Monday Morning Quarterback
By BOP Staff
November 12, 2007
I think the only way any war movie is going to succeed is to follow the same tactic taken by M*A*S*H, which was an anti-Vietnam War movie set in the Korean War. Some enterprising screenwriter out there is going to come up with a great movie about the Vietnam War and the Nixon Presidency that echoes current events in much the same way.
Marty Doskins: The only way I see a movie about this topic do well is if we finally get a good news or heroic event out of the war. I'm thinking along the lines of something like Black Hawk Down. While the whole topic of war is depressing and we know that more and more people are having trouble supporting what is going on in Iraq, if some powerful story comes out of this, that movie may have a chance.
Max Braden: I think intricate attempts to dramatize the complicated issues of the Middle East, as Syriana tried to do, won't penetrate the minds of audiences who would struggle to find Iran on a map. On the other hand, streamlining a story and making it more of White hat vs Black hat won't sit comfortably in their stomachs either - for most people there's very little to feel good about in re: Iraq/Afghanistan, even when celebrating heroism. I do think that Three Kings succeeded well in what it was trying to do, but it too was not a box office winner. The last war movie blockbuster I can think of though was Saving Private Ryan, and that had Spielberg and Hanks and WWII behind it, released a decade ago. Black Hawk Down, three years later, finished just over $100 million.
Kim Hollis: These topics are just too tough and grounded in reality to deal with. It's one thing to go to a WWII movie or even a Vietnam War film, but War on Terror movies just hit too close to home, especially for those who have either served or have family members who have served (or are still overseas). Our country is in a situation where the economy is shaky, our leaders are untrustworthy, and there's not much good news to be had. People want uplifting at a time like this, or at least escapism that doesn't feel so deeply real.
David Mumpower: If Hollywood somehow released a quality title that were even-handed, showed the troops in a positive light, and somehow resisted the urge to have a message, there would be a slight chance it would do well...and even that is not a guarantee. The subject matter is simply too exploitive at the moment to engage mainstream consumers. The other negative stigma comes from the pre-judging of titles. Some of the comments I have seen about Lions for Lambs completely misconstrue a good portion of the movie's message. It rails against the notion of troop withdrawal in the middle east, but it's difficult for movie-goers to give Hollywood the benefit of the doubt on such subject matter these days.
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