Vin Diesel got a lot of attention last month when he made the following statement in regards to his film Furious 7:
“It will probably win best picture at the Oscars, unless the Oscars don’t want to be relevant ever.”
As much as I enjoyed Furious 7, I don't expect to see it taking home any golden statues next year. But Vin does make a good point. If audiences and even critics can take a blockbuster seriously, why can't The Academy? Pop cinema can be art!
Nominating a blockbuster is not unheard of. The two biggest in recent memory are District 9 and Avatar. So why not Furious 7? Because with a current Rotten Tomato score of 98%, Mad Max: Fury Road leaves Furious 7's 83% in the dust. If any film deserves to represent pop cinema at the Dolby Theater in 2016, it's George Miller's gonzo, chase masterpiece.
That rating is no fluke. The movie has the goods. It's a compelling story, well told, with an important social message. Proof positive that popcorn filmmaking can also handle weighty issues without sacrificing entertainment value. If anything, it's more of an achievement than simply making some "issue picture". "Spoon full of sugar" and all that. It probably won't win a Best Picture, but it absolutely deserves to be in the running...if the Oscars want to be relevant ever.
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