Not spoilery.
Jul. 17th, 2007 11:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
adiva_calandiaOn Live Free or Die Hard:
BWAHAHAHA.
HE TAKES DOWN A HELICOPTER WITH A CAR.
AND IT STARS MAC. (OMFG I DIDN'T REALIZE HE WAS THE GEEKY KID IN GALAXY QUEST! THIS KID RULES!)
Ahem. Anyway. There is slightly more in-depth commentary behind the cut, in particular about the villain. At this point, I do get spoilery about thepretense for explosions and gunfights plot.
So the villain is a computer geek who worked for the US gummint, proved to them that the system could be hacked easily, and was summarily fired and blacklisted. Typical bad guy with a grudge who thinks he's doing the world a favor by showing them the error of their ways, y'know?
About five minutes into his first appearance, I noticed that he wasn't blinking. I mean, he blinked a little, but mostly he didn't. Cool character choice.
A few minutes later I started trying to figure out why the detached, slightly twitchy way he talked and gestured was so familiar.
And then I hit on it. I want to phrase this delicately, if I can, because it's a topic that a number of people on my f-list have way more personal experience with than I do.
He reminded me of the people I've known with Asperger's. The mannerisms were all there. And now I can't figure out if it was deliberate or not, and if it was, if that's tacky or fascinating.
My other main reactions involved laughing hysterically (PLANE VS. SEMI WTF) (WHY IS THAT CHICK NOT DEAD SHE JUST GOT RAMMED AGAINST A CONCRETE WALL BY AN SUV) or flailing and wincing. These kind of blue-tinged, gritty action movies (and TV shows *eyes 24*) tend to hit "AGH THAT WOULD BE TERRYIFYING" buttons for me. Like, there's a scene where the bad guy takes over the transportation controls and makes all the streetlights in DC turn green, causing crash after crash at intersections. And now that I drive? That was SCARY. I always end up putting myself in the extras' shoes, the dispensable, dying extras. It sucks the fun out.
I think there must be a clause in the contracts of screenwriters working for action franchises with middle-aged stars that says that they must include parent-child tension. *eyes 24 some more*
Signs that I think too much: At some point I started formulating a theory about how the sidekick in action movies acts in the same way the Greek chorus did. They're the voice of the people. The action hero is like the First Actor, with his tragic flaws and hubris and actions; he's madly talented, and detached enough that he has no problem mowing down bad guys.
But, see, most audience members can't relate to a guy who can kill people with his thighs and acerbic wit. So you get a sidekick who's less capable (although generally he still has some kind of amazing talent, like the kid in Snakes On A Plane and his surfing, or this kid and his hacking) for the audience to relate to. We can all relate to the idea of being scared out of our fucking minds by explosions and gunfire and people trying to kill us -- and by getting us to relate to the sidekick by having him flail along, we get to vicariously experience his inevitable triumph, when he finds the hero inside him and helps save the day.
Unless he dies, thus providing the impetus for the action hero. Even then, we get vicarious triumph -- it's us, the common people, that the hero is fighting for, as represented by that poor dead sidekick.
DON'T YOU SEE, IT'S ALL GREEK.
... Anyway.
I wonder if Hollywood needs dramaturgs.
To conclude: I wanna play Bruce Willis' sidekick.
BWAHAHAHA.
HE TAKES DOWN A HELICOPTER WITH A CAR.
AND IT STARS MAC. (OMFG I DIDN'T REALIZE HE WAS THE GEEKY KID IN GALAXY QUEST! THIS KID RULES!)
Ahem. Anyway. There is slightly more in-depth commentary behind the cut, in particular about the villain. At this point, I do get spoilery about the
So the villain is a computer geek who worked for the US gummint, proved to them that the system could be hacked easily, and was summarily fired and blacklisted. Typical bad guy with a grudge who thinks he's doing the world a favor by showing them the error of their ways, y'know?
About five minutes into his first appearance, I noticed that he wasn't blinking. I mean, he blinked a little, but mostly he didn't. Cool character choice.
A few minutes later I started trying to figure out why the detached, slightly twitchy way he talked and gestured was so familiar.
And then I hit on it. I want to phrase this delicately, if I can, because it's a topic that a number of people on my f-list have way more personal experience with than I do.
He reminded me of the people I've known with Asperger's. The mannerisms were all there. And now I can't figure out if it was deliberate or not, and if it was, if that's tacky or fascinating.
My other main reactions involved laughing hysterically (PLANE VS. SEMI WTF) (WHY IS THAT CHICK NOT DEAD SHE JUST GOT RAMMED AGAINST A CONCRETE WALL BY AN SUV) or flailing and wincing. These kind of blue-tinged, gritty action movies (and TV shows *eyes 24*) tend to hit "AGH THAT WOULD BE TERRYIFYING" buttons for me. Like, there's a scene where the bad guy takes over the transportation controls and makes all the streetlights in DC turn green, causing crash after crash at intersections. And now that I drive? That was SCARY. I always end up putting myself in the extras' shoes, the dispensable, dying extras. It sucks the fun out.
I think there must be a clause in the contracts of screenwriters working for action franchises with middle-aged stars that says that they must include parent-child tension. *eyes 24 some more*
Signs that I think too much: At some point I started formulating a theory about how the sidekick in action movies acts in the same way the Greek chorus did. They're the voice of the people. The action hero is like the First Actor, with his tragic flaws and hubris and actions; he's madly talented, and detached enough that he has no problem mowing down bad guys.
But, see, most audience members can't relate to a guy who can kill people with his thighs and acerbic wit. So you get a sidekick who's less capable (although generally he still has some kind of amazing talent, like the kid in Snakes On A Plane and his surfing, or this kid and his hacking) for the audience to relate to. We can all relate to the idea of being scared out of our fucking minds by explosions and gunfire and people trying to kill us -- and by getting us to relate to the sidekick by having him flail along, we get to vicariously experience his inevitable triumph, when he finds the hero inside him and helps save the day.
Unless he dies, thus providing the impetus for the action hero. Even then, we get vicarious triumph -- it's us, the common people, that the hero is fighting for, as represented by that poor dead sidekick.
DON'T YOU SEE, IT'S ALL GREEK.
... Anyway.
I wonder if Hollywood needs dramaturgs.
To conclude: I wanna play Bruce Willis' sidekick.
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no subject
Date: 2007-07-18 08:51 am (UTC)That said, I agree with you! I really, really do.
And the 'it's all greek' made me giggle.
no subject
Date: 2007-07-18 10:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-18 04:38 pm (UTC)(. . . okay, in this case, Aristotle. Still.)