Watching the Lego Star Wars "Terrifying Tales" special on Disney+, my brother and I both came to the same conclusion: a simple Lego special did a better job with Kylo Ren's backstory than 3 big budget movies! That seems pretty ridiculous. And as I've said before, all the best Star Wars stuff since 1983 has been on the small screen: The Clone Wars, Rebels, and The Mandalorian.
Last month also finally saw the release of the final Daniel Craig James Bond movie No Time to Die. A lot of people like me, consider Skyfall to be the best one of his era and one of the better ones overall. Why is that? Because it actually tried to delve into the characters a little bit instead of just non-stop action scenes like Quantum of Solace and it didn't take a shortcut by trying to rip off Austin Powers like Spectre.
Anyway, I think as the title says, the problem in the last 25 years or so is that movies are being made for ADHD audiences. It's this philosophy that if there's not a chase or explosion or gun battle or sex scene, the audience is going to pick up their phones or just leave the theater outright. And that kind of short-changes character development.
You could probably blame Spielberg and Lucas for starting the whole "blockbuster" movie thing, but even most of their movies like Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and the original Star Wars trilogy didn't move at a frantic pace. There were big action set pieces but in between those were quieter moments where characters could actually talk. The same could be said for some of the better Bond movies like Goldfinger, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, or The Spy Who Loved Me; there was some time to actually talk with the villain and love interest instead of just Bond hopping from one chase scene to another for 2 hours.
The good thing about TV shows like the Star Wars ones is they can slow things down and actually do some character development. It doesn't have to be one big action scene after another.
I think though you have to in part blame ourselves for supporting the Michael Bays, Zack Snyders, and JJ Abramses of the film world. And focusing on those big action moments when talking about movies on social media. It is as always: if you support crap, more crap gets made.
2 comments:
That's a good point. I haven't seen the new Bond movie but definitely Skyfall is one of my favorites. Can't say I'm a fan of the new Star Wars movies, though.
By the way, if you check my blog you'll see I'm launching a new comic book campaign!
I don't like movies with constant action. It tends to be exhausting. You see what's happening, but you don't know the people, therefore you don't care. At least I don't. I suppose action is easier. Less chance of making plot holes. If it's easier and it sells, of course they will do it.
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