I think we’re getting a little over saturated with the whole superhero thing. No, I’m not talking about actual comic book superhero films… I’m talking about the parodies. From Sky High to The Incredibles, to the upcoming Super-Ex and Zoom’s Academy… and now here comes another one called “Tonight, He Comes”.
The project has snagged Will Smith as a “disaffected and underappreciated superhero in a mid-life crisis“. Ummm… haven’t we seen this already?
Now I’m a Superhero movie nut, so I’ll see this… but honestly isn’t there enough of this type of genre film out there already? Maybe wait 3 or 4 years. I’m just not sure what the appeal is to a project like this one.
The other bit of news surrounding this, the director is Jonathan Mostow (Terminator 3) who has also been officially slated to direct Terminator 4. Since Tonight, He Comes is scheduled to start filming in the summer, it’ll push back Terminator 4… but we don’t know by how much yet.
I still can’t decide if that’s good news or bad news.
“that the entire movie was special effects, smith added in an ironic human/robotic touch.”
I strongly disagree. Here’s why: if the effects are good, and the story/plot is supposed to have some suspenseful elements to it, when the lead character winks at the audience, can we, the audience, take the threat seriously? Here’s Smith’s “humananity” as we are getting to know his character in ‘I,Robot’:
“We wouldn’t want some guy getting old on the floor”
Characterwise, the ‘guy’ is supposed to be his friend. He is investigating the murder of that friend. If he talks about his dead friend like that, in a one liner, how can the audience take him seriously? Yes, he’s using it as a put-down of “the system”, but in refrence to his friend, that’s cold. One-liners/zingers have a time and place, but only in some action-comedies.
Imagine, if you will, 1997’s “Alien Ressurection”. Aside from the baby albino alien, which was dumb, the one-liners hurt the film. The jokes and the punchlines. Nothing like this happened in the previous Alien pictures. Sure, it could be a case of “IQ’s dropping sharply while Ripley is away”, but think about this. Cut out all the one-liners and the ape act from Pealman’s character. Result: good scenes not undrmined by the jokes. Best scene in Alien Res was when Ripley fries the clone room. Killed when “it must be a chick thing”. Take that zinger out, the impact remains.
In “I,Robot” it happens again. When I say “it” I mean good or great scenes ruined by one-liners, mostly supplied by Will Smith. In “Independence Day” it sort of worked because the jokes were not nods to the audience. “Men In Black” worked because it was intended as a sci-fi comedy. It does not work in “Robot” because it isn’t supposed to be a comedy. You have to take the threat of the robot takeover seriously for “it” to have any effect.
Smith’s character was ‘human’ enough without the zingers; if he played it straight, it would have been a better film. When an ACTOR throws in zingers in innappropiate places in the movie, they come out of character, as Smith did in ‘Robot’. When this occurs, we are reminded that the film has special effects in it. The effects don’t ‘wow’ us. It is an invitation to laugh at the effects, and to treat the film as nothing more than eye candy to be fogotten about five minutes after the credits roll.
Smith has improved his acting skills over the last decade. He as has progressed from daytime sitcom drivel to be a very entertaining big screen actor.
sure, some of his skills need a little work, but i am finding his films more and more enjoyable.
i thought he was very good in i Robot. considering that the entire movie was special effects, smith added in an ironic human/robotic touch.
As for superhero movies. love them all. However their freshness has been reduced and they will have to become better and better to satisfy the generic movie goer.
Please make Hollywood stop with the “realistic superhero” movies.
They’re never funny, nor are they exciting, etc.
The joke of the superhero with real life problems is completely played out at this point.
Hollywood needs to go back to some fresh ideas, like an uptight white cop teaming up with loose cannon black cop to solve a murder.
Actually I’d rather see 100 more of those than 1 more “hilarious” superhero parody.
Enough already Hollywood, please let this idea go.
If he makes bad jokes like “I Robot” whiich undermines the thrills…let him just make a “Men In Black 3”. Okay?
Better yet, why doesn’t H’wood hunt down the short story “Night Calls The Green Falcon” by Robert R McCammon (Swan Song)? It’s about a old, down on his luck actor who made ‘Blackhawk” type serials, and after the murder goes unsolved, he flips out, and dons his old costume. As he fights crime and looks for the bad guys, the suit slowly starts making him younger…at least in his mind.
I think someone should cast Smith in a role where he can portray a cocky,wiseguy,slick,ladies-man-type…maybe they can pair him up with a nerdy, bumbling, chubby white guy to be his comic foil…..he has so much un-tapped dramatic range and yet it continues to go unexplored….shame really
This was originally going to be directed by Michael Mann and at the time I was thinking it sounded like something along the lines of Unbreakable. Now that Mostow and Will Smith are involved I’m not too interested anymore.
I can not stand Will Smith in action/adventure/scifi movies. He is just too goofy, and not likeable as a hero, its like having Jim Carrey playing in I Robots. Smith should stick to his roots with is comedy.