Purely from a plot perspective, Jackman’s character using fantasy magic is very deus ex machina (no pun intended), but it really works from a symbolism POV. The whole point is that Jackman’s character was so driven to best his rival(s) that he was willing to literally (metaphorically) kill himself, just like Bale’s character is willing to die to keep his secret.
The whole movie is a story about being consumed by competitiveness or dedication to art to the point of self-destruction, and to that point, I think it’s very successful
I don’t necessarily disagree with you; I’m just saying that it seemed to me that it was an intentional choice by the writers and director rather than a cop-out. A little bit of magical realism about how his drive manifested the technology he “needed” creating a monkey’s paw situation.
Then again, I don’t think I’ve seen the movie more than once since I saw it theaters, so I might just be reading too much into it and remembering it with rose-colored glasses.
spoiler
Purely from a plot perspective, Jackman’s character using fantasy magic is very deus ex machina (no pun intended), but it really works from a symbolism POV. The whole point is that Jackman’s character was so driven to best his rival(s) that he was willing to literally (metaphorically) kill himself, just like Bale’s character is willing to die to keep his secret.
The whole movie is a story about being consumed by competitiveness or dedication to art to the point of self-destruction, and to that point, I think it’s very successful
I get the symbolism, it just fell flat to me because of how much it felt like a cop-out. To each their own, though.
I don’t necessarily disagree with you; I’m just saying that it seemed to me that it was an intentional choice by the writers and director rather than a cop-out. A little bit of magical realism about how his drive manifested the technology he “needed” creating a monkey’s paw situation.
Then again, I don’t think I’ve seen the movie more than once since I saw it theaters, so I might just be reading too much into it and remembering it with rose-colored glasses.