| | Fuck this movie. I can't understand why you and A.O. Scott take it so seriously! I mean, well-written review, I commend the effort to find some substance in this, but the violence in this film is (at worst) pornographic and (at best) mindless. After that cop-out of a final scene, I lost all respect for Terrence Howard's character and certainly any shred of sympathy I had left for Jodie Foster's.
This movie is dripping with post-9/11 anger! Its most obvious message (and forgive me if I don't grant it subtletly) is that revenge is inevitable. Erica's monologues about how once she's been hurt she can never go back to her previous self serve as a bitter justification for her character's ridiculously disproportionate killing spree. As of course does our country's constant mention of 9/11 during this war!
So go after the bad guys at all cost, and kill any other baddies that cross your gun sights in the process. If you feel bad about it, at least it will make you stronger and provide fodder for a radio show. How could any slightly conscientious viewer not find this sickening?
And PS- the representation of NYC is terribly dated, superficial, and racist -- I ride the subway every day, sometimes listening to Radiohead, and I've still never had caricatured black thugs jump me. Never once had a gun offered to me by a sketchy Chinese guy after storming into his store all "NEED TO KILL NOW."
Stylus I'm genuinely disappointed in you! This really should not be promoted. |