Living in a Comic Book World
Feb. 20th, 2007 10:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wendyzskiI went to see Ghost Rider this evening.
It was pretty much what I expected - lots of action and CGI, with some fun moments.
But I was very bothered by a couple of things ....
If you're going to make a movie that takes place in a universe (like that of comic books), that universe still has rules. It is perfectly acceptable to say "the Ghost Rider's steed comes when he calls it", and as long as that always happens and as long as all the rest of the motorcycles/horses/skateboards/whatever still behave normally, then the universe still "makes sense" on some level.
But this film had a couple of points where they set up a rule and then proceeded to either change or ignore it.
For example:
1) "Once a generation a Rider is called". But they then say that the last rider was 150 years ago, when he turned his back and outrode the Devil. And THEN Johhny/GR joins forces with this last rider - but if it's "once a generation", then there shouldn't be able to be more than one, right?
2) "At night, the Rider comes". OK - he changes at night. We get that. There is also a scene where he is trying to gain control over his powers, but that also takes place at night so it's OK. But the big climactic battle takes place after sunrise, and he is able to use his powers if he stays in the shadows. That's not what they said before?!?!?
3) "You're safe here on hallowed ground". Now, much has been made about the fact that the final takes place in a ruined church. As this ruined church is in a town that is held up as the epitome of evil throughout the film, I am certainly willing to assume that this particular church was long since deconsecrated. But there is an earlier scene that takes place in a chirch that is obviously still in use, where BadGuy kills a priest - who is praying his rosary at the time! Umm - didn't you say that couldn't happen? And that scene isn't even crucial to the plot - there is no real reason why it has to be there except "ooh - lets show him being evil some more"
It's like saying "Superman is vulnerable to Kryptonite" and then show him juggling the stuff! I'm willing to suspend a whole lot of disbelief, but you have to be consistant. I WANT to buy into your film/book/whatever, but you need to help me.
It was pretty much what I expected - lots of action and CGI, with some fun moments.
But I was very bothered by a couple of things ....
If you're going to make a movie that takes place in a universe (like that of comic books), that universe still has rules. It is perfectly acceptable to say "the Ghost Rider's steed comes when he calls it", and as long as that always happens and as long as all the rest of the motorcycles/horses/skateboards/whatever still behave normally, then the universe still "makes sense" on some level.
But this film had a couple of points where they set up a rule and then proceeded to either change or ignore it.
For example:
1) "Once a generation a Rider is called". But they then say that the last rider was 150 years ago, when he turned his back and outrode the Devil. And THEN Johhny/GR joins forces with this last rider - but if it's "once a generation", then there shouldn't be able to be more than one, right?
2) "At night, the Rider comes". OK - he changes at night. We get that. There is also a scene where he is trying to gain control over his powers, but that also takes place at night so it's OK. But the big climactic battle takes place after sunrise, and he is able to use his powers if he stays in the shadows. That's not what they said before?!?!?
3) "You're safe here on hallowed ground". Now, much has been made about the fact that the final takes place in a ruined church. As this ruined church is in a town that is held up as the epitome of evil throughout the film, I am certainly willing to assume that this particular church was long since deconsecrated. But there is an earlier scene that takes place in a chirch that is obviously still in use, where BadGuy kills a priest - who is praying his rosary at the time! Umm - didn't you say that couldn't happen? And that scene isn't even crucial to the plot - there is no real reason why it has to be there except "ooh - lets show him being evil some more"
It's like saying "Superman is vulnerable to Kryptonite" and then show him juggling the stuff! I'm willing to suspend a whole lot of disbelief, but you have to be consistant. I WANT to buy into your film/book/whatever, but you need to help me.
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no subject
Date: 2007-02-21 05:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-21 05:54 am (UTC)Point 2)- I thought this was addressed by the research he did when he learned to call up his power using the elements and the bit of it residing in his soul or whatever. The part in the apartment?
Point 3) I didn't assume that BlackHeart actually killed the priest- wasn't shown on screen. May have harassed him and scared him out of the information? I'm pretty sure that the church at the end of the movie had long since been desecrated.
no subject
Date: 2007-02-21 05:19 pm (UTC)"Gosh, the city is in ruins and there's this weird THREE INCH DEEP MOLTEN TIRE TRACK..but it's cool"
*sigh*
...
I had the same question about Blackheart being in the church. Maybe they were making some highly veiled joke about the church not being hallowed because the catholic priest was buggering some altar boy in the closet or something.
When I asked Will about the "once a generation" thing? He just told me to shut up because as a girl I clearly didn't understand. That means he didn't know either :P