Honestly, this is Micheal Bay's most mature movie that he's directed. It's not full of explosions, car chases, guns a blazing, or the most over-the-top action scenes Bay is known for. For a Bay film, this is a quiet, subdued movie and more a satire than anything else. Yes, I did use that word satire, a word not normally associated with a Bay production. Even after saying all of that this is not his best film, I still The Rock is his best over all film. I don't know where I'd put this movie on his filmography, personally I would put it in his top 3 or top 2, not that that's saying much considering his output of movies tend to be overly crazy anyhow with little focus on anything but action and explosions, because we all know Bay hasn't met an explosion he didn't like. But then again I don't know how anyone can go into a Bay movie now and not know what to expect. Even going into this movie knowing how a Bay movie is directed and presented, I can honestly say this movie is quite opposite from everything he's directed before.
At times it almost plays out like a modern day A Clockwork Orange only it is by no means as focused a movie A Clockwork Orange, which is the movie's one downfall, a lack of focus narrative-wise. What this movie lacks for a normal Bay direction, the screenplay seems to make up for it as the narrative and focus of the story is all over the place, much like how Bay's direction normally is. Personally, I think the out of focus screenplay hurts the movie the most. Bay's direction is at times truly inspired, with some great shots and camera placements and he doesn't give into the temptation to go all crazy with the editing and hyper attention deficit disorder. Instead, for the most part, he lets his camera weave through the story with a grace and ease not normally associated with Bay. There are only a few times throughout the film I think he let his former hyper self take control of the movie, but patience seems to be primarily on his palate this time around. He needs to do more of these kinds of movies because I think he's really great at it.
It's a shame about the screenplay because there is a sharp, biting, satire full of irony lurking within this movie. If it had stayed more focused, it would have been that much more powerful. Instead from a narrative point of view, this movie is all over the place with six different people interjecting their point of view into story, essentially giving the movie six main characters, which is never a good thing. The movie should have stayed focused on Mark Wahlberg's character and let his philosophy and character carry the film to it's ironic and satirical glory. Wahlberg has the charisma and acting chops to do that, even in this film he does a great job of presenting the story line and narrative focus. He also gets some great back up from Dwayne Johnson and Anthony Mackie.
The irony is ripe for the picking. We have here a movie about body builders, who go through all sorts of pain to gain for their muscle mass. This is contrasted with Tony Shalhoub character, an essentially weakling when compared to the other three characters, who went through all kinds of pain to gain his mass of wealth. The pursuit of the American dream is mentioned a few times throughout the film and the word pursuit is the main focus, as the word pursuit means pain to gain for the American dream. The irony being these body builders want to bypass this pain part of the American dream and steal what they can from the guy who actually pained to get his wealth. One of the things this screenplay did right was let Tony Shalhoub's character, who is an ass, continue to be an ass as the movie plays out. This is a brave thing they did as he is the sympathetic character and I did feel sorry him as Walhberg, Johnson, and Mackie's characters exploited him throughout this story. But as I was saying all of this satire and irony become lost in a screenplay that wants to say too much instead of realizing that less is more.
Finally, I wonder if this movie is some kind of reflection on Bay about his life or movie career? Because he really wanted to make this movie and pursued it very ravenously. One could say he went through much pain to get this movie made (his gain). Even as I think about this it makes perfect sense because Bay's career as a film maker is one of total excess, much like the body builder's in this movie but yet the movie doesn't side with them.
No comments:
Post a Comment