Reflective Post – How Can a Bad Movie be Elevated with a Better Story?

Most of the movies today are rated on either special effects or upon the stories within them. Why should they not? This is essentially what composes any film out on the current market. However, in the current culture, special effects seem to have become more pronounced and more pervasive than the film’s story. This can lead to an overabundance of special effects and an underdevelopment of the story. One of the best examples of this was a superhero movie that came out in 1997. This film was Batman and Robin, directed by Joel Schumacher, a film made so horrible due to its intended audience that it has been deemed one of the worst superhero films ever made and won numerous nominations at the Razzie awards.
In Batman and Robin, the story seemed to be the typical Batman story that was similar to the previous three films: A villain decides to take control of Gotham and harm its innocent civilians, thus causing Batman to emerge and take down the twisted criminal. Everyone has heard that story, so this one won’t be any different. This wasn’t the case. In Batman and Robin, the villains decide that one city just isn’t enough and they decide to take over the world, which instantly turns the film into a clichéd remake of so many other films. Another mistake was the tone of the film. The film was so overloaded with flash and sparkles, that it made one forget they were watching Batman and instead made them think they were watching a toy commercial. Incidentally, this was exactly what the film was hoping for in order to market off the toys that would follow its release.
From these examples, one can derive an important rule for making a successful story: If you’re going to create a movie, make a good story to go with it. If you’re going to create a commercial, which is essentially what Batman and Robin could easily be called, just an overblown, multi-million dollar commercial, then write a creative concept, not a typical script.
When a movie is reviewed as “bad,” most of the time, the plot is thin or the characters seem weak. The story has to be the basis for the film. Special effects and CGI will come later when it’s time to flesh out the story. Writing the story is the first step and most likely the most important step of the movie process. The story has to be one that audiences can relate with or that will draw interest so that viewers will stay for the entire film. A strong story will only be further enhanced by the use of special effects and CGI. The story should be what the main focus of the film is about, not a chance to show off the special effects. But many films do this. It’s almost as if the story has become an excuse for special effects testing. A good story stimulates emotion and gets the audience motivated. It can take characters and make the audience relate to them, make the audience feel for them. People who relate to what the person on the screen is doing are far more likely to understand their motives, more so if these motives are portrayed in unique circumstances.
By going back and examining the stories of films, people can see where there could be rooms for improvements. For example, in the above film, Batman and Robin, scaling back on the number of characters would be a first step. By having to only focus one villain perspective story and one hero perspective story, more time can be dedicated to filling those two stories to make them detailed and original. Splitting that between two or three is only going to hurt, unless there is the necessary man-power to do so. It’s best to not have too much going on at one time. Another improvement would be to completely remove the world-domination aspect. It’s been done before and done to death. There are ways that this can be pulled off, but in this film in particular, it fell flat. Matching the plot of the story with what the characters can do is a fine way to keep the story in check.
For the most part, if the stories of films these days were examined for what they were, stories and not effect experiments, then there might be a better diversity between films. I would make a suggestion that when a film is being designed from a previously written story, a script, then run the story through without special effects and see how it goes. If it works without the effects, then limit them. Don’t try to cover up the weak story with high definition and flashy substance.

It has been an interesting time working on this blog and I’ve learned some interesting things from what I’ve read here. I hope to continue to improve my writing as the years go by and I hope that what I’ve garnished here influences my style as well.

Till next time,
Richard Jicha