The Big Picture: The New Originals

[Redd the Sock]

Bob, the only off putting thing I've had with Pacific Rim was your overselling it. It's past the point of tedious.

Though as others have said, slapping a new title on an old set of tropes does not originality make. I've been into anime long enough to see even the deconstructions become dated so to me it remains to be seen if I'm getting the biggest budget power rangers fight ever using G-Gundam tech, or if I'm going to want to go home to watch Godannar again.

 

[Darth_Payn]

I planned on seeing Pacific Rim no matter what Bob said. So wait, I thought Bob thought Man of Steel was merely OK overall? Then again, That Lone Ranger screenshot reminded me of his Pirates of the Caribbean 4 review, and I saw it anyway, and liked it.

 

[Drauger]

I'm not paying to see this movie, I don't know if the movie is good or bad, but just watching the trailers makes me scream "EVANGELION RIP OFF!!!!" and well I can't see it , I won't enjoy it.

It bothers me A LOT that movie bob is calling this thing a new ip, something "fresh" I mean, probably for hollywood movies is "kind of new" but come on .... it is ripping Evangelion even in the poster

And as I saw the trailer it keeps ripping more and more, sorry I just ugh .... it's not original ok?

Then the fact that del toro is directing it makes it even worse, the only movie in wich I have fallen sleep in a cinema is hellboy, yeah i know a lot of people liked it, but I just don care for del toro directing.

 

[wearesoneutralthatithurts]

I was looking for a good analogy to convince my girlfriend to see this with me. Evangelion live action with no whiny emo teen lead? Yes please.

Nice to know I wasn't the only one getting this vibe. I was kind of wondering if someone had seen the idea for the (now scrapped?) live action Eva movie and decided to make an expy of it.

yeah. was the first thing i saw-i saw the kanji , i thought "angels" i saw the mecha, though-well, mecha. one looks a bit like eva 01 with this round thing on the head.
the sounds, some scenes looked like evangelionreal action movie.

well, i love eva, i like del toro (pans labyrinth <3)so i might watch this.. the last time i was in cinema was.. hmn i dont know, the alice in wonderland by burton(which sadly sucked)..so 3 years ago..

 

[PedalTank]

... Yes. I wonder if bob (now after watching the film) still feels the same, coz the reviews so far are not to complementary.

Not sure where you got that. Has a 85% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

 

[TwistedEllipses]

I can see this discussion devolving into what constitutes 'original'. Technically nothing is as everything is based on stuff that came before it. It's just the amount of sources and their popularity that change. However, I get what Moviebob is saying and he's really asking for more variation, not suggested these films were pulled from the ether...

 

[synobal]

I can't be the only person who isn't super excited about pacific rim, I might go see it but honestly, other than all the buzz that I've seen on the sites I frequent I haven't so much as clicked on a trailer for. Giant Robots, fighting giant monsters just seems so very very boring to me. Isn't that something that a jillion billion anime, books, and such has already done?

I get what Movie Bob says by original but I just can't get excited for the whole monsters vs giant robots. Maybe it's my inner nerd but the whole monsters vs giant robots seems like a bad idea. I'd just build a giant death ray, put it in orbit and then when ever a monster sticks his head out of his hidey hole I'd blast him. No muss no fuss, no annoying teenage robot pilots.

 

[mlooshka]

Eh... I get you, Bob. I really, really do. But what I hate about this is that I, a member of the British viewing public (which, let's face it, the Hollywood system has a low opinion of already - see the official response to the poor box office of "Epic") should bear the brunt of creative decisions based on my purchase of a £8($12) ticket on opening night (making a movie date for two cost more than a DVD purchase) just because the studios can't get their heads around a system by which nothing other than opening weekend sales count towards future decision making.

When I make the (quite literally, in the philosophical sense) rational choice to just wait to buy the DVD and watch it on my huge bloody flatscreen that I bought from the same parent corporation, I'm somehow the bad guy because I didn't express my support for originality in precisely the one exact way that the studio might, on a good day, listen to.

The whole damn system is wrong (insert Simpsons gif here)

 

[Terminal Blue]

It bothers me A LOT that movie bob is calling this thing a new ip, something "fresh" I mean, probably for hollywood movies is "kind of new" but come on .... it is ripping Evangelion even in the poster

And then, Evangelion is a "rip-off" of earlier mecha anime, not to mention countless Kaiju films.

Except of course it's not, it's a deliberate attack on the overt militarism in certain strains of mecha anime (most notably the various Gundam properties). Hence that weird ending which pissed a lot of people off, it did so on purpose.

See, you can borrow an idea and add your own spin on it. In fact, that's kind of what Hollywood does most of the time.

Are you sure that, rather than identifying a rip-off, you're not just spotting a reference to a cult classic. Maybe, rather than some evil outsider stealing your precious special genres for their own, someone actually set out to make a film which referenced things they like and which you also like, with visual clues which you would notice and pick up on and possibly get some kind of smug enjoyment out of because you noticed something which would go over the head of the "average moviegoer".

Sorry, I just don't get how it disrupts your enjoyment, particularly since its potential success will probably lead to more films of genres you like.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

Ok Bob, I'll give Pacific Rim a chance if I can find the time to go see it.

 

[RJ Dalton]

When I want originality and newness, I read books. When I want painfully flat, badly slapped together, regurgitated bullshit, I beat myself over the head with a stick until it knocks some sense into me and then I go read another book. The times when I go see a movie in theaters are rare occasions and while I did love The Faun's Labyrinth and I consider Del Toro a very talented director, somehow I think I'll pass on this one. At least until it's at the cheaper theaters.

 

[BanicRhys]

Makes a video encouraging the support of originality.
Makes a book worshiping the current poster boy of nostalgia and stagnation in the games industry.

Just saying.

If I do see a film in the coming weeks, I'll be seeing this one.

 

[ShadowHamster]

With you 100% on this one Bob. Besides, what other movie shows a giant robot smashing a giant monster over the head with a battle cruiser?

It's not a movie, but Neon Genesis Evangelion has that.
http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mcop8bWdxl1rhiga3o1_500.jpg

 

[gjkbgt]

Pacific rim. Original. Ha, ha ha. Good one.
Oh wait you were serious, come on Giant robots verses monsters. What was giant shark Vs mega octopus pioneering.
I know it's new IP but so were Oblivion and After Earth. And you didn't tell people to see those.

 

[gorfias]

I've only really loved Del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth so far. I like Hellboy. Hellboy 2 was uneven, though I would like to see a Hellboy 3 to see where it goes from here.

That written, giant, human powered robots fighting giant monsters is Manga stuff. Seen cartoons about it. I'm interested, and Bob's enthusiasm is contagious, but I'm not sold. I do want to know what people think of this before I plunk down my hard earned cash (and more importantly, my time) to see it.

 

[Anchupom]

Del Toro and Edgar Wright are two filmmakers that have yet to make a film I dislike.
I plan on seeing Pacific Rim, I plan on LOVING World's End, and I also still need to see Cloud Atlas.

Oh, and I want to watch Despicable Me 2, but that sort of goes against what he was saying here.

 

[Valkrex]

The video game industry and gamers everywhere need to see this video.

 

[Ftaghn To You Too]

I'm not paying to see this movie, I don't know if the movie is good or bad, but just watching the trailers makes me scream "EVANGELION RIP OFF!!!!" and well I can't see it , I won't enjoy it.

It bothers me A LOT that movie bob is calling this thing a new ip, something "fresh" I mean, probably for hollywood movies is "kind of new" but come on .... it is ripping Evangelion even in the poster

And as I saw the trailer it keeps ripping more and more, sorry I just ugh .... it's not original ok?

Then the fact that del toro is directing it makes it even worse, the only movie in wich I have fallen sleep in a cinema is hellboy, yeah i know a lot of people liked it, but I just don care for del toro directing.

I think people nowadays easily confuse ripping off with paying homage to.

Like that poster, for a movie where the director has outright said that he's paying homage to the Kaiju genre and mecha anime. When an artist puts a theme in a painting similar to another, he isn't ripping off, he's alluding to the original. I think that's exactly what's happening here.

 

[The Material Sheep]

Last week I thought Bob was being kinda smug and I couldn't watch his video twice to try and decipher a little more meaning out of it. This week I really do think Bob is making a good point. It's really unfortunate I can't ACTUALLY go and see this movie, especially this movie. I so want to see Pacific Rim. Alas, I have a crippling fear of watching movies on cinima screens due to the vertigo issues I have with them. Huge sweeping landscape shots, and towering robot monster fights are probably not the best for my vertigo issues. I think I'll do what I did with the Hobbit though, go pay for a few full price tickets and then go home and watch it somewhere online. I know it's still supporting piracy, but at least I'm paying for a ticket as well.

Anyway Bob, I very much agree with you this week. It's good to note, that people don't always have to disagree on everything, and common ground can be found between most people.

:3

 

[Aardvaarkman]

Yet another action movie? Yeah, that sure sounds new, different and creative.