OscarGuy wrote:I think The Departed is one of the least impressive winners this decade.
Then there are the films that won for various reasons that fall firmly in the middle of the heap without any true measure of importance that, more so than the well-crafted films, will likely be seen as limited influence within the realm of their creators and mentioned only because of their success at the Oscars, but for which most people in 50 years won't remember even won Best Picture and may only have the Best Picture win as the reason they are remembered (akin to Going My Way and Chariots of Fire):
The Departed, Slumdog Millionaire
I'd have to disagree:
(two films that are widely debated on their quality)
Gladiator
A Beautiful Mind
(two films that revived their respective genres: musical/epic)
Chicago
Lord of the Rings
(two films that share a familiar writer but of varying quality)
Million Dollar Baby
Crash
(two films that are filmed by respected filmmakers that showcase their strong suits)
The Departed
No Country for Old Men
Among those eight, there are four of them that are disputed. We can put those on the bottom and arrange the rest with them by their ratings (RT, Metacritic, IMDB). Popularity of these films will be marked by their gross revenue.
Crash 75% RT / 69 MC / 8.1 / $98,410,016
Gladiator 77% RT / 64 MC / 8.3 / $457,640,427
A Beautiful Mind 78% RT / 72 MC / 7.9 / $313,542,341
Chicago 87% RT / 82 MC / 7.3 / $306,776,732
Million Dollar Baby 91% RT / 86 MC / 8.2 / $216,763,646
The Departed 92% RT / 86 MC / 8.5 / $289,847,354
No Country for Old Men 94% RT / 91 MC / 8.3 / $162,113,336
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King 94% RT / 94 MC / 8.8 $1,119,110,941
The Departed has the third best score out of the eight from this calendar decade. It also has the third most votes from IMDB members. It is in the middle with its gross though, but many more people bought it once it was released on DVD. Lord of the Rings is definitely the winner in this case with both the highest ratings, highest gross, and highest amount of votes from IMDB. Crash is the clear loser of the bunch and Chicago had the least amount of support from IMDB.
After a little calculation, this is the rank of Oscar winners in terms of impact on the public and critics:
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Departed
Gladiator
Chicago
A Beautiful Mind
Million Dollar Baby
No Country for Old Men
Crash