The Scene staff
I’ve been an avid moviegoer my entire life, starting with “Shrek” in 2001, when I was a little boy, and continuing through last week, when I watched “Bad Boys 3.”
So when I say that there’s been a sharp decline in film quality, I have 18 years of experience to use as evidence.
Gone are the days when passionate filmmakers set out to tell stories that they loved and felt could make the world a better place. Gone are the days of visionaries such as Steven Spielberg, Alfred Hitchcock, George Lucas and John Carpenter.
Now we are stuck with corporate puppets such as Zack Snyder, Michael Bay and J.J. Abrams, who are more like executives than filmmakers. To them, it’s not about the stories. It’s not about how movies will affect audiences. It’s not about breaking social norms or giving you something that you can’t get anywhere else besides a movie theater.
It’s all about the money.
Because of the trash these people are forcing down our throats, it feels like it’s just a business venture. It’s just another way to make a quick buck.
Not to say that the great filmmakers didn’t do it for the money. George Lucas seemingly traded his perfect “Star Wars” trilogy for another paycheck with a collection of God-awful prequels that basically ruined the franchise for years until 2012, when Disney bought it back.
Making movies for money is not a new or bad thing. But releasing garbage that should have never left pre-production is a bad thing. Not only are you mucking theaters with your laziness, you’re killing the film industry.
Fewer and fewer people are going to the movies these days, and it’s easy to see why. When movies like “Charlies Angels” and “Birds of Prey” exist entirely to lecture on “toxic masculinity” or “social justice,” it divides audiences.
Actor Ewan McGregor spent the entire press tour for “Birds of Prey” apologizing for male sexism and “mansplaining.” Unsurprisingly, this led many people to make fun of him and the movie.
The film was considered average at best, and it flopped horribly. Memes spread online, mocking the low attendance in theaters, which didn’t help much in salvaging its long-term viability.
“Birds of Prey” flopped so badly, in fact, that Warner Bros. studios, in a panicked, desperate attempt to get people to theaters, actually changed the name to “Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey” after it had been released. Executives were hoping that a recognizable name in the title would draw in more people. How embarrassing!
Then, adding insult to injury, “Sonic the Hedgehog” debuted a week later and easily kicked “Birds of Pray” out of its No. 1 position.
Yes, you heard that right. A video-game movie about a blue hedgehog beat a DC Universe feature film starring Oscar-nominated star Margot Robbie and Golden Globe-winner Ewan McGregor.
It almost makes you feel bad for the studio. Almost.
I didn’t see “Birds of Prey, as I swore off all DC Universe movies after the disaster that was “Justice League,” and now I don’t feel left out because everybody else skipped it, too.
Many people blame the film’s advertising campaign for its failure, especially McGregor’s comments on how the film would lecture males, even though it contains little to no social-justice commentary.
People go to the movies to have fun, not to be insulted or lectured. And when the only other options in theaters are superhero movies, reboots and remakes, I don’t blame them for saying, “No, thanks.” Why subject yourself to that when you can watch classics in the comfort of your own home?
Simply put, the decline in quality is killing film. The greed of 21st century businessmen will lead to the death of it. And nobody wants that, especially not the businessmen.
After flops such as “Solo,” “Charlie’s Angels,” “Dark Phoenix” and “Birds of Prey” (sorry, I mean “Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey”), the message of, “We don’t like bad movies” is getting louder and louder. Hopefully, the men and women who run the industry will hear it.
I think people are simply done with this lack of quality, and the critics and ticket sales agree.