Saturday, July 16, 2005

Off to the Movies!

Alert! Movie spoilers lie ahead.


Last night the whole family packed into the minivan and went to a local drive-in. It's a step back through time, where kids in PJs snuggle up with their parents to watch a fine moral film about four superheroes that kick the bejeesus out of a supervillain. I actually thought The Fantastic Four was well done, except for the machine that could turn off their powers. If Reed could make it once, why not redo it with more power so Ben could transform back and forth whenever needed? Part of the classic tragedy of the Thing is that he has no way to turn back to normal, which is somewhat lost with this plotline.

The second movie of the night was Mr. and Mrs. Smith. This was much less believable. A married couple cannot flip back and forth from trying to kill each other to saving each other, with very little emotional cost. And the idea that (MAJOR SPOILERS HERE)


the two assassination companies had set up the Tank hit in a Byzantine way to get rid of two employees who were too close is ludicrous. If they wanted to get rid of John and Jane, each company could plant a bomb in their respective office, or pay one of the other employees to shoot them, or send a whole squadron after the house, which is what they ended up doing anyway after the targets were on alert. And if these companies are so big and powerful, the ending should not have been the ending. The Smiths should still be running, not having another session with the same marriage counselor.

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