![lethal-weapon-1[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/sdhUYgT.jpg "lethal-weapon-1[1].jpg")
blockbuster action-adventure flicks used to have technical ambition and obvious connections to cinema
when did this change? this is something that fascinates me
Reaganomics mixed with 9/11 and the rise of the internet
>>64181635
I've wondered this myself. Like, Die Hard and Lethal Weapon for instance, have all around good performances, writing, story etc. But take a Fast 7 or any other action spectacle of today and it's literally only about stunts and the characters are either interchangeable badasses or comic relief
Can't say when exactly, but I think around 1998 Blockbusters started becoming their own type of movie, rather than a blockbuster being the result of a very good or ambitious film.
>>64181635
>when did this change?
With the advent of test panels and test screenings.
>>64181737
No, I just realized it. Titanic changed everything. As soon as Titanic came out, everyone was racing to make the next "Titanic." Thus, the Blockbuster formula began to be created.
>>64181697
what do you mean?
>>64181635
hong kong are still carrying the 1980's action movies torch.
>>64182426
its not about 80s action movies its just alarming that modern mainstream movies have basically no merit to anyone interested in film
>>64181737
>>64181927
Goes further back, actually, with Star Wars. William Friedkin (director of The Exorcist, French Connection, etc.) has a pretty good essay on it.
>>64182751
what's the essay called?
>>64181635
Everyone post action movies that know about cinema:
I'll start with pic related
>>64181635
I seem to recall Independence Day being called a harbinger of the end of halfway decent action films.
>>64182850
It's called Let's All Put On Our Nostalgia Goggles And Bitch About Today
>>64182966
Did you hear this from inside your daddy's nutsack, millenial?
Blockbuster movies as a whole have been getting dumber over the years because audiences don't really care anything of story or technique. They just want jokes, sexy ladies, and lots of explosions.
Michael Bay himself says that he makes movies for teenage boys and that's really all there is to it.
There are still quality action movies being made though just like there is other movies, but the blockbuster formula has come to mean that all unnecessary elements of whatever genre the movie is have been stripped away to pander to the lowest common denominator because that's what makes the most money now.
>>64182850
Can't remember. Just search his name and Star Wars and dig around. There's a lot of articles on it, too.
>>64183040
Why do you think that this is imaginary? I've gone to the theaters to see a good number of action movies from today and I've gone to the theaters to see a good number of old action movies and it's clear that today the blockbusters are pandering pieces of shit with absolutely no technical ambition
>>64181737
blockbuster is a genre now
Which lethal weapons are films and which are flicks?
>>64182914
Any technical ambition or artistic integrity is buried under marketing-driven lowest common denominator pandering.
>>64183261
You're using "blockbuster" and "action movie" interchangeably for some reason. Good ones still get made, look at Mad Max this year. Jesus, not everything is transformers and no Lethal Weapon 4 or whatever had nothing in common with Kurasawa either.
>>64182914
>>64182914
Most modern Fincher movies
PIC FUCKING RELATED PLUS ALL MAMET MOVIES MAMET NEEDS TO BE /tv/CORE
Die Hard 1 and 3
Walter Hill movies
Syrianna
>>64182914
>>64183718
>>64181635
Lethal Weapon was a run of the mill cop buddy action flick. The desert scene and lawn fight were pretty shitty.
>>64183821
no i get that it's not a groundbreaking movie by any means but at least there is some effort to incorporate creative camerawork, at least it follows a script which provided some sort of interest to creating a film worthy of long-term recognition rather than being a throwaway spectacle
>>64183778
why doesn't anyone talk about Spartan? probably one of the smartest and most interesting thrillers of the current millennium
Action movies changed forever with the rise of CGI. The Matrix sealed the coffin on real action movies. Its all shit now.
>>64184190
>why doesn't anyone talk about Spartan?
Well, let's start here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfjExcQu_HA
>>64184190
How could you watch that more than once? Boring as shit the second time around. No rewatch value = as dead as gen y's brains.
>>64181635
When children became the prime focus group.
>>64184287
%-)
>>64184240
>the matrix was bad
love this meme 2bh
Obviously as the 90s were ending so were action movies with those things in mind, you already know when it was stopping not sure what the point of this thread was, maybe if you had asked why instead of when
>>64184343
>%-)
back to Reddit with you
>>64184375
sorry if my question was vague, i am more interested in the intersecion between why and when. seems that as technology got better our standard got lower and that fascinates e
>>64184421
>he didn't see the sign
You're no Derek Luke.
>>64184547
No, no, I caught the sign but I just thought some randomness would help force the meme.
>>64184610
:%)
>>64181635
>when did this change
11.9.2001
After that, ideology took over. Suddenly, villains couldn't be just robbers, kidnappers or secular dictators. They had to have some ideology behind them, they had to be fanatics. Interestingly, even response to the post-2001 measures follows this trend with villains justifying tyranny via safety.
The lack of diversity when it comes to movies is a result of the 2008 crisis. After that, everyone started playing it safe by spewing out sequels, remakes and rehashes and the overall philosophy was to maximize sales. Cue PG-13 focus because those were the money makers everyone could go see and "hitting all demographics checkboxes" approach.
>>64184190
It's not good enough to jizz over and not bad enough to shipost about, so it goes in the
>this was good
>yes i agree
>same, i liked it
>me too
pile.
>lethal weapon 84%
>mad max fury road 97%
>star wars the force awakens 94%
>avengers 92%
Sorry OP looks like action movies now are better than in your times, gramps :^)
>>64183294
1 = film
2-the rest = comfy af fun flicks
