The Elsewhere: Why We Fight
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"Why We Fight" is the title of a rah-rah-rally-round-the-flag series of films during World War II.
Me, I'm going to talk about Star Wars: The Clone Wars instead. This isn't a review.
Okay, here's the review: don't pay $10 to see it. It might be worth the 90+ minutes if you see it on cable, but I wouldn't recommend dropping any coin for it. There's that's done with.
The film has some strengths and some weaknesses. All films do, so discussing them isn't a review of the film. In the case of this film, I admire how it dares show arbitrary death in combat.
As the title indicates, there are clones. They're sent into battle. As one scene from the trailer shows, as they rush into position some number are cut down. No 'flesh wound' bits here - they're shot and written out of the story, so presumably they're dead.
The biggest weakness I see in the film is how it is just one battle sequence after another. In a way, this reminds me of many of my tabletop roleplaying game sessions: character interaction is just a way to move the story into combat. And, like most of my roleplaying sessions, combat time took up most of the whole interval devoted to it.
That's not to say it wasn't well done. Now, it's not as good as some of the wire-fu scenes from Yuen Wo-Ping or some of the classic fencing scenes, such as from The Princess Bride. However, at least the Princess Bride had some story behind the fighting.
Well, you might say, the Clone Wars also has a story. Yes, but it wasn't as enjoyable. I'm not going to quantify worth based on originality. The Princess Bride is a send-up of classic fairy tale plot elements. That makes it either wholly unoriginal and derivative, or it makes it deliciously original and seditious.
I prefer the latter.
No, I think the limiting factor to how much battle-time isn't the originality of the story, but the magnitude of the significance of the battle's outcome opposed to the sheer time it takes.
Watching a film still takes some effort. Not much, mind you. However, when you're as sleep-deprived as I am, then any comfortable chair that does not turn into a nap requires effort. And, that effort must feel somehow justified, else the viewer will walk away grumbling.
Yet another point to concern myself - to make sure the conflict (not necessarily combat) is somehow worth the reader's while to have to plow through.
Me, I'm going to talk about Star Wars: The Clone Wars instead. This isn't a review.
Okay, here's the review: don't pay $10 to see it. It might be worth the 90+ minutes if you see it on cable, but I wouldn't recommend dropping any coin for it. There's that's done with.
The film has some strengths and some weaknesses. All films do, so discussing them isn't a review of the film. In the case of this film, I admire how it dares show arbitrary death in combat.
As the title indicates, there are clones. They're sent into battle. As one scene from the trailer shows, as they rush into position some number are cut down. No 'flesh wound' bits here - they're shot and written out of the story, so presumably they're dead.
The biggest weakness I see in the film is how it is just one battle sequence after another. In a way, this reminds me of many of my tabletop roleplaying game sessions: character interaction is just a way to move the story into combat. And, like most of my roleplaying sessions, combat time took up most of the whole interval devoted to it.
That's not to say it wasn't well done. Now, it's not as good as some of the wire-fu scenes from Yuen Wo-Ping or some of the classic fencing scenes, such as from The Princess Bride. However, at least the Princess Bride had some story behind the fighting.
Well, you might say, the Clone Wars also has a story. Yes, but it wasn't as enjoyable. I'm not going to quantify worth based on originality. The Princess Bride is a send-up of classic fairy tale plot elements. That makes it either wholly unoriginal and derivative, or it makes it deliciously original and seditious.
I prefer the latter.
No, I think the limiting factor to how much battle-time isn't the originality of the story, but the magnitude of the significance of the battle's outcome opposed to the sheer time it takes.
Watching a film still takes some effort. Not much, mind you. However, when you're as sleep-deprived as I am, then any comfortable chair that does not turn into a nap requires effort. And, that effort must feel somehow justified, else the viewer will walk away grumbling.
Yet another point to concern myself - to make sure the conflict (not necessarily combat) is somehow worth the reader's while to have to plow through.
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