Udaman
12-20-2010, 02:58 PM
Sigh.
Of all the movies that came out this holiday season, I was probably most looking forward to this one. I have fond memories of the original movie. I really, really enjoyed it. I remember playing the video game. I liked the catch phrases of "end of program" and "greetings and salutations." It was fun.
I thought this one would be great.
Sigh.
In two words, I would describe this movie as "utterly disappointing." The storyline is so banal it almost defies belief. I honestly think I could have written a better screenplay. Certainly a class at a decent film school would have. You realize that Jeff Bridges character is self-centered and delusional, really. The point about the self-generating "computer life forms" makes no sense.
The effects are pretty amazing....but so many of them are "been there, done that." You basically get the disk game...only with more paramaters....and the racing motorcycles....only with more levels. You even have the giant flying staples and the big thing that moves around with a flower at the end of it. There wasn't one thing new within the grid....and that's a shame.
Then there's Jeff Bridges looking like he's still young. I'm not sure why...but I just found it odd. Maybe the fake way they always had his hair moving around. It just didn't seem right, and that made watching it strange.
Finally, throw in some truly odd or even terrible cameos. Cillian Murphy, a very talented actor, has an uncredited scene in the beginning. When I saw him I thought, "Oh, awesome - he's going to be the bad guy that they fight in the computer." Nope. Never see him again. Michael Sheen (from Frost/Nixon) plays a "clockwork orange wannabe" role that is both forced and strained. You can see the three twists that occur in his short time on screen all coming from a mile away. I basically thought, "I bet 'A' happens. Check. Oh, I wonder if "B" will happen. Check. Surely they won't let 'C' happen after A and .....yep. Just did."
I mean, this movie is bad. It's not Skyline bad...but it's not much better. And I don't think it will make $150M. I bet it falls 40% or more this weekend, which will put it at $75M total.....I wouldn't be surprised it if ends up less than $140M total.
As others have said this has been a disappointing movie season thus far. I enjoyed Harry Potter. Tangled was a pleasant surprise. But Due Date, Skyline, The Tourist and Tron have all disappointed. Maybe True Grit can save the day.....
Of all the movies that came out this holiday season, I was probably most looking forward to this one. I have fond memories of the original movie. I really, really enjoyed it. I remember playing the video game. I liked the catch phrases of "end of program" and "greetings and salutations." It was fun.
I thought this one would be great.
Sigh.
In two words, I would describe this movie as "utterly disappointing." The storyline is so banal it almost defies belief. I honestly think I could have written a better screenplay. Certainly a class at a decent film school would have. You realize that Jeff Bridges character is self-centered and delusional, really. The point about the self-generating "computer life forms" makes no sense.
The effects are pretty amazing....but so many of them are "been there, done that." You basically get the disk game...only with more paramaters....and the racing motorcycles....only with more levels. You even have the giant flying staples and the big thing that moves around with a flower at the end of it. There wasn't one thing new within the grid....and that's a shame.
Then there's Jeff Bridges looking like he's still young. I'm not sure why...but I just found it odd. Maybe the fake way they always had his hair moving around. It just didn't seem right, and that made watching it strange.
Finally, throw in some truly odd or even terrible cameos. Cillian Murphy, a very talented actor, has an uncredited scene in the beginning. When I saw him I thought, "Oh, awesome - he's going to be the bad guy that they fight in the computer." Nope. Never see him again. Michael Sheen (from Frost/Nixon) plays a "clockwork orange wannabe" role that is both forced and strained. You can see the three twists that occur in his short time on screen all coming from a mile away. I basically thought, "I bet 'A' happens. Check. Oh, I wonder if "B" will happen. Check. Surely they won't let 'C' happen after A and .....yep. Just did."
I mean, this movie is bad. It's not Skyline bad...but it's not much better. And I don't think it will make $150M. I bet it falls 40% or more this weekend, which will put it at $75M total.....I wouldn't be surprised it if ends up less than $140M total.
As others have said this has been a disappointing movie season thus far. I enjoyed Harry Potter. Tangled was a pleasant surprise. But Due Date, Skyline, The Tourist and Tron have all disappointed. Maybe True Grit can save the day.....