NEEDY'S BLOG

NEEDY

Joss Whedon Ruined My Love For Movies
Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Damn you Joss Whedon.
I love your work, I really do, but that in of itself is the problem.
Anything else just pales in comparison.

Yesterday I watched The Island again. First time since, well, the first time.
Ah 2005, I remember the days. The days of going to the cinema week after week had come and gone, and by then I was slipping into the stage of "why bother? Why bother spending your hard earned dough for a film that will likely be ruined by noisy kids or rude people chatting away in the background."
But there were a few films I just HAD to watch on the big screen. A little thing called Star Wars had its final chapter. "Noooooooooooooooo!!" we all cried in the audience when the final credits rolled up, although it may have had something to do with the hopes we had once had for the prequel series finally being put out of their misery.
And then there was The Island, a film that looked like your average Hollywood blockbuster but with an intriguing story as its backbone.
But I couldn't enjoy it, not completely. And I don't think it's simply because Michael Bay throws everything at the screen but can't inject the tiniest bit of heart into a story. I think it's because Joss Whedon ruined it for me.
Before The Island I saw something called Serenity. Twice, in fact. I can't remember whether I saw the Island after the Serenity pre-screening, or after I saw it again when it went on general release, but needless to say our BDH's big screen adventure met and exceeded expectations.
Serenity was everything a movie should be - exciting, funny, scary, engaging, shocking and more importantly, it had a decent story, with real heart. That's not to mention the wonderful talents of the cast.
And then I watched The Island. A movie that, if done well, could have been an amazing film. But it was so filled with dumb action sequences (no, i'm not saying that all action sequences are dumb, but there needs to be some believability in the moments, otherwise you're taken right out of the movie - which I was, several times) incredibly cheesy moments, awkward line delivery and two characters I couldn't care less about, that I soon realised that - interesting plot idea aside - this was a movie you had to shut your brain down for.
It never used to be such a problem. You see I used to be the type of person that enjoyed movies, no matter how flawed they were. But that changed on the 24th of August 2005. For the next few months, any film I watched were compared with Serenity, and judged by its standards. Few came out of it unscathed.

And then came the months and years of watching lesser films rake in the audiences, the money and return a few years down the line with sequels, each one as pitiful as the next.

I've learnt to live with this industry being the way it is, churning out the same old trash with no hint of originality. That's not to say that there's no shining beacon in movies anymore - to the contrary, there's been some amazing things hitting our screens . They can't all be original, but at least they offer something to its audience other than simply big explosions.
Now its fair to say Serenity wasn't entirely original, it was a little bit Star Wars, a little bit Blade Runner, and what have you. But at least it did what it did with heart and soul. It showed George Lucas how the prequels should have been done, it engaged us all, even those who'd never seen or heard of a tv show called Firefly.

And so I watched The Island again yesterday. I figured it had been long enough. I have a fair few friends who really love it. And since it was entirely possible I may have judged it unfairly in the shadow of Serenity, I decided I'd give it another try with an open minded.
Although its not a disaster, and I'm not criticizing anyone that does like it (it does have some redeeming features, i think) I still can't help but see it in the same way I did all the way back in 2005. I wish it was better. I really do. But Michael Bay really does need to do more than hire Steve Jablonsky and hope his music can engage our emotions.
On the bright side of things it did warm my heart towards the end. It had nothing to do with what was happening on the screen but instead I was reminded of why I liked Serenity so much. And even though a sequel looks unlikely (unless The Avengers is really big, and Joss Whedon gets to do what he likes after that), I will always have that shiny dvd sitting on my shelf.
Serenity. The Big Damn Movie. The one that blew all others out of the water.

COMMENTS

Wednesday, August 4, 2010 6:38 AM

JANE0904


Totally agree. Particularly when I find myself watching a so-called blockbuster and find myself thinking 'Joss did that first'.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010 9:16 AM

BYTEMITE


It was Doctor Horrible that got me into Firefly, for a couple months I was obsessed with it, then I couldn't resist the curiosity any more, and WOW. I pretty much stopped thinking about anything but Firefly for the last two years now. And that's even considering I love mad science; I suspect it's primarily because one has entirely new worlds and settings and nine main characters instead of four, more to explore.

Anyway, sometimes something just comes along and grabs you and doesn't let go. Firefly is like that for a lot of people.

The rest like Avatar. *flamed!*

Tuesday, August 3, 2010 9:04 AM

SOULOFSERENITY


Amen, old friend. Well said.


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