Ranking the MTV Movie & TV Award winners for Movie of the Year

There is no fathomable way to accept that the Twihards were the best movies four years in a row except for factoring in teen fandom run amok. This trend seriously depreciated the MTV Movie Awards' credibility, especially when considering the competition during that time: “The Dark Knight, two "Harry Potter" movies, “Black Swan” and “Bridesmaids,” to name a few.

This gross-out offering starring Ben Stiller and Cameron Diaz, from the Farrelly Brothers, wasn’t even the best comedy of the year. Realistically, it was the least qualified movie among “Armageddon,” “Saving Private Ryan,” “Shakespeare in Love” and “The Truman Show” to take home the Golden Popcorn.

Here is yet another example of the popularity contest vote. The second offering from the "Hunger Games" series wasn’t even the best Jennifer Lawrence movie in the running and ranks dead last compared to “12 Years a Slave,” “American Hustle,” “Frozen” and “The Wolf of Wall Street.”

While some of the special effects were dizzyingly cool (as to be expected from Michael Bay), the characters, the robots and the storytelling just didn’t pop. It is unclear if Bay, Shia LaBeouf or Megan Fox is most responsible for that. Still, there was no real standout among "I Am Legend," "Juno," "National Treasure: Book of Secrets," "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" and "Superbad" for the win.

The second installment of the blockbuster films based on the Disney ride was actually quite “ho-hum” instead of “yo-ho.” MTV voters missed a prime opportunity to express their edgy side by crowning either “Borat” or “Little Miss Sunshine” with the Best Movie Award. 

The offbeat, socially awkward title character hit big in 2004 and still strikes a chord (or a sick dance move) as an unlikely winner. But when you peel back the layers to reveal that this was the year when “Crash” took home the Oscar for Best Picture, we might begin to understand why voters were trying to throw their votes "over them mountains."

"Beauty and the Beast" was generally well-received by critics in its record-breaking box office gross for a live-action musical film. The cast, led by Best Actor winner Emma Watson, was exceptionally well-rounded; however, some will say that it is inferior to the original 1991 animated film, thereby rendering it obsolete. Aside from its immense popularity with teen voters, it is hard to understand how it beat the superior "Get Out."

It’s not that I didn’t like “Scream.” In some ways this movie rebooted the entire horror genre. But I am dumbfounded that the MTV set didn’t crown Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes from Baz Luhrmann’s “Romeo + Juliet” as king and queen of the prom. There is no honor, and there is no loyalty. A plague o’ both your houses!

Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson had audiences rolling in the aisles with their bro-code douchebaggery, not to mention the hilarious star turns by Isla Fisher and Bradley Cooper. But a look beyond just the tip of the iceberg may reveal a weak nominee class that included "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," "Batman Begins," "King Kong" and "Sin City" and yielded an underwhelming victory.

Even though it was a quality movie, the superhero collective benefited from the blockbuster voting bump. And in all fairness, it competed against a particularly average Batman film in "The Dark Knight Rises," "Django Unchained," "Silver Linings Playbook" and "Ted."

“The Fault in Our Stars” charmed audiences with its sweet and sincere story of two teenage cancer patients finding love in the numbered days of their young lives. The Best Movie category ballooned to eight contenders this year, including "American Sniper," "Boyhood," "Gone Girl," "Guardians of the Galaxy," "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1," "Selma" and "Whiplash," which probably helped water down the competition.

This drama set in the Watts neighborhood of South Central L.A. offered a powerful and realistic portrayal of growing up with gang violence. It was a gritty choice by MTV voters, but it doesn’t realistically compete against “Philadelphia” or “Schindler’s List” and also surprisingly beat out "Jurassic Park" and "The Fugitive."

Although it is a little surprising that the selection wasn’t Eminem’s  “8 Mile,” the second installment of Peter Jackson’s long-winded franchise is a great standalone film. The Battle of Helm’s Deep sequence alone could have been enough to secure the victory.

I am a huge fan of — what’s in the box? — David Fincher’s dark exploration of the seven deadly sins in one of the best neo-noir crime thrillers out there. I am also not certain that “Se7en” is better than “Braveheart,” but since both are high-quality films, I can’t really complain.

“You can’t handle the truth!”...that this was the best movie of 1993, going up against stiff competition in "Aladdin," "Basic Instinct," "The Bodyguard" and "Malcolm X." Well, it was, and you need me on that wall to tell you that it was!

I was really happy to see the "Star Wars" saga firing on all appropriate number of parsecs again and erasing the dark shadow cast by the prequels. It won against mild competition in "Avengers: Age of Ultron," "Creed," "Deadpool," "Jurassic World" and "Straight Outta Compton," but the nostalgia chills and nerdgasms achieved while watching “The Force Awakens” were more than satisfying.

“Terminator 2” took home six awards at the inaugural MTV Movie Awards, and it certainly exemplified the slick, sci-fi feel of early '90s films. Despite Schwarzenegger’s stock performance, this movie hummed like a 14-wheeler roaring down the Los Angeles Aqueduct and bested "Backdraft," "Boyz n the Hood," "JFK" and "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" for the award.

You take the blue pill, the story ends and you wake up in a world where this mind-blowing action/sci-fi classic never exists. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland and bullet time, "I know Kung Fu," and action megastar Keanu Reeves continues to thrill nearly 20 years later. The Wachowski siblings' superb film also won against serious competition in "American Beauty," "American Pie," "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me" and "The Sixth Sense."

“One ring to rule them all,” and MTV voters bowed to the ring’s call. The film that introduced us to J.R.R. Tolkien’s rich fantasy world of hobbits, elves, dwarves, etc., as seen through the visionary eyes of Peter Jackson, was a deserving winner. It doesn’t hurt that it also landed on AFI’s Top 100.

The final installment of Peter Jackson’s fantasy saga may have challenged the attention span of some viewers with its length and overwrought ending, but MTV viewers got it right and took to the polls. As an easy selection over "Finding Nemo," "50 First Dates," "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" and "X2: X-Men United," "Return of the King" was awarded Best Movie and matched the prestigious Oscars for Best Picture.

Visually stunning, thematically thrilling and powerfully celebratory of black culture and African heritage, "Black Panther" easily took home the popcorn in 2018. It is the first superhero film to ever receive an Oscar nomination for Best Picture, and at times it seemed like it had a real chance to win amid a host of great films. (It did win for Best Original Score, Best Production Design and Best Costume Design.) With the MTV set, "Avengers: Infinity War," "Girls Trip," "It" and "Wonder Woman" didn't stand a chance against this vibranium gem. 

Although "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" was also nominated the same year and was great in its own right, Ridley Scott's epic harkens back to an earlier era of filmmaking. Yes, Maximus, we are most definitely entertained — as was the Academy, marking the second time the Oscars and the MTV Movie Awards synced up for their respective top prizes.

James Cameron’s magnum opus was as much a pioneer in production as it was a behemoth at the box office. The great film, led by the superb chemistry of Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, remains in the hearts of its viewers as one of the most romantic marvels of modern cinema. It avoided all icebergs in taking home the Best Movie Award from MTV and the Best Picture Award from the Oscars and has a comfortable spot on the AFI Top 100.

Quentin Tarantino’s masterpiece is a bona fide classic, and the genre-defining storytelling continues to mature with repeat viewings. It revamped the career of John Travolta, gave us Uma Thurman and Samuel L. Jackson, launched Tarantino's mainstream success and left in its wake a glowing briefcase full of potent quotes and compelling cinematic images.