So the question now is: can anyone make a good and successful D&D movie?
Man, probably. But if movie execs knew how to do those things at the drop of a hat, they'd just do that all the time. There's just no telling how one gets to that ideal end state. But it's not impossible. The mere idea that a D&D flick born out of multimedia strategy MUST be bad is a supposition without much evidence. The LEGO Movie was born out of that, and it's hilarious. Transformers was no Scorsese, but it delivered giant fighting robots and enough male gaze of Megan Fox for folks who just wanted that for two hours.
Good reason to be skeptical, absolutely, but no real evidence that "bad movie that fails" is a foregone conclusion based on the D&D brand alone.
Well, I agree with all
that. I think "bad movie that fails" is a foregone conclusion is WB/Solomon retain the rights, though.
Originally what I was trying to say is that I didn't think it'd get made, though, not so much that it'd suck. I still have some doubts there, though Universal trying to get the rights is interesting. Still, we're likely looking at 3+ years before anything actually gets near a cinema, even if they get the rights today.
If only this were true.
Of
IMDB’s top 10 box office success stories of 2013, I'd say half the list or more are average or worse.
Wow, I wouldn't, and sorry, to be clear, by "Good", I mean "Like, basically okay", rather than "A movie I will be keen to watch twenty years from now". Lots of movies fail to be even basically okay. Let's go with this list:
Iron Man 3 - Watchable, decent movie. Not amazing. Decent though.
Despicable Me 2 - Kid's movie, no comment. Presumably good at being a kid's movie.
Hunger Games 2 - Best "2" since the '90s. Huge improvement on the original, really cool movie.
Gravity - Well, some people liked it. Not terrible.
The Heat - Aha, our first "actually bad" movie. Only did well in the US, as rubbish comedies so often do.
We're the Millers - I heard it was good/pretty okay, was it terrible?
The Conjuring - Supposedly extremely effective horror movie, seems above-average (apparently also not as reactionary at it at first glance appears).
Now You See Me - Seemed to be pretty okay.
The Butler - High-grade acting, not a classic, but solid if sentimental.
Instructions Not Included - No idea!
Transformers was spectacular because it was offensively bad - not smile-on-the-lips cheesy like National Treasure, but, just horrible, and badly shot, and the action scenes are bad and undramatic and bad performances, not the slightest thing to say, and so on, but it still made megabucks (same for the sequels). That's special.
Re: Avatar, I agree. Whilst a bit obvious (understatement) and in very dodgy "noble savage" territory, it was a good, fun, well-made movie and few of the action scenes or performances sucked.
