With the release of Planet Terror, I wanted to discuss the worth of director Robert Rodriguez in the first overrated/underrated segment on "The Film Script."
Obviously we all know the story about how Rodriguez broke in on the $9,000.00 production of El Mariachi and used the Audience Award at Sundance for that film to fashion a career in film.
He extended that movie into his own Sergio Leone-lite trilogy with Desperado and Once Upon a Time in Mexico and has had regular collaborations with Quentin Tarantino ever since Four Rooms in 1995.
But his most unequivocal success came when he discarded his DGA card and partnered with the previously anti-Hollywood Frank Miller for Sin City. So, if nothing else, Rodriguez can be thanked for luring Miller's graphic novels to the big screen.
But here's where we debate. Where does his filmography, which obviously includes some less-than-steller films like The Faculty, Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl, Spy Kids sequels - some of which I've never seen - where does it stand against a top tiered director?
Where does Rodriguez stand?
Overrated? Underrated?
Monday, April 9, 2007
Overrated/Underrated #1: Robert Rodriguez
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Well this is a tough one. I don't know how many people actually know his name though. A lot of people asked me about Grindhouse and i had to explain to them what Rodriguez has done before. He has his fan base and that is about it. His successful movies are not because of his name, but because of the material. Tarantino is a name. People come out to see what he has concoted (Well not Grindhouse apparently). If they were to release Planet Terror seperately, I bet the ads would say "from the director of Sin City and Once Upon a Time in Mexico." So I don't think he is overrated, certainly in the eyes of the general public.
In my eyes...well, after El Mariachi, he certainly was overrated. He squandered what he had made for himself critically. He made trashy films like Desperado, Dusk til Dawn (which is amazing Tarantino for the first half, and total gory Rodriguez for the last), Faculty (trash, but still better done than today's teen horror flicks) and he decided to make films for his kids, no matter if they ruined his credibility. Although the first Spy Kids is pretty good. I hated his ventures into 3D, both SK3 and Shark Boy.
However, recently, with both Sin City and Planet Terror, he has won me over again. Technically they both are brilliant and he gets some great performances from people I didn't think could act. Plus he does damn near everything on his films, from editing, scoring, filming, and probably even catering. So as a director nowadays, I would say he is underrated a little. But I think I need to see some more stuff to see if he squanders it again. But if he released another Mariachi flick, I wouldn't be excited.
PS His segment of Four Rooms is actually the best in my opinion. Still the movie sucks.
Yeah...I'm gonna agree with most of that. His Mariachi trilogy is fun throughout (yes...even the worst film, Desperado, I found fun). I think it was either Harry Knowles or Moriarty of aintitcoolnews.com...in their review of Grindhouse that said someone akin to: "The characters in Rodriguez's films don't exist in our realm of existence." Which I think is a pretty good way to sum up his uneven career.
He lives in a world where a go-go dancer with a machine gun for a leg can shoot a grenade toward the ground and launch herself over 20-foot tall cement walls, and still have the ability to land perfectly enough to shoot out a few dozen zombies on the other side. He lives in a world where Antonio Banderas can do a backward jump off a building while shooting dudes and not die on impact. More importantly for me though, he lives in a world where he can wake up and do whatever the hell he wants.
He literally makes his films in his pajamas. He literally turns his kids scripts into real films (they may suck...but still). I like Chachi's assessment...that he really has kicked it up a bit recently. Certainly the Sin City source material and the inclusion of Frank Miller as a co-director helped him nail that film, but in the hands of a less capable filmmaker...it might have sucked. (Let us all be lucky enough to forget the debacle that was LXG. It had great source material...and sucked unholy nards.)
I think he's one of those directors that will be consistently inconsistent. Terry Gilliam comes to mind. They are both more than capable of making damn good cinema...but both have made a lot of shit as well. More even than his films...I think I admire Rodriguez for what he stands for. A very DIY attitude and approach to filmmaking. He doesn't seem to care about what we all think, or what the Director's Guild thinks for that matter. He does what he wants, and, if it sucks ass, then oh well. It may not be the best approach to film making...but I find it admirable.
Alright, my turn to chime in on Rodriguez. I'm sure by now everyone expects me to rip him a new one because I have been kind of critical of his Planet Terror, but I'm not going to...
At least not completely.
I picked Rodriguez obviously because of his Grindhouse tie-ins, but also because I noticed he was one of the most requested directors on the "Watching the Directors" podcast that at least Chachi and I listen to.
And quite frankly, it boggled my mind a bit.
Now, I want to like Rodriguez. I've seen a good percentage of his films (I've avoided the kiddie flicks, sorry) but I've seen most of the films I'd attribute directly to him (2 of the 3 El Mariachi flicks, The Faculty, Sin City, From Dusk Till Dawn and now Planet Terror).
And there's a lot of cool things in them, but the only one I really respect as more than mindless entertainment is Sin City and I still don't know whether to attribute that mainly to Frank Miller. However, I do credit Rodriguez with recognizing material that suits him (Grindhouse and having already lined up Sin City 2 & 3).
I think he's very aware of his strong suits and as pengin said, he does what he wants when he wants. But unfortunately I think I admire him more than his movies. His movies just have nothing besides visuals to rely on. You're not gonna get something to really think about in a Rodriguez picture (Dusk was probably his best bet until he and Tarantino decided half way to flip it over into camp). And I think Tarantino's idea to compare Rodriguez's El Mariachi trilogy in any way to Sergio Leone's spaghetti westerns by adding Once Upon a Time to the title was laughable.
That said, I think he's improving. He can only benefit from constant input from Tarantino (and good storylines from Frank Miller). I look forward to his future pictures more than rewatching his past ones.
So all tolled, I say he's slightly overrated at the moment, but he shows promise.
Well that brings up another question, what is a bad movie? I loved The Faculty, every little kid I've ever met that watched Spy Kids (and their sequels) thought they were really entertaining, and the one kid I know that saw Sharkboy and Lavagirl thought "It was okay."
We can't automatically write kids movies off as "bad movies" just because we're adults and we're not fans of the humor or the story. Kids LOVED those movies.
I think Rodriguez is great, he always finds an audience. That's all a film-maker needs to do. Find an audience. He doesn't give a shit if you or I didn't like Sharkboy and Lavagirl, same reason Coppola doesn't give a shit if you or I like "Jack". It was a personal project that found an audience. Enough said, done deal.
Why did you have to bring Jack into this? Give it up. It was an awful movie, and Robin Williams is not the same guy you know and love. Did you see RV? Mrs Doubtfire was a thousand times better.
PS Jeff Goldblum and Adrien Bordy are bad too. :-)
Besides Myth, you know why I write off Shark Boy and the third Spy Kids movie. Not because they are kids films, but because they are bad kids films (like Mimzy). There are plenty of great kids films that I would say also adhere to good filmmaking, just look at what Pixar has done. Admittedly Im not the audience for these for these films, but I can still say whether they are rewarding for children or not.
Myth...I was with your post....until you brought up Jack. You suck. It sucks. And you suck even harder for bringing it up in polite conversation. It is a film that should only be spoken of in private...like herpes or the neighborhood retard.
I like the question about what makes a film bad...but I have too many thoughts to post on here...I might do an official post in a couple of days on the subject...so think deeply mon freres.
And I agree with Chachi. There's a difference between making a film for a specific audience and making a bad film for a specific audience. I may not fall into the intended audience...but I can still tell a bad movie when I see it. And SK-3D and Sharkboy and Lavagirl...are both bad movies.
And as for Jack being a personal project....I'd only call it that if making a shitload of money was considered personal.
Pengin, I do agree. Rodriguez stands for something all of us film-lovers admire. He's not mainstream, will do what he wants (good or bad), the way he wants.
A) I really enjoy the first From Dusk Til Dawn film.
B) The El Mariachi Trilogy is something I love for it's style and sense of fun.
C) The first two Spy Kids movies are good.
D) I think The Faculty kicks ass!
And I don't think he's overrated. I remember when Sin City came out, alot of people thought Taratino directed it, while as we all know, he only did a 5 (ish) minute sequence.
I will go see anything Rodriguez directs, because it came from his heart and his desire to make it.
Well it's good to hear another voice on the subject, especially one so steadfast in support.
I guess with some filmmakers it just gets to the point where you agree to disagree though. I don't see any real depth to Rodriguez's work. Everything he does is there on the surface. He captures cool and captures visuals and the story really is kind of secondary to him.
You're right about him being 'fun' but by the same account, the same criticisms I can level at Rodriguez are the ones everyone throws at Michael Bay. He's only interested in the entertainment aspect of a movie. If he can sling his camera around, catch a couple big explosions and advertise the hell outta his movie, he's all set... criticism be damned.
I find myself more impressed with filmmakers who don't try to overwhelm your senses and keep you watching the moving images for two hours. That's why Tarantino's part of Grindhouse is so much more effective... it's a story mixed in reality. You never mistake Rodriguez's portion for anything but a campy zombie pic.
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