by There are three big movies coming out this summer that feature a bow and arrow: The Avengers, Brave and The Hunger Games. It just so happens that one of the GeekDad contributors, Jim MacQuarrie, is an archery coach. He set a critical eye on the archery sequences in the trailers and publicity shots for these movies.
He came away very impressed with Pixar’s rendering of the arrow shots in Brave. The three boys have terrible form and only one manages to hit the target. Then Merida, the princess who wants to be warrior, has great form and nails each of her shots.
Jim has similar good things to say about Jennifer Lawrence’s bow shots in The Hunger Games trailer.
However, Jim has nothing good to say about Jeremy Renner’s form as Hawkeye in The Avengers. Haweye is supposed to be the World’s Greatest Marksman. Jim’s take:
In a few interviews last year, Renner said he was taking archery lessons in preparation for the role, but from what I see here, it looks like he (a) had no coach and was entirely self-taught; (b) had an incompetent coach (there are many out there); or (c) is a terrible student and refused to do what his coach told him.
Of course you can argue that it’s a comic book movie, so it’s not supposed to be realistic. On the other hand, you could say the same about Hunger Games. It seems clear that Jennifer Lawrence took the time to properly use a bow and arrow. So why didn’t Jeremy Renner?
You can read each of the three stories:
- The Avengers: Hawkeye, World’s Worst Archer?
- New Brave Trailer Nails the Archery
- The Hunger Games Trailer Shows How to Make an Impression
Dear Dougcornelius,
Along the same lines,, Making a movie and writing a screenplay are not exclusive for those who are in the film industry. In fact, there are a lot of people (even kids and teenagers) who are making lots of amateur films. It can either be for entertainment purposes or for school. For those who are into it, they know that it is quite difficult to think of a movie title. Although some may think that writing the title may be the easiest part of making a movie.
Cheerio