The Return of the Intelligent Blockbuster

Every summer the Cinema going public are bombarded with an array of fast paced, explosion riddled, adrenaline punching entertainment. Popular entertainment dominates the Summer season. While the majority of summer fare can be dismissed as disappointing, lacklustre and lacking moral fibre, recently there have been exceptions to this rule. Over the past few years, there has been a shift in the kind of popular entertainment we have seen; from Dark Knights and Iron Men, through to commentaries on Social Networking and mind altering dreamscapes, it seems Blockbuster Cinema may be turning a corner. Audiences are finally getting the films they deserve, with Rise of the Planet Of The Apes, Prometheus and Inception all balancing impressive set pieces, and engaging characters. They're popcorn entertainment but aren't afraid to bust out intellectual ideas on evolution, religion and reality.

This isn't new, a revival comes every few years when audiences are tired of loud, dumb, clichéd entertainment that is only targeted toward the 14-18 market. So when a Blockbuster like Inception came along, and proved that a tent-pole film doesn't have to be void of charm and character, it was a breath of fresh air and audiences lapped it up. Here you had a director, treating the audience with respect, a plot you had to pay attention to and a pay off which people are still talking about two years later. With Inception scoring big at the box office, it was evident that audiences were hungry for something other than explosions and exposition. It seemed that studios took notice, and soon a slew of intelligent big budget films hit our screens. So from Source Code to The Adjustment Bureau via Super 8, the past few years have been great for fans of intelligent, genre cinema.

This past summer has been no exception with The Hunger Games scoring big with adults and teenagers, Chris Nolan's conclusion to his epic Dark Knight Trilogy The Dark Knight Rises, and Ridley Scott's Prometheus, all have juggled big themes of identity, anarchism, sacrifice, science and religion with an epic scope and crowd pleasing, awe-inspiring set pieces.

Some of this emphasis on high brow art is connected with the current slate of Science Fiction, Remakes and Comic Book adaptations we've seen over the past few years. Audiences may crave something new, but they also want something recognisable too. Hence why certain comic book films have deeper subtexts than just wannabe heroes dressing up in Lycra jump suits. Take for example The Dark Knight Rises, in which part of the film explores the problems lower class citizens face in times of recession. When was the last time a Blockbuster took the time to address this sort of issue? Also see Rise of the Apes discussion of our cruelty in animal testing, an allegory that is disguised in a slice of popcorn entertainment. Its moments like this that remind me that Popular Cinema still has the ability to discuss important topics.

With a roster of upcoming films that includes Looper, Cloud Atlas, Catching Fire and After Earth, it seems like there is no lack of high brow entertainment heading our way. And why not, we sat through four years of Michael Bay's Transformers series, I think we deserve a bit brains in our blockbusters don't you?

The Dark Tower Debacle

The Dark Tower. Stephen King's epic fantasy/western series. Meshed somewhere between The Lord of the Rings, and Sergio Leone's The Good, The Bad and The Ugly it tells the tale of Roland Deschain; the last Gunslinger of Gilead and his epic quest toward the Dark Tower. Based on a series of seven books, a potential film/television series has been planned for a number of years, and has been stuck in development hell for some time. Originally planned as a television series by J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof, the duo ditched the project due to the mammoth task in adapting it. Now Warner Brothers have passed on the project, this time with Oscar winning director Ron Howard at the helm. Warner Brothers deemed the project too expensive and ambitious. The plan involves releasing the first film The Gunslinger, with a television series running alongside the behemoth Blockbusters. You have to give it to Ron Howard and Akiva Goldsman, they sure have ambitious plans for Roland and his Ka-tet. But why this new hurdle? Wouldn't it be easy to get a beloved fantasy series, by a popular author green lit? Especially in this post LOTR and Harry Potter cinematic climate?

Well the simple answer – no. The truth is The Dark Tower isn't a well known fantasy series, unlike Harry Potter or The Lord of the Rings. Unlike those two popular books, TDT has a niche audience. Those two popular fantasy series, both book and films appeal to adults and children, yet there is nothing family friendly about The Dark Tower. With the level of brutal violence scattered throughout the series, the films rating would have to be 15 or an 18, its proven that films of that calibre usually flop. Studio's would not finance a franchise that no one has heard of.

To add insult to injury, how do you market a Spaghetti Western, Horror, Fantasy film? If the marketing is muddled or confusing, you could end up with a John Carter size flop.

While it would be great to see Roland and his Ka-tet depicted on the big screen, it makes sense to adapt The Dark Tower for television. If Game of Thrones has proven one thing, its that modern television can match the big budget blockbusters of the Cinema. Set up at HBO, the home of bold television TDT has room to blossom. Given the networks liberal views on depicting violence, the creators wouldn't have to shy away from the books more vicious scenes. Spread over two or three seasons, you could stick to the source materiel while eliminating some of the unpopular aspects of the series, i.e. Stephen King writing himself into the saga. Furthermore multi genre entertainment works better on the small screen; Firefly and True Blood are great examples of strange, niche television with a devout cult following. To help introduce audiences to this strange world, a limited run of comics could help establish Mid-World, and some of the continuity in King's overall work. Creating an awareness of this world, would bring the unknown audience into world of the Dark Tower. Although it may be a long way off I still have hope, that one day we will see a great Dark Tower adaptation, and until then we still the books over.