I shouldn’t be spending time writing. I need to be editing
videos for my portfolio to show to RoosterTeeth. I need to be cleaning up for a
meeting with a friend tonight. I need to shower because I smell like work. I
need to play some new games because my Steam Backlog is piling up like an
asshole. But something big an important is going on this weekend. It’s not
anything that is going to change lives or cure something bad (illness or hunger
wise). But being someone who loves good movies and entertainment, it’s
important to me and I’m hoping some of you will pay attention, if only for a
minute or two.
In the past ten years, name ten original concept movies that
have been absolutely amazing? Can you
really think of any? In 2012, the only two movies to make the top ten in
domestic gross that were ORIGINAL CONCEPTS (not adaptations, sequels, or remakes)
were Brave and Ted and they were beaten by garbage like the Amazing Spiderman (reboot) and Twilight
Breaking Dawn 2 (sequel).
In 2011, there were NO original concepts to break the top
ten, the closest being Bridesmaids at
#14.
In 2010, was a good year with Inception, Despicable Me,
and How to Train Your Dragon. (Tangled does not count because it is
based on Rapunzel). But they all make the bottom half of the top five.
In 2009, Avatar
broke new ground by breaking box office charts EVERYWHERE (thank Christ, even
if the story is lifted from many old films like Dances with Wolves, it’s still SOMETHING). Up, Hangover, and Blindside were all original ideas as
well (but I think Blindside was one
of those “based on a true story” things, so I guess that technically DOESN’T
count). But we haven’t had a good year for original concepts in FOUR YEARS!
For comparison, let’s look at 1990 (the year I was born). In
that year alone, the top ten movies consisted of Home Alone, Ghost, Dances with Wolves (ironic since I just
mentioned that), Pretty Woman, The Hunt for Red October, Total Recall, Dick Tracy, and Kindergarten
Cop all in the top ten. You know what else? They were all ORIGINAL
CONCEPTS! That’s EIGHT of the TOP TEN movies being something that wasn’t a
comic, book, game, or something else first! These are EIGHT movies that managed
to start something rather than be a continuation or a reimagining of something
else! How is it in 23 years we’ve gone from throwing around new ideas and
concepts to constantly relying on sequels, reboots, and remakes?
No, I’m not saying that sequels, reboots, and remakes are
all bad. Without sequels, we never would have gotten gems like the Back to the Future trilogy, the Toy Story trilogy, or even the Star Wars
franchise! Without reboots, The
Incredible Hulk would be remembered as a complete joke of a movie. Without
reboots, we never would have seen the awesomeness of Heath Ledger’s Joker in The Dark Knight. Without remakes, we
never would have gotten Peter Jackson’s King
Kong. Without adaptations, AVENGERS
would never have graced the screens with one of the biggest openings and
biggest films of all time!
But through all that, we get mountains of the same boring,
tired crap that ceases to do anything new or different, fearing change and
innovation entirely. We end up with Fast
and Furious 6 and a franchise we’ve supported for over a decade even though
original ideas like Paranorman lose
out to them in the box office. Or unique takes on unlikely adaptations like Scott Pilgrim get destroyed by garbage
like Expendables because it’s too
quirky and different and people just want the same generic boring action we’ve
gotten since the fucking 80’s.
This week, we have
Pacific Rim. An original concept in that it isn’t based on any comic,
anime, TV show, or game. It isn’t a reboot or remake of anything we’ve seen
before. Yes, giant monsters have existed before. Yes, giant mechs have existed
before. But this takes BOTH of those base concepts and tweaks them into
something different, fun, and exhilarating here. And it’s up against Grown Ups 2. A shitty Adam Sandler movie
that will pretty much use the same kind of humor as every other shitty Adam
Sandler movie (note, that’s EVERY Adam Sandler movie). So it’s not a battle of
monsters versus mechs, but a battle of new creative ideas versus same tired
trends. And while I loved Pacific Rim
and will likely see it again soon, I am a little nervous that it will lose out.
Why? Because Expendables and Expendables 2 beat out the vastly
superior films of Scott Pilgrim and Paranorman respectively. And if that’s
really what pulls people to the box office, then how can I have faith in
something like Pacific Rim going any
differently?
And it’s a real shame too because it’s a movie that’s just
as fun to watch as Avengers was
because it knew what kind of movie it’s trying to be. It’s a shameless, simple,
and fun cartoon set in the “real world.” That’s what both films essentially
are. They take concepts and ideas from cartoons and comics and put them on the
big screen in live action for us to enjoy. But rather than weigh it down with
seriousness or realism that comes with many action films (the Nolan movies, and
most cynical action films elsewhere) they decided to say “fuck it, let’s keep
these movies lighthearted and fun.” And that’s something else we don’t see very
often in films either. Outside of Wreck
it Ralph and Avengers, most films
I enjoyed came off as serious and sullen with heavy messages or ideas. And
while that’s not bad, I’m in the mood for simple, colorful fun once in a while,
and movies that provide that are far apart and few between.
Also, we don’t get to see giant mechs and giant monsters in
movies all that often. Looking at the charts on BoxOffice Mojo, the last movie
to come out with robots fighting was Real
Steel back in 2011. But for actual MECHS (giant machines people are riding
in), I don’t really see anything on this list. Iron Giant is close, as is Transformers
(even if they are kind of shit), but that’s it. So, really, Mechs haven’t
gotten into mainstream film at all and that’s pretty shit since I’ve seen some
original ideas for Mech-based stories that are very entertaining. A personal
favorite being MegasXLR from
CartoonNetwork (CHECK IT OUT!)
On the monster-side of things, the last big monster movie we
got was… technically the remake of The
Thing, but that’s not the same kind of monster movie as Pacific Rim… you know, GIANT FUCKING
KAIJU! For that, we go ALL the way back to Cloverfield…
you guys remember Cloverfield, right?
We didn’t even really get a good look at that monster in that movie… and that
was back in 2008. Before that… it was… either The Host (which didn’t get as wide a release) in 2007, Peter
Jackson’s King Kong (which also
really isn’t in the same bracket since giant apes aren’t really kaiju), and the
American version of Godzilla in 2000…
which most of us are trying to forget.
Both genre’s are ignored for the same pointless, shitty
action flicks and comic book adaptations. No, I’m not complaining about the comic
book movies (I like those still). But when an opportunity for something new to
come around and break the cycle of repetition we’ve gone through for YEARS,
then I’ll jump at the chance to go for it. I’ll support unique movies, ideas,
and fun concepts we don’t see much of. Plus, if this is successful, it opens up
the door for other big mech movies to get made! It means the Godzilla movie
they’re talking about for next year has a chance of being made! It means that
we have a new (or I guess return to) a genre we haven’t seen much of, giving us
a wider variety of films (hopefully) to work with.
I get it. Some of you are probably busy with work, school,
family, kids, wives, girlfriends, Call of Duty (fuck off, btw), or
masturbation. And, you know what, that’s fine. All those things come first
(except those last two maybe). But when you get time, and if you have the spare
money, go check this movie out. Every dollar this movie makes will help make
Hollywood and the films coming from it less shit. And you get a fun 2 hour
movie out of the deal. To me, that’s a win-win and I don’t see why anyone else
would think otherwise.
