Well what
should my first blog be about? What
words could possibly reflect my love of the visual media. I guess the thing that is playing on my mind
at present after watching a number of current film releases is the over
proliferation of special effects in mainstream cinema.
It would
seem that the story has taken second place to the ‘experience’ of watching a
film, with a few exceptions; I thought Captain America – The Winter Soldier
made a good attempt at a story within the spectacle of the action blockbuster.
It seems as
though in the latest incarnation of 3-D and the IMAX revolution, film producers
are under pressure to present the audience with a visual feast of 3-D sequences
to justify the expensive entry fee. On
watching Peter Jackson’s Hobbit films it is noticeable that a) the script has
been stretched and augmented with new material to pad them out to 3 hour
viewing time and b) that the story/plot appears to park up while an ober
elaborate action sequence plays out for the audience (I’m thinking of the
barrel-escape sequence with Legolass jumping from barrel to dwarf packed
barrel). I am also tempted to add a c)
that Orlando Bloom looks as though he has eaten a few pies since the last Lord
of the Rings Film; but I digress!
Once these
sequences have finished at their dizzying pace the story then continues; I am
not criticising the effects in themselves, but the clunky over-use of them in
certain movies. A well-conceived action
sequence can enhance the narrative of a movie, like Luke Skywalker taking on
the Death Star single handed in the climax of Star Wars 4 (or 1 depending on
how you look at it) or Indiana Jones trying to out run that giant boulder
(never gets old!).
Gary Oldman,
no stranger to a larger than life performance in a number of effects laden
films, has recently spoken out against the over use of effects in films. I think film makers need to stop and catch
their breath for a moment and remember the origins of 3-D and the films it was
associated with (my mind has been indelibly scarred by Jaws 3-D).
3-D can be
an amazing experience, especially when it is seen on an IMAX screen but there
can be no question that the most satisfying experience has to be a story well
told.
