Escape to the Movies: The Equalizer - A Near-Perfect Dad Movie

MetalMagpie

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Burnouts3s3 said:
I think what makes supposed 'Dad movies' work is that the actors are of old age, and while they can have fun as butt-kickers, assassins and kung-fu masters of the highest order, there's a sense of deprecation there seeing the action heroes with spots of gray in their hair.

...Except for Tom Cruise. How that guy keeps looking so young after 40 baffles me.
Scientology is real. Tom Cruise has been made immortal by the blood of his followers. All hail the alien overlords. O_O
 

DayDark

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Bob, I'm a bit put off by the whole sniping at a group of people for simply enjoying a good power fantasy, you have a tendency to review the audience along with the movie, but I guess the movie is good enough.
 

NightmareWarden

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SnakeoilSage said:
I actually enjoy these kinds of films not because I'm a middle-aged dad myself but because I like the idea of "smart" fighters. Where the action heroes of the 80's tended to rely on just brute strength and one-liners to carry a fight, these "dad movies" as Bob puts it do lean more into the style of some of the better martial arts films like Enter the Dragon.

No, seriously, when you sit right down and think about it that's the kind of essence these movies are trying to capture. There are quiet moments and tense moments and the fighting is done in a way that's visually pleasing but lacking the loud football roaring that tends to encapsulate other styles of action films. See Jason Statham in the Expendables carving up bad guys in his trademark lightning-quick group-sized fight scenes while Sly Stallone and Chuck Norris get theme music and stupid one-liners but you never actually see them do anything really impressive on-screen besides bluster and kind of slam into each other like racks of beef in a busy slaughterhouse.

So yeah, I enjoy them for that.
I'm gonna be honest with you. What you said is of the same caliber I'd expect of a professional critic like Bob. If he were to a Big Picture episode on different flavors of real-world action movie, then your post would work nicely word-for-word. Very succinct and interesting.
 

SnakeoilSage

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NightmareWarden said:
I'm gonna be honest with you. What you said is of the same caliber I'd expect of a professional critic like Bob. If he were to a Big Picture episode on different flavors of real-world action movie, then your post would work nicely word-for-word. Very succinct and interesting.
Why thank you. I have to be honest, I probably got lucky with this. Like a clock that's stopped, I'm right at least once a day, even if I'm wrong the rest.
 

Travis Fischer

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You know what I love seeing when I read a movie review?

Some jackass making insulting presumptions about my deceased father based on the kind of movies he liked.
 

blackrave

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Burnouts3s3 said:
...Except for Tom Cruise. How that guy keeps looking so young after 40 baffles me.
Duh, Lord Xenu keeps him young, obviously


kuolonen said:
Am I just imagining things, or have Russians become ever more increasingly the "bad guys" in western entertainment? Games, movies, etc. I feel like if it's not Arabs then it is usually Russian playing that role these days.

And this is coming from a guy whose grandpa had Russian shrapnel in his leg until his death.
No you're just imagining things
Russian status in western media hasn't changed for as far as I can remember

As for reasons, my guess would be convenience
Reason why we love to hate nazis is because it's simple to demonize ALL germans of said time period.
Why they were evil? Because they were. Period. (despite reality being much more complex)
Same with russians (only updated to present days)
And as additional bonus developers don't appear racist for making russian antagonists.

Hell, we have been beating boys (or is it cane boys?) for 50+ years
I don't think something will change in near future.
 

O maestre

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Nov 19, 2008
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Man bob you sound like you have serious issues with this movie, or at least it's target demographic. That is some hardcore projecting. Still the reviews I have seen/read has encouraged me to to see this movie when I get a chance, as it seems like something I would really enjoy.
 

Lightknight

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Nov 26, 2008
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Muspelheim said:
Lightknight said:
Tender point for whom though? I'm just confused as to why he has felt the need to go after certain groups so doggedly for awhile now. I'm not sure the dads are out to get him. It's like he spends the entire review on how archaic and out of touch this group is and then ends it with, "The movie was fun though" indicating that he liked it, but just wanted to "take the piss" as you say at this one group for no discernible reason. I just don't get it. I don't watch horror movies and complain about horror movie fans before admitting I liked the movie. That would be like admitting that I'm one of them after having trashed them for five minutes. Is Bob a dad? Maybe he is part of the group? Haha, that'd be a decent "joke on us" scenario. He has expressed enjoyment for a lot of 80's nostalgia and these power roles are a nice throw back for those types.
Well, that is true. He's taking the piss, but not with... Hmm, any particular finesse. As to why, I suppose it's just because they're (as a stereotypical collective) rather an easy target. Budweiser, Taken, disappointment at the son's career choice, all of that.

The fact that he enjoyed it on some level himself reinforces that; the film had its qualities, but were aimed at a different group to his, and he couldn't resist reaching for the piss-taking cudgel (since he isn't particularly subtle in that department). At least I imagine so, I'd likely feel the same. Decent film, aimed at a different group that some fun can be poked out of. Not to mention, it's possible to rip the piss out of something you still like. It can be an act of affection or at the very least acceptance as much as anything else.

As for tender point, yeah... I wasn't particularly subtle there, either. It's the undercurrent of "Oh, GAWD, sorry for having a penis, then!!" that tend to surface when Bobby Humour-Cudgel is on the comedic prowl (and at many other times) that I was after. It was rather poorly expressed on my part, though.
It's just weird that he would resort to bigotry or stereotyping of the "dad" group. It's bizarro out-of-left-field strange, you know? Like trashing moms for liking soap operas or whatever.

It should be deemed as an outright mistep for a critic to belittle a demographic for what they enjoy. It should be really offensive even if they're an easy target.

I thought Bob was supposed to be ultra-equality and all that. Not prejudiced stereotyping. Thi sis disappointing.