Do Androids Dream of Decent Movies?
Speaking of the things you see before the movie begins, I saw a preview last night for an upcoming picture called "Next".
Now, this is based on a story by Philip K. Dick called "The Golden Man", and PKD is one of my favorite writers, so this news makes me feel rather cautious. The history of movies based on PKD stories has its ups and downs.
It starts, of course, with Blade Runner, based on "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" In both the book and the movie, a policeman must use a device which detects empathy to track down illegal androids. In the book he's unhappily married, there's a new religion about, and so many people have moved to colony planets that Earth is underpopulated. In the book he's divorced and Earth is crowded, but aside from those details it's a classic, like the book. Between the book and the movie, I'd call this one a draw.
"Total Recall" comes from PKD's short story, "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale". A man longs to go to Mars on vacation, but can't afford it, so he hires a firm to implant the memories of a Martian vacation in his mind. When they try to do so, they discover that he is not who he thinks he is. The movie is a pretty good action story, with Arnold Schwarzenegger pulling his usual stunts, bashing everyone's head in real good, but the story carries PKD's subtle questions on what makes a person that person, and it's more entertaining too. Advantage PKD.
"Minority Report" takes off from, of course, "The Minority Report" (so much for the oddball PKD titles this time). A policeman, using the predictions of a group of precogs, arrests people before they commit crimes. He himself is accused of a future murder, and must expose the corruption of the system. PKD ran this character through physical and philosophical mazes right from the first word, which would bamboozle most directors, but this movie had Stephen Spielberg in charge. Aside from some of his usual syrupy tendency, he keeps up pretty well. Advantage movie.
"Imposter", again from the short story of the same name, follows the head of world security during a war with an alien species as he fights the accusation that he's really an alien probe with a planet-busting bomb in his heart. Terrific movie, with the courage of PKD's convictions - remarkably, it doesn't yoke on a happy ending. Doesn't add much to the original conception, though - the story turns through an amazing number of twists in its few pages, and the movie hasn't got time for all of them. Advantage PKD.
"Paycheck", from the story "Paycheck", follows an engineer whose memory of his last job of copying a new device has been taken from him. He uses a group of seemingly random objects to uncover a vast conspiracy. People don't seem to like Ben Affleck's performances, but I usually do, and while there's a little too much blowing things up, the rest is thoughtful enough to compensate. The movie is, surprisngly, smarter than PKD this time about what the future might be like - the story reads like a 1950s industrial manual. Let's face it, PKD didn't always hit his mark, although no one could beat him when he did. Advantage movie.
That leaves "Screamers," based on PKD's "Second Variety," and "A Scanner Darkly," based on PKD's novel of the same name. I haven't seen those pictures yet, so no judgment at this point. (On the other hand, PKD himself said "Scanner" was the only masterpiece he would ever write and the movie stars Keanu Reeves, so I'm not sanguine.)
All in all, the movies have treated PKD pretty well, but I'm afraid this latest is going to give the win back to the author. "The Golden Man" concerns a mutant, a young man with beautiful golden coloring, pure instinct rather than intelligence, and the ability to see the future. He worries the government because his genes are almost certainly dominant, he's impossible to kill, and if unchecked he's sure to turn the whole human race into animals like himself. This movie "Next", clearly, is just another shoot-'em-up, another step down in the once fascinating career of Nicolas Cage.
Thanks a lot, Hollywood.
Benshlomo says, Better luck next time, Phil.
Now, this is based on a story by Philip K. Dick called "The Golden Man", and PKD is one of my favorite writers, so this news makes me feel rather cautious. The history of movies based on PKD stories has its ups and downs.
It starts, of course, with Blade Runner, based on "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" In both the book and the movie, a policeman must use a device which detects empathy to track down illegal androids. In the book he's unhappily married, there's a new religion about, and so many people have moved to colony planets that Earth is underpopulated. In the book he's divorced and Earth is crowded, but aside from those details it's a classic, like the book. Between the book and the movie, I'd call this one a draw.
"Total Recall" comes from PKD's short story, "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale". A man longs to go to Mars on vacation, but can't afford it, so he hires a firm to implant the memories of a Martian vacation in his mind. When they try to do so, they discover that he is not who he thinks he is. The movie is a pretty good action story, with Arnold Schwarzenegger pulling his usual stunts, bashing everyone's head in real good, but the story carries PKD's subtle questions on what makes a person that person, and it's more entertaining too. Advantage PKD.
"Minority Report" takes off from, of course, "The Minority Report" (so much for the oddball PKD titles this time). A policeman, using the predictions of a group of precogs, arrests people before they commit crimes. He himself is accused of a future murder, and must expose the corruption of the system. PKD ran this character through physical and philosophical mazes right from the first word, which would bamboozle most directors, but this movie had Stephen Spielberg in charge. Aside from some of his usual syrupy tendency, he keeps up pretty well. Advantage movie.
"Imposter", again from the short story of the same name, follows the head of world security during a war with an alien species as he fights the accusation that he's really an alien probe with a planet-busting bomb in his heart. Terrific movie, with the courage of PKD's convictions - remarkably, it doesn't yoke on a happy ending. Doesn't add much to the original conception, though - the story turns through an amazing number of twists in its few pages, and the movie hasn't got time for all of them. Advantage PKD.
"Paycheck", from the story "Paycheck", follows an engineer whose memory of his last job of copying a new device has been taken from him. He uses a group of seemingly random objects to uncover a vast conspiracy. People don't seem to like Ben Affleck's performances, but I usually do, and while there's a little too much blowing things up, the rest is thoughtful enough to compensate. The movie is, surprisngly, smarter than PKD this time about what the future might be like - the story reads like a 1950s industrial manual. Let's face it, PKD didn't always hit his mark, although no one could beat him when he did. Advantage movie.
That leaves "Screamers," based on PKD's "Second Variety," and "A Scanner Darkly," based on PKD's novel of the same name. I haven't seen those pictures yet, so no judgment at this point. (On the other hand, PKD himself said "Scanner" was the only masterpiece he would ever write and the movie stars Keanu Reeves, so I'm not sanguine.)
All in all, the movies have treated PKD pretty well, but I'm afraid this latest is going to give the win back to the author. "The Golden Man" concerns a mutant, a young man with beautiful golden coloring, pure instinct rather than intelligence, and the ability to see the future. He worries the government because his genes are almost certainly dominant, he's impossible to kill, and if unchecked he's sure to turn the whole human race into animals like himself. This movie "Next", clearly, is just another shoot-'em-up, another step down in the once fascinating career of Nicolas Cage.
Thanks a lot, Hollywood.
Benshlomo says, Better luck next time, Phil.
posted by benshlomo at 11:47 AM
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