So there seems to be a lot of flack hitting several movies this summer – mainly our big popcorn superhero/ nostalgia blockbusters.
Only two franchise movies so far have been “good” by definition of critic acclaim. Those would be Harry Potter and Star Trek. Now granted, J.J. Abrams had his Star Trek script locked quite a while ago, and Harry Potter was filmed way back when and pushed after the Dark Knight met WB’s quota for the year single handedly.
TOY MOVIE PODCAST August 11 2009 - PRESS PLAY TO LISTEN
Why does this matter you ask? Because the essential complaint about Transformers, Wolverine, G.I. Joe has been all the same – What the hell is going on with this plot? These movies should be so much greater and you can see faint examples within the films where there are enormous setups and potentials for the films and then they just kind of plateau, fall flat or make little sense whatsoever. And yes, there IS an excuse this go around and Producers/Studios are to blame.
Now it may seem bias, because I myself am a screenwriter, but if anyone remembers way back when in 2007 there was a little thing called “the writers strike.” Big budget action films that come out in 2009 need to have pre-production wrapped in 2007/early 2008 before heading into production in 2008 and having a release in the summer of 2009. What happened here was simply putting the cart before the horse. Studios have one track minds: Make some goddamn money baby. And they have no hesitation to wait for a “quality” script all the time. It’s a business where you can be #1 on one day and a month later be out of a job and broke as hell. So if Transformers anticipation is high, G.I. Joe could ride it’s coat tails, Wolverine can bank on a pretty empty superhero summer…..what’s to lose? Well, respect for the genre for one, but when has Hollywood ever had respect for the films they produce?
Now, let’s not get off on the wrong foot. I loved Wolverine, I loved Transformers, and I loved G.I. Joe. That’s not even my “fake” Hollywood kiss-ass persona either, I thought they were fun movies for what they were. But, I do agree, could they have been better? Hell yes. They all suffer from underdevelopment because of the writers strike. No one could do re-writes, polishes, or anything to fix these films before jumping in front of a camera. Sure, some freelancers could get some money while the strike was on if they were non-union…but after the strike was over – they’d be screwed for the rest of their life. Not really worth it in the opinion of this writer.
So does that mean, because there’s an excuse for the underdeveloped plots that we should just take it for what it is instead of what it could be? In a way, yes. Listen, The Dark Knight was a masterful film. No doubt there. It “transcended” the genre. That doesn’t mean every film following it needs to do the same.
These films are based on nostalgia, explosions and most of freaking all – SELLING TOYS. Giant robots don’t have to have feelings to be cool. Does it make it a little more involving? Sure. But I don’t need to particularly care about Optimus Prime to know it’s cool to watch him beat the shit out of 12 other robots on his own.
Do I need to know why Sienna Miller can walk around the arctic circle with her cleavage hanging out? NO. She’s hot. She’s blowing stuff up. Fighting with other girls. She’s a character BASED ON A FREAKING TOY. In attempts to SELL TOYS. Batman was a comic book. An escapist form that blended pictures with novel-esque writing to get little kids to understand moral grounding. Since then, the stories for which that character were created have gotten more in depth and symbolic. Yes, he strayed away for a while and they tried to whore him to sell toys but that was not his original purpose. The original purpose for Snake Eyes was to have a freaking ninja action figure that you could have fight against Cobra Commander and Stormshadow. No one takes their action figures and prances them around going “Oh, I’m so in depth and conflicted with the drama that surrounds me. What shall I do?” No, you bang his and Duke’s heads together like they’re having a clash. You put them in the fighter cockpit and make them fly around. No child ever thinks to himself, “wait, did Ripcord go to flight school?” WHO CARES? He’s an action figure. The film of G.I. Joe did minimal explanations for who characters are and what they do. That’s all it really needs to be.
For some reason, people (critics who don’t get it) seem to think that each new comic book or fanboy movie has to be Hamlet or MacBeth. Is it great if they are? Sure, why not? But the sole purpose of these films are to be fun and entertaining. Put your brain into neutral and shovel down popcorn while you’re wow’d with a ninja sword fight. If you went to Transformers or G.I. Joe looking for parallels to the Iraq war or some deeper meaning to life, you’re an idiot. Go see Stop Loss. Hurt Locker. THOSE MOVIES have an obligation to make us care about the world around us. Transformers, G.I. Joe, Wolverine, Iron Man, Batman even – they need to have some fun. I’m glad these movies are the way they are. Dark Knight set a bar. That doesn’t mean every film should be Dark Knight, and critics and people shouldn’t have that unfair expectation. Some of these movies are SUPPOSED to be mindless action with hole-filled plots.
“We may pass violets looking for roses. We may pass contentment looking for victory.”
2009 MOVIE REVIEWS
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BOX OFFICE RESULTS
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OUT ON DVD
