659 - The Ultimate of Commercial Films

As a renowned director whose reputation echoes across North America, Wayne always receives numerous little notes whenever he attends formal occasions. In the first two years, he would still be enthusiastic about looking through them carefully, in the hopes of finding any big stars that he personally likes.
After the matter became commonplace, he no longer had the gossiping mind. In plain words, everyone is "collecting stamps" from each other. Understanding this, he was not very interested in the "love numbers" that were actively given.
Moreover, Alton has joked about Hagrid-Ryan, who, although appears seductive and hot, is actually ten years older than him. She is the actress who first collaborated with Alton in "Climbing to the Sky". Who knows if anything happened between them? Wayne does not have the same quirks as his brother.
Greeting everyone along the way, Wayne returned to the middle position of the first row where the crew was located. At exactly 8 p.m. Eastern Time, "The Flash" officially kicked off its mysterious curtain.
The familiar Warner Bros. logo that has remained unchanged for years flashes by, and then the iconic DC logo that film enthusiasts have become familiar with over the past two years appears on the big screen. Following that is the routine line of text: "A Zack Snyder film."
There is no need for any fuss. The scene opens with a close-up shot of James Franco's face, and then the camera slowly zooms out. In the background of the street, he portrays a forensic investigator squatting on the ground, examining the traces left at the scene.
With Barry Allen's rapid analysis, a simple dialogue and a street scene, Wayne straightforwardly and concisely showcases the background of the Flash to the audience.
Smart, motivated, likeable, and handsome. These are the initial impressions that most viewers have after witnessing this scene. At the very least, in terms of character portrayal and establishment, it does not generate aversion among the audience.
A simple street field survey and scene flashed by, and Barry Allen in his youth turned into a child, and the film officially introduced Barry Allen's growth process from here.
Compared to Wayne's previous works, which typically follow a chronological timeline with a lot of foreshadowing, this film is much simpler. It doesn't use any mysteriousness, just starts by rewinding to Barry Allen's childhood, revealing the origins of that young man to the audience.
In the big screen, young Barry Allen always runs to avoid being bullied. His family is his safe haven, providing a blissful childhood that helps him forget the pain caused by his peers. Barry's gentle and loving parents are like a sweet candy in his life.
However, with a sudden twist of the camera, everything came to a close on this evening as yellow and red bolts of lightning, too quick for the naked eye to see, began to clash inside Xiaoba's home.
Without waiting for little Barry to figure out what had happened, he was swept away by one of the lightning bolts and found himself in the street. As he desperately ran towards his home, wanting to know what had happened, the sight that greeted him was his mother's lifeless body. The only person left at the scene, his father, became the arrested murder suspect.
Those police officers who were holding his father paid no attention to what little Barry said. No one believed a child's words. In the end, his father was imprisoned as a murderer.
The story is very simple, considering the audience's patience level, this scene is shown very quickly, even the process of little Barry being raised by his father's friend is also shown very quickly, without any setup, just passing by.
The camera quickly cuts to Barry Allen, now a forensic scientist, fourteen years later. However, he is always late to work for various reasons. His foster father, Joe West, always helps him cover up and clean up the mess.
The film has only been running for less than ten minutes, and the big screen seamlessly transitions to the opening scene, featuring the clever and likable Barry Allen. This scene clearly tells the audience how this exceptional young man keeps using his intelligence and talent to help the police solve one tricky case after another.
"No wonder there are those rumors."
"The story on the big screen continues. Sitting in the middle of the third row, Steven Spielberg shook his head and muttered with a smile. 'This film really doesn't feel like a Spielberg movie.'"
"Huh?"
David Giffin, who is thin and agile, heard a murmur and turned to look at his old friend, curiously asking, "At least personally, I think this film is pretty good, right? There's no cleverly designed foreshadowing, no crime suspense given at the beginning of the film, and no dark and oppressive movie rhythm. Isn't this what we call a Giffin-style film?"
Yes, everyone at the scene, whether they were media representatives, film critics or thousands of fans, had the same initial impression. None of the elements that Wayne excelled at in his previous works were seen in the opening scene of "The Flash."
If it were not certain that this film was directed by Wayne, many people would definitely not believe this fact. The fast-paced editing, compact yet incredibly simple story rhythm, and the sunny, handsome and distinctive male protagonist, it seems that all these elements, which have nothing to do with Wayne, all appear at the beginning of the film.
"Hey, Steven."
Seeing the attentive audience around them, David Griffin could lower his voice and lean closer to his old friend, saying, "I admit, Wayne's previous works can be regarded as great, but I have to say, to truly experience the greatness of those films, one must carefully ponder and watch them."
This "The Flash" didn't give me that kind of feeling, making me feel very relaxed and not having to think hard about whether this scene hints at anything for the upcoming story. Isn't that good? Like the special effects of the lightning fighting scene just now, it really satisfied me!"
“You're right.”
Steven Spielberg nodded and turned his gaze back to the big screen, saying in a voice that even he couldn't hear clearly, "But this change in style is just too astonishing, too risky, no!"
Suddenly, he turned his head and carefully observed the entire screening room. Whether it was ordinary movie fans, media, or guests, each and every one of them was engrossed in watching the big screen. In the entire auditorium, there was absolutely no usual chatter, none at all!
It's very obvious that something is not normal. He is not the first time attending Wayne's premiere, even for "The Dark Knight," the theater was not this quiet after the screening started.
Looking at the big screen, Allen Barry and his childhood sweetheart, Iris, arrived at the Star Laboratory for a visit. As soon as this scientific palace appeared, even Steven Spielberg was amazed by the exquisite and grand special effects.
And this futuristic laboratory building is just the beginning. Wells, the leader of Star Laboratory, announced to everyone that he will change the future tonight!
Just at this moment, a small thief snatched Iris's bag. Barry Allen chased after him, but unexpectedly, he got beaten up badly by the thief. In the end, he was saved by the sudden appearance of detective Eddie. Because of this thief, Barry Allen could only watch the live TV broadcast in the office.
The scene switches frequently, Barry Allen is in the office, watching the clues he has collected over the years about his mother's death. His foster father Joe and partner are attacked on a farm, and suddenly the scene changes dramatically. The particle accelerator at Star Labs explodes, and the sky is engulfed in red light...
The big explosion of the particle accelerator at the Star Lab spread radiation to the entire city, visible to the naked eye. Barry Allen, who was also watching this scene, was suddenly hit by the particles from the accelerator and the lightning in the sky, at the same time!
Under the fast-paced shots, scenes like lightning, particle accelerator explosions, and others are rendered with incredible special effects that captivate the attention of all viewers.
For this story, countless viewers are familiar with it - the birth of the Flash. What people didn't expect is that such astonishing special effects could also appear on the big screen. The background music in the theater, along with the special effects rendered by Wayne's no-expense-spared efforts, can be said to have achieved the utmost that this era can accommodate.
It is important to know that more than 50% of the production budget of "The Flash" was invested in special effects. Industrial Light & Magic's modeling combined with the first large-scale computer rendering allowed the audience to experience, for the first time, the sensation of entering a movie theater and feeling that the ticket price was worth it, even if it was purely for the perfect visual and auditory stimulation.
This is actually a common practice in commercial blockbusters twenty years later, with a popular and concise story, fast-paced editing, and mind-blowing special effects and music, all of which constitute the unique charm of commercial blockbusters.
One of the reasons why the film companies did this twenty years later is that the cost of special effects has become extremely low. Moreover, and more importantly, during that era, people had a multitude of entertainment options to choose from. Even sitting in front of a computer to watch movies would not be much worse than going into a movie theater.
Fast-paced and full of epic scenes and special effects, it stimulates the senses of moviegoers and is the best reason to get them into the theater, because at home, facing the computer, they can never fully enjoy the authentic and thrilling audiovisual experience of a movie.
Barry Allen on the big screen has been rushed to the hospital for rescue after being exposed to a particle accelerator and struck by lightning. However, that last scene has left all the audience deeply immersed in reminiscence.
Is the story complex? Not at all, it's simple to the point that it only depicts the process of the Flash's birth, and the duration is not long, only a short less than five minutes. However, it is precisely this segment with the utmost special effects achieved in this era that captivates all the audience in the entire venue.
"If this movie had come out half a year later, I would have guessed right away that it was inspired by 'Titanic.'" Steven Spielberg sighed with relief and whispered to his old friend beside him.
David Geffen's understanding of movies is not very deep after all, as he has always been involved in music. However, from the beginning until now, this film has given him a great feeling. When he heard what his old friend said, he looked at him in surprise and asked:
"What does that mean?"
There is absolutely no connection between "The Flash" and "Titanic" no matter how you look at it.
Dropping the exploration of film art that Wayne had, he completely took the commercial elements to another extreme, just like when he used "The Clown Returns" to push the horror genre to the extreme!
With a smile and a shake of the head, Steven Spielberg turned his gaze towards the middle seat in the front row, filled with admiration. "He saw through something and achieved it successfully, which is that in this highly commercialized industry, creativity and storytelling have always been the least valuable things!"
Just like James Cameron's "Titanic" and Roland Emmerich's "Independence Day," "The Flash" also creates a commercial miracle with just a mediocre story! The story of this movie can hardly be called creative, let alone artistic, but is the story important for this film? Not at all.
But it is such a simple story that the audience understands completely, and he has managed to stimulate everyone's emotions in an extreme way. Hmm, the special effects scenes in this "Flash" are probably something even George's new Star Wars can't match...