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AbsimiliJon
Reviews
Star Wars: The Bad Batch: The Harbinger (2024)
Laziest, least logical episode yet
From the creative perspective, this just follows some of the laziest cliches in fiction writing:
- A character that had an impactful death at the end of a concluded character arch reappears.
- The supposed elite fighting squad decides to take on a sith assassin (they are unaware of the aforementioned arch) by politely taking turns to attempt to punch her one at a time.
- Main characters almost immediately trusts a mass murderer because a child says people can change.
- There are hints that an established character potentially has special abilities, in a twist that has been telegraphed since season one, episode one.
Sometimes laziness in writing can be forgivable, but when main characters behave like complete idiots because believable human reactions would've steered the plot in the wrong way, I'm not going to be in a forgiving mood.
In the future, ban all resurrections. If you can't think if any new characters that might be good, hire someone who can. Furthermore, have some people go over your script, and if anyone asks why certain characters would be stupid enough to do certain things, consider changing the script.
And while I'm dreaming, I'd like an X-Wing, please.
Midsommar (2019)
Sometimes hilarious, occasionally uncomfortable, mainly boring
This had the potential to tell an interesting story of inter-character drama and folk horror. Unfortunately the characters are so one-dimensional that after a short while, you simply don't care about them, and there are no scary scenes whatsoever. Nor is there any tension, as the plot is completely clichéd, and telegraphs rather than foreshadows. If you think this will be an effective horror film, the tension you have before you start watching it will be the strongest the film will give you. A few attempts at gross-outs sprinkled throughout do little to nothing to relieve the tedium. Perhaps believable human reactions from any of the main characters as they experience the weirdness would've helped, but these reactions (or lack thereof) are more of a source of comedy. There are two other outsiders occasionally present who actually have realistic reactions, and frankly I'd rather have the film follow them.
Furthermore, the references to actual culture, mythology and history are all so thoroughly inaccurate that it becomes laughable to anyone with even a passing knowledge about such things. (And as a Scandinavian I have plenty.) Had it been cut down to about half its length it could've worked as a satire of Americans' notions of foreign culture, but a few good chuckles aren't enough to recommend this on even a Plan 9 from Outer Space-level.
The cinematography is good, the actors do the best to be expected with such a very limited script, but the "music" was at times literally painful, and made me reach for the mute button on more than one occasion. Imagine electronic impersonation of the worst violin failures possible, and you have the idea.
Secret Invasion (2023)
Waste of a premise.
I understand what they tried to accomplish here, but the story was generally too predictable, and the characters too unsympathetic and generally unlikable to root for (nothing like a joke about carpet-bombing to invoke sympathy, especially these days). Quite a lot also felt like a sub-par 24, even perpetuating the objectively false notion that torture is effective (it will make people tell you what they think you want to hear, not the truth). While Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D. is by no stretch of the imagination a good show, this fell even flatter at times, both in plot and character development. Being grim and miserable does not make a character multi-faceted if grim and miserable is all they're presenting.
And finally: Finland is not in Scandinavia. A minor point perhaps, but it's telling of how thorough the writing process was that no-one even bothered to read the Wikipedia article of the settings.
A Boy and His Atom: The World's Smallest Movie (2013)
A complex masterpiece
While I understand that the complexity of the highly nuanced plot may seem daunting, I would recommend focusing only on the surface level plots on your first viewing, much like Moby Dick can be read as a purely material story about whalers. Then, having possibly spent some time in contemplation, give it a rewatch with the focus on the more subtle aspects of the first few layers of subtext (going back to the previous simile, this would be like when you consider Moby Dick as a story of man vs. Nature, the futile search for control in a chaotic reality etc). Then, having some grasp of these, give it another rewatch while trying to focus on the dimensions of metaphysical philosophy that should now be apparent, that I won't spoil. In the end, all the pieces should fit together nicely and the many meanings' beautiful interconnectivity should be clear.
I was considering removing a star for the overly spectacular visuals, but I suppose that's de rigueur for even the most artistic film-maker these days, so I'll let it slide.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch (2021)
Essentially an audioplay.
Plot-wise, this is about as fun and entertaining as the other animated Star Wars shows, and you'll know for yourself if that's a recommendation or not, that's all down to taste. The story is in parallel to the existing one(s), and the characters are compelling enough.
However, about 80% of the show is so dark you can't tell what's going on, which is distracting and detracting, especially for the action scenes. I do hope it gets renewed, but I hope they have more confidence in their own animation to use this visual medium to its fullest.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021)
Good show, shame about the look.
The writing and acting are great, but it seems someone took the desire for a dark tone too literally, leading to extensive scenes where you can't really tell what's actually going on.
The plot-lines, overtones and social commentary are on point, though some of the plot-twists are a bit obvious. The action scenes you can actually make out are well made. Nice tie-in to the rest of the MCU. The main cast have great chemistry, which is essential.
A must see for Marvel fans, though they don't make it easy.