Why do Americans feel the need for stupid, totally unrealistic disaster movies?

Rating: 2/10 (10 February 2008)

Is it politics? Is it psychology? Is it sociology? I have no idea.
This film, at 1 hour and 15 minutes, is far, far too long. My friend who likes 'big' films made me go and see it. The story is about a giant alien thing being terribly frightening and even harmful, sometimes fatally so, to many, many people in New York. No explanation for this unfortunate event is given. The film is filmed on hand-held camera in order to capture the 'gritty realism' of said creature's destructive rampage.
And I feel I must share with the unsuspecting world out there the disgrace that is this awful - terribly awful - film.
The actors are abysmal (in fact, contrary to what I suspect I was meant to feel I actually wanted them all to die within 15 minutes of the start of the film they were so annoying). This is basically a teen flick, monster movie, stealing ideas from reality and fantasy and mixing them together - 9/11 vs Godzilla meets College Frat Party vs Alien.
I may have changed my mind had the acting been better but by God it was pathetic.
Firstly, the point of this film. Why? Why do Americans feel the need for this kind of movie, a film where they are destroyed by a superior external force? Simple, because it's reverse psychology because America has become so powerful it has no fear of anything real, which is why fear manifests itself internally in the psyche, and it's so bloody common and re-occurring, this theme, I suspect it's become pretty close to a whole new cultural archetype for the 21st century. Why, after all, for a country that's got everything, do so many people feel the 'need' for shrinks? Rhetorical question obviously.
So, here we are. Another disaster movie from, guess which country? Yes, America. 10 out of 10, you got it.
I was going to start this sentence saying, it's funny how this is the same country which had 9/11 and still they do this. But it's actually sad. A country so far removed from reality that it makes films inspired by real experiences to try and make them actual again so they can try and try and really try and re-live them in fantasy, 'World Trade Center' for example. Then they release this saying it's a reference to 9/11. Pull the other one. They want danger, they want death. Anything to pluck at what's left of a heart and make them feel alive. A strange sort of death wish.
Yet, in the face of the utter disaster happening on-screen, friends dying and so on, the main kid in this piece of celluloid garbage, after he and his dwindling group have gone 14 miles in tunnels underground and the group all collapses with exhaustion, this boy suddenly heroically states: "you don't need to come, I'll go on alone" (boo hoo). Come on you idiot, you've lost friends, the ones still alive aren't doing too good either and, for goodness sake, they aren't exactly going to turn back now are they? And besides, they'll probably wonder, after all you've been through, why suddenly you've reverted to being your usual insecure self ("what? Really? You want to come WITH me?") mixed with some new-found, Sir Galahad style bravado.....Anyhow, the surviving kids say "No (pant, pant, puff, puff)..we..we....we're comin' with ya". And get this, idiot boy says "ARE YA SURE?". Oh for crying out loud. Does he really need to repeat it? Of COURSE he's bloody sure. NOW is not the time for this sort of nonsense. I despair. I mean, if there's a time not to be paranoid, insecure, or selfishly acting the noble martyr it's now! DEAL with it! Idiot.
Oh and it's all been supposedly shot on hand-held camera. This starts of fairly plausible when being used at a party at the beginning (and for a few more minutes thereafter). But when they get lost in the dark and a fairly powerful torch type light comes on and beams ahead so they can see where they're going I realise this is an expensive piece of equipment these kids have got. And when the infra red, night vision lens came on that really blew me away and told me what we were dealing with here. It starts with B, it ends in T and it has the letters ULLSHI in the middle of it.
And another thing, when your best pal gets her leg blown off and you've all just crash landed in a helicopter and survived, since when do you hobble off and then suddenly realise you better turn back to pick up your camera and keep filming? Ah yes, I know, it's when you're completely detached from reality, that's when. When you can't tell the difference between a film and reality any more.
But OK, aside from that, I need to briefly go back into the whole basis of the film again.
Yup, it's the good ol' American Death Wish.
Let's sum it up: Spent too much time in Disneyland? Well come try the death experience in your own living room - 'grab' a coke while you're at it. Slurp it down and taste that bitter-sweet taste and if you don't do it yourself then hope somebody puts you out your misery.
Or wait until Part 2, maybe that'll help?