In a summer of real disasters, ranging from floods to fires, it seems somewhat trivial to point out that even in terms of cinematic box office receipts, the summer of 2017 has also proved to be a disaster – yet such is the case.
Just why people have not been attracted to the movies in the months that have in the past proved to be financially beneficial to the movie studios undoubtedly is in large measure owing to the films that the studios have churned out: redundant sequels that simply revisit old and tired tropes; horror films that trot out tired clichés; and children’s movies that do not appeal to children, let alone the adults who have to accompany them to the theatres – most of them relying on computer generated imaging and deafening sound tracks.
All these seem to reflect an industry no longer interested in either originality or talent. At the same time, streaming companies such as Netflix are developing properties that attract bigger and bigger audiences without putting them to the inconvenience of having to leave home. The movie industry simply has to do more if it is going to retain its role in the cultural life of the community. Two films in current release illustrate this.
THE TRIP TO SPAIN is clearly aiming at an audience that likes its films to be clever and even thought provoking. Unfortunately, anyone hoping it will provide the same entertainment value as the two films to which it is a sequel, THE TRIP and THE TRIP TO ITALY, is likely to be disappointed. While those films were by no means great examples of cinematic art, they did at least have the charm of originality as they followed two actors (playing themselves) on gastronomic tours.
The third in the series again has Rob Brydon and Steve Googan ostensibly reviewing a series of great restaurants while engaging in banter at the table. Both men are superb at doing impressive and comical impressions of famous actors, and they again show their talents in this regard, but the whole thing comes across as forced, jaded and ultimately tedious.
While there are truly comical moments, for example imagining Mick Jagger performing Hamlet or Roger Moore confusing his family with the Moors who invaded Spain, the actors often seem more intent on impressing each other, becoming tiresome in the process.
At the same time, while they visit a number of attractive sites in Spain, the film does few of them justice, and while food they consume seems a complete irrelevancy. While there are a few moments in which serious issues are addressed, most significantly the aging process, there is little in the film to justify anyone spending either time or money to view it.
Even worse is THE HITMAN’S BODYGUARD, a riff on the buddy movie with Ryan Reynolds as an unsuccessful security consultant attempting to take a hitman, played by Samuel L. Jackson, to Amsterdam to testify against a former dictator on trial for crimes against humanity.
The fact that several henchmen are determined to stop him provides the main conflict of the film which, in all other respects, treads all-too-familiar ground. There are multiple car chases, cleverly staged but all too familiar in their unfolding’ an enormous body count accompanied by much gore and violence; a script that relies for on crude and offensive language for about fifty per cent of its dialogue; and everything presented at ear shattering volume.
Such attempts as there are at humour largely fail because of the distasteful and disgusting tone of the picture. It is sad to see actors such as Reynolds and Jackson wasting their talents on such ugly material. And once again the film is guilty of presenting material with which viewers are already familiar, though rarely is it presented in such a tasteless fashion.
Sadly these two film illustrates much of what is making cinema so unattractive. While films are able to do far more technically today, the studios are choosing vehicles that lack the talent marking the great films that made the industry so popular.
It is not enough to rely on tired sequels or special effects. Audiences, whether they are merely looking for diversion or are seeking something stimulating and challenging, need much more than what has become the norm.
One can only hope that the coming of autumn and the lead-up to the Oscars will bring entertainment that is both original and clever. Perhaps the wasting of millions of dollars on the feeble efforts marking the summer of 2017 will serve as a lesson to producers so they will once again try to produce films that are worthy examples of cinematic art.
