Nerd Movie Reviews

The Top 10 Nerd Movies of all Time

Sort of.  You see, when someone says top 10 nerd movies of all times, it always devolves directly into the Lord of the Rings, Batman Returns, and Empire Strikes Back.  However, those types of lists are so pedestrian and have been done to death.  Instead, I want to do the top 10 movies with nerds in them.  Specifically, nerds who act as I have known nerds in real life and who end up kicking ass.

The thing is I am going to try to avoid movies that paint nerds as charactertures of nerds.  When I first suggested this topic last night a friend of mine said “Oh, you mean like Revenge of the Nerds.”  No.  Movies like that (or Napoleon Dynamite) are designed to make fun of nerds and their nerdishness, while instilling a bit of feel good when the geeky underdog wins in the end over the moronic jocks.  I actually don’t like that, as all it really does is reinforce the negative stereotypes that I and my nerd friends have been laboring under for years.  Even movies that I really enjoy like Weird Science manage to paint nerds as total geeks who eventually get a lucky break.  I don’t want to add to the problem.

So what I am focused on are movies that feature nerds who are in no way apologetic or ashamed of being a nerd, and use their nerd skills to advance themselves and their agenda.  I like to see this as a little window into a perfect world where nerds rule everything and the jocks all dig ditches for a living.

10.  Shawn of the Dead.  Honestly, this one almost didn’t make my list, as an argument could be made that Shaun doesn’t really qualify as a nerd in the true sense of the word.  He has a cute girlfriend, doesn’t really work with computers or technology other than to sell it, and starts the movie without a clue how to fight zombies.  However, he is an avid video game player, and manages to survive a zombie apocalypse, so I think I will include it, albeit at the very bottom of my list.  Of course, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are among the biggest nerds on the planet, so anything they do is worth consideration.  (image courtesy of the horror movie t shirts category)

9.  Office Space.  Revenge of the cubical gnomes.  Yes, the main characters in this film are nerds in every sense of the term, and while they fail miserably at least attempt to use some nerd skills to stick it to the man.  Also, did I ever mention I have had a huge crush on Jeniffer Aniston for years?

8.  Spiderman.  Yes, Peter Parker is a super nerd.  Geeky, glasses, into science.  What more could be asked for?  I almost stuck Superman in here as well, but realized that Clark Kent is actually Superman pretending to be a nerd to hide his identity, while Peter Parker is a nerd who gained super powers.

7.  Ghostbusters.  These guys are nerds, especially Egon Spengler, and don’t care who knows it.  Also, the amount of geek credibility this movie gets for not only casting the great Sigourney Weaver as the love interest but also showing us one of the best thigh shots in nerd movie history is astronomical.  By the way, if you ever are looking for a definition of nerdy/sexy, just take a look at Annie Potts as the receptionist in this film.

6.  Darkman.  Yes, there are those who say this movie sucks, but I beg to differ.  Liam Neeson as Peter Westlake is a total nerd.  Besides, which of us nerds has never dreamed of being a scientist and having a horrible accident give us both super powers and a thirst for revenge?  Hell, when I got my laser eye treatment I was praying for a freak accident that would give me the ability to shoot lasers OUT of my eyes.

5.  the Matrix.  Neo is a computer hacking nerd, in spite of looking like he works at Abercrombie and Fitch.  One of the issues I have with the second and third Matrix (among several dozen) is the fact that they kind of drop the idea of him as an obsessed computer nerd and just make him into a cheesy pretty boy action hero.

4.  the Incredibles.  Yes, my favorite Pixar movie (Steve Jobs, thank you).  You might think there is no nerd in this one, as Mr. and Mrs. Incrdible are pretty cool, at least at the start of the movie.  However, you are forgetting the biggest nerd out there, Syndrome (formally known as Buddy).  He is a complete and utter scientist nerd and could not care less if you thought so.  He gets rejected in a way all nerds my age remember having happen as a kid and uses his brain to get his revenge.  Awesome.

3.  Back to the Future.  Dr. Emmet Brown was a complete nerd who was willing to go toe to toe with terrorists in order to advance his science.  Also, Marty McFly was pretty geeky too.  Of course, a real geek would understand how the Butterfly Effect would make it almost impossible for Marty to mess around in the past and still exist.  Even a slight altering of his parents time line would most like cause one of the other several million sperm cells to fertilize his mom’s egg, giving him a completely different genetic structure.  But I digress.

2.  Real Genius.  Nerds doing what nerds do in the best way possible.  This movie rules, and if you haven’t seen it stream it tonight to increase your nerd credibility.  These guys had nothing to apologize for, and used their brains to totally screw with people.  The only issue I had was the idea of a super hot woman who’s only goal in life was to sleep with the 10 smartest men on the planet.  If women actually exist who are attracted to intellect rather than looks and/or money please point them in my direction.  I have yet to meet one.

1.  Wargames.  David Lightman is an early hacker computer nerd who totally screwed with the defense department and almost blew up the world.  What else can a true nerd dream of?  Except for the underwear in his room he made no apologies for his lifestyle and managed to outsmart any number of jockish military types.  This movie was the first one to really show what a true nerd is potentially capable of, and since I was starting high school that year I could have only wished that my so called peers might have picked up a warning from it.  Unfortunately, their limited intellect prevented them from understanding the dangers of messing with someone with a superior intellect.  Savor the irony with me for a moment.

Anyway, that’s my list.  I had a bunch that almost made it, but I feel good about this.  Feel free to disagree or point out any movies I might have missed by commenting here or via Twitter @NerdKungFu.  You can follow me too if you like.

I’m kind of dreading this weekend, as the first movie I will probably have to see will be Footloose and I’m viewing that with all the anticipation of a root canal.  No movies tomorrow as Thursday is my regular Warhammer night.  If you like my writing I have been doing more descriptions on the commercial site, so check out some of the ones on the home page.  Most of them are pretty funny, in my opinion.  Thanks for reading, and have a great night.

Dave

 

 

 

Tags: Horror movie t shirts, Top 10 Nerd Movies of All Time