Can someone explain why Will Smith has lost a lot of his popularity?

[KevanG]

To be fair, I can never hate Will Smith due to making Freddy rap.

[YT]Qwayfx7I-FI[/YT]

 

[BarryAllen]

Him not appearing in good movies recently, and shoving his son into the spotlight.

 

[Mike_D202]

Him not appearing in good movies recently, and shoving his son into the spotlight.

This.

 

[O_B_Juan]

Because he was never considered to play Spider-Man. Not yet anyway.

 

[redhawk23]

Part of the problem is him allowing himself to be type-cast as essentially a cartoon of himself for many years. Many of his movies you can see the seams where they re-wrote sections to make it a "Will Smith" movie. I-Robot is the worst on that front. You can see where at one time it was a smaller, more thoughtful movie but then there are unrelated action sequences and Will Smith -friendly lines thrown in. Also future product placement.

 

[chamber-music]

I think the movies in which Will Smith doesn't play himself or play up to his persona are

Six Degrees of Separation
Enemy of the State
The Pursuit of Happyness
Seven Pounds
After Earth
Focus
Concussion

 

[terry78]

He did get that Ali acclaim. You knew it was him but he embodied Ali's persona very well in that flick.

 

[Reek]

but Ali was YEARS ago. Him and Leo DiCaprio are in similar boats... chasing oscars... the difference is Leo's movies are mostly enjoyable and not 'LETS SAVE THE WORLD' cartoon Will. ^^^

I mean... come on... even in Suicide Squad... they 'Will Smith'd' his dialogue in the trailers.

oi.

 

[Reek]

I loved Ali, by the way.

 

[chamber-music]

Leo DiCaprio has his over the top crazy meltdown scene in almost all of his movie. One day there will be an epic supercut of those scenes.

 

[Reek]

i think shutter island is my favorite leo film

 

[Rocketman]

Smith's problem is the same problem that Jim Carrey has. The 90's were VERY good to them, and gave them an almost unprecedented triple threat of classic hits in a row.

1995 - Bad Boys
1996 - Independence Day
1997 - Men in Black

1994 - Ace Ventura
1994 - The Mask
1994 - Dumb & Dumber

You won't see two actors give us iconic hits like that again all at once. They were probably the two biggest actors of that decade.

And now they want to be taken seriously as dramatic actors and the world has responded with, "No thanks, we want the guys from the 90's."

 

[Pink Ranger]

And now they want to be taken seriously as dramatic actors and the world has responded with, "No thanks, we want the guys from the 90's."

I would argue that Smith has more than proven himself to be both a critical and commercial success in dramatic roles. The first role that got him noticed was 6 Degrees of Separation. Ali was a hit, and the horrendously flawed Pursuit of Happyness really was only saved by Will's drawing starpower.

 

[Guts]

Part of the problem is him allowing himself to be type-cast as essentially a cartoon of himself for many years. Many of his movies you can see the seams where they re-wrote sections to make it a "Will Smith" movie. I-Robot is the worst on that front. You can see where at one time it was a smaller, more thoughtful movie but then there are unrelated action sequences and Will Smith -friendly lines thrown in. Also future product placement.

 

[Guts]

 

[Slushy]

1.) After Earth and Focus sucked.

2.) He was rumored to be involved with Scientology.

3.) He got called out for being a faker and a homophobe by many when he back hand slapped that prankster on the European kissing greeting. A situation he clearly overreacted on.

4.) Shoving his kids down people's throats.

5.) He still hasn't made Bad Boys III.

 

[Angel0fDeath]

1.) After Earth and Focus sucked.

2.) He was rumored to be involved with Scientology.

3.) He got called out for being a faker and a homophobe by many when he back hand slapped that prankster on the European kissing greeting. A situation he clearly overreacted on.

4.) Shoving his kids down people's throats.

5.) He still hasn't made Bad Boys III.

I wanna see how you react to some random person trying to slip you the tongue.

 

[Erzengel]

He doesn't curse in his rap records.

 

[jaganar]

1.) After Earth and Focus sucked.

2.) He was rumored to be involved with Scientology.

5.) He still hasn't made Bad Boys III.

the fact that SHAMALAN gave him half of the AIRBENDER money to take the blame for after earth is what killed his career.

jayden is not bad , but he needs to not hang with HERPES aka the kardashians

 

[Drizzle]

He doesn't curse in his rap records.

[YT]wQjDSlVyGiU[/YT]

 

[Warhammer]

Smith's problem is the same problem that Jim Carrey has. The 90's were VERY good to them, and gave them an almost unprecedented triple threat of classic hits in a row.

1995 - Bad Boys
1996 - Independence Day
1997 - Men in Black

1994 - Ace Ventura
1994 - The Mask
1994 - Dumb & Dumber

You won't see two actors give us iconic hits like that again all at once. They were probably the two biggest actors of that decade.

And now they want to be taken seriously as dramatic actors and the world has responded with, "No thanks, we want the guys from the 90's."

You know that Will Smith had a string of blockbusters throughout the 2000s right? 17 of his 21 films have grossed over 100 million.

 

[Clark-Kent]

1.) After Earth and Focus sucked.

2.) He was rumored to be involved with Scientology.

3.) He got called out for being a faker and a homophobe by many when he back hand slapped that prankster on the European kissing greeting. A situation he clearly overreacted on.

4.) Shoving his kids down people's throats.

5.) He still hasn't made Bad Boys III.

1. Ok.
2. Who cares? Like it's worse than other religions
3. That was a lot of restraint to have some stranger dude kiss you. It was amazing he didn't just knock his face off.
4. He is a Dad, and his son wants to be in the business. So what Not to mention, they were great together in TPOH.
5. So...? He isn't completely responsible if that gets made or not. Lot's of other things have to line up.

Terrible reasons

 

[I Am The Knight]

So, you OK with nepotism, Clark?

 

[Slushy]

Terrible reasons

That's the breaks.

I wanna see how you react to some random person trying to slip you the tongue.

In Europe, a kiss on the cheeks is a normal greeting. While the guy was a prankster, Smith didn't need to hit him. That's what bodyguards for. While people in general feel Smith acted accordingly, it wasn't a smart move as evidenced by the PR backlash for it.

 

[Clark-Kent]

So, you OK with nepotism, Clark?

Hollywood was built on nepotism