Hmmm. You might be right. I don't know.
My main point here obviously should be: Spielberg doesn't care if this Transformers movie is not "Transformers enough" because he will make money no matter what.
I think we can all agree with that.
The thing is, he is an executive producer, i.e. the money guy, so he is just acting accordingly to his position.
Now, apparently, the first paragraph applies to Michael Bay also... and
that's something the fans have all the right to be pissed about.
Alls I know is that I'll often watch a movie and I'll say... "did Steven Spielberg direct that?" Only to find out he didnt... he only exec produced it. "Batteries not Included," "Arachnaphobia"... and one of my personal favorite movies of All Time: "Joe vs the Volcano."
You have to remember that in the eighties, after The Jaws and The Close Encounters and The E.T. and The etc, Spielberg was the f***ing s**t. Every Hollywood director wanted to be him. Not only he made tons of money and had tons of fans, he made really good movies, and was respected by the critics and the industry, etc.
So, obviously a lot of people tried to develop a "Spielberg formula", a "Spielberg style" to help them make big despite lack of talent. And that includes not only directors, but writers and producers too.
Now, It's pretty obvious Spielberg did not direct any of these movies you mention, and if you honestly thought for a moment he could have, maybe you don't really understand
why he is a great director.
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Batteries not Included is not very cinematic -- it actually feels like a TV movie sometimes, which is understandable (this movie was supposed to be a story in an episode of "Amazing Stories"). It has a community approach that's not common to Spielberg's work of the time -- Spielberg's movies in the 80s' were usually a few people going on an adventure. BNI is like a lot of people stuck in the same place (kinda like
Lady in the Water, of "Friends"). Now, I don't remember much of the script, but from what I do remember the overall sensibility seemed kinda corny for early Spielberg too. Even
The Terminally Sappy seems more sophisticated in my memory (I could be wrong though).
-I also don't remember much of
Arachnophobia, but I remember it being kinda bleh. Nothing special, directon-wise. And nothing that struck me as particularly Spielbergian.
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Joe versus the Volcano is a good movie (very interesting script), but the style is soooo far from Spielberg. Come on, just look at it. Just
listen to it.
The closest you can get to a Steven Spielberg Film Not Directed By Steven Spielberg is
Poltergeist, for reasons previously stated.
And of course, Animaniacs! One of the best cartoons ever IMO.
t:
Lol, I think that doesn't count as a movie.
And, yeah, Poltergeist is the prime example... ppossibly for the reasons you noted... but also possibly because he directed several scenes in it (he has admitted to directing at least one scene I think).
See? As I said, this is a Spielberg movie. It's a completely different thing.
I even watched Balto several months ago (my daughter looovvves that movie) and I swore it was Steven Spielberg (it wasn't... he just exec produced it).
Come on dude, youre kinda reaching here.
And, I don't think the "screenplay" for Wild Wild West was bad (in terms of story). I just think it was badly directed and badly made.
The script was by far the worst thing in that movie (though Branagh's deep-fried Southern accent is a tough contender). Tottally unfunny, filled with lame puns and unimaginative, boring sequences. The staging was pretty bad too, but that's mostly a consequence.
At its heart it was no worse than Raiders of the Lost Ark. It just wasn't *made* well. i.e. Barry Sonnenfeld isn't as talented as Steven Spielberg.
Are you kidding? The script for ROTLA is brilliant. Of course it's completely formulaic (exposition, action scene, exposition, action scene, etc) and Indy doesn't do anything that makes any kind of difference whatsoever (take him out of the movie and the Nazis still find the Ark, still open it, still die), but here is a script that puts it's hero in a completely different kind of imaginative danger in awesome exotic locations at each scene. In the first ten minutes of the movie he's already fought giant spiders, jumped a bottomless pit, claimed an ancient relic, escaped various traps, traitors and hostile natives. Its FUN, you know.
Barry Sonnenfeld isn't a particularly talented director, but with a good script and a good cast he can make good movies (I already mentioned
Adams Family Values, which Spielberg had nothing to do with and it's better than most of what was mentioned here -- I dont care much for the first one, though).
