*WRITER'S NOTE: On December 28, 2020, a section was added in regards to Steven Spielberg's career in the decade (which was not mentioned in the original draft). It can be read after the section on George Lucas's Star Wars prequels below, and just before James Cameron's journey in bringing Avatar to the screen.
Chapter 4 -- A New Millennium Falcon
To reiterate on the last quarter of the 20th Century, every few years saw a particular film reaching and maintaining the title of "Most Popular Film of All-Time." From Steven Spielberg's Jaws to James Cameron's Titanic (the ocean being a subtle visual motif, oddly enough), these were significant moments in the history of cinema-going that were, in many ways, once-in-a-lifetime experiences.
The irony nowadays, it seems, is that any movie can be popular, for better or worse. And most of them tend to be sequels, reboots and/or remakes, including those in the medium of animation. It should be noted that sequels and franchises were once looked down on as cheap marketing ploys or as useless entertainment compared with more daring and original stories. (Many critics and film buffs would agree, at least when it comes to consensus.)
The growing trend in CGI animation since the mid-Nineties, for one, was largely thanks to Pixar Animation Studios (whose hits included 2003's Finding Nemo and 2004's The Incredibles) and DreamWorks Animation (whose 2001 fairy tale satire Shrek won the inaugural Academy Award for Best Animated Feature), who also had a brief rivalry in the industry. At the same time, the decades-old hand-drawn animation technique briefly faced extinction from the masses--at least on the big screen.
On a more serious note, just as the Sixties and Seventies were deeply affected by Vietnam and Watergate, the turn of the 21st Century was struck by the unexpected and tragic events of September 11th, 2001, in New York City. As such, several filmmakers, including Paul Greengrass, Paul Thomas Anderson, Kathryn Bigelow, Joel and Ethan Coen, and Christopher Nolan, dealt with the provocative effects of living in a post-9/11 world. However, one film genre that provided the most escapism (and, in many ways, optimism) for audiences, more than any other this decade, was fantasy.
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| Early marketing for 2002's Spider-Man |
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| 2003's Pirates of the Caribbean: one of the most daring films in recent years (if a soon-to-be-inevitable franchise) |
Beginning in the fall of 2001, a trilogy of films based on author J.R.R. Tolkien's epic The Lord of the Rings became both critical and commercial successes, especially in February of 2004, when the three-hour-plus third film, The Return of the King, swept the Oscars by winning every one of its nominations, including Best Picture. This was a first in the ceremony's history, as no film labeled "fantasy" had ever won the coveted statue up to that point. It also became the second film sequel in the Academy's history to win that honor (the first being Francis Ford Coppola's 1974 crime saga The Godfather, Part II.)
Another fantasy adventure that premiered around the same time, based on J.K. Rowling's bestselling Harry Potter book series, found equal success, particularly among young audiences who were fascinated with the magic and mysteries of the boy wizard and his friends and enemies at the fictional school of Hogwarts. (Many parents, on the other hand, have bulked at the stories' use of wizardry and witchcraft.)
Disney even expanded its live-action filmmaking with sports dramas like 2000's Remember the Titans and 2004's Miracle. But they hit a new milestone (and an initial panic) in 2003 when they released their first PG-13 feature (a rating normally reserved for films under their more adult-oriented Touchstone label and other subsidiary properties). It was a risky project based on none other than the Disney theme park attraction, Pirates of the Caribbean, and was produced by action veteran Jerry Bruckheimer (known for his previous collaborations with filmmaker Michael Bay) and directed by Gore Verbinski (whose previous credit was the DreamWorks-distributed horror remake of The Ring). The casting of Johnny Depp as the eccentric and unpredictable Jack Sparrow was a radical one, to say the least. But audiences were pleasantly surprised by the action, suspense, romance, and quirkiness that the 2003 megabit, subtitled The Curse of the Black Pearl, assembled. It also made Depp one of the most sought-after actors in the industry, and marked a turning-point in his own career.
Probably the most important cinematic contribution during this decade was a redefinition of superheroes and comic-book characters, following the flamed-out installments of Superman and Batman in the 80s and 90s, respectfully. Director Bryan Singer brought Marvel's X-Men into an edgy screen debut (including then-newcomer Hugh Jackman as the fist-clawed Wolverine), while Sam Raimi brought Marvel's Spider-Man and his mild-mannered alter ego Peter Parker to new and optimistic heights, especially for audiences still recovering from 9/11.
But it was up-and-coming filmmaker Christopher Nolan who really changed the game. Having previously directed three acclaimed mystery-thrillers (1998's Following, 2000's Memento, 2002's Insomnia), he brought new life to the legend of DC Comics' billionaire Bruce Wayne and his Caped Crusader on a quest to rid Gotham City of crime and corruption. 2005's Batman Begins rebooted the franchise remarkably, and even restored dignity and grit to Bob Kane and Bill Finger's 1939 creation. Had it not been for this film, audiences and critics would never have gotten to see further stories in this iteration, including 2008's genre-bending The Dark Knight. This sequel, along with The Return of the King and the 2006 Pirates follow-up Dead Man's Chest, all became billion-dollar hits in their initial theatrical releases, nearly surpassing the success of 1997's Titanic.
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| One part of the Fellowship in The Lord of the Rings |
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| 2008's The Dark Knight |
“I see you.”
James Cameron had taken a near-decade-long sabbatical since winning a slew of Oscars in 1998, spending most of his time on submersible expeditions, including a record-breaking journey to the depths of the Mariana Trench in 2012. Before he had made his film about the infamous sinking ship, he wrote a draft for a story set on a fantastical planet full of unseen alien lifeforms. At the same time, he was fascinated by the idea of avatar-like machines going into places no human being could physically enter--at least without oxygen masks. Hence, the idea of avatar-like bodies. Yet, technology hadn't reached a point where Cameron could do what he had envisioned. So he shelved the project and worked on Titanic and several documentaries on said submersible missions.
Meanwhile, technology was rapidly growing into the new millennium, particularly with Peter Jackson's Weta Digital company and their stunning motion capture work on The Lord of the Rings (actor Andy Serkis, who helped bring the creature Gollum to life, has since become synonymous with such performances), and with Industrial Light & Magic's work on such films as the Pirates series, including 2007's third installment At World's End. (Just look at their eye-popping work on Davy Jones in the first sequel.)
George Lucas also completed his Star Wars prequel trilogy. 2002's Episode II: Attack of the Clones was, like 1999's Episode I: The Phantom Menace, considered a weak entry, primarily due to the wooden and bored romance between Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) and Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman) at the story's center. The movie did, on the other hand, have the presence of Christopher Lee (as the villainous Count Dooku) and a first-time, fully-digital Yoda (who wields a lightsaber for the first time as well). Ditto Samuel L. Jackson's purple lightsaber-wielding Mace Windu and only a few amusing lines.
2005's Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, on the other hand, proved the strongest, most intense, and emotional of the prequels, concluding the story of Anakin's tragic fall in becoming Darth Vader, despite spoiling some elements of the original films if/when viewed chronologically. The same goes for some under-developed dialogue. It was also the first PG-13-rated chapter in the franchise, a daring move at the time.
Lucas retired from directing after the latter (quite a strong way to cap a career, if you ask me), but continued to produced and act as a consultant on various Lucasfilm and ILM productions, including a fourth Indiana Jones adventure (2008's The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull).
With this film, Harrison Ford returned as the famed archaeologist on a mission (this time in the 1950s) to return an ancient artifact to a lost city of gold (sound familiar), even encountering space aliens along the way (hmm). While it received generally good reviews and was one of the top-grossing films of 2008, it's regarded by many fans as a weak entry in retrospect, what with its overreliance on CGI and silly action. Although Karen Allen's return as Marion Ravenwood, Cate Blanchett as a hammy Russian baddy, and Shia LaBeouf as a young street kid were welcome additions. It was also a return to the blockbuster subgenre for director Steven Spielberg, who had been spending most of the decade experimenting with darker, more mature feature films, specifically in science-fiction (A.I.: Artificial Intelligence [2001], Minority Report [2002], War of the Worlds [2005]), as well as historical drama (Band of Brothers [2001], Munich [2005]). A fifth Indy film is currently in the works, with Ford set to reprise his iconic role once again.
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| James Cameron enters new territory with Avatar |
"We're Not in Kansas Anymore!"
Cameron's return to directing, with 2009's Avatar, set a new benchmark in world-building (not just in 3D technology, motion capture, and camera systems) that had never been seen onscreen before. It also counts as a precursor to virtual reality. Actor Sam Worthington described it as "a place more amazing than your eyes can handle."
Inspired by science-fiction since childhood, it's easy to see Cameron's influences (and even references to previous films) throughout: blue color motifs, epic battles, an uncharted planet, giant robots (Aliens, anybody?), and a romantic subplot (we're looking at you, Titanic). Every creature, every tree, every insect, every aircraft on screen is all created from scratch (ditto the native Na'vi language). The floating mountains and one banshee flight are especially jaw-dropping. As Worthington's eponymous Jake Sully says, "You are not going to believe where I am."
As (literally) sensational, effects-driven, photo-realistic, and imaginative as the film is, Cameron is one of the few filmmakers to really use said technology in service to the story, and not just improve said technology for its own sake. Other directors who fall under this category include Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg. Subsequent films that have embraced 3D viscerally include Martin Scorsese's Hugo (2011), Ang Lee's Life of Pi (2012), and, one of my favorites, Alfonso Cauron's Gravity (2013). Even Andy Serkis gave some of the most impressive motion capture done in film with the rebooted Planet of the Apes movies.
It's just that the story in Avatar is predictable and lacks originality, as compelling as Worthington and Zoe Saldana (who plays the fierce Natyri) are. Plus, the film's environmental message and one-dimensional portrayal of corporate adversaries invading indigenous homelands gets heavy-handed, especially in its third act, which features some 9/11-esque imagery (think Dances With Wolves or Pocahantas). Time Magazine's Richard Corliss called this an "enviro-epic," just as Titanic was called an "epic chick-flick".
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| Zoe Saldana in Avatar |
It doesn't help that even American soldiers are portrayed as bad guys; what are we to make of that? And then there are the film's divisive elements of spirituality (i.e., metaphysical bonding and pantheism, where creator and created are indistinguishable). It also seems misguided in its post-Matrix/pre-virtual-reality worldview. As Jake puts it, "Everything is backwards now. Out there is the real world, and in here is the dream.")
What the film does do really well, on the other hand, is universally illustrate man's relationship with nature (as Spielberg did with Jaws and Jurassic Park), with technology (which obviously turns against nature), and with different cultures. And, like Star Wars, E.T., and even Titanic, Avatar evokes a sense of flight (a dream of Jake's fulfilled, especially after losing his ability to walk)--"a fresh start on a new world," as one character describes.
With that in mind, Cameron and several writers have been developing and filming multiple sequels throughout the following decade, pushing new ground every step of the way, as well as an attempt to keep the cinema-going experience in tact. Here's hoping these sequels have more originality and depth to them.
