^^^
It was as much a flop as the 2nd movie, ie, they both made profit, just not as much as the studios wanted, and they basically made the same amount. And only a 5% difference in rotten tomatoes (the only way I can give a numerical critical value to this), 61% vs. 66%. Even if one hates the critics and doesn't take any value in what they say, it at least seemed pretty consistent.
Seems like the 2nd approach wasn't much better.
But I actually agree with you (yay, common ground!
) that it shouldn't have been marketed as a summer blockbuster, and even before the movie came out, Ang Lee in interviews was saying sort of the same thing, that he's not a fan of blockbusters and made the movie the way he would have not thinking about its release (I'm paraphrasing here, google searches will show exactly what he was saying).
I liked the complexities Ang Lee brought to the movie, besides the abusive father stuff (which was thematic for the whole movie), and it gave Ross and Betty a much meatier relationship other than the latter versions "I'm just evil and want a super weapon like every other villain from every cartoon of the 80's."
Taking a later element from the books doesn't make it better, again I agree with you on that point. It's using the elements that makes something work or fail. If Leterrier had used the same angle and same basic plot, it would have been a MUCH different movie, maybe better, maybe worse, but the actual idea isn't a bad one at all. It's all in the execution.
It was as much a flop as the 2nd movie, ie, they both made profit, just not as much as the studios wanted, and they basically made the same amount. And only a 5% difference in rotten tomatoes (the only way I can give a numerical critical value to this), 61% vs. 66%. Even if one hates the critics and doesn't take any value in what they say, it at least seemed pretty consistent.
Seems like the 2nd approach wasn't much better.
But I actually agree with you (yay, common ground!
) that it shouldn't have been marketed as a summer blockbuster, and even before the movie came out, Ang Lee in interviews was saying sort of the same thing, that he's not a fan of blockbusters and made the movie the way he would have not thinking about its release (I'm paraphrasing here, google searches will show exactly what he was saying). I liked the complexities Ang Lee brought to the movie, besides the abusive father stuff (which was thematic for the whole movie), and it gave Ross and Betty a much meatier relationship other than the latter versions "I'm just evil and want a super weapon like every other villain from every cartoon of the 80's."
Taking a later element from the books doesn't make it better, again I agree with you on that point. It's using the elements that makes something work or fail. If Leterrier had used the same angle and same basic plot, it would have been a MUCH different movie, maybe better, maybe worse, but the actual idea isn't a bad one at all. It's all in the execution.
