I'm going to go see it anyway, for completist reasons -- I'm hooked on the continuing story of poor terrorist-beset John McClain -- but I won't expect too much from it.
Who knows, maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.
Don't belong. Dangerous, like you. Can't be controlled. Can't be trusted. Everyone could just go on without me and not have to worry. People could be what they wanted to be. Could be with the people they wanted. Live simple. No secrets.
River ,'Objects In Space'
Buffista Movies 5: Development Hell
A place to talk about movies--old and new, good and bad, high art and high cheese. It's the place to place your kittens on the award winners, gossip about upcoming fims and discuss DVD releases and extras. Spoiler policy: White font all plot-related discussion until a movie's been in wide release two weeks, and keep the major HSQ in white font until two weeks after the video/DVD release.
Sean K - May 17, 2007 7:22:42 am PDT #8502 of 10001
You can't leave me to my own devices; my devices are Nap and Eat. -Zenkitty
Fred Pete - May 17, 2007 7:23:29 am PDT #8503 of 10001
Ann, that's a ferret.
I think we have our first suggested titles for Movies 6.
Polter-Cow - May 17, 2007 7:28:42 am PDT #8504 of 10001
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!
I'm hooked on the continuing story of poor terrorist-beset John McClain
What is this story, exactly? I was trying to think of what makes the Die Hard movies different from your Typical Action Movie, what makes John McClain specifically a good hero to be running around dodging explosions rather than another Everyman.
Tom Scola - May 17, 2007 7:30:44 am PDT #8505 of 10001
Remember that the frontier of the Rebellion is everywhere. And even the smallest act of insurrection pushes our lines forward.
I was trying to think of what makes the Die Hard movies different from your Typical Action Movie.
It isn't different. It's the prototypical action movie; it came first.
juliana - May 17, 2007 7:32:58 am PDT #8506 of 10001
I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I miss them all tonight…
John McClain was also the first action hero to cry/show suffering on-screen.
Polter-Cow - May 17, 2007 7:39:28 am PDT #8507 of 10001
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!
It's the prototypical action movie; it came first.
Really? There were no action movies before Die Hard ? I know that every movie after it is basically "Die Hard [preposition] [noun]!" but surely there were action movies before it. So it's the template for the modern action flick, and it happens to be damn good in its own right.
John McClain was also the first action hero to cry/show suffering on-screen.
I can buy that. Hm.
Tom Scola - May 17, 2007 7:43:15 am PDT #8508 of 10001
Remember that the frontier of the Rebellion is everywhere. And even the smallest act of insurrection pushes our lines forward.
Really? There were no action movies before Die Hard ?
As a distinct genre? Rambo, I guess.
Fred Pete - May 17, 2007 7:48:01 am PDT #8509 of 10001
Ann, that's a ferret.
Maybe it's what you mean by "action" movies. They seem to be descendants of war movies, pirate movies, and the likes of Zorro.
Which would make Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., and Errol Flynn the spiritual ancestors of Stallone and Schwarzenegger.
Errrr....
Sean K - May 17, 2007 8:08:06 am PDT #8510 of 10001
You can't leave me to my own devices; my devices are Nap and Eat. -Zenkitty
I think Fred Pete and scola and juliana are all correct.
Fred Pete is correct in that Errol Flynn and Doug Fairbanks are the grandaddies of action heroes, but Bruce WIllis in the guise of John McClain is in many ways the genesis of the currect action hero model, but more importantly....
What is this story, exactly? I was trying to think of what makes the Die Hard movies different from your Typical Action Movie, what makes John McClain specifically a good hero to be running around dodging explosions rather than another Everyman.
I don't know -- I can't say specifically. The character of John McClain has just endeared himself to me over the years, and in many many ways, McClain is the gold standard I hold other action heroes to.
I'm not terribly fond of Bruce Willis the person (and S even less so, as Willis is on record as blaming the "skyrocketing rates of union crew people (which S is)," for the ridiculously ginormous budgets of motion pictures these days. Which is of course offensive and wrong -- I'm quite sure Mr. Willis' house is much bigger than any union crewperson's.
But something about the Die Hard movies, particularly 1 and 3, has made me invested in John McClain's story.
§ ita § - May 17, 2007 8:15:34 am PDT #8511 of 10001
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
How is one defining action movie? In a way that excludes Shaft, Enter The Dragon, Star Wars, French Connection, and Beverly Hills Cop?