4 ms·
Special effects are not bad per se. The problem is that these days, a lot of movies use FX as a substitute for storytelling. Just consider Blade Runner: It is
by krylon 5y ago
Special effects are not bad per se. The problem is that these days, a lot of movies use FX as a substitute for storytelling.
Just consider Blade Runner: It is just stunning, visually, but it uses these visuals to tell a story, not to distract from a lack of story.
That being said, I agree: Given the choice between good storytelling and good visuals, I'll take a good story any day.
And while we're in this era, let's not forget about "The Third Man", "The Maltese Falcon", or "Double Indemnity".
- zxcvbn4038 5y agoI love the dialog in Maltese Falcon - esp the exchanges between Spade and Gutman. I think it wasn’t too much later that Hollywood had to start dumbing down the villains because too many people were wanting the “glamorous” life of a gangster. Though it’s hard to piece together now if that was really happening on a large scale or not. People still blame The Warriors for teaching kids to jump turnstiles - but I’d bet they were doing that long before.
- krylon 5y agoIt's a great movie from beginning to end, you won't get an argument from me here. ;-) Also, you make a good point - I really love movies with complex villains. In recent times, I much enjoyed Blueberry where the final stand-off reveals the good-vs-evil narrative to be much more complex than the viewer was led to think all along. (Also, the special FX are GORGEOUS, as both characters are tripping balls on Ayahuasca.) Very few - if any - people are purely good or purely evil. Reflecting this ambiguity in storytelling is not easy but IMHO very much worth it.