Even though I was pretty sick on Friday, I needed to get out of the house, so I saw Taken with Marie.
It came with her sister's recommendation - and this is a sister whose favourite film is Legally Blonde. Not an action flick fan.
But there was action aplenty. It was kind of strange - like Kramer vs Kramer meets James Bond. That's strange in a really good way - it's good to see an action film with 3-dimensional characters and believable backstories - and in a bad way, too - once the action was over it reverted to a "family issues" film, and that kind of felt unsatisfactory.
I also found myself overthinking the whole thing - a bad habit of mine - and wondering what message the film was sending.
In many ways it was a typical hero story - that our protagonist is the only guy who knows how to save his daughter, that the whole system is against him, he can trust no one and must rely on his wits and his fists (used in equal amounts, and very proficiently) to get through.
It was extremely exciting, and yes, the hero wasn't completely invincible (only 99%). But it made me reflect on why I enjoyed Signs so much. Hero movies where the main guy is always in control are sheer escapism. Life can be much more like Signs - overwhelming and confusing, and a reason to turn to one another for help.
So my verdict on Taken - a terrific ride, but reflective of an individualistic mindset that is gradually fading away as we all seek to rediscover what it means to live in a society.
It came with her sister's recommendation - and this is a sister whose favourite film is Legally Blonde. Not an action flick fan.
But there was action aplenty. It was kind of strange - like Kramer vs Kramer meets James Bond. That's strange in a really good way - it's good to see an action film with 3-dimensional characters and believable backstories - and in a bad way, too - once the action was over it reverted to a "family issues" film, and that kind of felt unsatisfactory.
I also found myself overthinking the whole thing - a bad habit of mine - and wondering what message the film was sending.
In many ways it was a typical hero story - that our protagonist is the only guy who knows how to save his daughter, that the whole system is against him, he can trust no one and must rely on his wits and his fists (used in equal amounts, and very proficiently) to get through.
It was extremely exciting, and yes, the hero wasn't completely invincible (only 99%). But it made me reflect on why I enjoyed Signs so much. Hero movies where the main guy is always in control are sheer escapism. Life can be much more like Signs - overwhelming and confusing, and a reason to turn to one another for help.
So my verdict on Taken - a terrific ride, but reflective of an individualistic mindset that is gradually fading away as we all seek to rediscover what it means to live in a society.
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