5. “Just shut your brain off and enjoy”
The holy grail of reasons for liking stupid movies.
It’s a reason that is usually saved for liking 80s action movies like Predator, Die Hard or First Blood. The argument being that the filmmakers just want you to disengage your brain and accept the madness that follows. The problem with this is that the people behind those 80s action movies were trying to make good movies that entertained audiences – and they succeeded. You could shut your brain off as you watch Predator, but you’d miss out on all of the brilliant touches that John McTiernan employs as a director. There was nothing stopping him or anyone working on that film from half-arsing it, but they didn’t.
Such level of class does not exist in today’s blockbuster.
The problem is, “turn your brain off” has become such a standard phrase in film conversation and “analysis” that it’s now an accepted fact of film. Filmmakers can legitimately say “turn your brain off” and that excuses them for making a terrible movie. But as long as things explode, they’ve done their job correctly.
We shouldn’t have to “turn our brains off” to enjoy a movie. We should expect more from our filmmakers. We deserve more and we deserve better.
Turning your brain off is not a reason to like a movie.
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I guarantee that everyone reading this has heard someone who likes the Transformers movies use one or maybe even all five reasons listed. Maybe you’re reading this and have said them yourself. If that is the case, then you have no right to complain about Hollywood being overrun by sequels, reboots and remakes because you aren’t part of the problem, you are the problem.
What’s concerning really is that the five reasons listed are thought to be genuine by those who use them.
Edge of Tomorrow is a brilliant movie with a well-written script, great performances, beautifully shot action set pieces and characters you care about and it couldn’t pay people to watch the movie. Transformers: Age of Exctintion is a half-baked pile of garbage farted out by the laziest of filmmaking hacks and it makes $300 million without breaking a sweat.
Where’s the justice?
Luke Owen is one of Flickering Myth’s co-editors and the host of the Flickering Myth Podcast. You can follow him on Twitter @LukeWritesStuff.
Originally published July 1, 2014. Updated April 12, 2018.
