Post by juvenal on Jan 10, 2006 10:40:58 GMT -8
I'd be interested in hearing what everyone thinks about this film.
The first thing I want to say is that it's very, very well-made. Maybe Spielberg's best, in terms of craft.
The second thing I want to say is that the insipid platitudes that this movie rehashes ruined the whole experience for me. Violence, even in self-defense, only begets more violence, "a society compromising its own values," etc., etc., blah, blah blah. It's almost as bad as having Darth Vader say "If you're not with me, then you're against me," or "only a Sith thinks in absolutes." It's almost that bad.
Well, maybe not the whole experience. I silently cheered, smiled and felt happy every time a terrorist died in this movie, which I'm sure was exactly the opposite effect Spielberg was going for.
The third thing I should say, because I certainly wasn't aware of it when I went to see it a couple weeks ago, is that this movie is only very loosely based on actual history, but it represents itself as a faithful rendering. So don't be fooled.
All in all, I'd say it was probably the best-made movie I've seen in the past year, and I think there was an unusual number of good ones during that time. Definitely go see it if you're a real film buff. But it's a very bad film done very well, if that makes sense.
The sad part is that Spielberg and the script writers take such an important, thought-provoking story that too few Americans know about, and rewrite it to fit their own version of the same simple-minded, boring and ultimately sucicidal messages that all the mainstream media spout. One version of this message might read: "If only we wouldn't try to defend ourselves, the terrorists would leave us alone."
The very last shot of the very last scene is especially childish and patently ridiculous. When you see it you'll know what I mean.
The first thing I want to say is that it's very, very well-made. Maybe Spielberg's best, in terms of craft.
The second thing I want to say is that the insipid platitudes that this movie rehashes ruined the whole experience for me. Violence, even in self-defense, only begets more violence, "a society compromising its own values," etc., etc., blah, blah blah. It's almost as bad as having Darth Vader say "If you're not with me, then you're against me," or "only a Sith thinks in absolutes." It's almost that bad.
Well, maybe not the whole experience. I silently cheered, smiled and felt happy every time a terrorist died in this movie, which I'm sure was exactly the opposite effect Spielberg was going for.
The third thing I should say, because I certainly wasn't aware of it when I went to see it a couple weeks ago, is that this movie is only very loosely based on actual history, but it represents itself as a faithful rendering. So don't be fooled.
All in all, I'd say it was probably the best-made movie I've seen in the past year, and I think there was an unusual number of good ones during that time. Definitely go see it if you're a real film buff. But it's a very bad film done very well, if that makes sense.
The sad part is that Spielberg and the script writers take such an important, thought-provoking story that too few Americans know about, and rewrite it to fit their own version of the same simple-minded, boring and ultimately sucicidal messages that all the mainstream media spout. One version of this message might read: "If only we wouldn't try to defend ourselves, the terrorists would leave us alone."
The very last shot of the very last scene is especially childish and patently ridiculous. When you see it you'll know what I mean.