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My first thought was, underrated according to who?

I don’t keep track of movie ratings. I couldn’t tell you what the critics thought about most of the movies I’ve watched. If I like a movie, I like it. I don’t spend much time figuring out whether everybody else agrees.

But one movie that comes to mind is Gone in Sixty Seconds, the one with Nicolas Cage.

I’ve always liked that movie. Cool cars, a little action, and something I can sit down and enjoy. Every now and then, I’ll watch it again.

Is it underrated? I have no idea.

I just think it’s a cool fucking movie.

And honestly, that should be enough of an answer.

Sometimes You Just Like Something

When somebody asks why you like a certain movie, it can feel like you’re supposed to have this thoughtful explanation. Something about the acting, the story, or some deeper meaning you picked up on.

Sometimes you just enjoyed watching it.

You don’t need to turn it into a research project. You don’t have to defend it. You watched it, had a good time, and would watch it again.

That’s where I’m at with Gone in Sixty Seconds. I’m a car guy. There’s plenty in that movie for me to enjoy. I’m not sitting there with a scorecard. I’m watching a movie.

I Can Decide What I Enjoy

The more I think about the question, the more that word “underrated” sticks out.

To call something underrated, I’d have to know how other people rated it in the first place. And that’s a lot of attention to give other people’s opinions about something as simple as what I enjoy watching.

Somebody else might watch the same movie and think it’s terrible. Okay. We can have different tastes.

I don’t need to convince them to watch it again with me, and they don’t need to convince me I wasted my time.

That applies to a lot more than movies. Cars, music, places you like to go. There are things you enjoy that somebody else will never understand. You can spend all day explaining yourself, or you can get on with enjoying them.

I’d rather do that.

Would I Watch It Again?

That’s probably the best movie rating I can give.

Would I watch it again?

With Gone in Sixty Seconds, the answer is yes. I have before, and I’m sure I will again.

So I don’t know if I’ve answered today’s prompt exactly the way it was intended. I can’t tell you it’s the most underrated movie I’ve ever watched.

I can tell you I like it.

No critic required.

— Nicholas Francis