The forces that move us
I don’t seem to find myself compelled to write about the movies that we watch anymore – I’m not sure if that is because I’m too busy or because we haven’t seen a movie that actually moved me in a while. Yesterday, we did see something which, even if it did not move me to reflection as much as usual, did make me pause a bit. The movie? "Edison Force", which apparently was released as "Edison" originally but was renamed for the DVD.
On paper, the movie looks absolutely brilliant – Morgan Freeman and Kevin Spacey, with a supporting cast which is a veritable who’s who of Hollywood? It seemed like a movie buff’s dream! I enjoyed the story most of the time though there was nothing really new in there. I loved how the movie showed the motivations for the different characters and the changes in their outlooks and actions as the story progresses. I also enjoyed the fact that at heart, the movie was a cautionary tale/morality story.
However, with such a large cast of well-known characters, the story needs to be especially strong to let each of the characters to shine through. This just didn’t seem to happen. I enjoyed the story while it played out but afterwards, I can’t point to one person (or one character) and say this is what defined him. If anything, all I remember vividly from the movie is Moses Ashford’s (Morgan Freeman’s character) potty-mouth :p (It just seems so wrong to have Morgan Freeman say the things that Moses says – almost as bad as hearing your own grandfather using the obscenities that a teenager would use ..)
The biggest flaw was probably in letting the entire movie hang on Justin Timberlake‘s scrawny shoulders :p Don’t get me wrong, I was surprised at how well he acted given his normal persona that you see in the DVD extras. But boy, even given that improved acting, he really didn’t convey much emotion or character throughout the movie. And given that the story is mostly about Pollack (Justin’s character), it is no wonder that the movie ended up feeling so anaemic – because that’s how Pollack comes across.
So in the end, I don’t know whether movies are becoming worse by the day or if my tastes are growing more rarified, but I just can’t find any movies recently about which I can really say "Wow, that moved me!". "Edison Force" is no exception.
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