Maintaining Sequilibrium
Summer's here and that means sequels. The one thing every producer in Hollywood dreams about is a franchise-creating movie � one film, based on a book, a comic, or the fever dream of a screenwriter � that will offer scope for lots and lots of sequels.
Movie-goers like to see the �further adventures� of characters they�ve enjoyed and have done since the 1930�s at least. The Thin Man � based on a novel � spawned 4 sequels, even though the title character died in the first. Re-occurring characters could carry many films, as we saw with the B-Westerns of men like Roy Rogers and Gene Autry. But now sequels are bigger, more expensive, and mean big box office.
Just thus far, we�ve had X-Men: Days of Future Past and How to Train Your Dragon 2. This week we have the biggest of the season to date � Transformers: Age of Extinction. Honestly, what would producers do without the colon?
X-Men: Days of Future Past takes us on a journey that leads, inexorably, to the re-boot the series needs. While a solid entry in the series, Days has the problem of introducing the characters in a way that makes the core audience for this film sit up and say �hello!� without confusing those who haven�t watched their every move or movie. There are so many sub-stories and �moments� between characters to please the X-Men fans, however, that the main story goes AWOL for a large part of the film. You�ve got two of the great actors of the current age in it � Stewart and McKellan � with hardly any time between them. Many others come in for a bow (there are countless cameos) but the chief problem with the film is that we lose sight of our own avatar, Wolverine, for about a third of the running length. He�s there�but he has nothing to do.
I�d say See It in the Theatre, But not in IMAX or 3-D. There�s not enough grandeur here to make the extra money worthwhile.
How to Train Your Dragon 2: I have recently been introduced to the term �Longbottoming�. This is when a character starts out unattractive and, whether through the aging of the actor or the choice of the director, becomes �hot�. The name derives from the character Neville Longbottom from the Harry Potter cycle. If the word �Hiccuping� didn�t already mean something, we could use it the same way. Hiccup has transformed from a Viking nerd into a Beatle. The other characters have also aged, with the exception of the female characters. Apparently someone decided that 16 is as good as it gets for girls. Speaking of appearances, the dragons remain the draw in this series. When we see the �Alpha Dragons�, savvy watchers will not be surprised to discover Guillermo del Toro�s name in the credits. They are kaiju in snow. I enjoy del Toro�s vision but I hope we occasionally get to see a big monster in a film that doesn�t bear his signature. P.S. for Phantom fans, Gerard Butler sings!
I�d say See It in the Theatre and Go IMAX 3-D. Hiccup and Toothless deserve a big sky to fly in.
Transformers: Age of Extinction: I confess I went in with a sigh of resignation only to be pleasantly surprised. T: AoE is more coherent than the other three Transformer movies, moves much more quickly yet still has time for some emotional input, and has some great set-ups. It is miles too long, however, with at least three endings. I�ve seen a lot of movies where I say that the actors did the best they could with what they were given. Mark Wahlberg and Stanley Tucci do much more with the script than what was written. They, especially Tucci, seem to be having a heck of a good time in every scene, whether messing about with robots or interacting with the women in their lives. T.J. Miller is a standout as well with his Texas/Surferboy hybrid. I�m afraid the two young �love-interest� actors were pretty much interchangeable with half a dozen others of their era. The voices are good on the Transformers, though if they are going to give some robots facial expressions, why not all of them? Bumblebee and Optimus Prime remain old-school while everyone else gets mobile expressions.
I�d say See it in the Theatre. If you�re a big fan, see it in IMAX. No reason to add 3-D.
Movie-goers like to see the �further adventures� of characters they�ve enjoyed and have done since the 1930�s at least. The Thin Man � based on a novel � spawned 4 sequels, even though the title character died in the first. Re-occurring characters could carry many films, as we saw with the B-Westerns of men like Roy Rogers and Gene Autry. But now sequels are bigger, more expensive, and mean big box office.
Just thus far, we�ve had X-Men: Days of Future Past and How to Train Your Dragon 2. This week we have the biggest of the season to date � Transformers: Age of Extinction. Honestly, what would producers do without the colon?
X-Men: Days of Future Past takes us on a journey that leads, inexorably, to the re-boot the series needs. While a solid entry in the series, Days has the problem of introducing the characters in a way that makes the core audience for this film sit up and say �hello!� without confusing those who haven�t watched their every move or movie. There are so many sub-stories and �moments� between characters to please the X-Men fans, however, that the main story goes AWOL for a large part of the film. You�ve got two of the great actors of the current age in it � Stewart and McKellan � with hardly any time between them. Many others come in for a bow (there are countless cameos) but the chief problem with the film is that we lose sight of our own avatar, Wolverine, for about a third of the running length. He�s there�but he has nothing to do.
I�d say See It in the Theatre, But not in IMAX or 3-D. There�s not enough grandeur here to make the extra money worthwhile.
How to Train Your Dragon 2: I have recently been introduced to the term �Longbottoming�. This is when a character starts out unattractive and, whether through the aging of the actor or the choice of the director, becomes �hot�. The name derives from the character Neville Longbottom from the Harry Potter cycle. If the word �Hiccuping� didn�t already mean something, we could use it the same way. Hiccup has transformed from a Viking nerd into a Beatle. The other characters have also aged, with the exception of the female characters. Apparently someone decided that 16 is as good as it gets for girls. Speaking of appearances, the dragons remain the draw in this series. When we see the �Alpha Dragons�, savvy watchers will not be surprised to discover Guillermo del Toro�s name in the credits. They are kaiju in snow. I enjoy del Toro�s vision but I hope we occasionally get to see a big monster in a film that doesn�t bear his signature. P.S. for Phantom fans, Gerard Butler sings!
I�d say See It in the Theatre and Go IMAX 3-D. Hiccup and Toothless deserve a big sky to fly in.
Transformers: Age of Extinction: I confess I went in with a sigh of resignation only to be pleasantly surprised. T: AoE is more coherent than the other three Transformer movies, moves much more quickly yet still has time for some emotional input, and has some great set-ups. It is miles too long, however, with at least three endings. I�ve seen a lot of movies where I say that the actors did the best they could with what they were given. Mark Wahlberg and Stanley Tucci do much more with the script than what was written. They, especially Tucci, seem to be having a heck of a good time in every scene, whether messing about with robots or interacting with the women in their lives. T.J. Miller is a standout as well with his Texas/Surferboy hybrid. I�m afraid the two young �love-interest� actors were pretty much interchangeable with half a dozen others of their era. The voices are good on the Transformers, though if they are going to give some robots facial expressions, why not all of them? Bumblebee and Optimus Prime remain old-school while everyone else gets mobile expressions.
I�d say See it in the Theatre. If you�re a big fan, see it in IMAX. No reason to add 3-D.
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