It's widely known that most online movies are hollow. We joke that these movies seem like they were written by AI - there's nothing majorly wrong with them, but they're incredibly bland and boring. The good news is that as AI progresses, AI-generated scripts are improving too. The recently released streaming movie The Gorge seems to me like a story generated by an AI of Deepseek's caliber, specifically made for boring weekends when you need to kill time.
Just looking at the plot synopsis, it's a mishmash of movie elements. At first, I thought it was like The Bourne Identity, but soon it turned into Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Then, right after the leads finish their first date, they're attacked by zombies, and suddenly it becomes Resident Evil. But the zombies in this story aren't that tough to deal with - after one big explosion, both the zombies and the villains die, the leads escape, reunite and kiss, ending the movie in typical 007 fashion.
Visually, two-thirds of The Gorge is so dark I can barely see anything. Mind you, this is a streaming movie. If you're watching on a small screen, you can hardly make out any details in the darkness, which feels like the filmmakers' attempt to make the film feel profound by hiding their unrefined set designs in the shadows. They use rapid pacing and pile on different elements to prevent viewers from questioning the logic behind the details.
Finally, they cast a pair of attractive leads. The combination of Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy makes the whole movie feel like a fan fiction of The Queen's Gambit and Whiplash. They're both sexy and have great chemistry together. The downside is that Anya's acting seems to have regressed. She could have been the movie's protagonist, but instead comes across more like a trophy or tradwife. I find her frequent displays of vulnerability and shyness puzzling and hard to relate to. But considering this movie has no ambitions of winning awards or becoming a box office champion, such acting isn't really a major issue.
Five years ago, seeing a movie like this would have made me somewhat angry. They often come in beautiful packaging but are hollow inside, lacking anything worth savoring or exploring. But nowadays, we seem to have stopped taking movies so seriously, and I've become much more tolerant of them. I don't think it's just because of my tolerant nature; it's also related to how times have changed.
We've entered a contradictory era. On one hand, big-budget releases are failing more frequently. We're seeing more once-untouchable directors and actors fall from grace due to their flopped works, like Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis, and certain franchises produced by Marvel and Disney. The theatrical market seems to be stagnating or even shrinking, as global box office revenue in 2024 was $32.3 billion, down 3% from 2023. On the other hand, movies productions by streaming platforms are increasing. For example, Netflix made 18 movies in 2016, while the number grew to 70 in 2018. By 2024, Netflix had produced 539 movies and TV shows.
The stagnation of theaters and expansion of streaming services might reflect how Gen Z culture is breaking down people's reverence for cinemas and directorial authority. We no longer need to treat movies as something serious or even sacred. When watching such movies on streaming platforms, I don't need to be fully focused or make special time to go out, and I can even watch at an increased speed. A two-hour movie might finish while I'm doing chores and having snacks. With a lower investment, I don't need to demand too much from the movie.
Is this a good thing? Perhaps for viewers who want to invest less in watching movies, but not necessarily for those who see movie-watching as an almost sacred ritual. However, theatrical movies being poorly made isn't a result of the development of streaming services. For people who simply want to watch movies and follow stories, the mass production of movies like The Gorge isn't necessarily a bad thing. As the number of movies increases, competition will naturally become more intense. Shouldn't we give streaming movies a chance to improve their quality? Maybe AI will continue to develop and surpass some (bad) screenwriters, bringing audiences some good works? Who knows?
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