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More Spookiness, Less Fights'n'Chases
May. 23rd, 2011 09:27 amA friend and I ran away to see Pirates of the Caribbean 4/i> yesterday afternoon. (No spoilers, so read on.) It's been a long time since I've treated my inner child -- who adores movies -- in this way. I'm also a very easy movie viewer. I can "go along for the ride" with things that drive my friends nuts. I also find the set-up-to-spookiness far more interesting than the actual spooky things, and way way more interesting than the big cast-of-thousands set pieces. Chases, explosions, massive battle scenes, ho hum.
So I came away from the movie wishing they'd shaved just a few minutes from all the crashing and thwacking and jabbing to set up the plot twists and develop the characters better, not to mention a little more attention to spooky-premonitions. That's one thing the first movie did really well -- that moment when Elizabeth Swann falls into the sea, the water touches the gold coin and the impact resonates through the water. It's akin to that moment in Jurassic Park when you see the impact tremor in the water and hear this very low, soft boom! Uh-oh, the world is about to change...something has woken up/is coming...
The thing is, that "something" rarely lives up to its set-up. I love the first part of Stargate, discovering the inscribed ring, working through the translation. Even building the thing. Once they're through, the movie fizzles for me. The sensawonder goes poof! into stupid Hollywood cliches. (Or is that phrase redundant?) (I should add that not all movies disappoint me in this way.)
I don't like horror movies for a related reason. Shock/fright/gore: Rinse and Repeat. Yuch.
I think that's yet another reason to prefer books. I think, or I'd like to think, they're much better at following through with what's hinted early on. I can adjust the pacing (skip over the battle scenes or slow down to savor the cool parts). I bring my own imagination and sense of what appeals to me.
I'd love to hear what you think.
So I came away from the movie wishing they'd shaved just a few minutes from all the crashing and thwacking and jabbing to set up the plot twists and develop the characters better, not to mention a little more attention to spooky-premonitions. That's one thing the first movie did really well -- that moment when Elizabeth Swann falls into the sea, the water touches the gold coin and the impact resonates through the water. It's akin to that moment in Jurassic Park when you see the impact tremor in the water and hear this very low, soft boom! Uh-oh, the world is about to change...something has woken up/is coming...
The thing is, that "something" rarely lives up to its set-up. I love the first part of Stargate, discovering the inscribed ring, working through the translation. Even building the thing. Once they're through, the movie fizzles for me. The sensawonder goes poof! into stupid Hollywood cliches. (Or is that phrase redundant?) (I should add that not all movies disappoint me in this way.)
I don't like horror movies for a related reason. Shock/fright/gore: Rinse and Repeat. Yuch.
I think that's yet another reason to prefer books. I think, or I'd like to think, they're much better at following through with what's hinted early on. I can adjust the pacing (skip over the battle scenes or slow down to savor the cool parts). I bring my own imagination and sense of what appeals to me.
I'd love to hear what you think.
