- Joined
- Apr 28, 2004
- Messages
- 18,360
- Reaction score
- 16
Just got back from first showing, my thoughts: I don't know what any of you who might go see this expect to see, but I went into it knowing full well that this movie caters to what some on this board would call "the lowest common denominator" I.E. regular people who like entertainment, not intellectual cinema snobs with no sense of humor, fun, or adventure. It's not supposed to be GOOD, per se. Its supposed to fulfill a particular fantasy that many people have that Samuel L. Jackson is the coolest, most bad-ass mofo around, and no matter what preposterous or unbelievable situation he may find himself in he will always prevail. This is the ultimate test of nerd fetishism gone main stream, because this movie should (if the people who make movies had anything to say about it) have either been aborted in its infancy or gone straight to video. The nerd community (Samuel L. Jackson included) found out about it and have embraced it with such vigor, that it became impossible for New Line to ignore it, and in fact re-shot a few parts of it to appeal more to the demographic in question. That being said... did it fulfill all my wildest dreams and expectations? Were the eight months of anticipation worth it? Was I whistling and clapping, screaming at the screen and having a great time? HELL YEAH. My grades: The Story = implausible to the nth degree. Does it matter? Not in the least. It did what it needed to do. The re-shot footage sticks out like a sore thumb, but since it is a direct nod to the "fan" community that made this movie as popular as it will inevitably be, it is empowering and gives you a reason to cheer loudly at the screen. This is OUR movie dammit, and the filmmakers know it(A-) The effects = The snakes look fake as hell, and this may be the first time I've ever said this, but I'm glad the CGI was cheap and phony looking, because if it were too polished, I'd feel cheated... There were numerous scientific and biological errors that any ten year old could probably point out, which only (in my opinon) served to add to the campy fun of the movie. And the "snake vision" cracked me the hell up every time they did it. The snake bite wounds are extremely gruesome, and there are a couple scenes that go all out with either cringing sympathy pain or gruesomeness. (B) The acting = This is where this movie shines. Sometimes the plot doesn't make sense, and the effects are cheesy, but everyone acting in this movie had a GREAT TIME making it. You can tell. To be honest, I can't really complain about anyone's acting chops, especially with the script that they had to work with, all the characters are basically broad, sweeping stereotypes, but This aint Shakespeare and everyone hams it up admirably. (B+) The Music = This is the only downer. It pretty much sucks. The music video at the end credits was so unbearable I left about 35 seconds into it. But the score is adequate, this is the only reason that it gets a (D+) Overall = A very solid B movie deserves a very solid (B) grade! P.S. Montecristo = Stay away. You will hate this. Go watch some Tenacious D videos instead...
