Escape to the Movies: Lucy - It's Almost a Black Widow Movie

[Drake Barrow]

I haven't seen The Rock 100% state Captain Marvel/Shazam, so I'm curious as to whether or not he'll be playing the Big Red Cheese or if he'll be starring as Black Adam. He certainly looks the part. Buzz cut, dusky skin, large enough to have his own senators and get federal funding, all the essentials.

I'll be satisfied either way, at least in theory. It's not the choice of actor here that bothers me, it's that D.C. has been in full-on panic mode since the Marvel Cinematic Universe took off and can't seem to avoid tripping over its own feet.

 

[Machine Man 1992]

It sounds like I'll hate the main character for being a god mode sue from the get to, also, I'm pretty sure that everywhere in the world that's not america people know science is true (a depressing sentence to write), so it's not progressive.

Yes, I'm sure the backwards farmers in India and China ( the most populated countries in the world) know all about neuroscience and can just look it up on the internet that doesn't exist out in their rural country villages.

It's not that the US is any more or less ignorant than the rest of the world. It's just that our dumb people are really, really loud. And have internet connections.

 

[Machine Man 1992]

Perhaps the day we can treat the 10% thing as retro super science is also the day when it also the butt of a joke in several sci-fi or superhero pastiches.

Like the "radiation gives you super powers" and "Air on Mars" retro science?

 

[Vault101]

I think il give this one a pass

Mainly because I'm not interested in an emotionless god type character, especially if she stared out sympathetic

 

[Arakasi]

The primary difference between the pseudoscience of sci-fi generally and the 10% brain thing is the following. When sci-fi movies tend to use technology as a means to the end, they tend to explain it in terms of future realms of possibility, they rarely try to justify it on current science, and when they do they tend to do better than say 'breathing space air'. The 10% of your brain thing, however, has not only been the justification behind so much stupidity (ironically) but is a phrase that has been debunked over and over, and a sci-fi movie is using it as its central premise. If the chemicals or whatever simply 'enhanced her brainpower' that would be absolutely fine, but that it uses this tired and frustrating trope, people find it jarring.

Although, it does sound like my kind of movie. Even if I won't necessarily agree to the 'knowledge = greater empathy' thing. I'm more of a Dr Manhattan fan.

 

[faefrost]

are you joking? The Rock would be PERFECT as Shazam. He has the muscle bound super hero look down but can also bring a naive child like wonder to the part. The only other actor that could do it would be Chris Pratt

as for Black Widow... ehhh her own movie wouldn't be that interesting, I mean she's an assasin ok neat. I would rather have Ms Marvel as the first Marvel Female Superhero to get her own movie.

The only thing that works against the Rock as Shazam, is that he would be soooo much more perfect as Shazam's main nemesis. The equal and opposite Black Adam. Who really is a much more nuanced and fun character to play. But I could live with the Rock as either.

 

[Gordon_4_v1legacy]

I've got a pretty limited understanding of neuroscience myself, but would the movie perhaps have garnered less ire had the drug instead basically overclocked her cognitive functions with the same result but with the caveat that her brain and/or body are basically going to burn out?


Hell I think there was an episode of Babylon 5 that did this.

 

[BanicRhys]

That's a real shame, this film sounds right up my alley, but unfortunately I can't stand Scarlet Johnhammerstien.

 

[Netrigan]

So in response to why people are dumping on this one for the 10% thing, I'll tell you why I was immediately turned off by it.

In a staggeringly awful summer movie season where I want to see precious little and have been disappointed by everything I did want to see, having the first thing a movie trailer tell me is "YOU ARE SMARTER THAN THIS MOVIE!!!" was an instant turn-off. My eyes were rolling when I should have been watching the pretty high-light reel that was the trailer, but they led with stupid.

And assuming MovieBob's review is on mark, they could have easily worded things a bit differently to avoid one of the most widely known bits of scientific misinformation.

 

[Slegiar Dryke]

I am very displeased with all the people in this topic failing to grasp the importance of suspension of disbelief in fiction.

Amen to that XP you go to movies to turn your brain off for an hour or several, splurge on popcorn, and watch an interesting or weird or neat or whatever story.........my case, unless I trip and go into a documentary movie, I'm not going to see "true facts".........I go for the disconnect XD

OT: definitly going to see this when I can. looked neat before, and still looks neat, with the added bonus of having a favorable review =)plus I liked Maleficent.