Obsession — 3/5
I've a working theory that when a movie hits, it's because it's subtly introducing a new idea that people haven't quite seen before. 'Die Hard,' 'Speed,' 'the Matrix,' etc. Action film in a box, constant momentum as plot point, spiritually tech-y VFX, etc. This movie made half a billion dollars and I do not know what is new here. It's an 80s horror + a wish movie. It feels familiar. And so, that leads me to thinking that what is new is simply the classic NBC summer re-run campaign "It's new to you." Every twenty/thirty years or so, we get to just repeat culture for people who did not grow up with it. Marvel got to do that for the Star Wars fans. 'Stranger Things' got to do it for the 'Goonies' fans. If these things had appeared in those times, they would have been seen as good and okay and maybe repetitive rip-offs, better than average but still close to the mean. But it's a new world with new people and there you go. All to say that the massive box office created an expectation in me that there was something more than 'this is fine' here. It's a fun idea that doesn't even feel like its idea is fully explored. It could have been subtler before it went over the top? Though to be fair, Inde Navarrette really is wonderful in the role and I'm excited to see where she goes from here.
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