Pretty Flashy Lights

The Hobbit was wrong. You really are as stupid as they think you are. For a long time now, the Film Hobbit has defended the movie going public from Hollywood's assumption that most moviegoers are half-witted slack-jawed yokels. The Film Hobbit was wrong. There are a whole lot of people out there who will watch anything if it has pretty lights and big explosions. And you thought Las Vegas was popular for gambling and hookers!

The truth is, if you make it pretty and slick and stick it on the screen, there is a pretty good chance that you'll get people to watch it. And if its not pretty, slick and filled with big budget effects, naked chicks, and flashy lights, then there are a lot of people who are gonna whine and call you names for wasting their time.

Now I'm not saying that everyone who goes to the theatre is an idiot, I'm sure a very large portion of moviegoers are savvy, intelligent people, interested in challenging their minds, and watching films that arouse their spirit, challenge their intellect, and make them better people for having seen it. But there are just way to many people out there who want their FX fix and if they don't get it they start to whimper and ask for their money back.

Unbreakable is proof of that. Here is a truly incredible film, which is doing fairly well at the box office. It's not filled with flashy lights; it doesn't contain flying monsters or big explosions. But its smart, different, it makes you think... and a lot of people love it for those reasons and many more. It's just good filmmaking folks. But despite the fact that we have this incredible film in the theatres doing fairly well, there is this big group of people out there bitching and moaning about it. They hate Unbreakable; it was to slow, weren't enough explosions, why didn't Bruce Willis have cool super powers? Why did it have to be so weird, X-men was a better superhero movie, we got gypped, they didn't show a big flashy train wreck, on and on and on and on and on till the Hobbit just can't take it anymore.

PEOPLE! This isn't X-Men, this isn't Mission Impossible 2. The truth is most of these people are sitting on their butts complaining because Unbreakable asked them to think and they didn't want to. They wanted to go to the theatre and sit in their big comfy seat and let their eyes glaze over and stare at the big flashy lights. I find this disappointing. Finally a film to challenge the imagination instead of beating you over the head with all the answers, finally a film that does the unexpected, finally a film that says, hey, the world isn't all flash and glitter, and people sit and whine because there weren't enough fight scenes.

Hey, I like big explosions and cool fight scenes as much as the next guy, regular readers of The Film Hobbit have seen me rave about big fight films like "The Legend of Drunken Master" and ooh and aah over cool special effects films like "X-Men". But when something comes along to challenge my mind, to say, hey, look over here, there is something more, I don't let my eyes glaze over either.

Maybe Hollywood is right, maybe no one does care about smart filmmaking anymore. Maybe making nothing but big budget fight films is enough. But then again... despite the whining.... There are a LOT of people oohing and aaahing right along with the Hobbit over Unbreakable, just as many as there are whining..... perhaps there is still hope.