James Wan is basically Zack Snyder...
May 16, 2019 23:17:48 GMT
President Ackbar™, miike80, and 1 more like this
Post by Deleted on May 16, 2019 23:17:48 GMT
I was watching AQUAMAN again last night and I started thinking that if I didn't know who directed it, my first guess would've been Zack Snyder. Yes, it's much lighter and doesn't take itself as seriously, but that's really the only difference.
First, both directors are obsessed with big grand artificial FX driven camera work and imagery that, on the one hand, are somewhat admiral for being ambitious, but ultimately are just fake looking and stupid.
Both directors cannot tell the difference between "cool" things and good story/character. And because of this, they both have the creative sensibilities of an eighth grader.
Finally, they rarely get good performances from their actors. And even good actors come across as stilted and over the top.
Now, of course a lot of this is the Aquaman script. But Wan takes even decent stuff and makes it worse. Take Black Manta- he's paper thin, yes. But on paper, his role in the story is perfectly satisfactory. He's a secondary villain, being set up for the sequel. So why do I hate him? Because James Wan's idea of a menacing villain is a guy that mean mugs the camera like an emo teen or some obnoxious rapper trying to look like a gangster. And it takes what should be a memorable villain and makes him cringeworthy. I don't expect a lot of subtlety in an Aquaman movie, but those mean mug shots are just laughable. Did Wan just yell at the actor: "LOOK MEAN! No... Meaner! MEANER!!!!@!! Really really MEAN! That's it! Now do it again every scene!"
Its funny to me how people say Wan elevated a mediocre script. I say he took a mediocre script and made it worse. I give him credit for some of the better elements and visuals, but I find him to be just another Snyder.
First, both directors are obsessed with big grand artificial FX driven camera work and imagery that, on the one hand, are somewhat admiral for being ambitious, but ultimately are just fake looking and stupid.
Both directors cannot tell the difference between "cool" things and good story/character. And because of this, they both have the creative sensibilities of an eighth grader.
Finally, they rarely get good performances from their actors. And even good actors come across as stilted and over the top.
Now, of course a lot of this is the Aquaman script. But Wan takes even decent stuff and makes it worse. Take Black Manta- he's paper thin, yes. But on paper, his role in the story is perfectly satisfactory. He's a secondary villain, being set up for the sequel. So why do I hate him? Because James Wan's idea of a menacing villain is a guy that mean mugs the camera like an emo teen or some obnoxious rapper trying to look like a gangster. And it takes what should be a memorable villain and makes him cringeworthy. I don't expect a lot of subtlety in an Aquaman movie, but those mean mug shots are just laughable. Did Wan just yell at the actor: "LOOK MEAN! No... Meaner! MEANER!!!!@!! Really really MEAN! That's it! Now do it again every scene!"
Its funny to me how people say Wan elevated a mediocre script. I say he took a mediocre script and made it worse. I give him credit for some of the better elements and visuals, but I find him to be just another Snyder.
