Fox Critic: Giant Monster Tearing Up Manhattan = 9/11 Flashback

Okay, can we pull up our trousers and act like big boys now, please? It’s been over 7 years since 9/11. I’m fairly sure we can all stop shrieking and diving under our desks every time we see a building in New York City taking damage in a movie, especially if said damage is delivered by a giant movie monster.

Last I checked, the World Trade Center has no real-world connection to anything even resembling a hideous oversized beast from beneath the waves, Rosie O’Donnell excluded (she’s from Queens, not R’lyeh). I think the most accurate thing this critic said in his whole review came about halfway in when he said, “But I suppose I’m being too sensitive”.

Seriously. We can handle “Cloverfield”. We understand why it’s set in New York (because who would watch a movie about a giant monster that rose from the sea and tore up Philadelphia or Los Angeles). Part of the charm of a monster movie are the clichés that form the framework around which you can build a decent story. New York City is one of those clichés – the “every-city” that you recognize well enough not to be distracted by it until the filmmaker wants you to be. If it makes you queasy to think of it as New York, then think of it as Gotham City or Metropolis or Capital City. It didn’t have to be the Statue of Liberty in the movie poster. It could have been the Gateway Arch with a bite taken out of it or the Liberty Bell split in half and on its side in the middle of Independence Mall. But New York City is pretty much the generic city of movie lore. So that’s where the big honking monster gets to romp.

We’ve grown up enough to separate fantasy from reality by now. Some of us learned how to do this at an early age by watching Bugs Bunny cartoons. Later, we honed our skills on Bill Clinton’s State of the Union speeches. So, we know what’s real and what’s film magic and we can handle a bit of big building destruction in the Big Apple without flying to pieces. We understand that there are basic conventions in movies that work and we don’t gripe too much when they’re honored. We know that when we leave the theater, Manhattan will not be monster-ravaged and the Statue of Liberty will still have her head on. In short, we know that Big Monster does not equal Islamists Death Cultists.

This critic just needs to take a deep breath, have a nice warm cup of cocoa, and watch a few Jane Austen movies. He’ll be fine after a little “Pride and Prejudice”.

No related posts.

Category: It's Entertainment!