Prose and Cons
More reasons to read David Edelstein, even when reviewing obvious duds like Jumper:
Jumper is so in sync with the language of modern action movies that it’s possible to look past its soullessness and go with the quantum flow. Jump-cuts are the rule in thrillers like The Bourne Identity (which Liman directed). Here, the faster and choppier Liman gets, the truer he is to his hyperkinetic premise. Fisticuffs begin on one continent, continue on another, and end in a third: It’s Around the World in Eighty Blows.
Anthony Lane may have the sharpest wit in film criticism, but, as I’ve said before and will keep on repeating to the end, Edelstein has the most fantastic prose — even when I don’t agree with him.
You’re joking, right? David Edelstein has the most fantastic prose in film criticism? That passage you excerpted is fine — he’s got a good command of language — but it’s not very interesting, which is basically the problem with Edelstein. Solid judgment, well-crafted prose, but rarely anything interesting or original to say. He’s the Tim Noah of film criticism. It’s fantastic prose only in the most superficial sense. Matt Zoller Seitz, just to take one example, is a far superior writer.
— Dan · Feb 22, 06:15 PM · #