"An astute industry analyst of my acquaintance, who is 9 and an admirer of the Nickelodeon animated series on which the movie is based, offered a two-word diagnosis of its commercial prospects on the way out of the theater: “They’re screwed.” — A. O. Scott's review of The Last Airbender, NYTThe name alone makes me laugh every time I hear it: Airbender. Why would anyone call a movie that? Especially a movie about a bald child. I'm relieved, though. The same way I'm relieved when a drunk hits bottom, or a child finally yanks that wobbly tooth. At last. The misery is over. So more delusion, no more false optimism, no more big-headedness, no more bluster, no more "I've-figured-out-Spielberg's-Secret". Finito.
And yet I couldn't disagree more with this:—
Vulture: Have you read the reviews for The Last Airbender?What is the point? Besides the thrill of being rude and the bragging rights that follow? Yuck. An appalling interaction.
M. Night Shyamalan: No, I haven't.
Vulture: Well, are you aware of the reviews?
Shyamalan: No, actually.
Vulture: Well, for the most part, critics have not been kind. Are you just ignoring them? Will you read them this weekend? Have you just not had time?
Shyamalan: Are you saying that in general they didn't dig it?
Vulture: In general, no.
*An occasional column about movies that me happy not to be a critic anymore, conceived partly in response to the complaint "but you haven't even seen it." Exactly.
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The same way I'm relieved when a drunk hits bottom, or a child finally yanks that wobbly tooth.
ReplyDeleteWhy not hold writers and directors to account? If they sell a product, and give interviews designed to promote that product after it's been released, I think it's entirely fair to ask if some of the year's worst reviews can prompt any sort of self-reflection at all.
ReplyDeleteBesides, any sympathy I might have for him vanished when, in that same article, he defended and talked up the by all accounts awful 3D conversion, which charges customers more for a demonstrably lesser experience.
The next time I read a blog, I hope that it doesnt disappoint me as much as this one. I mean, I know it was my choice to read, but I actually thought you have something interesting to say. All I hear is a bunch of whining about something that you could fix if you werent too busy looking for attention.
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