I consider myself a fan of movies. I especially like to go see them on the big screen and if they are good enough, I reward them with a DVD purchase. Some of the highlights of my life at the cinema (other than when I worked at one) include Jurassic Park, Independence Day, Spiderman, Little Miss Sunshine, The Lion King, Big Fish, and the Royal Tenenbaums. Now these movies are not necessarily great, but at the time I watched them on the big screen they made me feel like movies are supposed to make me feel. Little Miss Sunshine I thought was great because everyone in the theater, no matter what their background, race, age or any defining characteristic was we were all laughing hysterically. For a movie to get that reaction out of a totally different group of people to me was very special. The Royal Tenebaums I loved for the complete opposite reason. Nicole and I seemed to be the only people in the theater laughing at all. This made me feel like we got the joke and no one else did. Spiderman was nothing less than the realization of a childhood dream. Sure, I had seen clips from the old Spiderman live action TV show from the 1970s, but to see Spiderman fully realized on the big screen cannot be put into words for me. I just list the effects these three movies had on me at the time to give a sense of what I mean by making me feel like they are supposed to make me feel.
So often in life our biggest disappointments come from our greatest loves. The more you cherish something the larger the chance it will let you down. I have felt particularly let down by the recent dreck Hollywood has churned out.
First, we shall take the case of Spiderman 3. As much as I loved Spiderman the movie and Spiderman generally (I wrote my essay to get into college about why I would like to be Spiderman for a day), I found this film to be abhorring. I had no problem with Spiderman trying to be friends with the Second Green Goblin, but having the Green Goblin proclaim he was BFF with Spiderman would be like Rosie O'Donnell and Charleton Heston having a secret love child. It is absolutely against the character and the history of Spiderman. Many people liked the movie. It honestly made me wish for a short period of time that they had never made any Spiderman movies because it led to this sense of literal betrayal. I felt Sam Rami, had not only betrayed all of the fans he endeared himself to in the first movies but also he betrayed Spiderman (I know he is not real). I refuse to buy it on DVD or watch it again.
In reality there were three other tertiary films that came out recently and they all were terrible. Oceans 13, Pirates 3, and Shreck 3 all started out as nice films. I remember seeing Pirates and Oceans 11 in the theater and really enjoying my experience. By the third time around the characters were stale and the plots were awful. The ship in Pirates 3 spent half of the movie in the middle of the desert for Pete's sake. The first Shreck I watched in my room in the fraternity house with Nicole and my fraternity little brother. I remember thinking how neat it was that all of the famous fairy tale characters were part of this modern irreverent tale. By the third one it just became the same old recycled mess.
Finally, my more recent malaise has come about because I recently went to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. After watching this movie I can honestly say that Stephen Spielberg has lost it and that George Lucas is systematically trying to destroy my childhood which he actually helped to create. In the late 1970s to the mid 1990s Spielberg directed such movies as Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Close Encounters, ET, Schindler's List, and Jurassic Park. Now he has moved on to more entertaining fare such as AI, Minority Report, The Terminal and this new piece of Indy junk. It is obvious that he has not made a good movie in 10 years. And certainly not a great one like the ones I have just named. Thats fine, he has lost it.
George Lucas is much more blameworthy. He helped create two of the greatest movie franchises ever. Star Wars and Indiana Jones. The first films in both of those franchises are absolutely amazing. The special effects in Star Wars still basically hold up and that movie was made 30 years ago. Since then, really after the original trilogies ended, he has seemingly made his singular goal to destroy his own legacy. Phantom Menace and especially Clone Wars are just difficult to watch at all. And this new Indiana Jones movie stinks. Apparently, greasers have the unique talent of swinging around in trees like Tarzan only dreamed of, after being apart for more than 10 years you can pick right up with the woman you impregnated and left like you had just come back home from a day at work and KGB agents say certain words with an English accent. If you can suspend disbelief for all of that, you are almost there. Next you have to accept the fact that THIS MOVIE IS ABOUT ALIENS. The great thing about Indiana Jones movies was that the amount of supernatural goings on was believable. Because at one time, Lucas and Spielburg could tell a decent yarn you could believe the Holy Grail existed or the Ark of the Covenant held terrible powers, but aliens putting all of the knowlege of the universe into crystal skulls? So George Lucas has taken characters that I loved, played with, and pretended to be when I was a little kid and destroyed them. Kudos George Lucas, your goal has been achieved in my book. I feel like fans should sue you to keep you from screwing up your own work. But that is probably too late.
Speaking of late...
-J
