A movie that indicates what's wrong with Hollywood.
It seems all we ever hear anymore is how Hollywood can't catch a break, sales are down, nobody's going to the movies anymore, and these "Record Years" we're always hearing about are the result of a dozen or so tent pole films, usually relying heavily on franchise appeal, and they all have mega sized budgets to go along with their massive grosses.
But, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies shows what is wrong quite nicely. It's a movie that has zero appeal to anyone, and it's pitiful 5 mil opening weekend shows this.
First, there are no movie stars, except the girl that played Cinderella and let's face, no one cares who played Cinderella, they went to see the character, not the actress. The same way no one cares who played Thor (why Chris Hemsworth's movies keep bombing), no one cares who played Alice in Wonderland (can't even remember her name but her career has definitely gone nowhere), and nobody cares who played Superman (quick, name two other Henry Cavil movies!).
Second, the movie doesn't know its audience. The title sounds like a joke but there's no humor in the trailer. The title also suggests a horror movie but the PG-13 rating and total lack of scares in the trailer also kills this idea, sort of why Victor Frankenstein disappeared without a trace from theaters a couple months ago. So what's left, an action movie with no real appeal to male audiences, the main demographic an action movie should court? All the leads are female but are also conservatively dressed, not a good way to reach the young male audience the PG-13 rating implies they were shooting for.
Third, the advertising was weak. I don't really know what this movies about, and frankly the average moviegoer isn't familiar enough with Jan Austen's novel to assume knowledge of the original source material, let along already know the plot of the cult novel on which this film is based. All I really know is that zombies are attacking the Victorian era (you'd think there'd be something about that in the history books, wouldn't you?) and for some reason, a group of young ladies of the day inexplicably trained in Matrix style kung-fu are best equipped to stop them.
Forth, no respect for the directorial process. I have no idea who Burr whatsit is but I am certain that he, like most directors working in film today, has no vision and, frankly, no business directing movies. He probably knows how to work a camera, knows how to kiss studio ass, and, more than likely had the family money to get his foot in the door. Seriously, where are the Coppolas and the Tarantios of our day. I can't think of more than two or three directors to emerge in the last decade with anything resembling a strong vision or a remarkable, ever expanding body of work.
So, everybody enjoy the next ten Star Wars films, the third reboot of the Terminator franchise, and the ever expanding superhero universe because at this rate, we don't have much else to look forward to in our movies. I guess we'll all just have to stay home, save our money, and watch T.V. if we want actual storytelling from talented people.
Batman Vs. Jurassic Park, releasing 2018. Sadly, it's not that far fetched.