I took a class last semester called Dramatic Script and Literature. We commonly called it our Script class or Script Analysis. There was one particular lesson where we were talking about how Shakespeare compiled this list of the most important aspects of a play. I wish I still had my notes from that class so I could list them all in order, but the very least important of them all was spectacle. That can translate into special effects or visual effects. The other more important pieces of a play were plot, dialogue, etc. My teacher talked about how today a lot of movies use a ton of special effects, but they aren't really needed to enhance the quality of the film. I didn't really agree with him on that because I really enjoy movies with a lot of visually stunning parts! But it wasn't until this weekend that I really noticed how little spectacle matters.
My mom and I decided to go out on a mommy/daughter date for valentine's day. We decided to go see a movie. We were having a hard time choosing which movie to go see. It was between Kingsmen and Jupiter Ascending. We discovered that Kingsmen had a lot of language, and for my mom, that can ruin a movie, so we decided on Jupiter Ascending because... Well, it looked really cool. The critics gave it some really bad ratings and we heard that it had flopped over its opening weekend, but we tend to like movies that the critics slam anyway, so we decided to give it a chance.
So we got to the theater and got all settled in to watch the movie. It started out okay, I was enjoying it, but it wasn't the best movie I'd seen. Then it kept going. And it got worse. And worse. And even worse. The dialogue was terrible. The chemistry was lacking. The plot was so confusing that at an hour in, I had no clue what was going on. We left half way through the movie. We never leave a movie. It was just so bad that we couldn't waste our time sitting through it.
The only good part about the movie was the special effects. The make up and creature designs were wonderful. There were really cool landscapes and really beautiful costumes. The monsters were really neat. Even the voices of the non human creatures were pretty well done. But it couldn't save the movie. I'd never experienced that before! I love movies with a lot of spectacle and a lot of crazy CGI'd scenes--within reason, of course. But this movie didn't have much to back it all up. I realized the next day that Shakespeare knew what he was talking about. Spectacle cannot be the high and mighty point of a film, or a play, or anything really. There needs to be a solid foundation to set up a story. It can't be really cool creatures and pretty spaceships and sparkling cities. The dialogue, and story need to be just as strong. Without them, it'll just fall apart.
If you enjoyed this movie, let me know what you liked about it! What worked for you to make it enjoyable? If you didn't like it, let me know when was the point that it started to fall apart for you?
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