I haven't been to the flicks in a number of weeks so I treated myself to a double helping of blockbuster fodder at a handy Multiplex this weekend. The whole generic experience commenced with some interesting synchronicity - two trailers each for the following stars - Michelle Yeoh, Jet Li and Brendan Fraser. Answers on a postcard...
The lights dimmed (that's right, they don't bother dimming them for the trailers) and first up was WANTED and I didn't enjoy it at all. I found NIGHT WATCH a bit muddled and showy but DAY WATCH displayed a real lack of interest in telling a coherent story and was more interested in being a Hollywood showreel. That contempt for it's audience continued with the director's dismissal of any fanbase expectations to finish the trilogy he started but I could see why any director would feel suffocated working on such an ambitious trilogy for so long - maybe he realised that it was a hollow pursuit and he wanted to cut his losses? What would a new career in Hollywood bring?
OPINION THAT MAY BE CONSIDERED A VAGUE SPOILER.....
A stylish Russian trailer suggested that WANTED was an edgy, stylish thriller, but I soon realised that Bekmambetov had elevated audience contempt to new dizzying heights as he trotted out one ridiculous plot point and smug cgi set-piece after another culminating in the most ridiculous and unsatisfying head-scratcher of a standoff. And in case any of the herd were left in the dark as to their place in the HOLLYWOOD-->MULTIPLEX paradigm, the protagonist sums up his experiences at the expense of the pathetic, loser audience that has been taken for a ride. As I was shepherded out of the auditorium with my browbeaten peers, I was in no mood for my next pick: THE INCREDIBLE HULK.
ALLUSIONS TO A PLOT POINT THAT MAY INDICATE WHICH DIRECTION ANY SEQUEL MAY TAKE IF YOU ARE MORE FAMILIAR WITH THE COMIC BOOK WORLD OF HULK....
It started out interestingly with a concise opening credit sequence and an imaginative profile of the protagonist's dilemma. Once the first SWAT team did it's thing though, the movie degenerated into comic book hysteria and computer game cut scenes. When the final scene rolled complete with trendy cross pollinating guest appearance, I was already off the team.
Victor