296: On the Front Lines
- Thread starter MovieBob
- Start date
Millus seems to be an interesting presence in the industry, even if I am a bit wary of Homefront. However, I don't find the idea of movie screenwriters or novelists getting into the game industry to be appealing. Some have tried, but it's had mixed success at best. Ninja Theory tried it with Alex Garland and Rhianna Pratchet and the end products were mediocre games with average plots. Pratchet also tried again with Mirror's Edge and failed. AGAIN.
Hmmm, I actually found Red Dawn to be more funny than serious. Soviet Army held at bay by high schoolers, lol...
However, Conan and Flight of the Intruder are both damn fine movies. So ill still keep looking forward to Homefront.
However, Conan and Flight of the Intruder are both damn fine movies. So ill still keep looking forward to Homefront.
I still love Conan the Barbarian, it's like the quintessential American movie. Based on epic and violent pulp stories by a larger-than-life Texan, screenplay by a Vietnam vet turned crazy leftie conspiracy theorist, directed by a crazy macho right-winger, starring a multi-ethnic cast of athletes, and the whole thing bankrolled by an Italian immigrant who was Hollywood's biggest capitalist. And still my favourite film score of all time.
Don't always agree with Milius' sentiments, but I appreciate the integrity of his vision (even if the premise for Homefront sounds completely ridiculous).
Don't always agree with Milius' sentiments, but I appreciate the integrity of his vision (even if the premise for Homefront sounds completely ridiculous).
@WanderingFool There's a whole alternate history going on in that movie that most people seem to gloss over (even though it's presented at the very beginning . A US without allies and many enemies. The Wolverines were also only combating Soviet forces in their region, not single-handedly winning WWIII. The movie was a response to what guerrilla fighters in Afghanistan were doing to the Soviet army.
Wait, they called the operation that caught Saddam 'Red Dawn'? They do know that if they were in Red Dawn, they wouldn't be the Wolwerines, they'd be the Soviets, right? As in, the large foreign military force that tries to conquer a mostly urban populace?
OT: Looks like an interesting figure. An unabashed warrior myth is hard to pull off nowadays, so I don't blame him for his failed attempts. Although I think this kind of thing is exactly what games have had too much of.
Still think Homefront's concept is ridiculous, though.
OT: Looks like an interesting figure. An unabashed warrior myth is hard to pull off nowadays, so I don't blame him for his failed attempts. Although I think this kind of thing is exactly what games have had too much of.
Still think Homefront's concept is ridiculous, though.
Why is no game journalist willing to question the absurd plot of Homefront? Back in the 1980s, Red Dawn was reasonable fiction because the fear of Soviet aggression was real, even if the danger of Russian invasion was remote. But now North Koreans are starving, with an entire generation suffering from stunted growth, caused by chronic malnutrition. Basing a video game on wretched people who cannot feed themselves, let alone conquer the only remaining super power, is an insult to intelligence. Not one dissenting voice has been raised among the video game media to say that Homefront is an ill-conceived exercise in bad taste. For products like Homefront, game critics need to stop acting like cheerleaders, and start asking critical questions. To anyone who replies, "Relax, it's just a game," I would say that hiding behind that excuse is no longer valid. Game publishers, developers and journalists insist that games are socially relevent. They say games have become art, and games are mainstream and meaningful. Yet the writing of Homefront is oblivious, fear-mongering drivel.
"Because it's fiction" is another excuse. Anyone who wants to make a game about sexually molesting children could say, "Because it's fiction." No, it would be lousy, stupid, oblivious fiction. There are no absolutes. "It's just a game" or "Because it's fiction" does not justify everything. A book critic does not refrain from pointing out the flaws of a novel just because it happens to be fiction. If "Because it's fiction" or "It's just a game" are absolutely correct, then there's no need for game reviews. Game critics might as well do something else, since they failed in their responsibility to ask critical questions about Homefront. Restricting critical comments to gameplay mechanics undermines the popular idea that games have become art. If reviewers can be critical of art, which includes fiction, then they should question the insulting fiction of Homefront.SpiderJerusalem said:
For the first time in my life, I can proudly say, "I'm with Stupid!"CaptainStupid said:
"Because. it's. FICTION." is a cheap cop-out, particularly when it comes to the plot of Homefront. North Korea cannot even feed its own citizens, let alone mount an invasion and subsequent occupation of South Korea. It might be speculative, but it sure as hell isn't plausible.
Don't forget the fact that Homefront's biggest selling point is its 'realism'. In the promotion they were showing off the CIA agent and that writer who wrote one book about the dangers of EMP warfare who helped the devs in writing the story. So the whole 'fiction' excuse doesn't work if it's not plausible/ believable.CaptainStupid said: