MovieChat Forums > Against the Sun (2015) Discussion > Too cheesy?

Too cheesy?

posted 9 years ago by stalkingvengeance
11 replies | jump to latest

Spoilers.

The idea was great, and I was looking forward to watching it. The pre-crash tension was really good, and I was getting nervous just seeing all that ocean and no safety in sight... But that's about the only part of the movie I liked.

The actors just seems so one dimensional, woody, and maybe a bit too stereotypical? I mean it's the old "two silly boys and tough older father figure" thing. It was obvious that their tensions would unravel and they'd become buddy buddy after all those weird scenes where the music got playful and happy while they worked together on their projects (while the older guy more or less awkwardly watched them).

Nothing more came out of that. It just repeated itself until they saw land. They got quiet, maybe argumentative, then one guy got a burst of inspiration and the music rose, and then it cut to the next scene where that basically repeated itself. The deepest we got into their minds was a shallow and again stereotypical "oh wow your sister sounds pretty, i'm gonna marry her!"

I was hoping for something that delved deep into these guys'minds. I mean, you're in the middle of the ocean, the world is at war, and all you have to do is stare at nothingness.. . Yet we were just left with this shallow and unoriginal transition from regular pilots to broken men on a raft to "gosh golly let's work together to get outta this mess, how 'bout it!?"

After over a month I would have thought that the big questions in life would pop into their heads. The most we got on that front was another awkward praying scene.

I was laughing my ass off at how cheesy it was, and in that respect it was good. But man, it felt very much like a 90's B movie to me.

[–] El_Jefe 9 years ago

it's the old "two silly boys and tough older father figure" thing

He was the Chief, and they were his subordinates. What else could it be?

while they worked together on their projects (while the older guy more or less awkwardly watched them)

He was giving them something to keep their minds occupied.

I agree that it was a bit melodramatic, particularly with regards to the music (e.g. stringed instruments whenever sharks are around, Jaws style), but the story itself and the acting seemed completely plausible to me.

[–] stalkingvengeance 9 years ago

It's not really that aspect i'm talking about. It's like with so many American movies from the past, where you have these roughhousing/amateur boys that makes almost unbelievably silly mistakes, then get whipped into shape by the rigid father figure. It just seems so cliche to me. I mean, I don't know the real story or how it went down, but something about it just seems like one of those things that only really happens in films. Maybe i'm wrong, maybe people were really like that back then. Just seems like a thing I see A LOT in American films, and nowhere else.

Again it wasn't really about the overall situation, it was the acting. You have these boys smiling like dolts as this chirpy music dances through this project, cutting to a a second or two every now and then of the Chief looking like he's not really sure what to do or where to look, whether to smile or not. It felt hollow.

One of the most cringe-worthy points was when he pulls out the pistol, COCKS it, then puts it back, with some scenes he even had it pointed at the other two. It seemed they had no discipline. (I know there were lots of boys being thrown into combat back then, but didn't pilots and their crew need a bit higher of a standard?)

And again, we get no insight into the actual minds of these guys, really. Don't they have hopes, dreams, thoughts about life that they might be wondering about when death is looming?

[–] standrkm 9 years ago

it felt very 50's the way it was made, but I kinda liked that about it

"the day I tried to live, I learned that I was alive"

[–] El_Jefe 9 years ago

It's like with so many American movies from the past, where you have these roughhousing/amateur boys that makes almost unbelievably silly mistakes, then get whipped into shape by the rigid father figure.

So, again, I say:

He was the Chief, and they were his subordinates. What else could it be?

I feel like you're out of touch with the reality of WWII. They were literally farm boys plucked out of their rural life and sent far away to fight with minimal training.

And again, we get no insight into the actual minds of these guys, really. Don't they have hopes, dreams, thoughts about life that they might be wondering about when death is looming?

What? There was an ongoing theme about the women in their lives. Sure, that's limited, but come on, it's a movie, how much of their hopes and dreams do you want crammed in there?

[–] stalkingvengeance 9 years ago

What else could it be? Well you're in the middle of an ocean, what does chain of command really mean in such a situation? Be three men, not a chief and his subordinates. But I do understand this was a very different generation than mine, so perhaps it's just that. I was in the army for 5 years and in such a situation I think we would have been a bit more lax, "just being dudes," as the saying goes. But yea, different times, different perspectives, I suppose.

That theme was pretty shallow though, don't you think? Maybe i'm forgetting something more, but at most it just seemed like they missed girls. Wasn't there more in their minds than women? :/
It's probably that I expected something more of a psychologically interesting movie, where it explored their minds rather than just the situation they were in and getting out of it. From what I had read beforehand, it gave me the impression that that's what it would be. I figured it's a movie about being in a raft, it couldn't be ALL about simply being lost... But it pretty much was.

[–] porfle 9 years ago

Did you watch the whole movie? That command structure you're referring to pretty much disintegrated before it was over, at least between the Captain and Aldrich. The Captain held onto it as long as he could mainly for his own reassurance and need for order, while Aldrich kept bucking it until he finally rebelled. Not overtly perhaps, but the film's subtlety is one of its strengths.

[–] ficoce 9 years ago

Things are a little different now. Then, the US had lost 400,000 men in combat. Many of these guys had never been out of their small home towns and illiteracy was common. They had lived through the depression. Compared to today they didn't have communications. Writing a letter home could take a month or more one way and not much in the way of phone service. Girls were the main thing on their minds. Cars didn't become commonly available until the 50's. There were a lot of women left in the states and few men, and the lack of communication for years in some cases caused a lot of breakups. After the war is when the freeway system was started, microwave towers linked the country with a direct dial phone system, (somewhat), and the rail system was expanded; the world became a smaller place.

Today, if the chain of command broke down to the point it caused issues a quick phone call could fix it. Wasn't like that back then. Sergeants could beat the crap out of a private if they back talked - they were encouraged to do so. Millions were dying all over the world - a smart ass or two wouldn't be missed.

[–] simplemines 9 years ago

Stalking, I wondered if we saw the same movie. The only cliches I see are coming from you...I couldn't figure out why you had such an animus to this movie. I see, though, from other comments you've made on other movies that you have a serious jones against Christianity. I gather the men praying in this movie is what really steamed you.

What a shame you have such a closed mind. You missed a marvelous movie - including the parts where the men prayed to God.

[–] jkholman 9 years ago

I went to the Desert War as a forty-two year old private (E-4 Specialist, a ridiculous rank). My fellow privates were half my age. Not a bad bunch, but given to a constant state of grabass [to cover their fears and insecurities]. My Lieutenant was fifteen years younger than me AND broke down in tears. This is in reply to the OP's disagreeing with the boyish behavior of the two seamen and the contrasting mood of the Chief.
I think they got it right.

- JKHolman

[–] Blubonnet_Spearman 9 years ago

Cliches are what they are because there is truth to them. You don't understand what cheesiness in a movie means

[–] israelx7 8 years ago

Ain't nothin that's not improved by a slab of cheese.
Or, something like that.

I would not belong to any club that would have me as a member. G. Marx