'The Great Machine': Brian Vaughan, Tony Harris' 'Ex-Machina' is wasted as a film, it should be on TV instead
Another comic book movie franchise is under way. Oscar Isaac is set to be starring in Legendary Entertainment's adaptation of 'Ex Machina', by Brian K Vaughan and Tony Harris. The story follows Mitchell Hundred, a former superhero who is elected as Mayor of New York after he helped save one of the World Trade Center towers on 9/11. Called 'The Great Machine' to avoid being confused with the 'Ex Machina' movie, the film will be written by Anna Waterhouse and Joe Shrapnel. No matter how well it is written, however, 'The Great Machine' as a movie is a real missed opportunity to tell stories better suited to a television format.
The original comic was, by and large, not about superheroism. There were superhero elements and a growing science fiction threat that eventually became the book's central plot, but none of that is what made 'Ex Machina' such an engaging comic. 'Ex Machina' was a comic book that was primarily about politics. Politics and wounded pride.
Nearly every issue was filled with deeply thought out political debate. As mayor, Mitchell Hundred had to deal with all kinds of issues that he generally talks over with his deputy mayor, Dave Wylie. The comic deals with complicated issues like censorship, public schooling, gay marriage and police brutality, showing the complications of the issues involved from the point of view of those in charge of making policy decisions.
While superhero tales tell stories of brave individuals fighting for what's right, 'Ex Machina' spends much of its time in discussion of what exactly is right, and learning that there is no one solution that adequately protects everyone in Hundred's constituency. There is no one storyline that makes 'Ex Machina' particularly iconic. It is the way Mayor Hundred slowly learns the ins-and-outs of politics through all the issues propping up throughout his career.
No matter how many movies the film franchise gets, a new, updated take on today's political climate is something that is best reserved for a television show. A movie is, by necessity, going to have to condense its content, and the slow build, science fiction horror plotline involving alternate Earths is sure to take prominence in a big-budget superhero movie. The open-minded discussion of policy and its undercurrent of people who own personal feelings, idealogies and desires thrown into the mix, is something that's going to be lost in a movie's limited run time — or it will be extremely condensed.
Another thing that made 'Ex-Machina' work so well was its character progression. While the series was roughly chronological, there were enough flashbacks slowly putting together a picture of the past that shows just how far the series' characters grew, for better or worse. Mitchell Hundred's act in particular, from wide-eyed incompetent superhero to shrew political negotiator, is emblematic of what the series is.
With the current proliferance of superhero stories in public conversation that is also rife with intensely political discussion, there has never been a better time for a show like 'Ex Machina' to explore issues from its own unique perspective. The best movie that 'The Great Machine' can be, still cuts away everything that made 'Ex Machina' the must-read political comic of its time.
'The Great Machine' has no set release date yet, but is currently in production under Legendary Entertainment.