The whole post is good but this particularly stands out - the Well, where doesn't it hurt? scene from Raiders is still one of the most fun scenes in an adventure movie, that I have ever seen. It made wonderful use of the consequences of living like an action hero. And the fact that McClane leaves bloody footprints when walking over broken glass makes the stakes just feel higher.
The A-Team movie!
- Thread starter Batutta
- Start date
The whole post is good but this particularly stands out - the Well, where doesn't it hurt? scene from Raiders is still one of the most fun scenes in an adventure movie, that I have ever seen. It made wonderful use of the consequences of living like an action hero. And the fact that McClane leaves bloody footprints when walking over broken glass makes the stakes just feel higher.
Michael Anthony Horrigan
More Cowbell Pictures
I completely agree. Yet movies can still be entertaining and lack great stories.
As mentioned earlier, Twister was a fine example. My wife loves that movie, I also enjoyed it when I saw it in theaters as well. The story blows. No pun intended.
I won't debate it further but they are called 'popcorn flicks' for a reason. Some are obviously better than others but this is the A-Team we're talking about! No need to put on your thinking cap and that's alright sometimes.
If you have seen the show you know what I'm talking about. More is expected from Batman and Star Wars due to their history. Be it in comics, graphic novels and/or previous films in the case of Star Wars.
When I saw the trailer where the tank was falling and he was shooting planes out of the sky... I laughed my ass off.
It's what I expected having seen the series.
What do you guys expect when they remake Gilligan's Island and The Smurfs?
:grin:
MAH
Please delete your post we have producers reading these threads all the time....you've been warned :angry:
The premise of any show has a lot of story potential. But that doesn't mean the intent is ever to capitalize on it, and considering the source material, to expect anything more than what was in the TV show is unreasonable.
The premise of Diff'rent Strokes could be redone as an outstanding, PBS-style drama. But if they make a Diff'rent Strokes movie (though that would be dated), I sure as heck won't be expecting it, or anything other than silliness.
Captain Pierce
Veteran
Somebody on another forum said once about the DOOM movie, "All they needed was Mars and Demons, and they couldn't even do those two right." Doesn't bode well for a 13-point checklist...
Michael Anthony Horrigan
More Cowbell Pictures
I believe he was kidding.
Jawa Ex Machina
Veteran
I'm not talking about the thinking cap. I'm talking about the feeling cap.
I think you misunderstand story.
I agree that the premise of a film - any film - can be completely ridiculous and completetly out there. That's kinda the point of High Concept, which this absolutely is. So can the plot.
The premise of THE CROW is that a dude is killed, but brought back to life by a bird. He then proceeds to dress up like a mime and look for revenge. That's a pretty silly premise, when you think about it. But it's not a silly film.
The plot of BATMAN BEGINS is that the ninja master who trained Bruce Wayne works together with masked supervillain Scarecrow to poison the watersupply of Gotham City. That's a plot taken straight out of 60's Batman TV show and it's about as campy as they come.
The plot and the premise has nothing to do with the writing of the story, and just because a movie can be fun doesn't mean it can't be emotional as well.
Just because I bring up THE CROW AND BATMAN BEGINS as examples, doesn't mean I want THE A-TEAM to be similar in TONE and STYLE. I bring them up because I want THE A-TEAM to be similar in QUALITY WRITING.
At least movies like INDEPENDENCE DAY and ARMAGEDDON have people dying in them. There are stakes. Lives are lost. You believe in a sense of danger for the main characters. This creates tension and a sense of excitement. It's a rollercoaster. What you refer to as "popcorn flicks" were built on these ideas.
That's a big part of why the mentor character always dies in the second act in Hero's Journey movies.
Summer blockbusters are like bags of candy. You want some variation in there, not just sweet stuff. You want some salty nuts as well. You want chocolate AND wine gums, and you want some soda with your popcorn. An emotional rollercoaster is way more fun than just sliding downhill. It's also way more fun than eating a bag full of only milk chocolate with no soda or anything else.
THAT'S what story is about.
Michael Anthony Horrigan
More Cowbell Pictures
"Summer blockbusters are like bags of candy. You want some variation in there, not just sweet stuff. You want some salty nuts as well. You want chocolate AND wine gums, and you ." And you don't want to find out that someone has made a hole in the bottom of the bag on their lap and stuck...
Yeah hollywood needs to give us well written stories and stop believing that cgi and name actors can replace smart creative screenwriting.
Yeah hollywood needs to give us well written stories and stop believing that cgi and name actors can replace smart creative screenwriting.
Batutta
Major Contributor
I don't think that's a fair comparison. The A-team was an action show with some dramatic and comedic elements. I wasn't expecting them to turn it into Saving Private Ryan or put it into an entirely different genre. My concern isn't that they turned into an action movie it's, judging by the reviews, the degree to which they've made it a wall to wall action flick with little attention to character or story. I will refrain from further comment until I actually see the film.
Michael Anthony Horrigan
More Cowbell Pictures
The A-Team TV show from Wikipedia.
Again, anyone who knows the show should know exactly what to expect. Especially after watching the trailer.
Saying that the A-Team TV show had dramatic elements is like saying M*A*S*H was just a comedy.
Not even in the same league in terms of mixing comedy and drama.
Now that is a remake that could go either way because M*A*S*H actually contained both comedic and dramatic elements in the TV show.
MAH
Sounds like they kept it fairly faithful to the TV show.
Again, anyone who knows the show should know exactly what to expect. Especially after watching the trailer.
Saying that the A-Team TV show had dramatic elements is like saying M*A*S*H was just a comedy.
Not even in the same league in terms of mixing comedy and drama.
Now that is a remake that could go either way because M*A*S*H actually contained both comedic and dramatic elements in the TV show.
MAH
The previews I've seen pretty much hit on all those elements from the TV show, in more or less the same manner (including many of the same jokes). Not sure what you were expecting if you find you're disappointed, but if you are, then it was more than the show ever offered. To me, it looks exactly like what I'd figure a big-budget A-Team to be.
Jawa Ex Machina
Veteran
So?
Stanley Kubrick's THE SHINING was a helluva lot better than the miniseries with that guy from WINGS despite it being less faithful to the novel. Maybe even because of it.
Frank Oz's version of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS was more faithfull to the off-broadway musical than the original source material, and arguably better because of it (although I would love to see a dark and gritty modern horror take on that).
John Carpenter's THE THING wasn't at all like the first adaptation. That monster was about as far away from a vegetable humanoid as you can get.
What these things all have in common though apart from the fact that they're very different from the source material is that they're much better written.
To put this in another way: You know the difference between GREMLINS and GREMLINS 2?
One is a film with an extremely stupid premise that it pulls off beautifully by taking itself seriously, goes from fun to scary to exciting to sweet and inspired numerous knock-offs.
The other one killed the franchise by going into self parody territory.
If GREMLINS 2 would have been the first film, I doubt we would have gotten a sequel or any of the number of "little monster movies" that followed.
I don't think I'm asking too much here, am I? I'd hate to go into a movie theater not expecting or wanting to be emotionally moved by the story just because it's a summer spectacle.
That just seems overly cynical.
GRENCH
Well-known member
Man my 1st pick would be the A-Team. The A team was my favorite 80's show as a kid hands down. An old dude with a cigar, A crazy MFer flying a chopper, Star Buck & a Brotha with a Mo Hawk driving a tricked out van running from the government! ! Goood Times
Batutta
Major Contributor
Again, my concerns are about what I've read in more than one review. It's one thing to say a movie is wall to wall action that's light on story. It's another to say its barely has a script, and the action scenes are almost incomprehensible, which is what several reviewers have said. I have never expected it to be something it's not. I do expect, as I do whenever I go to the movies, a story that makes some sense, with characters I like watching, and a plot that develops in a pleasing manner. If the A-Team doesn't deliver on those very fundamental counts then yes, I will be disappointed.
Batutta
Major Contributor
But come on, dude, you gotta have SOME standards. Jeez...I just want a story! Is that too much to ask!!!!
Batutta
Major Contributor
For context, these are parts of two reviews I read which gave me pause---
From Ebert:
"The A-Team” is an incomprehensible mess with the 1980s TV show embedded inside.
The movie uses the new style of violent action, which fragments sequences into so many bits and pieces that it's impossible to form any sense of what's happening, or where, or to whom. The actors appear in flash-frames, intercut with shards of CGI and accompanied by loud noises, urgent music and many explosions. This continues for the required length, and then there's some dialogue. Not a lot. A few words, a sentence, sometimes a statement that crosses the finish line at paragraph length.
From The Hollywood Reporter;
Beginning with the sound era, studios and films producers have longed for a way to eliminate the screenwriter from the filmmaking process. By and large, writers are prickly personalities who absorb too much time, demand too much credit and need to be kept clear of the set, where they might interfere with the director, who is, after all, the real auteur of the film.
With "The A-Team," a Fox film derived from a 1980s TV series, this dream now is a reality. The film seems nearly writer-free. Absolutely no time gets wasted on story, character development or logic.
Don't know about you but that doesn't sound very promising to me.
From Ebert:
"The A-Team” is an incomprehensible mess with the 1980s TV show embedded inside.
The movie uses the new style of violent action, which fragments sequences into so many bits and pieces that it's impossible to form any sense of what's happening, or where, or to whom. The actors appear in flash-frames, intercut with shards of CGI and accompanied by loud noises, urgent music and many explosions. This continues for the required length, and then there's some dialogue. Not a lot. A few words, a sentence, sometimes a statement that crosses the finish line at paragraph length.
From The Hollywood Reporter;
Beginning with the sound era, studios and films producers have longed for a way to eliminate the screenwriter from the filmmaking process. By and large, writers are prickly personalities who absorb too much time, demand too much credit and need to be kept clear of the set, where they might interfere with the director, who is, after all, the real auteur of the film.
With "The A-Team," a Fox film derived from a 1980s TV series, this dream now is a reality. The film seems nearly writer-free. Absolutely no time gets wasted on story, character development or logic.
Don't know about you but that doesn't sound very promising to me.