Firstly, if you haven't seen Tremors: A Cold Day In Hell yet and you complain that this post contains spoilers...well, you're a numpty. Whilst I'm trying to avoid spoilers here any discussion of a film you haven't watched is likely to give SOMETHING away. If you don't want to read 'em don't read this. Simples.
Secondly, if you're gonna be offended by the fact that Tremors is my favourite movie franchise...get a life. I bloody love Tremors (but I am so glad Kevin Bacon's spin off has been scrubbed. He dissed Tremors so many times that to reboot it without anything but the first movie being canon? RUDE!).
Right, so with my disclaimers up here goes. I shan't cover the premise of the movie itself - just Burt Gummer. I bloody love his character across the franchise. He starts out as the scary survivalist gun-loving neighbour you really wouldn't want and becomes the hero you never expected to need. His sense of self-preservation extends to protect his whole (if tiny) community...with the exception of Melvin, who is a git LOL.
If you've only seen the first movie (1990) you'd be forgiven for wondering what the heck. Burt was a side character and the fact he's even in the SIXTH movie might come as quite the surprise. Kevin Bacon took point in that film as Val McKee; his sidekick Earl Bassett (Fred Ward) was lead in the second; but by the third it was clear the real star was Burt Gummer, played by Michael Gross. Burt
The franchise (so far) consists of:
- Tremors (1990) - set in Perfection, Nevada.
- Tremors 2: Aftershocks (1996) - set primarily in Mexico.
- Tremors 3: Back To Perfection (2001) - set in Perfection.
- A 13 episode TV series of Tremors (2003) - set in Perfection.
- Tremors 4: The Legend Begins (2004) - set in Perfection; a prequel featuring Gross as Gummer's ancestor, Hiram.
- Tremors 5: Bloodlines - set primarily in South Africa; Gummer meets up with a videographer named Travis Welker (Jamie Kennedy) who is in fact his long-lost son.
- Tremors: A Cold Day In Hell (2018) - set primarily in Arctic Canada.
Which brings me to my point...
The sixth film builds on Burt's struggling relationship with his son. Travis wants to build a relationship with his long-lost pops but Burt's still struggling with his unintended parenthood; not least the idea that his son will someday fill his shoes.
Some fans of the franchise didn't like seeing their hero vulnerable, less rational and more paranoid, claiming the script put him out of character...but he's facing his own mortality. Not in an abstract concept way but as in I-have-a-middle-aged-son-therefore-I-am-OLD way. Character ages aren't specified but Michael Gross is 70; Jamie Kennedy is nearly 48. Sorry if you're 70+ but that IS getting on a bit. Illnesses get more serious, injuries take longer to heal...and the health risks of old age - such as arthritis, dementia, stroke - are increasingly common. In the real world 28 years have passed since the first movie; in the fictional world Burt has long since split from his wife, lost everything (KABOOM!!!) and rebuilt his life. There is no pretence that time is not rolling on.
Burt has always been stubborn / ornery / paranoid / independent. Not only does the plotline have Burt in peril (no great surprise there) but this time he's reliant on others, and particularly the son he rather resents. His reaction to this is not at all out of character - I think the objecting fans just don't have the proper empathy for his situation.
Given what's happening with my mum right now, I get it. She was fiercely independent a month ago. She organised us all - my dad, my stepdad, my kids and I all relied on her entirely too much. Seeing her scared and vulnerable is pretty terrifying. And, of course, it's even worse for her; she's lost so much and we're still not sure how much of it she has realised - she's talked of giving up her car but not her flat. I can't foresee her ever being able to live independently again. On top of that she's never much liked people much; doctors and hospitals even less...and now she's got zero privacy and stuck in an environment which terrifies her for good and valid reasons. Can any of us truly imagine how we'd react going through such a thing?! I know damn well I wouldn't want to and I've never been as good at adulting as my mum!
Meeting Travis and having a full-grown man call him 'pops' has been quite the shock to Burt; regardless of how old he feels, it forces him to acknowledge how old he's become. The plotline of the sixth movie has him face a scarier prospect than the average graboid / shrieker / assblaster - and the fear is real. Of course he's reacting 'badly' - he's like a beaten dog; snarling and snapping - but it's TOTALLY in character. Burt is never gonna retire gracefully and live in some home with bridge parties and afternoon tea!!! Given half a chance he'll go out kicking and screaming and attempting to shoot the grim reaper!
Some fans of the franchise didn't like seeing their hero vulnerable, less rational and more paranoid, claiming the script put him out of character...but he's facing his own mortality. Not in an abstract concept way but as in I-have-a-middle-aged-son-therefore-I-am-OLD way. Character ages aren't specified but Michael Gross is 70; Jamie Kennedy is nearly 48. Sorry if you're 70+ but that IS getting on a bit. Illnesses get more serious, injuries take longer to heal...and the health risks of old age - such as arthritis, dementia, stroke - are increasingly common. In the real world 28 years have passed since the first movie; in the fictional world Burt has long since split from his wife, lost everything (KABOOM!!!) and rebuilt his life. There is no pretence that time is not rolling on.
Burt has always been stubborn / ornery / paranoid / independent. Not only does the plotline have Burt in peril (no great surprise there) but this time he's reliant on others, and particularly the son he rather resents. His reaction to this is not at all out of character - I think the objecting fans just don't have the proper empathy for his situation.
Given what's happening with my mum right now, I get it. She was fiercely independent a month ago. She organised us all - my dad, my stepdad, my kids and I all relied on her entirely too much. Seeing her scared and vulnerable is pretty terrifying. And, of course, it's even worse for her; she's lost so much and we're still not sure how much of it she has realised - she's talked of giving up her car but not her flat. I can't foresee her ever being able to live independently again. On top of that she's never much liked people much; doctors and hospitals even less...and now she's got zero privacy and stuck in an environment which terrifies her for good and valid reasons. Can any of us truly imagine how we'd react going through such a thing?! I know damn well I wouldn't want to and I've never been as good at adulting as my mum!
Meeting Travis and having a full-grown man call him 'pops' has been quite the shock to Burt; regardless of how old he feels, it forces him to acknowledge how old he's become. The plotline of the sixth movie has him face a scarier prospect than the average graboid / shrieker / assblaster - and the fear is real. Of course he's reacting 'badly' - he's like a beaten dog; snarling and snapping - but it's TOTALLY in character. Burt is never gonna retire gracefully and live in some home with bridge parties and afternoon tea!!! Given half a chance he'll go out kicking and screaming and attempting to shoot the grim reaper!
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