In the grand theater, the overhead lights dimmed in unison, and the vast IMAX screen flickered as if about to reveal something, but remained shrouded in darkness so dense it was hard to tell if it was part of the film or the theater itself.
Suddenly, the music began!
The orchestral score, dominated by strings with a deep violin undertone, created a tense melody that slowly unraveled across the screen. The dense black fog seemed to permeate every inch of space, inescapable and oppressive, accentuated by chilling piano notes that heightened the sense of suffocation.
At that moment, the 20th Century Fox logo appeared, but unlike its usual vibrant form, it was in stark black and white, emanating a cold, eerie feel. The Stanton Studios logo followed, amplifying the ominous atmosphere.
"Oh, this is the true feeling of a Murphy film!" Edmund Princeton couldn't help but exclaim. "Murphy is clearly back to his signature style!"
There was no introductory sequence, no lengthy prologue. Two short logos flashed by, and amidst the black fog, blue and red lights appeared, quickly transforming into a speeding police car.
As the police car came into focus, a voice crackled over the radio.
"This is the New York State Police... we are approaching the scene!"
The police car swerved sharply, entering an asphalt mixing plant. Soon, more police cars arrived.
Uniformed officers, plainclothes detectives, and SWAT teams assembled, numbering over a hundred. The camera finally settled on Christopher Waltz's character, Sheriff Lynch, emerging from the lead car.
The film swiftly set the scene: a group of crazed criminals had kidnapped a wealthy father and son from Long Island and holed up in a temporary asphalt plant, surrounded by the police.
The police formulated a quick action plan and initiated a rescue mission. The camera followed Sheriff Lynch as he trailed the SWAT team into the mixing building.
An intense gunfight ensued, with several criminals shot dead and the father rescued. But the last criminal, holding the son hostage, retreated to a massive asphalt melting vat, forcing the police to halt their advance.
"You want money, right?" the father shouted from the police perimeter. "I can give you everything, just don't hurt him!"
The criminal, gripping the boy's neck with one hand and pointing a gun at his head with the other, remained silent.
"Please, let my son go!" the father pleaded again. "I'll trade places with him!"
After a tense standoff, with police unable to act, the father walked over alone and swapped places with his son.
As the boy was freed, a gunshot suddenly rang out from the police side, hitting the criminal in the leg. Before falling, the criminal pushed the father into the foul-smelling asphalt vat.
"Daddy..." the boy's scream was heart-wrenching.
The screen abruptly went black, and when it lit up again, a muscular man awoke from a nightmare as a voice called from outside the room, "Chris Dane, it's time for training."
Outside, the world was bleak. In the icy wilderness, Chris Dane underwent rigorous training. Liam Neeson's character, his godfather, appeared during a night session, guiding him.
"No matter your purpose, Chris Dane, you've lost your way!"
During the night training, Chris was timid, deeply afraid of the dark and blackness.
The scene flashed back to Sheriff Lynch wrapping a coat around the boy, handing him to a colleague while he handled the aftermath. The boy snuck away to the asphalt vat area, seeing his father's charred remains being pulled out—a blackened, terrifying figure...
The boy's vision went black as he fainted.
Ninjutsu, climbing, combat, tracking... Chris trained relentlessly, fierce by day, cowardly by night.
During a night session, Chris was easily knocked down by Rainer, cowering in fear of the dark like a child, unable to rise.
"Why do we fall, Chris?" Rainer's voice echoed. "So we can learn to pick ourselves up!"
Watching the cowardly protagonist, Daisy felt frustrated but noted Rainer's dedication, muttering, "That mentor seems really good!"
The film flashed back again to Chris inheriting his father's substantial stock holdings after the funeral. His godfather, Rainer, easily gained custody and took him north for training.
"Do you want to avenge your father, Chris?"
The criminal who killed his father survived the leg wound. Chris took Rainer's advice, leaving New York to undergo intense training.
Initially, Chris was despondent, but as he grew older and returned to New York, he reconnected with a childhood neighbor. Through her politician father, he learned that his father's death wasn't a simple robbery but connected to New York's largest crime syndicate.
This realization made Chris understand that avenging his father required much more effort.
He trained diligently, mastering various skills, becoming exceptionally hardworking but still unable to overcome his fear of the dark. The darkness was like the asphalt vat that dissolved his father, chilling him to the bone.
"You fear what you don't understand!"
His godfather Rainer was an exceptional combat master, skilled and insightful. "To defeat a powerful enemy, you must instill fear. To instill fear, you must conquer your own fear!"
Rainer accompanied Chris in training, hunting, and stealth missions, helping him overcome his inner fears. Chris realized that to defeat evil, the best way was to become the embodiment of fear.
Edmund Princeton agreed with this philosophy. "To make a treacherous enemy afraid, you must make them feel fear!"
The first twenty minutes of the film depicted a man's journey to overcome psychological fear, clearly introducing Rainer, Chris Dane, Sheriff Lynch, and Jay Rachel.
In Lincoln Center, Todd McCarthy shared this view. Rainer and Chris Dane were well-developed characters. The beginning seemed like a simple revenge story, but the psychological depth made the characters real.
Reflecting on it, it made sense. Any child experiencing such trauma would have deep psychological scars, difficult to overcome, not simply fading over time. Overcoming such fear was a challenging process.
Murphy Stanton used these twenty minutes to vividly illustrate the impact of fear on a person.
Todd McCarthy wrote "fear" in his notes. The story seemed like a simple revenge tale but would undoubtedly be more complex. Murphy Stanton's films were never as simple as Marvel's mindless popcorn flicks.
He believed the story would be intricate, a dark, heavy, stylistic film, far from a simple revenge plot.
The first twenty minutes were indeed dark in tone, but the theme was not overly heavy, focusing on the protagonist's struggle with fear.
Rainer didn't seem like a good guy!
This sentiment was shared by Daisy, who concentrated on the screen while her mind raced. Rainer's actions portrayed him as an excellent godfather, but something felt off.
As a seasoned Murphy Stanton fan, Daisy knew his films' main characters were rarely so good-hearted, not even Superman, who accidentally killed many innocent civilians during battles.
The problem became apparent: during Chris's training, Rainer frequently mentioned justice and revenge.
Encouraging Chris to return to New York, Rainer claimed that only by avenging his father could justice be served, instilling the belief that revenge was necessary for justice.
While seemingly correct, New York was not the Middle Ages. It had a government, police, and courts—a complete judicial system. Was vigilante justice truly appropriate?
The audience, mostly adults, understood that Murphy's films were not mindless entertainment for teenagers. His fans, experienced in life, tended to think critically.
Many, like Daisy, questioned the ethics of vigilante justice. The criminal awaiting trial was to be replaced by Chris's personal retribution, guided by Rainer. Was this right? Did Rainer truly aim to help Chris, knowing he'd become a notorious fugitive?
As the audience pondered these questions, next door, viewers happily munched on popcorn, enjoying *Thor*.
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