Issue #110: Button-pushing and other forms of hashish

January 11, 2022 truereview 0

When it comes to our steady diet of released-to-theater and now streaming, or both, it’s going to be a Marvel of a movie.

When it comes to anything resembling science fiction, the Marvel universe is firmly in charge in Hollywood. And apparently no character ever dies in that universe.

Amazing, too, as film studios continue to try to rehash as much of that cinematic universe as popular. Recycling milieus and matriarchs is the common way to go.

But I am rehash-exhausted. I don’t want to see lots of fantastical special effects. Special effects aren’t movies. How many chase scenes, explosions, battles and epic confrontations can you take before you realize this is simply cheap and lazy storytelling?

A long time ago, at a Philadelphia Science Fiction Convention (Philcon) in the late 1980s, Robert Silverberg was guest of honor. He spoke about fans’ unhealthy diet of the same swords and sorcery, evil rings, debased kingdoms and all sorts of fairytale foolishness. He was berating fans for their lack of taste, preferring instead to watch as authors hook readers by “pushing their buttons.”

So this steady rehash of the latest Bond, the latest Wonder Woman, the current Black Widow, another go-round of Iron Man, another take on Spiderman and having yet another Batman movie is an example of how it all has become “pushing buttons.”

Why, oh, why? Think of all the great SF you read that hasn’t been made into film. I like to recall how much of a Dan Simmons fan I am and how his fantastic novels would make even more superb movies.

Let’s stop rehashing the latest Marvel or DC character. Let’s put away our Wonder Woman dolls. Let’s stop the recycling of worn items (do we really need another DUNE movie?). Let’s start with something fresh. Heaven knows we could use it.