MovieChat Forums > Only God Forgives (2013) Discussion > If this movie wasn't so pretentious it w...

If this movie wasn't so pretentious it would have been awesome

posted 10 years ago by cyguration
6 replies | jump to latest

Simply put:

I loved the methodical, long stares and endless gazes in Drive. It helped balance the overt violence and thematic suspense.

I hated the long, pointless stares in Only God Forgives. It drew out a short and interesting plot by making it long and boring.

The soundtrack to both films are top notch, though.

But good goodness, the pretentiousness of Only God Forgives is what ruined this film. I loved the cinematography; I loved the lighting and the color usage.

Why was such a beautifully shot film wasted on such a pretentious way of telling a story?

Gah, such a waste.

Refn should have taken tips from Gareth Evans on this one.

[–] MetalWorks 10 years ago

I keep hearing of these pointless stares... I haven't seen one on this movie yet

[–] Geijutsu12 10 years ago

The director was trying to create tension using long poses, which worked initially but got old very fast halfway through the film.

[–] sjsufan-4 10 years ago

quit using the word pretentious. its over-used and the tool of simple minded critiques. people love using that word when they don't get certain aspects of films that don't force feed you. find a better word. be more creative in your dissection and try actually explaining your gripes with the film instead of using the word "pretentious" over and over like its the only big word you know.

i found absolutely nothing pretentious about this film. its simply a director doing what he wants and making sure that his end product is something that makes the audience think. Refn loves to make viewers work to find the meaning behind his films. He demands your full undivided attention and he sure as hell caught mine. When the film is quiet that means you're supposed to be thinking.
.

[–] mnc365 9 years ago

You mad that your beloved film was made to serve as an example for the word 'pretentious'? The film was all style and no substance. You want me to 'force feed you' what I mean?

[–] sjsufan-4 9 years ago

hahaha omg chill. the only thing i'm even SLIGHTLY mad about is people who resort to the word pretentious as the sole term to describe an artsy/challenging film. i don't really care if anyone likes it or not i just think its lazy and stupid to resort to the word pretentious instead of describing their in depth gripes with the film.

[–] Dare_Daniel 9 years ago

"pretentious"

"all style and no substance"

The 2 most original critiques on the same page. :P

Top 50 Favourite films http://www.imdb.com/list/t9JHDeBhWKQ/