Action movies are supposed to be implausible.
The action is meant to be superhuman — more violent, more outrageous, more daring and impossible than the last. They are not, then, in my opinion, necessarily good stories.
They can be entertaining — with explosions, scene cuts and new sights — but I don’t look for an action movie to tell a compelling story.
Recently, I saw Unstoppable, the new Denzel Washington movie. The promotion around the movie certainly had an action element to it, but the trailer and Washington’s past roles triggered to me a belief there might be something a bit more provocative to the movie.
There wasn’t. I didn’t particularly like the film, though I suppose I didn’t hate it, but it did make me think about what makes good writing and, really, helps make good journalism and what Unstoppable didn’t have elements of either.
Continue reading Telling stories with authenticity and complexity: or why Unstoppable sucked
