Roland Emmerich:He may not be great, but he gets the job done!

Rating: 8/10 (21 December 2004)

Back in 2000, director Roland Emmerich made THE PATRIOT, an terrific film about the Revolutionary War. But that's not the Roland we all know and love. No, the real Roland makes big, grandiose movies where talented but inexpensive actors get to dodge full-scale destruction of recognizable landmarks. Unlike Michael Bay (his primary competitor in this field), Mr. Emmerich doesn't like to fake us out with rapid editing. He wants us to take good long looks at the carnage which he is unleashing. And unlike many cynical, snide young filmmakers of today, he takes his work seriously . there are no knowing, post-modern winks to break the 4th wall, there is no supercilious disdain for the characters gracing his screens. When the actor James Spader was approached for the Emmerich sci-fi opus STARGATE, he initially wanted to turn it down because the script was not very good. Emmerich responded that the adventure of getting such a monumental film onto the screen would by its very nature create all the inherent drama the film would need. Roland was right back then, and that very philosophy continues to serve him right up to THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW. No matter how much of the movie is achieved through digital effects (which better win the Oscar if there's any justice on the planet), there is a sheer sense of awe at the blood sweat and tears that must have gone into creating this behemoth.
Finally, it's fun to see a movie take its liberal message and couch it in such a populist entertainment that it will play in red and blue states with equal success.
I love ya, Roland. The critics may sneer, the aesthetes may jibe, but film in, film out, the people come to see you, and rest assured that I'll be there for your next movie, too.