john titor
Captain
Seriously, I was thinking last night about blade runner or even robocop, and it occurs to me that films and scripts nowadays don't carry the same impact, originality, humour or decent writing that these films had. For example I can't think of any line in a film today as poetic as anything from the "tears in the rain" speech in Blade Runner. In a way that pretty much is a classic, its not contemporary or part of pop culture anymore, its a transcendent piece of art as good as any Shakespearean play.
As for a film like robocop, I haven't seen any super hero film, no not even the dark knight which was just rubbish and actually not very dark since it was so one dimensional in its "darkness," where there is a scene as intense as the one in which Murphy removes the helmet and tries to remember his former life. That scene just kicked ass, the whole film, beneath the veneer of action was very deep, about the nature of consciouness, it was a parable for the American Jesus, which is what Verhoven wanted to achieve. The final scene where hes asked his name and he says Murphy, just a small exchange like that sums up the whole film, about a quest for identity through its removal in a soulless corporate world. Even if we're to delve into Star Trek, WoK and TUC are masterpieces, reserved and graceful in their execution.
Now I've seen I Robot and this is crap, its just a cgi fest with some "philosophy" tacked on in a short voice over sequence that isn't consistent with the film. Robocop conveyed the same concepts but with greater depth, power and subtetly. Or say Iron Man, it was just a celebration of elitism, the richest man on the planet gets to be a superhero, how can the everyman identify with an uber elite individual who basically becomes omnipotent. Apart from the garbled political message, the film is riddled with plot holes, its represents the worst excesses of the bling bling 00s. Tim Burtons Batman, now that was an interesting take on a superhero, because he wasn't an insuferable "go getter" millionaire, he was quirky and introverted and therefore not cliched.
Star Trek, now I like this film in one respect, its like revisting the past, there is a nostalgia element but the film makes no sense, the plot holes are massive, its patently absurd. It relies on action and breakneck speed, its shouty and hyperactive. Yes the franchise became very uncool because it got so staid and slow paced, but this is the extreme opposite end, I don't think thinking in binary about a creative process is necessarily the best way to come up with a creative idea.
Now I can tolerate a few minor plot holes, or ones which aren't glaringly obvious, given that it is just a film in one way or the other but what I can see is a general decline in the art of scriptwriting and general abscence of original thought in todays films. There were a lot more creative ideas in the 70s/80s than right now, which is frustrating because essentially whenever a remake is released its not a film, its a product and if I want to be entertained I want art and creativity, not something which executives like. I basically refuse to pay money to see something remade.
But this is the problem, with older films you had famous quotes, famous exchanges, I can't think of many in the past ten years, or even ones that rival what has gone before. The problem is that they take in profits and so will keep getting made.
As for a film like robocop, I haven't seen any super hero film, no not even the dark knight which was just rubbish and actually not very dark since it was so one dimensional in its "darkness," where there is a scene as intense as the one in which Murphy removes the helmet and tries to remember his former life. That scene just kicked ass, the whole film, beneath the veneer of action was very deep, about the nature of consciouness, it was a parable for the American Jesus, which is what Verhoven wanted to achieve. The final scene where hes asked his name and he says Murphy, just a small exchange like that sums up the whole film, about a quest for identity through its removal in a soulless corporate world. Even if we're to delve into Star Trek, WoK and TUC are masterpieces, reserved and graceful in their execution.
Now I've seen I Robot and this is crap, its just a cgi fest with some "philosophy" tacked on in a short voice over sequence that isn't consistent with the film. Robocop conveyed the same concepts but with greater depth, power and subtetly. Or say Iron Man, it was just a celebration of elitism, the richest man on the planet gets to be a superhero, how can the everyman identify with an uber elite individual who basically becomes omnipotent. Apart from the garbled political message, the film is riddled with plot holes, its represents the worst excesses of the bling bling 00s. Tim Burtons Batman, now that was an interesting take on a superhero, because he wasn't an insuferable "go getter" millionaire, he was quirky and introverted and therefore not cliched.
Star Trek, now I like this film in one respect, its like revisting the past, there is a nostalgia element but the film makes no sense, the plot holes are massive, its patently absurd. It relies on action and breakneck speed, its shouty and hyperactive. Yes the franchise became very uncool because it got so staid and slow paced, but this is the extreme opposite end, I don't think thinking in binary about a creative process is necessarily the best way to come up with a creative idea.
Now I can tolerate a few minor plot holes, or ones which aren't glaringly obvious, given that it is just a film in one way or the other but what I can see is a general decline in the art of scriptwriting and general abscence of original thought in todays films. There were a lot more creative ideas in the 70s/80s than right now, which is frustrating because essentially whenever a remake is released its not a film, its a product and if I want to be entertained I want art and creativity, not something which executives like. I basically refuse to pay money to see something remade.
But this is the problem, with older films you had famous quotes, famous exchanges, I can't think of many in the past ten years, or even ones that rival what has gone before. The problem is that they take in profits and so will keep getting made.
