There are bound to be similarities between films. After all, with so much going into them a studio tries to make sure they are choosing projects certain to please. However sometimes films become so similar one has to point it out--and wonder why. Take for example two 2010 spy films--The Losers and The A-Team. Is it coincidence they are such a good deal alike? Probably not.
Both movies are of about a group of renowned special ops framed by CIA officials (younger ones, specifically) for betraying their country (the United States). One has a group of six members, the other has a group of 4 plus two allies. Both of the groups are led by an older man, and both include most of the same basic characters: a zany guy who jokes around and could be mentally ill, a female ally who isn't as much a part of the team team as the others, and a man best friend and similar to the group leader (in age, military background, etc.) who turns out to be the traitor. Both films are PG-13 action-comedies who's fight sequences mirror each other--lunatic stunts, helicopter tricks, smuggling oneself in a coffin, fights in storage crates, giant explosions... Even the endings are similar--the teams stop the sinister plot but the bad guy goes free and they are still wanted.
One could say they are knock-offs, but this is not true--they were made around the same time by separate studios (Warner Bros. for The Loosers and 20th Century Fox for The A-Team) and are both adaptions of older materials--one from a 21st century comic book, the others from an 80s TV-show. The Loosers is painstakingly faithful to its source material, but since The A-Team is from a long running TV-show it had to make a few changes while still retaining most of the original's elements.
Now to address why they are alike. The similarities are uncanny, but perhaps they are predictable factors. After all, the similar sequences are both appealing; the spirit of rebellion is prevalent everywhere (plus it makes for some interesting plots if they are framed); the endings are similar likely to set up for a sequel. There are only so many action sequences--they were bound to overlap just because it makes sense for those events to happen and they do look cool. The correlation among characters is harder to explain, but there is likely something appealing about these guys. Perhaps they symbolize something--the older leader experience and old-fashioned heroism; the younger villain new greed of a darker age; the zany warrior a newer, different type of hero for a new, different age; the female sidekick as a way to have a girl in the movie without having them as much a part of the team.
If this is true, one must wonder why The A-Team is so much more successful than The Losers (one was a flop with a domestic gross of only 23 mil. while the other has made 75 mil. in the US to be a mild hit). The A-Team was given a better release date (mid-June instead of late April) probably because its source material was more popular. Also worth noting is the differences--The Losers has more double-crossing, a more aggressive (possibly sexist in its stereotypical behavior) lady, and sex (it has been noted that the most popular movies do not, in fact, have much sensual behavior). Also, in my humble opinion, The A-Team was more creative and better made.
One could dismiss the difference since one film was unsuccessful. Still I think the makers of The Losers had a good idea of what audiences would want; they just didn't capture as much attention as The A-Team.
The similarities between the films really does highlight parts of culture--I think the elements of these light action-flicks is actually a bit of something more. Something a lot of people are catching on to.
No comments:
Post a Comment