Quote:
Originally Posted by felix  I think we can all agree that the Extended Cut is the better version.
|
Not so. I've never liked the director's cut of this. I liked the more incidental nature of alien discovery as presented in the theatrical version and not the beat you over the head moralizing of the director's cut. I've always read complaints about the out of nowhere final act with aliens and underwater cities, but this doesn't really come out of nowhere. The very first scene of the film has the sub being strafed by an "alien" craft which sets the whole narrative in motion. The entire film is leading up to the alien reveal so those criticisms always seemed odd to me.
This is another one of those films where the desire to explain the aliens, what they are doing or what their purpose is kind of hurts the film for me. I liked that this was a film that, aside from a few short scenes on the Benthic Explore, took place in a very closed off environment. I mean, the director's cut still does for the most part, but then suddenly the ending opens the whole thing up to a world wide affair so that Cameron can beat an anti-war message into our heads. It's those added megatsunami wave shots that feel out of place for me and not the aliens in the theatrical.
Honestly, I see it as if Spielberg had the mother ship land at the end of Close Encounters and then cut to cities across the globe where other giant ships have parked themselves over major landmarks for some specific purpose. What was a rather focused character study leading up to an awe inspiring discovery for that main character becomes something else entirely and in doing so the focus is lost.
