Not since "Unbreakable" have I seen a more evil character than Elijah Price.
I've only seen that film once, but that was enough as the story is etched in my mind.
I had seen it with Jan (then-wife of Sam Johnson) and we had both sat in the cinema and wept afterward at the horror of the man who killed many to search out one.
Two decades later, Shyamalan has another such character in "Old".
This time, he didn't develop the script from scratch, but based it on a 2010 French graphic novel titled "Sandcastle".
That's an important point.
If not for that origin, I might have missed this film.
The marketers, i.e. those that put together previews of upcoming movies, had decided the movie was in the "horror" genre and went after that demographic.
That is certainly not me.
However, something kept dragging me toward it, drawing my attention, something that wass missing in the promotional chatter.
So, I looked into the matter, reading the audience reviews and realizing why there was such a wide division in their ratings for the film.
Those who had gone expecting "horror" had been angry to find there was none, so they awarded zeroes, ones, and twos for the effort.
Those who had viewed it with an open mind had been rewarded to find a superb "science fiction" genre film, dressed in the garb of a "summer vacation gone awry" motif.
I decided to go on this hot July afternoon based on those reviews.
i thank You, God.
A good science fiction film is a joy to watch; a superb science fiction film is a wonderful find and would be great for a group discussion, a la JavaFlicks Savannah.
Sadly, that no longer exists, so ... I'm here, having hindsights.
(smile)
I don't want to give away any plot points, but there is one aspect that has captured my thoughts and begs release: the paradox of a truly young mind in a middle-aged body.
Think about the knowledge gained by a six-and-a-third year old boy, in particular.
It's summer, which means the school year is over.
His age would mean his 6th birthday was in the winter, or early spring.
So, he was in kindergarten that academic year and will be going to first grade in fall.
Although he seems to be a little advanced for his age, I can tell you that the character "Trent" is on par with my twin great-nieces, who are in that same category.
He might be just slightly more socially adept, as he is the younger sibling of an 11-year-old sister, but that is a debate for another time.
For this go-around, consider a first-grader suddenly in the body of a high-school student after just a few hours on a pristine white-sand beach with crystal blue waters.
He would not yet have had the sex education talk from his parents or teachers.
He would not know about birth control or anything of that nature.
The little girl also there on the beach, from another family, would be in the same boat.
Naturally, when the hormones coursing through their bodies cause arousal, they act on it, exploring each other's bodies.
The result is a five-year-old mentality suddenly thrust into birthing a baby, with no understanding of what is happening to her body, and Trent, with a six-year-old mentality, thrust into the role of parent.
More time passes, more physical aging occurs, more people die, night falls.
By morning, Trent and his sister are in bodies that have aged several decades.
Yes, decades.
They now have to wear their parents' clothes, as their own were far too small.
How do we know that their minds have not also aged?
They wake and start playing on the beach, building sandcastles.
Maybe that's what really got to me.
Maybe it wasn't even their action so much as the molds they were using.
Their castles in the sand were just like those made by me with littlest girl and Miss Chlo earlier this year.
That's when it struck me: their middle-aged bodies still had minds that were age-appropriate for the children they were when they entered that secluded beach.
That's horrific.
Sure, I was building sandcastles, too, but my body has a mind with six decades of knowledge in it and six decades of experiences.
The boy and his sister had all of the same wear on their bodies, but had missed out on the knowledge and adventures and life lessons that should have been gained alongside.
That's horrific.
Given that their physical bodies were aging seven years for every three hours on that beach, they would die within another 24 hours of building those sandcastles...
die without knowing so much about living.
Yes, that's horrific.
So, why the post title?
Those familiar with the "Star Trek" franchise will recognize the transformation of the words uttered by Spock in "The Wrath Of Khan".
Sure, I expect that some might differ with me on my interpretation of the events that unfolded at the end of "Old", but try to bear in mind that I am a retired analytical chemist and puzzles, in science and in life, are my forte.
There is more to aging than growing physically older and for someone to have one without the other is a great disservice to that individual.
I'll gladly discuss my stance.
"Joe Bell" was another film mis-marketed as being one for the LGBT crowd.
No, not quite.
It was actually meant for the P-FLAG demographic, as it dealt with a father trying to face down his own bias toward his gay son.
"Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins" was pretty good, but I had thought there would be more martial arts on display.
Sure, sure, I enjoyed the swordplay, as I always do...
but I didn't get quite what was promised in those promos, either.
How fortunate that "Old" was so much better than its previews!
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