The author of this article is @Ghost Foot Seven of the Xiaowan family
The only purpose of movies is to make life more interesting than movies
The detective suspense film shared some time ago
"Blade Out of the Sheath 2"
Have you watched it?
The star configuration, hot topics, plus gorgeous big scenes, but it does not continue the good reputation of the first part, it looks more like an ordinary suspense film.
At the same time, North American theaters also have a film of the same type as "Blade Out of the Sheath 2", which also has big stars joining, and there is also a gap in expectations, which is-
"Light Blue Eyes"
"Light Blue Eyes" landed on streaming on January 6
The biggest selling point of this new film is undoubtedly the first to promote the starring Christian Bale.
It can be said that from the beginning of the exposure of materials, Bell is full of expectations from styling to temperament, returning to the familiar posture of fans - gloomy, deep, and explosive.
So, will this suspenseful new work, which is full of classical style from the title to the style, satisfy the fans who are waiting for it?
The film takes place in the 19th century, when detective Gustace Landau is commissioned to investigate a rather difficult case - the mysterious death of a cadet at West Point.
The life case is not terrible, but the strange thing is that the murdered trainee was brutally gouged out of the heart.
Worried about the spread of the scandal, West Point Military Academy asked Landau to investigate as soon as possible to find out the truth, and faced with the complicated and unpredictable environment of interpersonal relationships, Landau, an outsider, began the reasoning process of searching for witnesses to collect evidence.
From the beginning of the story, "Light Blue Eyes" is more like a regular classical suspense work, but the film has a highlight in the character setting and plot, that is, the combination of fiction and reality:
Landau meets a reasoning and eccentric cadet during the investigation, and soon partners with him to begin investigating the case together.
The student's name was Edgar Allan Poe. Yes, it is the famous poet and novelist in history, the famous writer known as the originator of detective fiction and the pioneer of science fiction.
Detectives and detective fiction writers investigate cases together, forming a fantastic genre of "Light Blue Eyes" between fictional stories and biographical interpretation.
As the investigation deepens, the fact that new victims and new remains are destroyed continues to emerge, and Poe's rich imagination and Landau's experience work together to gradually arrive at the conspiracy behind the serial murders...
"Light Blue Eyes" creates the eerie and eerie sense of Poe's novel, and the damp pond, the bleak courtyard after the snow, and the dim room illuminated by candlelight all create a mysterious atmosphere.
As the story unfolds, mysterious cult rituals, witchcraft to prolong the life of patients, and black magic that sacrifices people's hearts also appear, and in the climax of the story of "Light Blue Eyes", Landau and Poe uncover the truth of this series of murders.
Wait, is that really the truth?
As a detective fiction writer, Poe, who is keen to observe, discovers that Landau, who has been in charge of the investigation of the case, has a very important doubt.
The reason why he was involved in this case does not seem to be so simple, but it is inextricably linked to his daughter, who committed suicide two years ago...
Bell's role in the film as Landau is an informal detective, with a wrinkled coat, dirt-stained boots and a beard, which is a completely different genre from the well-mannered, poetry-loving Edgar Allan Poe.
One is a senior detective, the other is a reasoning enthusiast, and the two have formed a mentor and friend relationship in the process of solving the case, but in the reversal at the end, Poe is "successfully on the top", surpassing Landau with his meticulous reasoning ability and inverting into the real protagonist of the film.
Therefore, in terms of such a plot structure and viewing experience, the overall quality of "Light Blue Eyes" is passable, but it is by no means perfect.
Whether it is the atmosphere of the times created from the perspective of paying tribute to Poe, or the suspense story around the military school with a strong oppressive environment, and even the performance of the luxurious lineup, the combined effect can only be regarded as decent.
The score of 6.5 on Douban and 6.7 on IMDB will obviously disappoint fans who are looking forward to Bell's "strong return".
Strictly speaking, since "Speed King" in late 2019, this is Bell's first "serious" role in the three years since the epidemic.
In "The Speed King", Bell partners Matt Damon, playing a pair of competing drivers, although this role did not get an Oscar nomination for Bell, but also won the Screen Actors Guild Award and the Golden Globe Award nomination, which is a normal play for a powerful actor of his level.
"Speed Death"
Faced with a long shutdown of the pandemic, Bell's next role was the villain God Slayer Geer in "Thor 4: Love and Thunder" last year.
At the beginning, the character was unrecognizable Bell's appearance has caused a wave of heated discussions, and "Thor 4" failed miserably after its release (Douban only 5.4), and Bell's cooperation with Marvel finally ended in embarrassment.
"Thor 4: Love and Thunder"
In addition, last year there was also a "Amsterdam" that attracted much attention in the early stage.
David S. O. Russell ("American Hoax")), starring Bell, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, is also a gorgeous lineup, but also encountered word-of-mouth Waterloo (Douban only 5.8), and there is little discussion in the fan group.
Amsterdam
Although "Light Blue Eyes" did not fail like the first two, in terms of word of mouth and influence, it is obviously not comparable to Bell's classic previous works ("American Psycho", "Batman", "Deadly Magic", etc.).
If you are harsh, it is not an exaggeration to say that it is a "triple swoop".
Of course, this is not a matter of Bell's vision for choosing the script
The director of "Light Blue Eyes" is Scott Cooper, who became famous with "Crazy Heart", and after "Crazy Heart", Cooper began continuous cooperation with Bell, including "Escape from the Furnace" in 2013 and "Hostile Elements" in 2017.
"Escape from the Crucible"
It's a pity that the three movies are not high or low word of mouth, not good or bad commercial performance, they are not bad films, but if you think about it, there are no outstanding advantages.
These "decent" textbook-like regular films do seem chicken for established actors like Christian Bale who do not need to rely on the number of works to mix their faces.
"Bell Metamorphosis" that has been hotly discussed by fans
Bell may need more time to regain his "rhythm," or he may need to meet a good director like Nolan who can dig into more of his face.
His next work is "The Desperate Church," written by "The Big Short" screenwriter Charles Randolph, in which he will play John Lee Bishop, a pastor in American history.
Biography + crime is the type of character that suits Bell.
So, the question is, how long will it take to wait for Christian Bale's first actor title?