Director: Jaco van Dormael (The Eighth Day, Totò the Hero)
Writer: Jaco van Dormael
Editors: Matyas Veress, Susan Shipton
Producer: Philippe Godeau
Starring: Jared Leto, Sarah Polley, Toby Regbo, Juno Temple, Diane Kruger, Rhys Ifans, Natasha Little
MPAA Rating: 14A
Running time: 138 min.
[Apropos of the Canadian DVD release of Mr. Nobody, here is Andrew's review after catching the film at TIFF in 2009. Kurt's got a review somewhere in the archives as well.]
One of the oddest, most thoughtful and certainly ambitious melds of romance and science fiction is Jaco van Dormael’s Mr. Nobody. But this is also one of the most intelligent scripts I’ve yet to see this year. Mixing hard science fact, hypothesis and theories with classic philosophy and drama, Mr. Nobody dives into all manner of possibilities wrapped around quite an enigmatic tale of love, choice and opportunities seized and lost.
To attempt a synopsis in under 1000 words seems almost futile, but I’ll give it a shot anyway. The film starts in the future of 2092. The oldest man in the world, Nemo Nobody, has captured the attention of the world as the last man that will ever die of old age since automatic cell regeneration has been achieved. Nemo sits in a hospital of sorts and recounts his life first to a sort of doctor/hypnotist, then later to a journalist. The tale weaved starts before Nemo’s birth as he tells the process a soul goes through before choosing its parents. The story then moves through adolescence and into manhood but in a nonlinear fashion. We see several versions of Nemo’s life had he made one choice over another and we move back and forth in time to get different perspectives of different events and indeed different and sometimes intersecting lifetimes. As I said, not the easiest of plots to explain in words, but if you were to combine Abre los Ojos (Vanilla Sky) with Gwynneth Paltrow’s Sliding Doors, you have a rough idea the style in which the narrative is told. Add some elements and the influence of such films as Slaughterhouse 5, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, 2001: A Space Odyssey and the warm hearted drama and tone of Amélie (just to name a few) into the mix and you understand the ambitiousness that the film strives for. Unbelievably, it succeeds beyond expectations and then some!
Without at least a second viewing it’s difficult to wrap one’s head around everything that is going on here. Essentially the story looks at the randomness of the universe and the possibilities of the butterfly effect. Can a person influence or even directly change the outcome of future events simply by not making choices? An actual impossibility of course to not choose, but maybe one can stay as emotionally safe as possible simply by not choosing a particular path over another. Adding in the effect of time and how time is perceived along with a look at the possibilities of other dimensions, both spatial and temporal, not only enhances the possibilities of the narrative, but also keeps the viewer always thinking, imagining and dreaming.
Most breathtaking is the magical camera work on display. All sorts of tricks are employed to easily and seamlessly segue from one moment in time to the next and from one character and his or her locale to the next. The fantastic use of space and movement almost defies belief as to where the camera takes the viewer. 
We move in and out of paintings, photos, drawings and even letters to bring us where we need to be to make sense of the situation. Surreal, yet spectacular effects and ideas challenge our perceptions of locales and situations. The mixing of both plastic models and real world within the same shot add to the imaginative feel to the inner workings of our character’s minds and thoughts. As a single example from where there could be many, watching construction helicopters lift huge cubes of water directly out of a lake and carry them across a futuristic city leaving only perfectly geometrically shaped holes in the water is jaw-dropping. And at no time do any of these scenarios appear shoddy. The camera work is exquisite and blends reality and fantasy with precision and sharpness.
Beyond the use of top notch camera work and the infusion of imagination so perfectly within this created reality, there is also perfectly timed and obvious pain-staking editing prowess at work all throughout this picture. The juxtaposition and melding of not only seamless temporal transitions, but also time-lapse and reverse time photography, along with staggered freeze-frames makes for the utmost at infusing thematic and cinematic texture to the story. On top of this, the use of metaphorical imagery throughout is, while maybe obvious, gorgeous and stunning and interwoven within the story quite nicely. The inner workings of a giant clock or the speed of railroad tracks crossing and merging for example is seamlessly tied into the visual drama. And to be frank, just keeping the various threads of the story cohesive and lacking in confusion is a realized miracle in and of itself.
While a director like Oliver Stone’s use of these techniques is often just used to add artful imagery and can sometimes feel out of place or inserted strictly just to appear “artsy” (which is fine in many cases), with Mr. Nobody, nothing is done without reason. Each instance of watching the characters physically moving backwards in time or seem to appear to stop moving altogether is integral to the story’s focus and ultimately a clue as to what is really going on within the narrative. Every bit of technique utilized by the film maker is essential and well planned from the get-go to achieve what the story sets out to accomplish.
And while all of this might sound as though it will appear rushed, chaotic or frantic, nothing could be further from the truth. The transitions are smooth and elegant. The story and on screen movement flows effortlessly despite the apparently convoluted and unconventional structure of the narrative and its character’s actions.
At the conclusion of the film, the performances within almost seem like an afterthought compared to the physical and metaphysical beauty of Mr. Nobody. However, I do believe I’ve not seen such a charismatic or headstrong performance from the likes of Sarah Polley in anything previous to this film. While she actually has very little screen time, her character is strong and interesting, if a bit unhinged and melancholy. Singling out Polley is easy but to be fair, pretty much every performance in Mr. Nobody is fantastic. More screen time could’ve been given to any one of the leading ladies and it would only help the film. Jared Leto takes on this leading role with the strength and courage that not just anyone could have – including some A-listers that come to mind. Also look for some of these teen actors to start appearing in more films (hopefully). They really help tie the proverbial room together and are the glue that keeps their particular story threads believable and tight.
The special effects used in the movie are flawless. Yes, there is a trip to the stars within the movie and extra-terrestrial planets and the vessels that take our characters to them look 100% photo realistic. The gorgeous look of recent films such as Sunshine or Mission to Mars don’t hold anything over the head of Mr. Nobody. Truly this is a sci-fi epic that can hold its own against the main stream big boys in terms of visual prowess. Gorgeous with a capital “G” throughout.
Clocking in at just under 150 minutes, some may argue that the film could stand a snip or a tuck here or there to keep it tighter; but for myself, I could’ve sat at attention for much longer with just as much anticipation, enjoyment and wide-eyed as the first two hours. Yes, this is a film that might be tough to wrap your head around or difficult to comprehend all that is happening and why upon a first viewing, but the movie is never confusing. We always know where we are, what we’re dealing with and with whom. The movie just flows thematically, visually and even narratively (despite being all over the place in time and space) like a carefully winding stream. The entire feel of the movie is joyously mesmerizing and concludes with a better ending I cannot imagine. I have waited all year for this and it has finally come: my first 5/5 star film of the year. Rejoice.
Mr. Nobody is available on DVD and Blu-ray from Entertainment One on January 11th.
DVD Extras: An interesting making of documentary, behind the scenes footage and an assortment of deleted scenes. Sadly, no commentary with director Jaco van Dormael.
Links:
IMDb profile
Official Site
Flixster Profile for Mr. Nobody
I’ve seen this one 3 times now. It is wonderfully executed, and absolutely WOW in the visual department.
Nice review, Andrew. I checked out this movie after hearing you and Kurt talk about it on the Cinecast a while back and am eagerly waiting for it to come out on blu-ray for a much needed repeat viewing. I unfortunately had to watch a torrent (although a decent one) of the film the first time.
I found the teenage love story quite moving for some reason. It seemed so emotionally real amidst all the out-there concepts in the movie. I remember unexpectedly connecting with that thread.
The Jared Leto PBS/NOVA style presentations of “string theory” were done well and actually thought provoking (arguably). I enjoyed those bits.
I just watched this film only a few nights ago, and it blew me away. I loved the concept, the art direction, and it certainly changed my mind about Jared Leto, whom until know I wasn’t that impressed with. As you wrote, the combination of philosophy and science, with the drama and love stories, made an impeccable combination. Apparently it was released the same day as Inception, which explores some similar themes. Inception can suck it; this film is so much better.
Yea, E1 picked the worst release date ever to dump Mr. Nobody into the cinema. I was the only person at my screening, and I had already seen the film one time before. I was saddened to see such a great film with nobody else in the auditorium!
@ Kurt
Just to add on how badly Mr. Nobody was distributed, I was the only person at my screening and the print was damaged. I ended up going to the Cumberland to finally see it.
This played for exaxtly one week here in Vancouver and I was lucky enough to see it with the, maybe three other people in the theatre total. I haven’t shut up about how great I think the film is since I saw it as I know not many people had even heard of it due to the crappy distribution.
Anyway, great review and I can’t wait for my copy to show up so I can re-watch. It’s been a year since I saw the film, but I recall loving the music as well; looking forward to hearing that on my home theatre.
My theory: E1 (or was it EOne?) was obligated to give this theatrical distribution in major cities when they bought the rights just around TIFF’09, then they figured it was a very difficult sell and hard to market, so they quietly fulfilled their obligations to the absolute minimum and dumped it on DVD. It’s too bad, if they released it just after Inception captured the movie conversation (say 2 months or so, and built the marketing campaign on ‘want to see something ELSE like Inception?’ they may have made some coin off this film. I think that the film didn’t not make much of its $45M (!!!) budget back, unless it kicked ass in Europe. Which it didn’t. IMDB indicates that the world-wide gross is less than 5M. That’s a heck of a lot of shekles to lose for the production companies involved!
I’m expecting it to be at least a modest ‘cult’ DVD success.
So sad to hear that a great film that so many people put their heart and soul into can just be tossed aside like that. Unfortunately I’m sure it happens a lot more than I know.
Here’s to hoping the word gets out on the DVD/Blu-ray release.
FilmJunk absolutely teared this to shreds on the new episode. Watching this trailer I am either going to agree with them fully or appreciate what seems to have a number of bombastic elements. May have to go rent this one later now.
That’s a shame. Mr. Nobody is a very good movie, simple enough to get, complex enough to engage and gorgeous to boot. Like THE FOUNTAIN, this type of movie doesn’t get made often. I’ll have to listen to the FJ take on it, but I’m prepared to disagree already…
I just watched this in anticipation of the new Film Junk review, and I have to say, I’m siding with them this time (unlike w/Dogtooth last week). There are some things I appreciated about it, in particular, the cinematography, but I found it to be a chore to get through. I felt my interest in what was going on, waning over time. The narrative structure was frustrating, rather than engaging. Plus I didn’t find much of a context behind all the weirdness other than more meditations on mortality, which was done more sublimely in SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK. I can appreciate the mind-bending weirdness of it all, and the Philip K Dick influence, but mostly I was bored and indifferent to the entire experience.
THE FOUNTAIN is a great comparison, Kurt. Maybe the intent was to bridge a Vonnegut-narrative into the themes that Aronofsky explored in that film. But I felt like MR. NOBODY failed to be “fun” in the end. Based on my love and adoration for intellectually stimulating movies, I expected to be completely taken in by MR. NOBODY, especially during the first act. But I couldn’t grasp it, emotionally or otherwise. I felt like the filmmakers were deliberately trying too hard to be profound & difficult, and in turn, it became pretentious and redundant as a result.
The Filmjunk rant is epic. I have never heard Jay be so animated.
I’ve tried posting here a couple of times recently and none of my comments seem to be going through. Not sure if this one will.
I was just mentioning that this would definitely make for a lively discussion on the Movie Club Podcast. I really have no idea how anyone could watch this movie and not spend the entire running time rolling their eyes. This thing is the most derivative, cliched, ugly, uninteresting, pretentious piece of filmmaking i’ve seen in a LONNNNNGGGGG time. I really cannot believe how many things are overlooked in this film simply due to the promise of a cerebral, intellectual experience (in which it also fails).
The best way I could put it was this is the movie equivalent of Mr.Brainwash’s art in Exit Through the Gift Shop. It exists not to add to anything to the conversation but rather just mimic movies that the director has seen without seemingly any reasoning other than ‘it’s cool’ or ‘it’s weird’. It’s a low rent smorgasbord of ideas that seemed to have been strung together out of desperation. Zero self-control, zero aesthetic coherence, zero subtlety. Is it really enough to just mix up your narrative structure and clumsily slap on a few scenes of Jared Leto reading from a theoretical physics textbook? It doesn’t even represent these ideas in an intelligent or original way! A kid torn between his Mother and Father at the train station???? How cliched and unoriginal could you possibly get!!! Horrible.
I can’t even get on board with the cinematography. Way too high key for my taste and the majority of the interesting shots have been directly lifted from recent films: clearing apartment in high speed (Requiem for a Dream), rain drop from sky (frog falling in Magnolia), lovers under the covers (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind).
To place this piece of garbage in the same category as the films listed above (or 2001!!!!) is a disservice to all of those great films and seems to insist that all it takes to make a great sci fi film is simply not to be palatable to a mainstream audience.
This one completely baffles me.
Well, I can agree on one thing, SynecdocheNY is 10x the filmmaking of Mr. Nobody, but it doesn’t change the fact that Mr. Nobody is not completely empty of fibre.
There is nothing that Mr. Nobody does that hasn’t been done 10x better in other films. Nothing.
It’s such a rare example of mind numbingly poor filmmaking dressed up as something thoughtful. It’s embarrassingly earnest and sentimental and the director has zero self control. Its imagery is so stale and unimaginative that it even manages to visualize the butterfly effect in a completely corny way.
Any fibre Mr. Nobody contains is simply by proxy. Include a few theories (word for word) and sure, your film suddenly contains some food for thought. Sadly, the points at which these theories were at their most interesting was when the text was simply being read on screen. Even then, the graphical accompaniment was out of place and uninspired.
“mind numbingly poor filmmaking”
All I can say is I disagree. I can think of several films over the past few years that are examples of poor filmmaking. I just don’t see it here. I can appreciate your (Jay) distaste for things that are cliche in here, but the fact that’s it’s not original doesn’t bother me at all. In fact, I liked picking out the different influences and seeing how well (yes, well) that they mesh with one another.
Having said all of that, we’re at least in agreement on Dogtooth!
I cant believe I bought this movie, a waste of my afternoon.
And I will say this (also with Enter The Void) the film benefits MASSIVELY on the big screen. I’ve seen it twice in the theatre, and once on DVD. I enjoy the film quite a bit, but the first theatrical viewing was such a surprise. Not saying that this would sway a very negative opinion, only that it helps a bit.
Also on the ‘done in other films 10x better’ well, there is such a stew and a collage in this film that it is appropriating in the same way The Matrix or Kill Bill is, and putting its own stamp on things. The “END OF THE UNIVERSE, END OF TIME’ thing was pretty well executed, and pretty darn original in my book.
I would buy that Enter the Void would benefit from a viewing on the big screen but I don’t buy it for Mr. Nobody. This film’s problems are deeply rooted and aren’t simply due to its over-ambitious storytelling or big ideas. I truly have no idea how anyone could watch this movie and not roll their eyes/laugh through the entire thing. It’s not a matter of being on the fence for me. This film is flat out horrible.
hot damn i need to see this thing asap now heh
Since hearing that the Belgian director, Jaco van Dormael, was the one who made Toto the Hero, which I saw in my first-year cinema studies course and was quite impressed by, my interest in this already-intriguing film has only gone up. I’ll definitely check this out soon.
You are not alone, in disliking the film. But there is definitely another side of the fence out there, one that is won out by the romance and yes, the train sequence, a solid enough metaphor for the one-way nature of time. No worse than much of the science fiction (I’m talking books, not grade Z drive in schlock films) of the 1950s, 60s and 70s.
Mr. Nobody’s biggest crime was how derivative it was, which Jay brought up in his review. I remember thinking the same about Donnie Darko (Philip K Dick, Vonnegut, Gilliam), but the first time I saw it, I still found elements about it that I responded to in a visceral way (the teen angst – particularly during the Darko confronting Patrick Swayze scene – actually worked for me). Mr. Nobody didn’t really affect me in any way other than “that was a cool shot” or “that was an interesting idea that i read about in a physics book once.” It actually left me numb.
Usually, I want to be challenged by interesting concepts regarding space/time/alternate universes, but this movie managed to make these concepts seem uninteresting by integrating a love story that’s been done before. I’m not saying it had to be spoonfed, simplistic and straightforward, but at least more engaging on an emotional level. I felt like it failed on all levels. It’s also really hard to get involved too when Leto is the lead guy to latch on to as well. I felt pretty angry after watching it. A lot of my friends hate David Lynch for being too weird and artsy for the sake of being weird and artsy, but I should show them Mr. Nobody instead for a much better example of trying too hard.
In horrible Dana Carvey/Jimmy Stewart voice:
“I’m not afraid of dying…I’m afraid I haven’t been alive enough!”
Really???? Come on! How am I the cynical one here?? You guys are usually the ones calling out Hollywood on how overtly sentimental and cliched its films are yet you’ll let this shit slide? Just because they throw in a bit of theoretical science?
The leaf??? Washing the father in the shower??? Really?
This movie is “Play the sunset” charading as “My God, it’s full of stars.”. It’s perfume on a pig. It’s bupkis.
Nobody is claiming it is 2001: A Space Odyssey (above text merely indicates that Kubrick is probably an influence, one of many).
Not to derail the comparison further, but I could use almost the exact same logic to smack down THE EXPENDABLES, in respect to its genre, a film I know you like Jay (and I like well enough myself, but am cognizant of its flaws, they merely do not infuriate me).
Perhaps this is a difference in going in cold vs. being recommended or referred to the movie by those who went in cold.
I’m not saying that you do not have a point on many of the things you mention above, some are more forgiving in this regard than others.
Putting Inception or a very few big budget hollywood examples aside, you know that if this were a Hollywood movie (that we so often deride) it would be something like THE SOUND OF THUNDER (itself a Bradbury novel originally) or the remake of the Time Machine, etc. etc. i.e. big dumb and full of shit.
If Mr. Nobody’s biggest crime is merely earnestness or ‘aping classics’ that is a far cry from cynical ‘jobbing’ of a lot of Hollywood product.
I’ll happily apply the same argument for why Ang Lee’s HULK is given an unfair smackdown and Louis Lettretier’s INCREDIBLE HULK is a piece of crap.
So we give special merit to bad films that are atypically bad? What if the filmmakers are deluded about what they have put out? Which is worse, a bad film by filmmakers who would never consider its flaws, or a bad film by filmmakers who are self-critical and would try to learn from them? And then there’s the Kevin Smiths, who fuck up, know they fucked up, but can’t admit it and just spread the blame around.
So…
Although I know Jay is not a big fan of Benjamin Button either…. I don’t know how in your right minds either of you preferred this crap to Button. In the craft alone Fincher laps this thing on the track dozens of times over, and Pitt’s weird old man mannerisms handily trump Leto’s laughable performance.
This feels like another case of indie-bias rearing its head, the script with the Forrest Gump writer must inherently be worse than the little known production, right? The expectations game works heavily in the favor of the small film even when they will gladly fall through the same tropes with far less grace and far less craft.
More on Mr. Nobody tomorrow but obviously I don’t think much of it at all. Not sure if I liked it less than Dogtooth or Enter the Void though.
@Goon
I’ll take bizarre yet captivating films, such as Johny Mnemonic, over the plain, predictable, and uninspiring film a la Iron Man.
Iron Man type films are the equivalent to going to McDonald’s: safe and unmemorable. Yeah, eating at an unknown, none multi-chain restaurant has the potential to be a horrible experience, but at least it’s an experience!
“Not to derail the comparison further, but I could use almost the exact same logic to smack down THE EXPENDABLES, in respect to its genre, a film I know you like Jay (and I like well enough myself, but am cognizant of its flaws, they merely do not infuriate me).”
Kurt, surely you aren’t suggesting that Mr. Nobody and The Expendables are comparable in their goals and intentions. One is a grand, hard sci-fi love story with dramatic elements (clearly designed for a niche audience) and one is a blockbuster action film designed to entertain the masses. Of course a film like The Expendables utilizes action film tropes and cliches in its storytelling. It’s a matter of calibrating your inner critic to the intent, tone, motivations and objectives of the film/filmmaker. A film like The Burbs or Tremors succeeds in doing exactly what it sets out to do but will fall apart upon intense critical analysis. Maybe you could tell me what you think Mr. Nobody sets out to do? Was it working in The Expendables/Grown Ups territory? I don’t think so. I think it wants to be something grand, clever, intelligent and enlightening. Failure on all counts.
I agree with Goon. I’m not the biggest fan of Benjamin Button (been meaning to give it another watch…maybe this is the time to do it) but I really don’t see how someone could slam that film and praise this one. CCOBB is a superior film on all levels. The only thing separating the two is a connection to Forrest Gump (which is also a better film than Mr. Nobody).
“Iron Man type films are the equivalent to going to McDonald’s”
While I’m not entirely sure what “Iron Man type films” means, I will take your analogy and apply it to Mr. Nobody.
While Iron Man may be like going to McDonalds, at least McDonald’s makes no bones about the fact that they’re a popular, accessible service for those in the need of a quick and easy food fix. The quality might not be the greatest, but you get what you pay for. And hey, you could always make the healthy choice and order a salad (The Dark Knight).
Mr. Nobody on the other hand is that trendy, overpriced restaurant down the street that depends solely upon the people who simply don’t want to be caught dead eating at McDonald’s. A dress code and a long wait isn’t a reliable sign of quality dining. It just means you’ll have to wait longer to get in (about two and a half hours in this case) and sit around in uncomfortable formal attire to eat a meal that with a little discernible taste, would reveal itself to be brand over quality.
Mr. Nobody is the expensive restaurant thattakes 2 hours to bring you your meal that they bring Gordon Ramsay in to save, but ends up failing once he leaves anyways because the people running the place just. aren’t. chefs.
Johnny Mnemonic isn’t captivating. It’s occasionally wtf hilarious, but its not captivating. I still thank it though for allowing me to make http://keanumas.ytmnd.com/
“Johnny Mnemonic isn’t captivating. It’s occasionally wtf hilarious, but its not captivating.”
Ha! I concur with this. It’s watchable entirely for the WTF and post-Matrix, and dated 1990s sci fi all add up to something worth putting on the player every couple years for easy entertainment.
I don’t really compare CCOBB and Nobody at all. CCOBB is just a simple, straight forward movie. A guy does a bunch of shit, but backwards. It’s boring and schlocky. Nobody at the very least has much loftier goals and spans different lifetimes and the fabric of time itself.
As for the “see it on the big screen” argument, I kind of fall with Kurt on this one. The movie is quite the spectacle. I saw it at TIFF09 and the movie has a really nice “wow” factor to it. I admit that the visuals and style of that film had me pretty well awed – particularly the Jeunet-like moments and the bits in space.
CCOBB, Gump, Garp, and this all fall under an umbrella of ‘life story’ type movies that jump around time periods/vignette-y.
Nothing in Button is anywhere near as schlocky as anything in Nobody. From the music cues to the effects, which are cheesy and cheap, to the dialogue, it’s all garbage. The chemistry in Button’s leads is by no means perfect but its far more invested and considered than this film.
I liked scenes in Benjamin Button, much of the stuff with a young Brad Pitt, and Tilda Swinton), but the overall screenplay killed it for me. Here, this is supposed to be a pulpy romantic-y sci-fi piece, I’ve adjusted accordingly. There is little tangible reality (outside of perhaps one scene involving a birthday party and Sarah Polley) in Mr. Nobody which for me is a strength, not a weakness for this type of material. This provides a safe-remove for me that is not provided by the Oscar-y event pictures like Button and Gump, which I find suffocating (particularly Gump)
You guys are usually the ones calling out Hollywood on how overtly sentimental and cliched its films are yet you’ll let this shit slide?
Ahh, the Row Three indie bias raises its ugly head. One of these days Kurt might realize that just because it isn’t a studio film, that doesn’t mean its good.
Stop with the “indie” stuff. In no way does this movie feel like the “little indie that could” type of film. It looks and feels like a mainstream blockbuster.
I honestly think part of it could be the surprise factor. When I saw that movie, I was expecting exactly that: a small little indie film. I had no idea the budget that was put into it or the big special effects and sweeping story. I think maybe I was just wow’d by how grand the movie is compared to what I was expecting.
I won’t argue that the film is not derivative of other sci-fi films, and borrows shamelessly. So does THE MATRIX, MOON, and other science fiction films I like. I can see why someone might spend the film ‘eye rolling’ certain parts, but I really think the ‘string theory’ aspects of the movie function a lot like fantasy, memory, and re-invention personal history (See BIG FISH — and I like Mr. Nobody a lot more than Big Fish) at the end of his life, this guy basically doesn’t care about the truth or even telling his story to a younger generation, he is lost in his cloudy memories.
You could take the ‘time ticks backwards’ literally, or look at it from the point of view of the main character. This is not necessarily profound, but it looks bright and colourful on screen, and it is far more engaging than the run of the mill chase and shoot guns laser-sci-fi that often (thankfully not lately) threatens to drown out the genre.
“It looks and feels like a mainstream blockbuster.”
I’d reword Matt’s accusation and say you guys seem to jump on ‘alternative blockbusters’ even though this, like Nightwatch/Daywatch, are pretty shitty, jumbled, boring, confused messes. Nightwatch is significantly better than this in comparison, though.
I mean, seriously, the weird complaints that Iron Man was a ripoff of Robocop, which is a massive stretch… but you’d never write off Doomsday for its umpteen homages, references and outright thefts.
Not sure how we’re going down this road, but…. Iron Man is boring (other than RDJ’s witty quips). Plain and simple. Two giant robots throwing each other into the sides of buildings is not interesting to me. Doomsday, despite its obvious references that it makes no bones about, is still pretty unique. I can’t think of too many movies that start in a city of 28 Days Later proportions due to a virus outbreak, then take place in an abandoned city with tanks and high class weaponry, then reverts to a Mad Max circus-like world, then reverts to medieval times with knights, horses and bows and arrows and then instantly to a 100mph chase with specialty super cars. All with a female protagonist and amping up all of the energy to 11.
Do I give a little bit of “benefit of the doubt” to some of the smaller indie hits? Maybe subconsciously. But in the end, I either like the movie or I don’t. It’s budget makes no difference to me. There are plenty of little indie “gems” that I can’t stand.
Nightwatch is significantly better than this in comparison, though.
While I like Nightwatch quite a bit I’d agree that it is a bit of a jumbled mess. I think that’s more the fault of it being a Russian film that makes absolutely zero effort to cater the film to anyone but fans of the novel.
Yeah I don’t think Night Watch (or Day Watch) is a mess at all. It just doesn’t hold your hand like Inception does.