But for the record, I fucking loved that movie.  It was well-filmed and edited.  The acting was spot on to what the movie needed.  It had great action, great movement, and great attitude.  Yes, it’s not dynamic cinema, but it’s fantastic summer fun.  Anyway.

First and foremost, I was struck by the oddity of the crowd that was in the theatre with me and that I witnessed purchasing tickets.  It could’ve just been my location, but there were far more…shall we say, grown-ups…in the theatre that I would’ve expected.  I saw the movie Friday night, and there were hardly anyone in the early 20 demographic that I feel the movie was skewed towards.  There were far more viewers that appeared to be in their late 30s (and maybe even older) than the teens you’d expect to be at a summer blockbuster.  It’s not like there were any other big films playing for them to be at.

Was it the star power that drew an older crowd?  Did the concept of Mr. Freeman as a badass pull in non-comic book-geek crowd?  But in all truth, when has he not been a badass on screen?  So that can’t be it.  It could’ve have been that they were fans of the director, as this was his first American film.  So I’m confused.  I doubt that they read the comic.  And I can’t believe that some random older couple who were out grabbing an early-bird special saw the movie marquee and thought that it would be a rollicking good time before turning in early and yelling at the punks on their lawn.  Oh well, I guess it’s just a mystery of amazing world of cinema.

The second thing I noticed was the fact that book and graphic novel adaptations are making huge strides in the film industry, and I am very pleased with that.  The very fact that I am making that statement is something of an oddity for me.  I’m an English major, so when I hear about movies based on books, I start to worry.  I feel that books provide a much better entertainment experience.  As cliché as this sounds, books allow you to develop the story in your own mind and involve yourself in the action.  Books give a greater sense of depth to the story.  They allow us to see certain aspects of characters that movies can’t go into.  It’s pretty damn difficult to really sell an inner monologue or narration on film, right?

The only book adaptations that I’ve been fully behind are those based on Philip Dick stories or books.  Those movies expanded the experiences the books provided and further developed the concepts he presented.  Other movies never captured the true feeling of the books they stemmed from, in my opinion.  I guess what it really boils down to is that I have my favorite parts of books that I want to see on the big screen.  We all do, right?  And when those scenes don’t make it into the movie, or show up in drastically different ways, we get upset…at least, I get upset.  There, I admitted it.

But as of late, I’ve been watching this kind of movie with a different eye.  I still watch the movie coming from the standpoint of being a fan of the book or graphic novel.  Example: when I watched Wanted, I was constantly comparing it to the comic.  I compared the plot, the characters, the action, and so on.  But I also watch the movie from the standpoint that it’s just a movie.  It’s not easy, I can tell you that.  However, it does allow me the pleasure of enjoying the movie and not getting furious when details are changed and events play out differently.  Sometimes a movie based on a book is a great movie on its own, even though the connection to the book is incredibly general.

That being said, have I changed my feelings about the Lord of the Rings movies? Absolutely not.  I still dislike them to an extreme degree.  Do I still feel ify about the Harry Potter movies?  Yes.  And Stardust?  Don’t get me started.  And even with as much as I loved Wanted, I still have issues with it.  I didn’t like the toss-away line to Mr. Rictus.  The whole “oh look, our names have turned up in the weave” plot twist was completely random and without resolution or reasoning.  But I loved other aspects.  The whole first act of the movie was a fantastic representation of the comic.  It was spot on to the attitude of the comic and was amazingly portrayed.

I guess the point of the story is that if you walk into a movie with expectations based on the script’s source material, you set yourself up to be disappointed.  Most of the time, anyway.  Maybe there isn’t any point to any of this.  Maybe an entertaining movie can be entertaining whether it’s true to what it was based on or not.  Maybe all that matters is how well a movie can take us out of our boring lives for a few moments and alleviate the repetition of the daily grind. 

Of course, forward momentum cannot be made without a starting point.  What better starting point than the past?  I have been accosted as of late by the vast number of remakes Hollywood is churning up and spitting out.  I must admit, I am somewhat torn as to my feelings on the subject.  On one hand, I do enjoy seeing a new take on old classics.  But on the other hand, I question the motives of productions houses.  Now, let me make it clear that I completely understand the need for businesses to turn a profit.  If production houses didn’t have income, they wouldn’t exist.  But when it comes to the projects that are accepted and green-lit for the cinema, I really have trouble following the decision-making process.

Let’s set up a hypothetical situation in an attempt to better understand this.  For the sake of the argument, we are the heads of a production house.  Two script proposals are delivered by currier to our desks.  Script A is a remake of a classic movie that was amazingly well-received two decades ago.  It didn’t bring in record box office returns, but it made an impact.  This new version is a “re-booting” of the movie, not a sequel.  It’s chock full of new takes on the classic scenes, but has plenty of nods to the original film.  Script B is a fresh concept from a new writer who has already developed a good reputation in the industry.  We can only fund one of these movies.  Which do we choose?  Putting aside personal preference, let’s try to predict which movie will do better in the long run.

Movie A already has a fan base.  It already has a genre to fall into.  It already has a place to live on the shelves of the local video store when it hits DVD.  People know the basic concept when they hear the title.  Promotion for the movie will consist of highlighting the differences between the old version and the new version.  Movie B is unknown.  It may have a genre that it fits into, but who knows how it’s going to be received.  We will have to catch people’s attention for this movie, so promotion will have to make the movie stand out from everything else on the market.  So which do we choose? 

Unfortunately, it’s at this point that most production companies get those big cartoon dollar signs in their eyes and latch onto Movie A with a death grip.  Once the scent of profit is in the air, all creative drive is thrown away like yesterday’s sushi.  This is what I don’t understand.  At what point did the entertainment industry become a profit machine?  When did cookie-cutter scripts, character archetypes, and identical action sequences take over?  What happened to innovation?  Where did all the cowboys go…if we can use cowboys as a reference for creative writers that sought to bring a sense of newness and adventure to the public.

If we can compare the entertainment industry to the life of a human, I think it is somewhere in its teen years.  It has developed immensely from its younger days, and it has learned from some of its mistakes.  It is trying to create an identity for itself, but it’s too scared to be different from its friends. So it shops at all the same stores, wears all the same clothes, and throws temper tantrums when we point out how similar it is to everyone else.  We put up with its issues with the hope that it’ll grow out of this phase soon, and we clear the road when it gets its learner’s permit.

In all honesty, however, the fault lies not with production companies, but with the viewing public.  We use our money to vote on what we want companies to produce in the future.  When remakes draw a profit, more of them will be made.  So let me wrap up this first blog with a fortune-cookie-sized nugget of advice for all of us: develop taste and watch new movies!  Don’t stick with the safe bet, take a risk and see something outside of your viewing preference!  If we don’t take action, remakes will become the norm.  Sure, there are lots of horror, action, and comedies to remake first.  But soon those will run out and one of two things will happen.  Either we will get stuck with remakes of remakes, or someone will start writing scripts for remakes of ‘80s movies.

And so help me God, if I see a remake of 16 Candles hit the big screen in my lifetime, I will go on a killing rampage.