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Reviews5
wji222's rating
Everyone LOVES this movie.
I just like it. I don't really see what all the hype is about and why everyone thinks its so much better than all the other big summer blockbuster hits that shamelessly parades PG-13 violence and charming entertainment but lacks clear narrative, dialogue, or character development. Out of all these comic book adaptations, Spider-man has been the only one that has touched a human nerve and it was still rather corny. This movie is absolutely unbelievable (not just unbelievable in the "comic book" sense), but rather because the plot is completely undeveloped! Robert Downey Jr. makes his big comeback as charming bad boy Tony Stark but fails to save the entire movie with only his blindingly white smile. Paltrow is horrible and needs to go back to acting school (which is sad because I rather liked her in Shakespeare in Love which proves that she does have the chops but is just dusty from being out of the game for so long). Stark's "helper" machines provide some comic relief in a scene that is memorable only in its absurdity and the bad guy is so cliché he reminds me of the kingpin from the summer flop: "Daredevil".
Overall, its good entertainment but it doesn't deserve a high rating. It is mindless fun, it doesn't make you think but may make you laugh, it doesn't call for intense emotional investment but it makes you feel good and happy at the end. All in all, its rather conventional fare and so it deserves a rather average rating.
On the other hand, I rather enjoyed The Incredible Hulk with E. Norton. So if you have to pick between the two then pick Norton, who brings vulnerability to his role and who actually has chemistry with his leading lady (Liv Tyler).
I just like it. I don't really see what all the hype is about and why everyone thinks its so much better than all the other big summer blockbuster hits that shamelessly parades PG-13 violence and charming entertainment but lacks clear narrative, dialogue, or character development. Out of all these comic book adaptations, Spider-man has been the only one that has touched a human nerve and it was still rather corny. This movie is absolutely unbelievable (not just unbelievable in the "comic book" sense), but rather because the plot is completely undeveloped! Robert Downey Jr. makes his big comeback as charming bad boy Tony Stark but fails to save the entire movie with only his blindingly white smile. Paltrow is horrible and needs to go back to acting school (which is sad because I rather liked her in Shakespeare in Love which proves that she does have the chops but is just dusty from being out of the game for so long). Stark's "helper" machines provide some comic relief in a scene that is memorable only in its absurdity and the bad guy is so cliché he reminds me of the kingpin from the summer flop: "Daredevil".
Overall, its good entertainment but it doesn't deserve a high rating. It is mindless fun, it doesn't make you think but may make you laugh, it doesn't call for intense emotional investment but it makes you feel good and happy at the end. All in all, its rather conventional fare and so it deserves a rather average rating.
On the other hand, I rather enjoyed The Incredible Hulk with E. Norton. So if you have to pick between the two then pick Norton, who brings vulnerability to his role and who actually has chemistry with his leading lady (Liv Tyler).
Because we're looking in all the wrong places.
Don't get me wrong, Shyamalans new flick is not perfect in any sense of the word. The dialogue is chunky and awkward, the acting follows accordingly into sometimes seemingly mild absurdity. The R rating is completely wasted, especially since it was hyped by the media. And worst of all, Walberg is miscast in his role as the leading protagonist.
But the message and theme remains and it is clear as a bright blue morning.
To say that this movie is a walking "green" advertisement would be to oversimplify. This movie is about the power of fear, the complexity of human relationships which are at the same time beautifully simple in moments of extreme duress, and most of all, a nod towards the overall discourse of our modern world towards trying to find "simple" answers in regards to unexplainable phenomena. For those critics that slam this movie because it leaves us with a hanging string would be to prove Shyamalans very point: that as a society, we have become unfamiliar and yes, uncomfortable with whatever does not hand us answers in percentage, mathematical, or clear cut formulas. This movie is not supposed to provide any clear formulaic answers, merely present us with an exaggerated situation and then allow us to come to our own epiphany.
How do I know this to be true? For the reviewers that have actually seen this movie, then you know that there were those moments of complete quiet on screen. Where only the wind breathed life and the grass swayed ominously and Walberg and Deschanel ceased their constant running and looked fearfully out into the open green fields. What were they looking for...what were they running from? They didn't know, not for sure...only that something was after them, something they could not stop, something that they could not see, touch, taste, or hear. Only something that they could feel. If not clear enough, these intense moments of human frailty are then reiterated in the form of a child running limply beside Deschanel's character. In those moments, Shyamalan's brilliance takes center stage, allowing us as viewers to pause and consider and finally realize, along with Walberg and Deschanel, that the glory of being human is our ability to choose love over fear, that within our most frail moments we have only two things: our fellow humans and the beauty of the physical world that surrounds us. Everything else fades into obscurity. This was meant to be the only answer and ironically, within our modern age, it was the one answer that most viewers could not seem to grasp.
Don't get me wrong, Shyamalans new flick is not perfect in any sense of the word. The dialogue is chunky and awkward, the acting follows accordingly into sometimes seemingly mild absurdity. The R rating is completely wasted, especially since it was hyped by the media. And worst of all, Walberg is miscast in his role as the leading protagonist.
But the message and theme remains and it is clear as a bright blue morning.
To say that this movie is a walking "green" advertisement would be to oversimplify. This movie is about the power of fear, the complexity of human relationships which are at the same time beautifully simple in moments of extreme duress, and most of all, a nod towards the overall discourse of our modern world towards trying to find "simple" answers in regards to unexplainable phenomena. For those critics that slam this movie because it leaves us with a hanging string would be to prove Shyamalans very point: that as a society, we have become unfamiliar and yes, uncomfortable with whatever does not hand us answers in percentage, mathematical, or clear cut formulas. This movie is not supposed to provide any clear formulaic answers, merely present us with an exaggerated situation and then allow us to come to our own epiphany.
How do I know this to be true? For the reviewers that have actually seen this movie, then you know that there were those moments of complete quiet on screen. Where only the wind breathed life and the grass swayed ominously and Walberg and Deschanel ceased their constant running and looked fearfully out into the open green fields. What were they looking for...what were they running from? They didn't know, not for sure...only that something was after them, something they could not stop, something that they could not see, touch, taste, or hear. Only something that they could feel. If not clear enough, these intense moments of human frailty are then reiterated in the form of a child running limply beside Deschanel's character. In those moments, Shyamalan's brilliance takes center stage, allowing us as viewers to pause and consider and finally realize, along with Walberg and Deschanel, that the glory of being human is our ability to choose love over fear, that within our most frail moments we have only two things: our fellow humans and the beauty of the physical world that surrounds us. Everything else fades into obscurity. This was meant to be the only answer and ironically, within our modern age, it was the one answer that most viewers could not seem to grasp.
I have been reading reviews on this movie and I must say that I think people have this movie all wrong. It is very obvious that whoever wrote the script for this relied on certain stereotypes of both American and Middle Eastern origin, however what we must all admit as both human beings and as Americans is that we rely on stereotypical narratives in order to be intelligible to each other. These narratives are what govern our view of the world and the discourses in which we reside. So the fact that this movie utilizes stereotypes is not surprising, as without these stereotypes, the MAIN MESSAGE of this movie would not be so transparent.
What is the message of this movie? It is the message that despite our differences of culture, religion, or whatever else makes us want to bomb the hell out of each other...at the end of the day, we are still the same. We are human beings, and we breathe, bleed, love, and raise families no matter the religious or cultural differences that separate us. The relationships that intertwine within this film displays this, and it is an attempt to make us see this.
It would be easy to write off this film as nothing more than just another bloody and violent action escapade that carelessly utilizes existing narratives to justify the amount of gun play that fills the screen. However, the main brunt of this film is not its guns nor its blood (of which it allows an ample amount of both), it is about its relationships, the relationships that exist between the American FBI team and their families, the relationships between the terrorists and their own families, and even perhaps the relationship that can be formed between Americans and Muslims...if only we would set aside all our differences and instead see our commonalities. That is the message of this film, and at the end of the day, I, as a human being, see that as a message worth seeing.
What is the message of this movie? It is the message that despite our differences of culture, religion, or whatever else makes us want to bomb the hell out of each other...at the end of the day, we are still the same. We are human beings, and we breathe, bleed, love, and raise families no matter the religious or cultural differences that separate us. The relationships that intertwine within this film displays this, and it is an attempt to make us see this.
It would be easy to write off this film as nothing more than just another bloody and violent action escapade that carelessly utilizes existing narratives to justify the amount of gun play that fills the screen. However, the main brunt of this film is not its guns nor its blood (of which it allows an ample amount of both), it is about its relationships, the relationships that exist between the American FBI team and their families, the relationships between the terrorists and their own families, and even perhaps the relationship that can be formed between Americans and Muslims...if only we would set aside all our differences and instead see our commonalities. That is the message of this film, and at the end of the day, I, as a human being, see that as a message worth seeing.