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elfsI am perplexed by Alissa Wilkonson's critique of the new Dwayne Johnson vehicle, Skyscraper. She writes:
I mean, isn't that just literally the definition of plot? Not the plot of Skyscraper, or any particular movie, or any particular video game; I mean, isn't that literally plot itself?
I mean, here's David Mamet:
Wilkinson's "strategically placed" bit is Chekhov's Gun done well.
People are comparing Skyscraper to Die Hard, and with good reason: they're comparable films about a hero rescuing family from both nasty villains and ongoing infrastructure collapse in a small, well-defined space. But isn't that what we want from these films? Wilkonson's critique could be said about Speed, Air Force One, Cliffhanger, Aliens, Lockout, Olympus has Fallen, White House Down and a zillion other films. I mean, there's a reason these movies exist, and it's not because of video games.
It’s also another example of what I think of as a “video game” movie. It takes the basic form of a simple video game, in which you play as the hero and are presented with an objective and a set of challenges...
Every challenge is overcome, but then the hero is presented with a new twist or challenge. And just like in a game, elements that will help the hero are seeded early on, placed strategically so that you’ll forget they’re there right before the hero needs them.
I mean, isn't that just literally the definition of plot? Not the plot of Skyscraper, or any particular movie, or any particular video game; I mean, isn't that literally plot itself?
I mean, here's David Mamet:
Drama is the quest of the hero to overcome those things which prevent him or her from achieving a specific, acute goal. A scene starts with the hero having a problem; that is why the hero is here, to try to solve the problem. The hero will fail, thwarted and perhaps given a hint about another path to take. Their failure and resolution propels us to the next scene. All of these attempts taken together constitute THE PLOT.
Wilkinson's "strategically placed" bit is Chekhov's Gun done well.
People are comparing Skyscraper to Die Hard, and with good reason: they're comparable films about a hero rescuing family from both nasty villains and ongoing infrastructure collapse in a small, well-defined space. But isn't that what we want from these films? Wilkonson's critique could be said about Speed, Air Force One, Cliffhanger, Aliens, Lockout, Olympus has Fallen, White House Down and a zillion other films. I mean, there's a reason these movies exist, and it's not because of video games.
