MovieChat Forums > Real Genius (1985) Discussion > The beginning is terrible

The beginning is terrible

posted 9 years ago by justin-243
5 replies | jump to latest

The overall movie is great, but neither the opening credits or the opening scene in the government control room are a good fit. The opening credits with the weapons drawings and the oldies tune is completely the wrong tone. And the opening scene gives away too much too early on and is way too serious for a movie that is mostly funny after that. It feels like one of those movies where the director was fired halfway through and someone else finished the job. It's a shame because the film is pretty great after that.

[–] Acceler8 9 years ago

Both the drawings and the first scene lay out one of the themes of the movie, escalating weapons development. And the oldies tune, "You Took Advantage of Me," foreshadows the other one, about the way the students (not just Chris and Mitch but also Kent and his group) were exploited to perfect the laser.

[–] justin-243 9 years ago

It's clear the opening credits and first scene make sense. You believe they complement the movie positively?

[–] chris_v_25 9 years ago

What?

You need to get right with the lord!

[–] arthurab 9 years ago

The opening makes sense b/c the lyrics to the song are a sardonic foreshadowing of what's to come, as is the behind the scenes look at gov/military ops.

The humor of them both sets the tone for the rest of the movie. It's just that you don't know that til after you've seen it a few times.

--
I'm melting!!!!

[–] Burk48917 (11383) 2 years ago

I think this was more a reference to the Cold War and how programs like this probably actually existed. A lot if movies around this era did.