Written by Matt Goldberg
I love that Brett Ratner keeps bouncing from project to project because it means that he's not actually directing anything. Is he making a Hugh Hefner biopic? Is he doing Conan? Is he making Beverly Hills Cop 4? It's like a game of musical chairs except all the chairs have been coated in flesh-eating bacteria. Now Brett Ratner may have moved on to his worst project yet: "Youngblood". Not a remake of the 1986 Rob Lowe/Patrick Swayze film, but an adaptation of the god-awful 90s comic by Rob Liefeld. If Ratner was a more imaginative gent, I could see this as a great opportunity to lampoon the superhero comic. He could make all his heroes look horribly grotesque with gigantic bitch tits and no feet. But no, he thinks it's great. Reliance Big Entertainment (is the "big" really necessary?) paid six figures for the property which is only about six figures too many. Said Ratner, "Most of the great graphic novels are gone, and 'Youngblood' is one of the few comic books left with tentpole potential*. It was a real personal passion project for me, and a lot of people wanted ('Youngblood'), but the amazing thing about the guys at Reliance is the speed with which they're able to move." What's more disturbing: that Youngblood is a real passion project for anyone or that a lot of people wanted it? But yes, Brett. Most of the great graphic novels are "gone". I'm glad you're picking up the refuse. *Do you notice how most directors wouldn't say that? That it's something a studio or a producer would say? That's Ratner's big problem—he doesn't make films because they have something interesting to say or they speak to character or do something new. He does it because it will make money. This is why guys like me don't like Ratner.