Discuss and Rate the Last Film You Watched

[Xprimentyl]

Exactly that. My big issue was that the AI of your squaddies wasn't great so they could watch the dude in front of them get taken down and they'd make no attempt to evade or change tactics at all to prevent also getting shot. So your little squad of 3-4 guys could run into a trap and all get mowed down in a line like 4 turkeys getting headshotted in a row.

Ah, but therein lies the genius: it was YOUR fault if shit hit the fan, and you're meant to learn from it for another attempt. I think if the AI had been more self-preserving, it would kind of defeat the purpose of all your meticulous planning. I think that was "the game" aspect of it and less a failure to replicate a unit thinking on his feet and removing agency from the player.

Of course, that's a copout; I know it's more likely technology wasn't there back in the late '90s to create complex AI in a 3D environment that could respond and react to my shitty planning. Like I said, I sucked hard at the game, but I've never had so much fun being not good at something.

But the concept was wonderful. Planning out the entire assault, setting everyone up, hitting the start button and watching all the gears start turning at once.No drama or nonsense in the briefings, just "This is your job, this is the layout of the place to the best of our knowledge, pick your guys and try to make it work"

Yeah, sad the concept has largely gone by the wayside, but I can see the appeal being niche by more modern standards, and not worth a developer's time. Though if someone were to try and make something similar today, I'd be on board to try.

 

[Dalisclock]

Yeah, sad the concept has largely gone by the wayside, but I can see the appeal being niche by more modern standards, and not worth a developer's time. Though if someone were to try and make something similar today, I'd be on board to try.

I heard that X-COM: Chimera Squad does something like this, where you set up your squaddies at breach points at the beginning of each mission and then have them breach when ready. I don't know if it's anywhere close to Rainbow 6 in execution because I haven't played it, but it sounded interesting.

 

[Xprimentyl]

I heard that X-COM: Chimera Squad does something like this, where you set up your squaddies at breach points at the beginning of each mission and then have them breach when ready. I don't know if it's anywhere close to Rainbow 6 in execution because I haven't played it, but it sounded interesting.

Thanks for that. I might watch some YouTube vids to see if it might be something I'd enjoy being terrible at.

 

[Mister Mumbler]

Yeah, sad the concept has largely gone by the wayside, but I can see the appeal being niche by more modern standards, and not worth a developer's time. Though if someone were to try and make something similar today, I'd be on board to try.

Well, I was (...and I guess still am) going to recommend SWAT 4, but then I remembered that Ground Branch is also a thing (though I have not tried it);

 

[Thaluikhain]

Of course, that's a copout; I know it's more likely technology wasn't there back in the late '90s to create complex AI in a 3D environment that could respond and react to my shitty planning. Like I said, I sucked hard at the game, but I've never had so much fun being not good at something.

Rainbow Six: Raven Shield was 2003, and Swat 4 was 2005, but the team AI was much better in Swat 4. Now, no planning things in advance, but if you tell a team in Raven Shield to breach and clear a room. they walk up to it in single file, the first one opens the door, puts their gun away, gets out a grenade, throws it into the room, picks up their gun and walks it. In Swat 4, the team stacks up on either side of the door, one of them gets a grenade ready, signals to another to open the door, and once it goes off, they dash in hugging the walls.

Of course, half the time in Swat 4 they'd drop the grenade outside the room, so use teargas, but otherwise, much less annoying.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Jolt: I Saw It / I hadn't Previously

Wholly unremarkable film about a woman with clinical anger issues that result in under-represented super powers who gets romantically involved (briefly) with a guy tied to a nefarious and ominous "agency."

In the recent culture of "one-person army" flicks, this has to be the least remarkable. I mean, her "potential" is more implied than actually seen within this film. Truly a waste of time; not bad enough to be be bad, but certainly not good enough to be good. If Modern Milquetoast made a movie, this would be it.

 

[Piscian]

If Modern Milquetoast made a movie, this would be it.

......OH I see Jai Courtney is in it. What a strange coincidence.


I got maybe 20 minutes in and lost interest. This shitck has been done before and the campy over the top stuff like the "imagined violence" is derivative and got old quick. I could just rewatch boondock saints or crank again and get everything this movie is trying to do only better. Sorry lady, in real life theyd just put you on lithium and be done with it.

 

[Xprimentyl]

......OH I see Jai Courtney is in it. What a strange coincidence.


I got maybe 20 minutes in and lost interest. This shitck has been done before and the campy over the top stuff like the "imagined violence" is derivative and got old quick. I could just rewatch boondock saints or crank again and get everything this movie is trying to do only better. Sorry lady, in real life theyd just put you on lithium and be done with it.

If you've seen any movie within the past decade, you've seen this film. I'm just glad you only sacrificed 20 minutes; I gave the full hour and a half.

 

[happyninja42]

I heard that X-COM: Chimera Squad does something like this, where you set up your squaddies at breach points at the beginning of each mission and then have them breach when ready. I don't know if it's anywhere close to Rainbow 6 in execution because I haven't played it, but it sounded interesting.

It's not like the R6 game we loved, but it does add some extra layers of tactics and strategy to Chimera Squad. Basically, each mission is broken up into different "rooms", sometimes 1-2, sometimes 3-4 for harder missions. Each room has a Breach phase, where you decide how your team will enter the next Room, and where, and in what order. This can have drastic impact on how the combat goes, as most team members have a breach ability they can use, but ONLY if they are the first through the door/window. So, you have to decide. "Do I send my guy who can potentially get 3 shots off and maybe drop a few guys right away? Or do I use my snekko girl who can ensnare and trap one person for certain, and hope there is a big nasty that would benefit from being locked down?" "Do I go through the door with high threat, but usually puts you in a good flanking/ambush position on key targets? Or do I play it safe to prevent my team from getting injured, but the fight might drag out longer as I'm going through a defended entry point?" This is further improved by having certain items that let you make new breach points by either hacking doors, or blowing holes in walls, giving you another method of entry. But, it requires you to sacrifice an item slot for that breach item (1 use per mission), instead of something else that might also be useful.

It's a REALLY fun mechanic, and for anyone who likes XCOM, I would recommend checking it out. It's really nice playing XCOM but with people with personalities, as they have banter between missions.

And I was actually going to bring up XCOM, as an example of something similar to that old R6 game with the AI pathing mechanic, at least in broad concept. You'd think people who like XCOM would enjoy games like that. So maybe there could be a resurgence of that mechanic, if perhaps not with the Tom Clancy skin to it. Which I'm frankly fine with.

*blinks in confusion at the other posts about movies and notices this is the films you watched, not a gaming thread* Huh, how the hell did this conversation end up over here?

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Saw Jolt. Who the hell thought fitting an action star with the ability to shock themselves into submission was a winning idea?

 

[Xprimentyl]

Saw Jolt. Who the hell thought fitting an action star with the ability to shock themselves into submission was a winning idea?

I guess you can't really spoil a film that doesn't happen, so yeah, her passive-aggressive flashes of imagined violence really didn't make for an enjoyable watch if those were supposed to sate the bloodlust of people who show up in droves to see likes of John Wick or Nobody.

Not to be sexist, but it almost felt like a movie written by a woman for women, like they militarized the typical middle-aged, single woman, and PMS was her super power. (Reading that again, it's extremely sexist, but I won't apologize as it is accurate in this case.)

Next Superman film: Clark Kent with a kryptonite cock ring.

 

[Agema]

Not to be sexist, but it almost felt like a movie written by a woman for women, like they militarized the typical middle-aged, single woman, and PMS was her super power. (Reading that again, it's extremely sexist, but I won't apologize as it is accurate in this case.)

I'm not sure about that. Kate Beckinsale might be closing in on 50, but my impression is that her character is supposed to be around 10 years younger. Also, I don't think the word "typical" can possibly apply to someone whose backstory is a unhappy childhood that has led to a anger impulse control disorder and rootless, chaotic life. She absolutely fits the archetype as an isolated societal misfit, not some representation of what normal middle-aged women would be if they gave free rein to anger and violence.

 

[XsjadoBlayde]

......OH I see Jai Courtney is in it. What a strange coincidence.

There is something uniquely bland about Jai's Hollywood handsome look and roles he's in. He's like the 1st or 2nd preset male character creation model in every videogame RPG I've ever played. And with just as much charisma.

 

[Xprimentyl]

I'm not sure about that. Kate Beckinsale might be closing in on 50, but my impression is that her character is supposed to be around 10 years younger. Also, I don't think the word "typical" can possibly apply to someone whose backstory is a unhappy childhood that has led to a anger impulse control disorder and rootless, chaotic life. She absolutely fits the archetype as an isolated societal misfit, not some representation of what normal middle-aged women would be if they gave free rein to anger and violence.

You missed the part where I said "militarized;" my flippant attempt to say it felt like a typical, middle-aged woman wrote a weaponized, premenopausal self for a movie. See "I'm Gonna Get You Sucka;" they made the joke 30 years ago, but they made a joke about it, not a feature-length action film.

 

[happyninja42]

Also, I don't think the word "typical" can possibly apply to someone whose backstory is a unhappy childhood that has led to a anger impulse control disorder and rootless, chaotic life.

Really? I think it's pretty typical for a lot of people, more than we like to admit, to have an unhappy childhood that led to anger and impulse control issues. That's part of the joke behind the "nuclear family" trope of the parodies of Norman Rockwell's art, and films/shows like Twin Peaks and....that film where they were in a tv and it was all black and white...Pleasantville? Yeah, Pleasantville. That the idyllic american dream is really a nightmare, hiding a lot of pain, violence, abuse, etc. But we all just smile and say we're ok, and that everything is fine, and then people are shocked to see someone committed suicide, or killed a family member.

 

[Xprimentyl]

Really? I think it's pretty typical for a lot of people, more than we like to admit, to have an unhappy childhood that led to anger and impulse control issues. That's part of the joke behind the "nuclear family" trope of the parodies of Norman Rockwell's art, and films/shows like Twin Peaks and....that film where they were in a tv and it was all black and white...Pleasantville? Yeah, Pleasantville. That the idyllic american dream is really a nightmare, hiding a lot of pain, violence, abuse, etc. But we all just smile and say we're ok, and that everything is fine, and then people are shocked to see someone committed suicide, or killed a family member.

And honestly, if you haven't seen the film, her "backstory" is pretty much glossed over to establish she has anger issues and get to what's meant to be the meat of the movie. It's not like the writer/director spent a substantial part of the film establishing her traumatic upbringing; they pretty much show it for a couple of minutes just to show her anger issues have been around since her childhood. And so we're clear, its supposedly a medical disorder, not one born of an unhappy childhood; that's how quickly they wanted to get the story going.

 

[happyninja42]

And honestly, if you haven't seen the film, her "backstory" is pretty much glossed over to establish she has anger issues and get to what's meant to be the meat of the movie. It's not like the writer/director spent a substantial part of the film establishing her traumatic upbringing; they pretty much show it for a couple of minutes just to show her anger issues have been around since her childhood. And so we're clear, its supposedly a medical disorder, not one born of an unhappy childhood; that's how quickly they wanted to get the story going.

Eh, I mean personally I would find that less than ideal, as far as motivation for a character? To just handwave it away, as an excuse for her violence, and then expect me to empathize with her without any real investment in her BEFORE she became a violent woman. Well, I mean basically that sounds like the amount of backstory and time they gave MahMah from the Dredd film in 2012. "She was abused, and became homicidal, the end." And...well she wasn't the protagonist of that story

 

[Xprimentyl]

Eh, I mean personally I would find that less than ideal, as far as motivation for a character? To just handwave it away, as an excuse for her violence, and then expect me to empathize with her without any real investment in her BEFORE she became a violent woman. Well, I mean basically that sounds like the amount of backstory and time they gave MahMah from the Dredd film in 2012. "She was abused, and became homicidal, the end." And...well she wasn't the protagonist of that story.

I imagine the writing process went something like this:

"What if someone had a clinical rage issue that gave them super abilities?"
"Like the Hulk?"
"Oh, shit, yeah; let's back it down into a more realistic foundation. We're not doing a super hero movie."
"Like John Wick?"
"John Wick made money, right? Yeah, let's do that, but with a woman with no sort of combat training and substantially less action to make it different."
"So a woman with lethal PMS that has to shock herself with electricity to keep her PMS under control?"
"You fucking brilliant asshole, start filming."
"And this should be a love story, right? A story about the power of love?"
"I SAID START FILMING!!!!!"

 

[happyninja42]

I imagine the writing process went something like this:

"What if someone had a clinical rage issue that gave them super abilities?"
"Like the Hulk?"
"Oh, shit, yeah; let's back it down into a more realistic foundation. We're not doing a super hero movie."
"Like John Wick?"
"John Wick made money, right? Yeah, let's do that, but with a woman with no sort of combat training and substantially less action to make it different."
"So a woman with lethal PMS that has to shock herself with electricity to keep her PMS under control?"
"You fucking brilliant asshole, start filming."
"And this should be a love story, right? A story about the power of love?"
"I SAID START FILMING!!!!!"

you forgot
"Pass me another dozen lines of cocaine and put it on that strippers asshole so I can snort it!!"

Because that sounds like the kind of drugs you'd need to be on, to make that film.

 

[Xprimentyl]

you forgot
"Pass me another dozen lines of cocaine and put it on that strippers asshole so I can snort it!!"

Because that sounds like the kind of drugs you'd need to be on, to make that film.

It really is all over the place, but none of those places for too long or for any appreciable story arcing, so yeah, the coked-out mentality works, but with far less coked-out intensity. One could easily name 5 movies that did better than what this film tried at any given junction.