Hyperbole is a powerful, dangerous thing. In the process of trying to get people excited for something, you can end up overselling it. You raise their expectations to something that can never be met, and then their imagination takes over to start filling in the gaps before they ever get to whatever it actually is. They begin to picture how it should go to the point where once they do arrive at the final product, no matter how good it really is, they somehow feel let down because it didn't match that illusory, generally vague idea that they had in their head.
This is something that can apply to a lot of things, but right now I'm talking about the nature of hyping up a movie. Robert Fure over on Film School Rejects recently did an excellent article on this very subject, one that also (happily enough) revolves around the movie in question for this journal,
The Raid. His article is definitely worth a look, and you reading it will save me the trouble of having to type an additional three paragraphs of rambling:
http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/features/hyperbole-is-the-biggest-threat-to-modern-cinema-and-it-threateningly-threatens-to-destroy-the-movie-going-experience-as-we-know-it-forever-rfure.phpHe raises several excellent points, including in regards to things that I do regularly. Use of phrases like "The best ever" or "So utterly amazing" (or even the title of this very journal), all loads of overly-excited hyperbole. I know why I do it, of course, and why I'll continue to do it: I'm really, really eager about a specific movie, and want to share it. And therein lies the real reason for all this, something he sadly doesn't quite touch on (then again, it may not apply to a big movie site like that when compared to a tiny journal like this).
I do it because I want you people to watch these movies. I really, really do. I want all of you to take a look at what I've seen (or, in some cases, just heard of) to see for yourself. And I'm afraid that if I don't properly sell them, if I don't really get some motivation going, then you won't do it. You'll put it off, forget, and move on. And you might miss something you'd otherwise love, which is something that would always bug me. So, I've got to oversell them a bit, since the sad fact is that most of you aren't the hyper-obsessive about watching every movie out there. Shoot, I've even got to do it in the title sometimes, like with
this one, since I know most of these journals just end up as so much noise to be deleted (without ever being clicked) by most of you. Such is how it goes on this site for someone of my standing. That last journal is also an example of someone like me finding something so utterly strange and unique that I've got to do all I can to share it, to get people to know that they still make truly weird movies in this day and age.
Anyway, that's a lot of paragraphs that haven't gotten to the actual purpose of this journal. So enough of the natter and lets get to the meat. I caught
The Raid: Redemption yesterday, a film that the filmgeek world has been slathering an enormous amount of love onto lately (see also:
The Cabin in the Woods (why yes, I do plan to see it also)). Is it the superamazing, knock-your-eyes-right-out-of-your-skull, best-action-movie-in-decades that we've been led to believe?
No, it's not that much of a movie. It'd be impossible for me to think straight anymore if it was.
However, and this part right here is important so pay attention, it is still a great fucking action movie. Past all the hype and expectations, I legitimately would rank it as one of the best martial arts action flicks I've seen, putting it up there with the other big greats of the 00's,
Ong Bok and
District B-13. But let me back up a bit.
The Raid is action brought down to it's simplest levels, somewhat similar to January's
Haywire, though the story here is considerably less complex. The story follows a SWAT rookie who's accompanying his team on a special mission. Their goal: to infiltrate the most heavily-guarded gang fortress (specifically, a massive apartment building) in the city and take down the crime lord running it. SWAT goes in the building, he goes in the building. Bad guys in the building. Then they get stuck with no backup, and things start to get punchy.
That's pretty much it. The story is streamlined, the characters simple yet effective, the plot twists somewhat obvious but entirely suitable. It is a very basic movie in terms of structure and idea, something that is not a bad thing. It is exactly what it needs to be, and it makes it all work with some of the most hard-hitting, jaw-dropping fight scenes you'll ever see (there it is again! Love that hype, tastes like sugar). As with most martial arts movies these days coming out of the Far East, this one introduces a new martial arts style, called Silat. It is appropriately brutal and leads the way for lots of punching, kicking, throwing, grabbing-the-head-and-banging-it-into-a-wall-multiple-times, stabbing, more punching, elbowing... you get the idea. The fights are well filmed (the entire movie is, actually), the set pieces good and memorable, and there are plenty of takedowns that will make you either giggle with glee or let out a moderately-voiced "Holy shit!".
It's a movie that also knows the elements to what really makes an action movie work. It's got the memorable and slimy lead villain, the absurdly-powerful main henchmen, the good guy with a secret, the
other good guy with a secret, and (perhaps most important of all) proper pacing. The movie does take breaks between the extended fight scenes. These "slow" moments are not there to pad out the running time (well, maybe a little), but because you, the viewer, do need breaks. You need to calm down from the previous adrenaline rush, so you can let the tension of the scene get to you (and there are some very tense moments) and let the anticipation of the next fight get to you. This movie's got the set up, it's got the action core, it's got a great climax of a finale, and then it has an ending (the last two are both very different and very key). It just works, without any excessive fat.
So, it's a good action movie. Well, actually, it's more than that, as I pointed out above. It's a great one. It really is one that will be remembered, partly because of all the hype that is surrounding it (though the inevitable "Aww, it's not
that great" will come in soon enough by the "edgy" crowd), and partly because it really deserves to. It is a movie that's got everything an action fan should want, served how they should want it. It is hard and brutal without being overly gory or bloody (though it does earn that R rating, make no mistake). It's a fun movie that will make you want to clap and cheer, and maybe start working out a little more. And it's one you'll want to revisit with friends so you can introduce them to something that you thought was so bloody cool.
So please, do check it out. Seek it out in a theater, find a good crowd, and let it wash over you. It is worth the effort (that's another phrase I use a lot, though I like to think it's true each time I use it). Try not to mind the hype too much (and yes I realize the hypocrisy of that statement after all I typed above) and just accept it for what it is. Which is, all hype aside, a great, solid action movie.
Topic: What was the last movie you watched? (Read 1583815 times)
