Epic cinematic battles

[scarlettina]

This week I went to see two summer blockbusters, Dawn of the Planets of the Apes and Guardians of the Galaxy (the latter at a press preview through the kind offices of my friend SA, who is a film critic for a number of major outlets). Both films are excellent and well worth seeing.

With regard to Dawn, I continue to be impressed with Andy Serkis

Comments

[oldmangrumpus]

"If I watch the Lord of the Rings films, I speed through those sequences."

So did Tolkien :-)

[randy_byers]

Exactly. Helm's Deep is one chapter in the book version of The Two Towers and over half the movie.

[aberwyn]

Yes, I have indeed gotten tired of epic battles, in books as well as on film.

What's more, I've gotten tired of writing them. Odd, considering how many are in the Deverry books.

[djonn]

Boy, am I with you about Man of Steel. The first third or so looked like really smart science fiction...and then it went totally off the rails into one long, badly conceived cascade of battle sequences.

I can't speak to the first three films in the Bay Transformers franchise (as noted below, I bought the first one on disc this week but haven't watched it yet), but the new one -- while it definitely devolves into a cascade of battle sequences -- worked much better for me than Man of Steel did. I think Bay may have learned something from Joss Whedon's work on Avengers about how to build dramatic bits into the ongoing mayhem.

[eddvick]

My friend Chuck and I were at that press screening! (assuming it was the one at Northgate). GotG was huge fun.

[scarlettina]

That was the one, Edd. We were seated in the reserved section.

[ironymaiden]

I agree completely. And I think that's why I was so struck by how the fight sequences in Once Upon a Time in Shanghai always forwarded both character and story.