There
are good movies, mediocre movies, and bad movies. But those labels
are averages. A good scene, a bad scene...good acting, terrible
writing...bad special effects, but an amazing story...there are all
sorts of ways that a movie can average out to one of the three.
Some
of my favorite scenes and characters come from terrible movies (Raul
Julia in Street Fighter,
4 life). And there are parts
of good movies that I absolutely can't stand. Anyone who's heard me
talk about Thirteen Days
knows I love it, knows I love the political intrigue, the drama, the
stakes (the highest stakes EVER, arguably), but Kevin Costner's
Boston accent sounds like he's playing a goat, particularly on the
vowels. And that takes me out of the movie.
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| OITHER OF YOU GAWT A CAYN AWEE COULD CHEW? |
My
point is that usually, I evaluate a movie not just as the sum of its
parts, but as a complex interplay of elements, and I'm quick to point
out elements that I like over elements I don't, even
when the overall film may be a bad one. And
then, those various impulses somehow average out to my impression of
a movie, although I give more weight to stuff like acting, writing,
and production design. But I
always at least give credit to elements that capture my attention,
even if every other thing in a movie sucks hard.
After Earth
seems on its surface like a movie I would like. And there were parts
of it I did like. I summed it up to my roommate Adam when I told him,
as we were watching the climax, that literally every part of this
movie is cool except for Jaden Smith and the plot. And therein lies
the rub, and the limits of my charity.
