Even if the contents of his suicide note are revealed to the public, we may never understand why Tony Scott jumped off a bridge on Sunday. There are no clues to be found in the 68-year-old director's career, which was successful by every measure except critical acclaim.
Indeed, his movies were critic-proof blockbusters, usually action sagas that were ruthlessly entertaining. His aesthetic was not a subtle one, with its rapid-fire editing and sun-kissed visuals, but it was blunt and effective. Having learned his craft by filming thousands of commercials, he made movies that were essentially advertisements for themselves, selling whatever shiny hardware was on display, whether it was state-of-the-art military weaponry or the pearly grins of Tom Cruise or Denzel Washington. The gleaming surfaces of his pictures were no place to look for deep thought or rich character development, but they did result in some of the most unforgettable and iconic movies of the last 30 years. Here's a list of some of the ones that Scott fans will remember most fondly.
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