by Matteo » Oct 05, '14, 4:57 am
Biblical epics seldom look appealing to me, and this does not seem like much of an exception. Scott is one of the best technical filmmakers working today (an indisputable assertion on my behalf), but he's seems to make pictures now that are so epic in scope but so thin in heart. He concentrates way too much on the visuals and can barely detect what constitutes compelling screenwriting (case in point: Prometheus). He understands how to craft a large-scale piece, but not really tell it, and that's arguably the most imperative component of filmmaking. Regardless of how much advancements the medium oversees, it's still primarily a form for storytelling. His first three works (The Duelists, Alien, Blade Runner), despite heavily emulating Kubrick's sensibilities and many of the French New Wave films, were incredible, and he honestly had one of the best starts to a career than other filmmaker I can recall. He's continued to make good movies along the way, but none have quite reached the philosophical, visual, and overall artistic scope of his first few features. There is talks he may be developing a sequel to Blade Runner. I don't want to even think about that.