Things you're tired of seeing in movies

[Egon Spengler]

I'm tired of seeing uninspiring garbage sequels to old beloved franchises which take the heroes from those franchises and make them sad and pathetic shadows of their former selves in order to try to make the new cast somehow better.


I've seen it done with Star Wars and Indy and Willow in that absolute crap show of a series and I'm just done.

The only film that came close to properly honoring an old franchise and it's heroes is Ghostbusters Afterlife and though that wasn't perfect, it was far better than the garbage we got with the sequel trilogy where they didn't bother to even get the main cast back together for one single scene.

So all these new films that do this garbage with making old heroes pathetic, I can do without. And no it's not about them aging, it's about the garbage writing.

 

[Psab keel]

Deconstruction as character "development" is overrated and often done poorly. I put development in quotations because it's the exact opposite of developing a character. The way it's used currently is to use some ancillary detail enough to be familiar, but strip away the very core of who they are as fictional heroes, resulting in them being a shell who is recognizable in name only. I don't understand the appeal. When a chef deconstructs a meal, they hone in on the core ingredients to maximize the flavors that make the dish distinct. This technique doesn't work with film directors/ writers who don't understand these characters at their core, or the character's appeal to audiences. They discard what people love about them and substitute traits that undermine what defines them, only to have them return at the end of the film half heartedly to who they were in their glory days. Only now that return feels empty and void of any meaning because the entire movie was spent changing them into someone they aren't.

I have no interest or desire to see my favorite film icons as depressed, cynical, bitter shadows of themselves. No one does. You can get that for free by watching the nightly news and stewing about the state of the world. The greatest irony in all of this is that the people who actively speak out against this are considered "negative" and cynical. The opposite is true. We pine for the days when protagonists became iconic due to their triumph over adversity. They become aspirational because unlike in real life, these characters overcome trials without losing their integrity. Deconstruction sacrifices that in order to sell tickets. This is why so many movies and shows fail to connect with a large portion of their audience and those that do connect are the kinds of stories that inspire people, not remind them of their own troubles. The world is weary enough as it is. What's wrong with some escapism and levity without having to sacrifice character integrity to do it?

 

[userd1402]

-.-

 

[pengbuzz]

Version of heroes that haven't been made grim, broken or otherwise have been distorted in to parodies of their former selves.

( Egon Spengler's, Psab Keel's and userd1402's points, I believe)

 

[pengbuzz]

I'm tired of seeing uninspiring garbage sequels to old beloved franchises which take the heroes from those franchises and make them sad and pathetic shadows of their former selves in order to try to make the new cast somehow better.


I've seen it done with Star Wars and Indy and Willow in that absolute crap show of a series and I'm just done.

The only film that came close to properly honoring an old franchise and it's heroes is Ghostbusters Afterlife and though that wasn't perfect, it was far better than the garbage we got with the sequel trilogy where they didn't bother to even get the main cast back together for one single scene.

So all these new films that do this garbage with making old heroes pathetic, I can do without. And no it's not about them aging, it's about the garbage writing.

Deconstruction as character "development" is overrated and often done poorly. I put development in quotations because it's the exact opposite of developing a character. The way it's used currently is to use some ancillary detail enough to be familiar, but strip away the very core of who they are as fictional heroes, resulting in them being a shell who is recognizable in name only. I don't understand the appeal. When a chef deconstructs a meal, they hone in on the core ingredients to maximize the flavors that make the dish distinct. This technique doesn't work with film directors/ writers who don't understand these characters at their core, or the character's appeal to audiences. They discard what people love about them and substitute traits that undermine what defines them, only to have them return at the end of the film half heartedly to who they were in their glory days. Only now that return feels empty and void of any meaning because the entire movie was spent changing them into someone they aren't.

I have no interest or desire to see my favorite film icons as depressed, cynical, bitter shadows of themselves. No one does. You can get that for free by watching the nightly news and stewing about the state of the world. The greatest irony in all of this is that the people who actively speak out against this are considered "negative" and cynical. The opposite is true. We pine for the days when protagonists became iconic due to their triumph over adversity. They become aspirational because unlike in real life, these characters overcome trials without losing their integrity. Deconstruction sacrifices that in order to sell tickets. This is why so many movies and shows fail to connect with a large portion of their audience and those that do connect are the kinds of stories that inspire people, not remind them of their own troubles. The world is weary enough as it is. What's wrong with some escapism and levity without having to sacrifice character integrity to do it?

I really tire of every main/hero character now having to be ‘broken’. Every character now must have had tragedy, trauma, loss and pain in their past they must be seen to be fighting their inner demons and we have to feel it along with them. Whatever happened to hero characters whose past we had no clue about because it wasn’t relevant to the adventure at hand.

All of this.

I'm tired of seeing my childhood heroes turned into aged jerks, bitter recluses or utterly contemtible simulacrums of the originals.

 

[asalaw]

INT. TORTURE CHAMBER - DAY

The Villain, obviously a Brit, has the Hero tied to a table.

VILLAIN
We're much alike, you and I.

HERO
We're nothing alike!

The audience, fed up with clichés, collectively hurl into their popcorn buckets.

 

[Strikerkc]

HERO
We're nothing alike!

VILLAIN
"Are you sure? Cause I've DEFINITELY been tied to this table before, too."
[Winks and blows a kiss]

 

[Bloop]

Speaking of torture, it doesn't work.They need to stop using it in movies and shows because it has been proven to be an unreliable way of getting information. Villains and heroes still use torture and intimidation to get info. It's a writing shortcut that has been done to death, and has been largely accepted by the audience, but doesn't work in reality. In real life, torture only leads to unreliable information because the subject will say anything to stop it. Watch the excellent 2019 movie "The Report," starring Adam Driver to see what I mean (the "Chain of Command, part 2" episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation also does well to debunk the myth).

 

[Riceball]

Speaking of torture, it doesn't work.They need to stop using it in movies and shows because it has been proven to be an unreliable way of getting information. Villains and heroes still use torture and intimidation to get info. It's a writing shortcut that has been done to death, and has been largely accepted by the audience, but doesn't work in reality. In real life, torture only leads to unreliable information because the subject will say anything to stop it. Watch the excellent 2019 movie "The Report," starring Adam Driver to see what I mean (the "Chain of Command, part 2" episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation also does well to debunk the myth).

The Prime series Citadel debunks the torture myth as well. But does it really matter? Movies aren't real after all and just because it doesn't work in real life doesn't mean that it won't in a fictional movie universe. Besides, how many times have we seen torture actually work in the movies? Sure, it's used a fair amount, but seldom, if ever, do we ever see the hero succumb to torture and reveal anything. Most of the time, torture, in movies and TV, is just a way to show how strong and resilient our hero is, the villain(s) can do all sorts of things to our hero but they don't succumb and reveal nothing because of both their physical strength and inner fortitude.

 

[batguy]

There is a right and wrong way to do torture. Sometimes the info being sought is immediately testable.


Wesley: "Give us the gate key."

Bad guy: "I have no key."

Inigo Montoya: "Fezzik, tear his arms off."

Bad guy: "Oh, you mean this gate key?"

 

[p51]

Speaking of torture, it doesn't work.They need to stop using it in movies and shows because it has been proven to be an unreliable way of getting information.

Make no mistake, it still is being done in real life. In fact, SERE school for the military exists to get servicemembers prepared for WHEN (not 'if') it happens if they're nabbed by their enemy.

 

[Bloop]

Make no mistake, it still is being done in real life. In fact, SERE school for the military exists to get servicemembers prepared for WHEN (not 'if') it happens if they're nabbed by their enemy.

I do realize it still happens in real life. I probably wasn't clear on that point. I also realize I wasn't as clear on my desire for heroes to stop using intimidation tactics, which are torture, to get information from "the enemy" quickly. I mean, how many times have we seen a "hero" grabbing their enemy, yelling at them to give up some vital info while smacking them around? That's the thing I find unrealistic - when the hero does all that and it works. Even when it doesn't work, it's portrayed as not working only because the villain tricked the hero.
Showing torture working on screen only perpetuates the myth that it works, which is part of why it still happens in real life. If it were more realistically depicted, it might lead to less use of it.
I also realize torture isn't always used to get info, but is used simply to inflict pain, but I was referring mainly to it being used as an intelligence gathering tool.

 

[Sluis Van Shipyards]

Ward Carroll's Youtube channel had a video talking about his experience and another F-14 pilot's experience going through the school.

 

[joberg]

I do realize it still happens in real life. I probably wasn't clear on that point. I also realize I wasn't as clear on my desire for heroes to stop using intimidation tactics, which are torture, to get information from "the enemy" quickly. I mean, how many times have we seen a "hero" grabbing their enemy, yelling at them to give up some vital info while smacking them around? That's the thing I find unrealistic - when the hero does all that and it works. Even when it doesn't work, it's portrayed as not working only because the villain tricked the hero.
Showing torture working on screen only perpetuates the myth that it works, which is part of why it still happens in real life. If it were more realistically depicted, it might lead to less use of it.
I also realize torture isn't always used to get info, but is used simply to inflict pain, but I was referring mainly to it being used as an intelligence gathering tool.

3 probabilities are offered with torture:
First: the quality/veracity of the info is accurate after torture (very low %)...but still possible.
Second: the quality/veracity of the info is totally inaccurate after torture (high %) because the subject wants to stop the pain.
Third: the quality/veracity of the info is partially accurate/inaccurate after torture (med. %) because the subject is giving the info he/she knows and stopping the pain for the info he/she doesn't know.

 

[Psab keel]

The narrative purpose is often an exposition dump. Though I agree it's become a cliché.

 

[CopperRevan]

Things i'm tired of seeing in movies?....CGI...Deepfake...or anything in between. I'd rather go back and watch movies in the 70s and 80s where there are actors doing stunts, puppets, models(the plastic kind...wait...you know what i mean..lol) even if it looks cheesy.

 

[Cephus]

3 probabilities are offered with torture:
First: the quality/veracity of the info is accurate after torture (very low %)...but still possible.
Second: the quality/veracity of the info is totally inaccurate after torture (high %) because the subject wants to stop the pain.
Third: the quality/veracity of the info is partially accurate/inaccurate after torture (med. %) because the subject is giving the info he/she knows and stopping the pain for the info he/she doesn't know.

Fourth, even if torture doesn't work, it still kills morale and for other prisoners who might have information, knowing that the enemy is open to torture, that might loosen their tongues to avoid it.

 

[p51]

Torture is still being done, make no mistake. But yeah, the laughing in the face of torture? SUCH a cliche and that doesn't happen in real life (don't ask me how I know this as a fact)

 

[joberg]

Things i'm tired of seeing in movies?....CGI...Deepfake...or anything in between. I'd rather go back and watch movies in the 70s and 80s where there are actors doing stunts, puppets, models(the plastic kind...wait...you know what i mean..lol) even if it looks cheesy.

Some special effects were better than others...I know, old guy speaking here While I can appreciated CGI (when it's well done and not over the top) and still appreciate the mattes, rear projection, blue screens and the whole analogue stuff

 

[CopperRevan]

Some special effects were better than others...I know, old guy speaking here While I can appreciated CGI (when it's well done and not over the top) and still appreciate the mattes, rear projection, blue screens and the whole analogue stuff

I should have communicated my point better...what i meant is that even with props and puppets etc...movies from the 70s and 80s felt more raw to me which pleases my taste. I did not like the Star Wars PT on many levels but the CGI made everything feel rather fake to me. Lightsaber battles were great and all it's the feel of the movie i'm really talking about. I also love westerns and the raw feel of those as well. CGI has no place in them...none.