Hollywood starts with an agent

Chapter 662 The Decline After the Peak

In a seaside resort hotel in Ajaccio, Corsica, Aaron woke up with Norika Fujiwara in his arms, feeling the woman's fullness. "How about it? A Mediterranean vacation in the summer is pretty good, isn't it?"

Norika Fujiwara snuggled up to the man and rubbed against him affectionately. "Mmm, the scenery here is beautiful, and the climate is great too. It's perfect for escaping the summer heat!"

"Haha, it's been so many years, and I haven't taken you out for a proper vacation. This time, we can have as much fun as we want," Aaron said, stroking the sexy woman on his body.

It's been a week since Aaron left Cannes, and he still has no plans to return home, even though Universal's blockbuster "Gladiator" is about to be released.
However, the Disney animated feature film "Dinosaur" that has been released seems to have received very good reviews!

The script for "Dinosaur" was completed as early as 1988, but due to the lack of technology at the time, Disney did not begin preparations until 1994.
Afterwards, Disney bought Lockheed's abandoned aircraft factory and assembled 350 production and technical personnel to produce the film. In addition, there were two location shooting teams filming on location around the world. At its peak, the total number of people involved in the production of "Dinosaur" reached 900!

The film features 14 locations, including Death Valley in California, Campbell National Park in Australia, the Everglades in Florida, Hawaii, Venezuelan National Forest, and the Western Samoan Islands.
A couple of years ago, Disneyland opened a dinosaur-themed area. Although it couldn't compare to Universal Studios' Jurassic Park attraction, it still attracted visitors.

Disney's technological prowess in the Dinosaur movie has also received high praise!
The Houston Chronicle: "Dinosaur not only surpasses previous works in its use of animation technology, but also attempts to give these dinosaurs 'humanity,' creating a style completely different from previous dinosaur movies."

Wired magazine: "Dinosaur once again subverted the audience's definition of the real world. Its 1300 special effects shots make it the most complex and spectacular film of its kind, and one of the most visually stunning films in Hollywood history."

The Hollywood Reporter: "The digital effects in 'Dinosaur' completely immerse the audience in a fantastical world that blurs the lines between reality and fantasy. The film showcases more than 30 prehistoric creatures, from small dinosaurs that are 12 inches long to Brachiosaurus that are 120 feet tall and weigh 100 tons. In addition to the visual spectacle, the film's storyline is also very engaging!"

The Chicago Sun-Times: "This film is Disney's first attempt to combine computer animation with a real-world setting and employ sophisticated storytelling techniques to create a breathtaking prehistoric story."

However, the sequel blockbuster "Jurassic Park 3", which Universal will release next summer, is also highly anticipated;

Although Steven Spielberg and author Michael Crichton are no longer involved, Aaron Anderson's active participation ensures that the film adaptation will not be based on dinosaurs!
Of course, the popularity of "Dinosaur" is definitely not as high as that of Paramount's sequel blockbuster "Mission: Impossible 2", produced and starring Tom Cruise, and the hottest Hollywood Chinese director John Woo.

The success of Mission: Impossible 2 is undeniable, given that its predecessor, Mission: Impossible, grossed $4.5 million worldwide.

Compared to Mission: Impossible 1, Mission: Impossible 2 is even more explosive and exciting!

Compared to its commercial success, *Mission: Impossible 2* received far less critical acclaim: The *Los Angeles Times* stated, "We shouldn't expect *Mission: Impossible 2* with the same suspense we had for *Mission: Impossible 1*, but *Mission: Impossible 2* is, at best, a well-packaged entertainment film."

"When watching Mission: Impossible 2, don't expect to be educated or moved; after all, it's just a commercially driven sequel. Stripped of its weak script, all that's left of Mission: Impossible 2 is Tom Cruise's idol appeal and John Woo's 'violent aesthetics'."

"Mission: Impossible 2 lacks the camaraderie between heroes found in John Woo's Killer, and it also lacks the ethical and existential dilemmas found in Face/Off. The violent aesthetics, devoid of plot development, have become a formula, showing signs of fatigue!"

The Baltimore Sun: "The selling points of this Mission: Impossible 2 movie are all things that spy movies and action movies have overused. Director John Woo has just reworked and pieced them together. Among the selling points that the director 'cropped' are both other people's and his own."

USA Today: "Mission: Impossible 2 is an adrenaline-pumping movie with a pace so fast it overshadows its impossibilities, and it even contains some of the most imaginative action sequences you've ever seen."

The Los Angeles Times: "Mission: Impossible 2 is fast-paced and fun, and as a summer popcorn movie, it is successful, but compared to director John Woo's previous Hollywood works, Mission: Impossible 2 is nothing more than cool action!"

Film critics generally gave "Mission: Impossible 2" a low rating, mainly because compared with director John Woo's "Broken Arrow" and "Face/Off," the storytelling and emotional expression were far inferior.
The spectacular showdown between Nicolas Cage and John Travolta in "Face/Off" is truly unforgettable.

Mission: Impossible 2 not only failed to establish a good connection with its predecessor, but also simply repeated the formula of the first film. It lacked innovation, had a simple plot, too many logical inconsistencies, and a chaotic storyline.

In addition, most people think that the female lead is just a plot device. The character is stiff and there is almost no emotional development between the female lead and the male lead, which seems very abrupt. The focus of the whole movie is on the male lead, Tom Cruise, and all the other characters are very thin.

Finally, there's the controversy surrounding director John Woo's personal style. The elements he once again brought in, such as white doves and slow motion, were criticized by most viewers, who felt that these elements disrupted the overall feel of the film, making it seem overly artistic and exaggerated, thus ruining the film's pacing and realism, and making the film feel somewhat incongruous in style.

From John Woo's first Hollywood film, "Hard Target", to his subsequent films, "Broken Arrow" and "Face/Off", and now "Mission: Impossible 2";
White doves, slow-motion gunfights—these elements are all present, and they're shown the first, second, third, and fourth time. How can the audience tolerate this?

It's clear that after "Face/Off" marked the peak of John Woo's action films, "Mission: Impossible 2" represented his decline.

Although the Mission: Impossible series is mainly driven by Tom Cruise, John Woo, as the director, must also bear the brunt of the negative reviews!
(End of this chapter)