Quote:
Originally Posted by Eric Paddon
I only mentioned "Poseidon Adventure" and "Towering Inferno" and the latter I think works because it is for all intents and purposes a big-screen epic quality episode of the TV show "Emergency!" on many levels, particularly embodied by Steve McQueen's fire chief. McQueen is simply shown responding to this disaster doing his job, and isn't given a bunch of contrived emotional connections like having to rescue a wife or daughter who happens to be attending the party. That Jack Webb style level of professionalism is what elevates the film above the latter day counterparts IMO.
And while it would be a stretch to call both films high-brow, they nontheless had an Oscar winning scriptwriter in Stirling Silliphant who I think its safe to say knew how to write better than the script writers we have today.
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I agree that Steve McQueen turned in a noteworthy performance in "Towering Inferno". I just wanted you to see that in some of the later movies like Independence Day, there were moments that were equally noteworthy. 2012 is, at the end, a dramatization of the Great Flood (without the 40 days of rain).