George Miller says he sees the skill of "great filmmakers" in Death Stranding
As the release date for Kojima's latest looms ever closer on the horizon, illustrious Mad Max director George Miller has shared his thoughts on Death Stranding.
In a recent video posted by IGN, Miller explains why he believes Death Stranding is such a significant artefact in this cultural moment. "There is no cultural evolution unless it is renewed," Miller says. "If we're just doing the same old safe work all the time, that's almost a certain way to fail anyway."
Miller then elaborates on Kojima specifically, mentioning that he has the potential to push boundaries others wouldn't. "The skill that I see in great filmmakers, I now see in Kojima-san’s work," he explains. "The risk is that people just don't accept it." In Miller's eyes, there is a chance that Death Stranding is too radical for its time, too courageously invested in its singular visuals and syntax. Kind of like all the MGS games, so.
These comments come at a polarizing time, where legendary directors have started to critique and gush about creative entities outside their own niches. Scorsese recently slammed the MCU, which, even if you like those movies, he was absolutely within his rights to do. Anyway, if you made The Departed you likely wouldn't bother putting up with people on Twitter calling you a pretentious dinosaur w**ker either
Coppola, on the other hand, seems to be playing both sides, waiting until Kubrick comes back from the dead, shouts "Here's Stanley," and swears undying allegiance to either Scorsese or Taika Waititi. Back to the point.
In a time where more and more Hollywood actors are landing roles in behemoth games like Death Stranding and Cyberpunk 2077, it's refreshing to see someone like George Miller come away from what they know and embrace something new. Death Stranding is going to be a weird one, and will likely see quite a divisive fissure explode from the earth's core, separating apologists and detractors from one another for the rest of eternity.
But that's what makes this all the more interesting: now we know which side George Miller is going to be on, and that in itself is something worth thinking about. Certainly tastier food for thought than the fact Norman Reedus asked for bigger muscles in Death Stranding, anyway. Listen to the excellent Death Stranding playlist while you ponder about which of the two is more important. Maybe you'll end up wanting the Death Stranding PS4 Pro.