20 years is enough time to record the development of Hollywood sci-fi movies, so from this level, no series can be a better sample to observe the development of Hollywood sci-fi movies over the years than the "Independence Day" series.
What is the core technology of Hollywood sci-fi movies? Obviously - special effects. From this level, compared with "Independence Day" 20 years ago, the current special effects technology has not only improved a little, it can be said that it is not a quantitative accumulation, but a qualitative change. Hollywood has basically eliminated the model technology that once brought it brilliance on the road of special effects, and almost all uses CG special effects.
20 years ago, the special effects artist was still worried about what kind of material to use to make the simulated Empire State Building look better, but now the special effects artist can do it in minutes with the click of a mouse. Hollywood's core technology makes it really possible to "how bold people are and how productive the land is", and technical conditions can no longer constrain imagination and brain holes.
"Independence Day: Comeback" recreates the alien sucker-like spaceship that was once "black cloud over the city" through special effects, and it is larger and more oppressive than in the first part. The spaceships in the first part just cover major cities around the world, while the aliens in the second part try to cover the entire planet.
Although the special effects have made great progress, compared with the shocking feeling of watching "Independence Day", "Independence Day: Comeback" seems to be missing something, which is called epic. Just being bigger and more exciting does not constitute the epic sense of the movie. Although people from all over the world were also reached in "Independence Day: Comeback", the solemnity of the World War is missing. The reason can be attributed to Hollywood 20 The pace of narrative has changed over the years - not the fastest, only faster.
"Fast" - another core technology of Hollywood movies, by comparing the two movies, the most obvious change is the rhythm of the movie. If there are some soothing sensational passages in "Independence Day", of course, all sensationalism for the purpose of box office is blue road robbery.
But in "Independence Day: Comeback", the director has already played a double-edged sword, and has no time to consider whether the audience can understand the feelings of the characters. In the plot, one burden after another, and visual explosion after explosion, the audience is in a Under the deafening and blinding audition offensive, he quietly left the field after chewing the popcorn in an unconscious state, and could no longer recall even a single touching scene in his mind.
"The world's martial arts, only fast is not broken." In 20 years, Hollywood commercial films have finally mastered the core technology to attract audiences, and they have gone further and further on the road of respecting audiences.
Compared with the changes in "special effects" and "rhythm", the plot mode and sci-fi concept of "Independence Day: Comeback" seem to have not changed compared with the previous work. In the years when "Independence Day" was not the big brother, more than one film has expanded science fiction movies in terms of models and concepts. Christopher Nolan, who didn't make sci-fi movies originally, was also ground-breaking when he switched to sci-fi.
Nolan brought psychology into the field of science fiction, and produced the movie "Inception". The multi-layered spatial structure and the interpretation of the psychological structure in the film are naturally not comparable to mainstream Hollywood science fiction films. Even if it is a hard sci-fi theme, "Interstellar" is a model that combines "true science" with sci-fi, and naturally kills a number of low-level sci-fi movies full of loopholes every minute.
There are also some low-cost sci-fi movies that win with "high concept" and the dexterity of the plot. "The Moon" extends its tentacles to the "subjectivity" of human beings. It cannot be said that it is not a philosophical thinking, while "The Night of the Comet" The complex arrangement and combination of the plot structure makes people take a breath after reading it.
On the other hand, "Independence Day: Comeback" is still the way that the villagers of the earth fought against the little monsters 20 years ago. Facing the benchmark and good reputation of the first science fiction movie, it is really regrettable. It is like lamenting aliens in the movie. The earth has been given 20 years, but the earth still does not have enough development. It has encountered a strong enemy. Sooner or later, it will not be finished.
Hollywood movies have always liked to implant their own ideology in commercial movies. This is an open secret. The countries in the movies are divided into two types, namely the United States and other countries. Other countries can be divided into two types, allies and enemies. , the solidified ideology will be adjusted with the development of the world pattern, but it will not fundamentally change.
Early Hollywood sci-fi films were permeated with the genes of the "Cold War". The US space program was all based on the confrontation with the Soviet Union, which just provided the soil for sci-fi films. In the movie, the United States packaged the "enemy" as aliens, and aliens also tended to have a sense of aggression. "Independence Day" was filmed in 1996 and was in the same period as "Forrest Gump". At this time, the United States was disappointed after losing its "Cold War" opponent. The society urgently needed unified values to unite people's hearts. In "Independence Day", the world The setting of all aliens, whether consciously or unconsciously, has the meaning of unifying the hearts of the people.
"Independence Day" naturally establishes the United States as the world leader, which is almost always a similar setting in mainstream Hollywood movies. Taking into account the racial status of the United States in the "Double Hero Mode", it is also necessary to arrange a combination of whites and blacks. This setting has been continued in "Independence Day: Comeback".
One thing that is proven in Independence Day: Comeback is the real rise of China in the world in 20 years. Many people talk about the implantation of Chinese elements in Hollywood movies, which simply boils down to the purpose of winning the box office. In fact, this is not an ideological deviation. In the first part, the United States is still the dominant leader in leading the world to resist aliens, but in "Independence Day: Comeback", many Chinese elements are deliberately inserted. The whole world speaks Chinese, and American pilots only communicate with Mengniu milk. , Jiang Shushu acts as the commander-in-chief of defense, and the whole world is fanning Ab. In the past 20 years, the image of China in Hollywood films has changed abruptly with the increase of China's influence and the exponential growth of the film market, especially in Hollywood films in recent years. Actors are embarrassed to show in China. In "Independence Day: Comeback", although Ab is Chinese, he still joins the air force commanded by the Americans, and he still participates in battles under the leadership of the United States. July 4th in the United States is also the world's Independence Day. Hollywood Acting as the vanguard of American ideological propaganda, trying to integrate the world into the American value system.
This is also the current situation faced by Chinese actors. If they want to appear in the world, it is basically impossible to rely on domestic films. If they want to appear in the world, they must be integrated into their discourse system by Hollywood, whether it is a bottle of soy sauce or half a bottle. It is completely the same business as Zhou Yu playing Huang Gai.
In recent years, Hollywood blockbusters have increasingly shown a trend of low plot and visual explosion. Hollywood producers seem to have found a new way to make money after the star system. The unintentional plot lowers the threshold for the pre-production of the film, and relying on visual effects to make up for the lack of the plot has created the possibility of a streamlined film production. With the rising tide of Hollywood movie dumping, the series of movies has also accelerated the interval between the release of the two movies. "Independence Day: Earth Strikes Back", which contains more Chinese elements, will definitely not make audiences wait another 20 years.
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