Friday, 1 June 2018

My thoughts on Universal's Dark Universe

When Universal Studios announced they were reviving their classic monster movies, I thought it was an alright idea as I liked the selection of monsters they had even though the stories were far from their source material. When they announced it was going to be a shared universe mainly set in present day, I was ready to slam it.




Everyone seems to want to get in on the success of shared universes, the likes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Arrowverse on TV which are hugely popular, and I just thought Universal was doomed to failure.
This was until I actually watched The Mummy (2017).
I had watched Dracula Untold (because Dracula, I love Dracula) last year, which was meant to be the first in the Dark Universe but due to its box office results it was removed and The Mummy was then slated to be the first in the series. I didnt like how they finished the movie in a modern setting with the inkling that they were going to play the novel story in modern day. I also fine that portraying Dracula as hero, although it really worked and was written well for the film, is getting to be unoriginal.
So, The Mummy. I really enjoyed it myself. I thought the ending took a long time but there were a lot of things to like. One act of the film is set at an English church and for this they really upped the gothic horror. I loved it. Although, again, I was ready to slam Russell Crowe as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, I actually thought he played it really well. I really liked Ahmanet and her story although her chasing of Tom Cruise's character was a bit cringeworthy sometimes. I also whooped when I saw Mesopotamia appear on the screen then transition into Iraq at the beginning of the film when they were there.

Upon reflection, I find that Dracula Untold and The Mummy are more similar than they first seem in that both female protagonists are very weak and damsels in distress and they are also the reason for the male protagonists becoming what they do.
After watching The Mummy, I am now of the opinion that I want the Dark Universe to work. I also want Dracula Untold to be reinstated in the series. Don't get me wrong, I miss the previous Mummy series like most people seem to, but I really think that this could work. They do need to get rid of Johnny Depp though, as he was planned to be the Invisible Man, the uproar with Fantastic Beasts should inform Universal that it would be the best idea.


I'm not sure how everything is going to fit into present day. The monsters were scary for their times which is why modern films with them don't work as well as their powers were suited for a more powerless time. We have nuclear weapons now. Maybe that's why Dracula and Ahmanet had power over their own 'armies' and they were created in the past.
It's a shame it looks like the Dark Universe is going in the direction I had anticipated - down the drain. The problem is that Universal are always going to try and find ways of monopolizing on their old monsters so I think they need to take the risk and stick with an idea otherwise people will soon get bored with the constant remakes. Looking for more original ideas to fit into the Dark Universe may also be the way forward. I also think maybe they marketed the series the wrong way. Now I'm no expert on marketing at all but something makes me think neither Dracula Untold or The Mummy will end up as cult classics because of it.
I would like to see the series progress but I guess we'll just have to wait and see. What do you think?
I hope you enjoyed reading.
Lotty
xx

No comments:

Post a Comment