Over the past few months, I revisited some movies that I thought very highly of at the time. One was (as I remembered it) a fun, clever heist movie; the other two are pretty much modern-day classics.
Yet revisiting is often a mistake.
Take the Top Gun (1986) debacle: I first watched this – on a top-load VHS player hooked up to a smallish 4:3 tube TV – shortly after its release, and I enjoyed it. Was a different type of movie, and the flight scenes were impressive even on that tiny, cropped screen. Hey, at least it was a color teevee.
Fast forward to a decade or so ago, I re-watched the flick on a 16:9 significantly larger flat-screen TV, and, well, I hated it. Cheesy. Silly. The volleyball games….
Maybe it was one of those “just not in the mood for it” times, but the memory of Cruise’s big hit has been forever damaged. I did like 2022’s sequel of sorts, Maverick, so who really knows?
Long and short: All three of the warmly-remembered films I recently re-watched held up.
The Matrix, 1999
This could have been a disaster, as this film is part of the zeitgeist. Blue pill/red pill, black trench coats and dark shades, the whole post-apocalyptic vibe.
It was still edgy and thought-provoking, and the special effects are just that – special, especially for the time. Well done!
The Italian Job, 2003
This is the Mark Wahlberg and Charlize Theron version, not the original that I think starred Michael Caine (I’ve never seen it). A caper movie about stealing a shit-load of gold from a Venice business (hence “Italian”), this movie distinguishes itself via clever twists combined with the old chestnut of no honor among thieves.
There was less of the latter than I remembered, but more of the former, which makes for a fun, mostly mindless watch. And it has a boat chase through Venice! That alone is worth the price of admission!
The Usual Suspect, 1995
Yes, it does have Kevin Spacey who is a bit of an untouchable right now, but his Oscar-winning performance really makes the movie the icon it is, even with all the other star-power talent.
And the movie has a huge twist, which is often ineffective/diluted on subsequent views, but it was so well done that it didn’t matter. Watching Spacey setting up what (previous viewers know) are misdirects or – usually – flagrant lies might be even more fun than the first watch where you were trying to piece together all the spaghetti Spacey’s character is tossing at the wall.
Even though the entire movie is a lie, it’s an extremely believable tale.
Bottom Line::Hey, take the risk and watch an old favorites. For every Top Gun, there’s a The Matrix or The Usual Suspects.