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It\u2019s rare for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences \u2014 or any critical body, for that matter \u2014 to take blockbuster films seriously. James Cameron\u2019s original Avatar<\/em> was successfully recognized at the 2010 ceremony with nine nominations, and won three, for Visual Effects, Cinematography, and Art Direction. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King<\/em> <\/em>famously won Best Picture in 2004, and even the 2010 ceremony saw Avatar <\/em>joined by the likes of Inglourious Basterds<\/em>, District 9<\/em>, and Pixar\u2019s animated movie Up<\/em>. But more than a decade removed from that moment, few of the big, populist movies that dominate an average year\u2019s box-office top 10 have achieved similar recognition.<\/p>\n

So what made 2023\u2019s Oscars so different? While the comparatively small A24 movie Everything Everywhere All at Once<\/em> took the top honors, two of the year\u2019s highest-grossing films, Avatar: The Way of Water<\/em> <\/em>and Top Gun: Maverick<\/em>, <\/em>were unusually well represented across the Academy\u2019s 24 categories. The Way of Water <\/em>nabbed four nominations, while Maverick <\/em>had six. While they only collectively nabbed two awards \u2014 Best Sound for Top Gun: Maverick<\/em>, while Avatar 2<\/em> of course won Best Visual Effects \u2014 both films clearly managed to break through that tricky barrier between popular movies and acclaimed ones.<\/p>\n

What connects these blockbusters with previous Oscar-nominated blockbusters? The creators treated their stories with the utmost sincerity. And when filmmakers take their most outsized impulses seriously, audiences do too.<\/p>\n

The benefits of shameless absurdity<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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Just about every genre film is deeply silly in its own way. But the great ones embrace that absurdity, with the creators injecting a much-needed integrity. Up <\/em>earns its swashbuckling adventures through South America by first grounding viewers (literally) via its iconic \u201cMarried Life\u201d opening sequence. Much of the film\u2019s humor centers around outsized fantasy adventures with its crotchety old protagonist Carl, but that devastating introduction underscores all the surreal elements with a deep sorrow.<\/p>\n

Everything Everywhere All at Once <\/em>followed a similar recipe in achieving its historic dominance at this year\u2019s Oscars. The film is dense with jokes, but the filmmakers establish early on that they\u2019re interested in the sad struggles of everyday life. Even as the gags multiply exponentially, they feel earned in a film that\u2019s specifically intended to overwhelm viewers.<\/p>\n

As for Return of the King <\/em>and Inglourious Basterds, <\/em>directors Peter Jackson and Quentin Tarantino have spent their entire careers erasing the line between high and low art, appealing to Academy tastes and genre tastes at the same time. Their biggest films walk that line by mixing fantasy elements with strong, specific, simple emotions like desperation and nostalgia, a blend the Academy tends to recognize.<\/p>\n

James Cameron is no stranger to that delicate dance, either. His 1997 blockbuster Titanic<\/em> swept the 70th Oscars in historic fashion, and its box-office gross hit an all-time high, until he broke his own record with Avatar <\/em>in 2009. Cameron\u2019s technical prowess has always earned him respect from the wide reaches of Hollywood, but it\u2019s still his knack for sincere emotion \u2014 in Titanic<\/em>\u2019s case, with the hunger for freedom, approval, and belonging built into the central love story \u2014 that separates a film like The Way of Water <\/em>from past box-office headliners.<\/p>\n

Cameron opens his Avatar <\/em>sequel by convincing viewers that Jake Sully has mastered the Na\u2019vi language so well that it now \u201csounds like English.\u201d With that simple explanation, the film\u2019s Papyrus subtitles justifiably fade away. It\u2019s a ridiculous proposition, but it\u2019s presented shamelessly and without a wink or a blush. And so audiences are primed to go along with it, just as they\u2019re primed to accept the rest of a film that features talking whales, 9-foot-tall blue aliens, and a child probably fathered by a planetary god.<\/p>\n

Having fun with formulas<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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One of the more intriguing parallels between The Way of Water <\/em>and Maverick <\/em>is the skepticism both films faced in the lead-up to their respective release dates. In spite of Avatar<\/em>\u2019s historic success, it continued to combat accusations of cultural irrelevance throughout the 2010s and early 2020s. Likewise, a late sequel to a notoriously cheesy 1986 action-drama was a bizarre proposition for audiences and critics alike. And as the pandemic forced Maverick<\/em> to delay its release by nearly three years, fatigue for the franchise was setting in before the legacy sequel ever had a chance to justify its existence.<\/p>\n

And yet both Cameron and Maverick<\/em>\u2019s Joseph Kosinski managed to prove the doubters wrong via their unabashed commitment to formula, a term that\u2019s grown increasingly divisive in the film community. Calling something \u201cformulaic\u201d sounds pejorative, but it may be more accurate to acknowledge the ways a formula can facilitate trust between a filmmaker and an audience, letting a creator rely on recognizable conventions while still conveying unique themes or ideas.<\/p>\n

In both Avatar <\/em>and its sequel, primary villain Miles Quaritch is evil. That\u2019s truly all we need to know about the man. While so many modern films aim to pathologize their villains (like Joker<\/em>) or sympathize with them (like Cruella<\/em>), Quaritch\u2019s unambiguous antagonism is what makes him such a great character. And in a world where paper-thin villains can still be so much fun to hate, cartoonishly evil men like Avatar 2<\/em>\u2019s tulkun-hunting captain, Mick Scoresby, fit right in as well. Cameron\u2019s penchant for formula comes in handy, providing a comfortable template for hero\/villain clashes that makes The Way of Water<\/em> accessible, even when Cameron is packing the screen with alien elements and ideas.<\/p>\n

Kosinski makes his embrace of formula even more apparent. Like Cameron, he paints his characters in broad strokes. Pete \u201cMaverick\u201d Mitchell is easily defined by his nickname, and adversaries like Rooster and Hangman are portrayed with few complications. And like its predecessor, Top Gun: Maverick <\/em>doesn\u2019t even identify an antagonist: The film\u2019s pilots are up against forces referred to only as \u201cthe enemy.\u201d Nothing felt particularly novel about that decision in 1986, but the 2022 follow-up leans on it even harder, until it seems as playful as Kosinski\u2019s echoes of the original Top Gun<\/em>, with the \u201cdogfight football\u201d game on the beach, or Miles Teller as Rooster unleashing a fiery rendition of \u201cGreat Balls of Fire\u201d at the local watering hole. There\u2019s legitimate reason to believe that the film\u2019s feel-good nature obfuscates real-world concerns, but Maverick<\/em>\u2019s <\/em>sincere commitment to its breezy pleasures does reinforce the audience\u2019s relationship with the film. Viewers will often accept a formulaic film \u2014 and a cheesy one, at that \u2014 if it\u2019s committed enough to the formula to seem self-aware and utterly unashamed.<\/p>\n

Tom Cruise once referred to the original Top Gun<\/em> <\/em>as a \u201csimple fairy tale,\u201d regarding its overly optimistic and jingoistic portrayal of Americans at war. The same could be said of Maverick<\/em>, which focuses on Cruise\u2019s charisma and daredevil stunts instead of the complicated politics such a sequel should almost certainly have to stare in the face. There\u2019s no telling what it\u2019ll look like when we\u2019re as far into the future from Maverick<\/em> as Kosinski and Cruise were from the first Top Gun<\/em>, but for now, their unabashed embrace of its narrative imprecision has cemented Maverick <\/em>as one of this decade\u2019s first true cultural touchstones.<\/p>\n

Underlining, not undercutting<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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It\u2019s fair to say that the past decade of genre films has been heavily defined by the Marvel Cinematic Universe and its stranglehold over the box office. In particular, the franchise\u2019s self-reflexive, purposefully disarming sense of humor has dominated blockbuster filmmaking. Over the past 15 years, what began with Tony Stark\u2019s clever witticisms evolved into a brand of light comic insincerity that made the MCU home to some of cinema\u2019s biggest (and often emptiest) laughs. The MCU formula is effective, but it may not be affective. It is, after all, a formula developed with families and children in mind.<\/p>\n

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania<\/em> <\/em>made that more apparent than ever, resisting its schlocky sci-fi trappings and inviting its characters to deliver cheesy life lessons throughout its final act. Quantumania <\/em>finds the same pitfalls as its predecessors, interrupting and negating its own dramatic moments out of a desperate need to crack a joke or ease the tension. What may seem like an injection of personality only saps the film\u2019s most intriguing moments of any drama at all. When Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors) is at his most magnetic and menacing in Quantumania<\/em>, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) has to insert a cheap wisecrack about how much he looks like Thor. It\u2019s a funny bit, but it robs the moment of its intensity. <\/p>\n

That kind of humor is largely absent from the much more sincere Avatar <\/em>or Top Gun <\/em>sequels, and when it surfaces, it\u2019s implemented sparingly, only when it serves the plot or world-building. One of The Way of Water<\/em>\u2019s funnier moments comes when Jake Sully scolds his son Lo\u2019ak for fighting the son of local Na\u2019vi chief Tonowari. But he still pauses to ask \u201cwhat the other guys look like.\u201d \u201cWorse,\u201d Lo\u2019ak responds.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a funny, heartwarming moment, deriving emotion from the tension Jake feels between his desire to protect his family, and his desire to raise his children as warriors. The joke reinforces the tension instead of puncturing it. Contrast this with the sort of comedy popularized by writer-director Taika Waititi or actor-producer Ryan Reynolds, where the humor deliberately dismisses any authentic emotion earned up until that point. Cutting down on humor in blockbusters might not seem radical, but straight-faced genre films like The Way of Water <\/em>have become increasingly rare in recent years, with the MCU\u2019s trademark sense of humor inspiring action-comedies in a similar vein, like 2022\u2019s Bullet Train<\/em> <\/em>and 2021\u2019s Red Notice<\/em> and Free Guy<\/em>. <\/em>All of them play their action as tongue-in-cheek and weightless, resting on wisecracks in the middle of dramatic moments.<\/p>\n

The trouble with this kind of self-aware humor is that it makes everything else about a genre premise look ridiculous as a result. If even Spider-Man himself thinks his web-slinging is a bit strange, then surely every superhero\u2019s powers are equally weird and unlikely. Comparable characters like James Bond, Jake Sully, and the Joker all follow a logic unique to their stories and their universes, but self-referential humor \u2014 the kind that seems uncomfortable with sincerity or commitment \u2014 can make it difficult for their kinds of stories to withstand scrutiny.<\/p>\n

Back to the emotional basics <\/strong><\/h2>\n

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Fortunately, it isn\u2019t just the major studio fare that suggests a gradual return to sincerity. Everything Everywhere All at Once <\/em>dominated the 2023 Oscars, with 11 nominations and seven wins. For all the film\u2019s flirtations with absurdity, writer-directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert direct the entire affair with an emotional confidence that renders even hot-dog fingers and cosmic bagels surprisingly affective.<\/p>\n

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever<\/em> <\/em>crossed the populist-versus-acclaim barrier this year as well. It\u2019s still the sole Marvel subseries to receive Oscars recognition outside of the craft categories, as Angela Bassett capped a successful awards-season run with a nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Director Ryan Coogler and the rest of his team faced a seemingly insurmountable task in continuing the Black Panther <\/em>story in the wake of Chadwick Boseman\u2019s death, but the sequel is one of the MCU\u2019s most touching and sincere creations, replacing the self-consciousness of the broader universe with a rare candor. It\u2019s safe to say this unapologetic approach to the material simply garners respect from awards bodies in a way comparable blockbusters do not.<\/p>\n

So what lessons should we learn from the unique bridge built between the box office and the Academy ballots in 2023? Is that bridge here to stay, or will it collapse in favor of the more standard blockbuster format we came to know over the previous decade? It can be difficult to even imagine a cinematic landscape that isn\u2019t dominated by superhero films. And yet, the current moment certainly recalls those Oscar ceremonies between 2002 and 2004, when Peter Jackson and his Lord of the Rings <\/em>trilogy earned the respect of voters via their epic portrayal of a long-beloved text.<\/p>\n

Denis Villeneuve\u2019s Dune: Part Two<\/em> <\/em>is due out in 2023, and so is another vehicle for Cruise and his permanent death wish: Mission: Impossible \u2013 Dead Reckoning Part One<\/em>. <\/em>We also have legacy sequels (Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny<\/em>, Wonka<\/em>) and auteur-driven genre films (Barbie<\/em>, Rebel Moon<\/em>) on the horizon, so there\u2019s plenty of fodder for the Academy to consider. <\/p>\n

Hollywood politicking aside, it\u2019s clear the Academy \u2014 and the moviegoers it supposedly represents \u2014 values a clear voice and identity in a movie. It can be easy for such a voice to shine through when it belongs to an established icon like Cameron or Cruise, and there\u2019s reason for optimism when studios enable ascending stars like Ryan Coogler or the Daniels to deliver their own unique visions. A healthy box office may still include the occasional action-comedy in the MCU mold, but the movies that take themselves seriously ultimately inspire more confidence in the future of film. Sincerity creates more laughs, more tears, more absurdities. When filmmakers present a film as if they fully believe in it, we\u2019re all more likely to believe in it too. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It\u2019s rare for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences \u2014 or any critical body, for that matter \u2014 to take blockbuster films seriously. James Cameron\u2019s original Avatar was successfully recognized at the 2010 ceremony with nine nominations, and won three, for Visual Effects, Cinematography, and Art Direction. The Lord of the Rings: Return […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":53449,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cdn.vox-cdn.com\/thumbor\/xL_FGOKVsDjb-M5nIXSKnQGvtdY=\/59x0:2878x1476\/fit-in\/1200x630\/cdn.vox-cdn.com\/uploads\/chorus_asset\/file\/24516679\/tgm_ff_026r.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-news"],"yoast_head":"\n