recent memory and was an incredibly fun time. That’s the type of feeling that comes to mind specifically from summer blockbusters.
Pick: ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’
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2. ‘Terminator 2’ vs. 7. ‘Inglorious Basterds’
Jeff: Another great sequel, ‘Terminator 2’ is arguably better than the first movie and another movie that is the textbook definition of a summer blockbuster. I will say that ‘Inglorious Basterds’ is one of my favorite Tarantino movies.
Pick: ‘Terminator 2’
KenJac: I think it’s better than the first, and like Jeff said, it’s the definition of a summer blockbuster. I don’t get that same feeling out of ‘Inglourious Basterds’, but it is also an amazing movie.
Pick: ‘Terminator 2’
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TIME TO VOTE!
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