Disclaimer: This is not going to be a review. The following post assumes you have seen the movie, so don’t read it if you don’t want spoilers. I guarantee nothing except for (hopefully) some food for thought, and hope for a little discussion about the film between lovers of the form. As you were…
Also, this one has some foul language in it. Don't say I didn't warn you.
So I saw this one a few weeks back, and thought I'd discuss it, now that people have had a chance to see it. I'll just say up front that I'm a fan of Charlize Theron, so that's a plus. I wasn't sure what to expect from this film, because when I saw the first trailer for it, I wasn't impressed. It was a lot of fighting, a lot of shots ogling Theron, and of course, the scintillating shots of her and Sofia Boutelis making out with plenty of tongue. Great, I thought. Another flick that pretends to be about 'female empowerment', but is actually. just another opportunity for dudes to eye-fuck hot women for two hours and call themselves feminists because they sat through a whole movie (gasp!) that has a woman as its main character. Great.
Then I saw a second trailer, and it looked much better, so I had some hope for the film, but still had reservations. In the end, I would say that the film isn't exactly the picture of female empowerment that I've enjoyed from other films, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I had feared. Theron's character is smart, savvy, and can definitely beat the shit out of a person using whatever blunt or sharp objects are at her disposal. The film also had a snappy soundtrack of music that was refreshing and fun, and took me back to my younger years, listening to the radio in our beat up old Datsun B-210 on the way to gymnastics practice.
But I think what struck me most about this movie was that it is the first time I've seen a movie based on a graphic novel where I could actually picture it as a graphic novel. Between the neon colors bouncing off her black and white wardrobe, and the concise dialogue, I could practically see the frames on each page and the word bubbles above their heads. The story wasn't particularly surprising, and the twists were fairly predictable, but I don't worry about things like that. As long as we get there in a fun and interesting way, it doesn't matter if I figured it out. Stories don't need to be some sleuthing assignment. Just something well told. And all in all, I'd say this was well told.
What did you think of her character? Did this feel like female empowerment to you? How about a film noir in full, fluorescent 1980's color?
Other films for companion viewing: Mad Max: Fury Road, Monster, The Warriors (Director's Cut), The Lives of Others, The Third Man, The Long Kiss Goodnight
Also, this one has some foul language in it. Don't say I didn't warn you.
So I saw this one a few weeks back, and thought I'd discuss it, now that people have had a chance to see it. I'll just say up front that I'm a fan of Charlize Theron, so that's a plus. I wasn't sure what to expect from this film, because when I saw the first trailer for it, I wasn't impressed. It was a lot of fighting, a lot of shots ogling Theron, and of course, the scintillating shots of her and Sofia Boutelis making out with plenty of tongue. Great, I thought. Another flick that pretends to be about 'female empowerment', but is actually. just another opportunity for dudes to eye-fuck hot women for two hours and call themselves feminists because they sat through a whole movie (gasp!) that has a woman as its main character. Great.
Then I saw a second trailer, and it looked much better, so I had some hope for the film, but still had reservations. In the end, I would say that the film isn't exactly the picture of female empowerment that I've enjoyed from other films, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I had feared. Theron's character is smart, savvy, and can definitely beat the shit out of a person using whatever blunt or sharp objects are at her disposal. The film also had a snappy soundtrack of music that was refreshing and fun, and took me back to my younger years, listening to the radio in our beat up old Datsun B-210 on the way to gymnastics practice.
But I think what struck me most about this movie was that it is the first time I've seen a movie based on a graphic novel where I could actually picture it as a graphic novel. Between the neon colors bouncing off her black and white wardrobe, and the concise dialogue, I could practically see the frames on each page and the word bubbles above their heads. The story wasn't particularly surprising, and the twists were fairly predictable, but I don't worry about things like that. As long as we get there in a fun and interesting way, it doesn't matter if I figured it out. Stories don't need to be some sleuthing assignment. Just something well told. And all in all, I'd say this was well told.
What did you think of her character? Did this feel like female empowerment to you? How about a film noir in full, fluorescent 1980's color?
Other films for companion viewing: Mad Max: Fury Road, Monster, The Warriors (Director's Cut), The Lives of Others, The Third Man, The Long Kiss Goodnight
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