Denis Villeneuve Has His Fair Share of Haters ...

After yesterday’s comments, in which he confessed to hating dialogue in movies, Denis Villeneuve seems to have fed some rare meat to his ravenous haters, and he has plenty of them, especially over at the Lincoln Center and BFI, with both parties having never really warmed up to his films.

And that’s understandable. Villeneuve’s cinema isn’t subtle. It’s in your face. I still believe his best film was 2010’s “Incendies,” which was his last one before he graduated to the major studio system and started obsessing over sci-fi epics — some of which, I must admit, were very good.

Since 2013’s “Prisoners”, and with the exception of “Enemy,” it’s been go big or go home for Villeneuve: “Sicario,” “Arrival,” “Blade Runner 2049,” “Dune.” Bang. Bang. Bang. All critically praised by a mainstream contingent of film critics, some of these films have massive fan bases. Suffice to say, Villeneuve has turned into one of the few filmmakers out there who could sell a movie solely with his name stamped on the poster.

One can certainly surmise that Villeneuve’s popularity amongst movie fans could very soon eclipse fellow rival, and best buddy, Christopher Nolan’s. This past September, a Rotten Tomatoes poll concerning the best directors of the last 25 years had Villeneuve finishing second, right behind Nolan. That’s how popular Villeneuve currently is with the fanboys.

Now, I’m not saying that Villeneuve isn’t a strong filmmaker, but I do find that he’s become a successful one by copying, and combining, the styles of Fincher, Nolan and, to a lesser extent, Kubrick. What I’m actually trying to say is that Villeneuve is still a director in search of his own voice, and that’s enough to reap the ire of the high brow crowd. Is he an auteur? I would think so, but by default.

Maybe Villeneuve will find that aforementioned cinematic voice, but he’s already made eight features so far and I don’t really see any sort of unique stamp — just some very well made and efficient filmmaking.

Villeneuve is certainly one of the few filmmakers out there who seems to continuously be working on a big canvas and delivering these big statements that aren’t necessarily dumbed down for the popcorn crowd. Nolan is another one. Maybe that’s why they get along so well, they make the same type of cinema — high-budgeted event movies that, they keep telling us, need to be seen on IMAX.

If you abide by the above comments from New Yorker critic Richard Brody, then it won’t get any better for you when it comes to Villeneuve — He is currently working on three projects: “Cleopatra,” “Rendezvous With Rama,” and “Dune: Messiah.” All are “megaproductions” and will likely involve “gigantic sets.”