When I first got started here just a couple months ago, I wrote that Speculative Pastiche would be a ‘lighter blog,’ yet all my previous entries turned out rather large and heavy, haven’t they?  Consistently writing a post every week or so can prove more challenging than it seems, I have discovered, especially over the holidays.  Most especially when one does as I did, which is expect from oneself an article’s worth of editorialism between four and six pages.  Still, there are many other bloggers here busier than I who managed a steady output of posts this December past, which finds me in a position I’m not unfamiliar with.  Perhaps that is the bridge a beginner blogger like myself has to cross.  In any case, I’ve allowed for more than enough time for readers to digest what has already been written, so there’s nothing to be done but get the ball rolling again.
 
I’ll start off this New Year in review of the 2007 holiday season’s last additions to the fantasy/sci-fi genres in media entertainment.  Call it a compilation of critiques I‘d originally intended to post in weeks prior.  Since all mentioned are now truly last year’s TV shows and cinema, I will delve into a little more detail than usual.  Readers who don’t wish for a few plot spoilers are recommended to turn back now.
 
 
Tin Man
 
The SciFi Channel miniseries “Tin Man” premiered early December, with subsequent showings interspersed in the following weeks.  It is slated for DVD release in March, but those unwilling to wait (and/or put down the cash) can view Tin Man on SciFi Channel’s website.  Usually, I don’t consider a single episode enough to judge a series by, but to my surprise Episode 1 alone lasted two hours that left me with a peculiar aftertaste.  Finally, after sitting through two more sessions, my initial impressions had congealed into a mixed stew of opinions.
 
Without a doubt, SciFi Channel has come a long way over the years in their original programming.  This science fiction re-imagining of the classic tale “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” was their latest venture, which they had promoted vigorously.  It seemed to pay off, with Tin Man becoming their most-watched debut among in-house productions in network history (small surprise, considering a plethora of downright horrid predecessors).  The quality of Tin Man was higher than any before it, with much of the budget portioned to gratifying a distinctive visual style.  Dress, architecture, and automobiles in the “O.Z.” (or Outer Zone) have an eclectic period feel about them harkening back to the early 1900s onward; the actual character of the Tin Man has become a Wild West-styled gunslinger, while the Scarecrow dons secondhand World War I European court dress.  The Wicked Witch’s “Longcoats” are her paramilitary police force with an air of Gestapo about them, given their characteristic long, black coats and martial accoutrements like lanyards and selective plate armor.
 
In short, Tin Man looks good… for the most part.  Unfortunately, there remain several shortcomings in Tin Man that have been a constant in all SciFi Channel creations.  One is a purely cosmetic fault: the computer-generated creatures.  Given the modern audience’s heavy exposure to CGI in movies and video games, the mobats (flying monkeys) and quadrupedal beasts called Papé were jarringly sub par.  This would’ve been forgivable if only the overall plot was stronger, which brings us to the larger part of Tin Man’s failing:
 
The problem with Tin Man is that, once you get past the presentation, there isn’t much meat to the series.  The plot twists are unremarkable.  Not that my memory recalls The Wonderful Wizard of Oz having a complex chains of events.  With such a script, I couldn’t say if Tin Man might’ve been worthy as a spectacle if coupled with great acting, and the cast denies any such hope.
 
The lead heroine, DG (for Dorothy Gale, obviously), is played by Zooey Deschanel, who is disappointingly cast in this role.  To put it bluntly, Deschanel is a bad actor- something symptomatic of most all SciFi originals.  Her range of emotions is narrow, and she fails to carry what should be the most dramatic scenes in the miniseries.  As for the character itself… the story of one day learning you’re actually a prince/princess from another world has been done time and again, and Tin Man is far from the best interpretation of it to date.
 
The actual Tin Man, Wyatt Cain (Neal McDonough) is no metallic woodsman, but a fully-human former police officer of the O.Z.  “Tin Man” is a slang term for cop, apparently.  Cain is introduced in a morose nod to the original character: locked in a metallic casket that resembles the deep sea diving suits of the early 1900s, forced to watch a recording of his and his family’s torture for years.  A fascinating start to a good character, but he just doesn’t stand out enough from the others to warrant naming the entire series after him.  “Tin Man” the show may be called, but there is no doubt Cain plays second string to DG.  There was much potential for complex development in both Cain’s background and personality, but unfortunately only half of that potential, at best, is realized.
 
The character Glitch (Alan Cumming) stands in for The Scarecrow; he, too, is flesh and blood rather than made out of inanimate matter.  His most distinguishing feature is the overlarge zipper located square on top of his head, from when Azkadellia had his brain removed.  His true name is Ambrose, and he was former advisor to the Queen of the O.Z.  A genius inventor when his brain was still one with the rest of him, his creation known as the Sun Seeder is integral to Azkadellia’s evil schemes.  This character is probably the best handled of our heroes, being more developed than Raw, better portrayed than DG, and lacking the pressures of having the series named after him.  He serves as a bit of a foil for Cain, yet stands on his own as an interesting character, making their relationship one of the most interesting- and believable -in the entire series.
 
The Cowardly Lion is replaced by Raw (Raoul Trujillo).  Members of Raw’s race are like telepaths, save that “instead of seeing with their minds, they see with their hearts.”  He is an outcast to his own people, presumably for his characteristic cowardice.  Raw is the least developed of the foursome, and only seems important to the tale for the utility of his powers as a plot device.
 
Toto (Blu Mankuma) is no pet, but a tutor of magic who can shape-shift into a dog.  This ability comes off as little more than novel quirk, as opposed to useful plot device, and the character itself a simple nod to the source material.  There are no curtains for this Toto, or ‘Tutor,’ to sniff behind and unveil the truth.  Tin Man’s Tutor is very much a secondary presence.
 
Azkadellia (Kathleen Robertson) is analogous to the Wicked Witch of the West, and is portrayed as your archetypal evil sorceress.  Less over-the-top than the original villainess from The Wonderful Wizard, but still slightly campy in a good, fantasy-genre sort of way.
 
That about covers all the characters one would remember from the original Wizard of Oz and wonder about in Tin Man.  Neal McDonough, Alan Cumming, and Kathleen Robertson portray their characters well, and are the most interesting of the cast, but unfortunately they easily overshadow our protagonist in the process.  There is of course the formerly titular Wizard, played by Richard Dreyfuss, but he is squandered on the Mystic Man, who suffers from a dramatically played down role.  Good Witch Glinda is represented by the Queen of the O.Z., who is, of course, DG’s mother.  It seems DG’s poor acting was inherited from her, though the father in the family, Ahamo, is an equal culprit.  The reunion of DG’s real mother and father towards the end is nothing to write home about.  Meanwhile, DG’s mother and father from real-world Nebraska turn out to be robots, of all things, and are summarily excused from all significant drama after this revelation.
 
Ultimately, this retelling of an old classic uses a formula that’s been done again and again: that where a young protagonist is ‘rescued’ from mundane life (and disappointing parents) to adventure and status (and new parents) in a completely separate, new world.  An old concept, it has always straddled the dangers of escapist fantasy, and Tin Man fails to pull it off in a completely immersive and sincere way, especially in comparison to stories like Harry Potter or Star Wars.  Tin Man is worse off in this regard compared to the original Wizard of Oz, where Dorothy ultimately returns to the real world.  The (original) Wonderful Wizard of Oz could be interpreted as political commentary or a metaphor for a girl growing up, but Tin Man lacks significant meaning.  Some scenes are simply awkward when the spirit of pure fantasy seen in the original tale collides head-on with the grittier science fiction that Tin Man purports.
 
As stated, Tin Man is only three episodes long, but those episodes each possessed a two-hour running time.  For me having decided to review the series, sitting through episodes so long was a chore- the moreso because it failed to capture my interest for any extended period.  The whole thing would’ve been more easily digestible as six one-hour episodes, but perhaps this was done because they knew fewer viewers would want to stick with it for so long.
 
The Golden Compass
 
The Golden Compass seemed like it would be a great movie were it not such a terribly circumscribed synopsis of the novel.
 
To begin with, a disclaimer: it is difficult for me to judge the film based solely on its own merit, for I entered the theatre having already read the trilogy of books upon which it was based.  That said, only those who have read the novels will realize how much has been lost in translation: such as the fact that the so-called Magisterium is, in non-euphemistic terms, the Church, and that the Authority is said with a capital A- referring to none other than God (or a god; saying anymore than that would really be spoiling); from the dialogue, viewers would never know this.  Nor would they know that Dust, a central plot point in the story, is alleged to be Original Sin, a revelation portrayed too vaguely on film.
 
I can confidently state one thing without any fear of bias from comparisons to the text: taken on its own, the film of The Golden Compass felt far too rushed.  Events are skimmed over, characters are introduced one after the other without much development, and drama and tension are largely stunted by the pacing.  Concepts are also not fully delivered; even when not subject to the above-stated censorship, they become subject to poor pacing.  The primary victim of this is the human characters’ relationship with their daemons; the nuance is largely lost, yet this is a fundamental aspect of the world onscreen.  The audience is simply expected to accept this from the start, while the script barely touches on the dire consequences of the daemons existence.
 
The ending was a disappointment to me for two reasons: one, of course, was because it ended much sooner than in the book.  A lesser complaint, but this leads directly into number two: the film ended abruptly and without resolution, shamelessly leaving the door open for A Subtle Knife, the next installment in the trilogy.  Really, there is no good place to close part one of the story than how the original novel ended.  This sort of unsatisfying ending is usually relegated to the second movie in trilogies, and after the hasty feel of the script it becomes all the more disappointing.
 
Still, Golden Compass is not without merit.  Dakota Blue Richards as Lyra Belacqua was true to the character, an especially impressive feat for what was her first role in acting.  Nicole Kidman conveys Marisa Coulter in all her venomous, seductive form, and Ian McKellen proves he’s fit to bring to life any role as the panserbjørne Iorek Byrnison.  Most other characters, such as Daniel Craig’s Lord Asriel, get too little presence onscreen to be judged.  Golden Compass also boasts the most impressive use of CG out of all the shows and films I saw in December.  Computer-spawned characters such as Iorek and Pantalaimon have a real presence and are believable, a concern that arose from the moment I heard of this film.  And amidst a plethora of book-turned-movie Harry Potter copycats, The Golden Compass is one story that is truly worthy of the big screen, with symbolic relevance to real life.
 
 
I Am Legend
 
I Am Legend was by far the best of winter media I’d seen.  Following in the tradition of The Last Man on Earth and The Omega Man, all three films are actually based on a 1954 novel from which this version takes its name: I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson, which heavily influenced both the vampire and zombie genres, as well as Stephen King.
 
This is no slasher flick, no conventional horror movie.  I Am Legend seeks to be as serious and sincere as the original material, and in some areas, one could say it did justice to the spirit.
 
Part of the focus is about survival, of course: not just that of Will Smith’s character, Lt. Col. Robert Neville, but of the entire human race, which has been ravaged by a mutant plague.  In a refreshing departure from typical horror cinema, this focus is relieved by granting equal attention to Neville’s mental state.  As the film starts three years after the disease’s initial outbreak, he already has most of his new life figured out.  He has a routine which lets him survive the dangers that have wiped out civilization.  The study of Neville’s psychological and emotional state is, in more than one way, a barometer for humanity’s continued existence.
 
I was relieved that I Am Legend breaks a number of modern conventions that arose with the term ‘survival horror.’  Will Smith’s character is both a scientist and a soldier, which makes his ability to endure in a post-apocalyptic world quite believable (thanks in large part to Smith, who is remarkable in here).  There are no still-human psychopaths to terrorize fellow survivors.  There are no stupid mistakes, just conscious, emotional decisions and oversights you can truly rationalize.  The tone is not excessively dark; we are presented with almost as many humorous moments and artistic shots as there are scenes of suspense, at least initially, but throughout these a sense of futility undermines that goes hand in hand with being the only person in the world.  And at the end, there is a kind of resolution audiences rarely receive from most zombie/horror movies.
 
Some critics called I Am Legend’s third act weak, but I thought it was true to reality, even if it was a significant change in direction.  I went in without having a clue how it would all end, but how it did end came as a not unwelcome surprise.  If there is any criticism to be had from me, it’s in the mutant ‘dark seekers.’  Visually, the CG is not the best we’ve seen.  As antagonists of the horror genre, they are nothing exceptional and perhaps less frightening than standard zombies.
 
 
Aliens versus Predator R
 
Wow.  I wasn’t expecting much, and yet I was still disappointed.  This review of the film will likely be as incoherent as the movie itself, but graciously shorter.
 
It takes off directly from where the first film ended: the space vessel bearing the Predators and newborn hybrid xenomorph crash lands after a skirmish onboard, and both races find their way back on earth.  They fight.  Humans die.  Everything happens pretty much as you expect it to.  Speaking of humans, the characters are introduced and killed off so summarily that deaths lack any drama whatsoever.  Those destined to survive receive some cursory attempt at development, but this treatment is abandoned once the action starts.  No matter; 90% of the audience came for the aliens in the first place, much like with Transformers.  Overall, AvP R came off as a B budget slasher flick, albeit with a bigger budget.
 
If Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem can be said to have any redeeming value at all, it’s in the fights between the actual extraterrestrials.  They were a bit more visceral than in the first movie.  Too bad we saw so few of them between the ‘filler’ of scenes starring humans.

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