On Roland Emmerich
Roland Emmerich. He's the guy who makes those big, stupid movies like 2012, The Day After Tomorrow, and Independence Day. He's been criticized as creating or directing only the dumbest of movies. You know what, yeah, that's true... a lot of his movies ARE really... really dumb. Like 'gully dwarf dumb'.
But I've been thinking... it's not that he's a bad director. I really have to wonder if he could really do a serious movie. A genuine, thought provoking creation. See... I've come to a realization.
Roland Emmerich isn't bad at making good movies. He's good at making bad ones, and there's a difference there. He's not trying to make an intelligent, provocative drama. He's looking to make money by appealing to the 'boom, flash, bang, OMGWEREALLGONNADIE' mentality. He creates summer blockbusters, not art-house independent cinema. He makes popcorn and candy rather than a gourmet five-course meal.
A few of his movies are steaming turds. Independence Day and 10,000 BC for one. ID4 made a metric asston of money though, and people liked it. Implausible plot devices and ham-fisted dialogue be damned, that's not why people went to those movies. They went to have their brains turned off and enjoy the flashy explosions and stupid one-liner humour.
If you want to see why I say Emmerich's good at making bad movies... go take a look at Eight Legged Freaks. Sweet merciful fuck, that movie poked fun at a shitload of movie tropes. It was amusing and didn't ever once say that it was supposed to be anything more than a reason to create a bunch of giant-sized spiders killing people. It was good at what it was supposed to DO.
Am I gonna go out and pay to see an Emmerich movie in theaters? No. Will I go out of my way to rent one? No. But if I've got a few hours to kill, and just want to go 'ug ug! Pretty flashes and booms!'. Sure, I'll enjoy an Emmerich movie if it's on hand. Just like Michael Bay's movies.