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ameliaroseawesme
Reviews
Loop Track (2023)
No questions answered
It doesn't solve a single question it poses other than what is stalking Ian; why is Ian there? He is obviously unprepared for tramping, so what brings him out there? Why is he afraid from before he even gets in the bush? What does he think it is? We know it's a bird, but what kind? Why is it there?
The setting is fantastic, as someone who lives in NZ i feel too often that I can wave the fear in horror movies off as unable to apply to me; this, if done well, would have been able to inspire a fear that could stick with me. Unfortunately, there isn't enough to the story for this to work.
Sainsbury's character is awful, a right pain in the arse. There isn't much fear created throughout the movie and it soon turns from "what's out there?" To "what the hell is wrong with this prick". It's ineffective at keeping up the fear and suspense as it turns into frustration.
I wasn't expecting much, I don't tend to with NZ films, but it didn't satisfy anything.
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
Drags down the name of the franchise
It's a whole lot of crap.
It sours the reputation of a wonderful film series by making "max" utterly flavourless and dancing on his grave. It took a person trying to survive, and made him resemble the villains of The Road Warrior in terms of senseless anger and self-absorbedness.
I have heaps of issues with the setting of this one, in that the initial society was much over-powered for what a post-apocalyptic rebuilding society should be. Where did they get the massive steel chains from- where did the raw resources come from, how did they refine it? Furthermore, how could they spare the resources to put towards a musician in a society where the king-figure claimed his people would get addicted to water?
I could list in detail how they desecrated Max's character, but to begin with he no longer has sympathy. Max has, throughout the prior films, always been stoic, practical, and thoughtful. He did not take meaningless actions, and he was always one for deals and fairness. He did not threaten without being threatened, and he did not stick his nose in others business. While he would eventually give in and help, he was neither eager to be a savior nor did he not care at all for those in need.
In this film, he seems rattled by any misfortune, to the point of not thinking about logical ways to solve the situation. Incorrect. He immediately threatened the women, and furthermore tried to steal the truck for himself. Utterly incorrect. It's painful to see how they've ruined his character and turned it into someone who would cause violence against people who showed him no harm just to get his way.
Furthermore, I feel as if the film lacks stylistically in it's cleanliness and CGI, as one of the most charming points of the prior films was the genuinity. Compared to the first film, where it was not intended as apocalyptic but was considered so by lack of budget, it feels utterly fantastical and unrealistic. The beauty of the prior films was the balance between apocalpyse and realism, in that it took place in a way that was utterly likely if an apocalypse were to happen. Who would have the time in an apocalyptic society to create a massive carving in a rock face? And the resources for that?
Furthermore, It takes away from the previous settings by lacking accents. It's plain and charmless, and sticks out like dogs balls because suddenly everyone is American. Of the third movie, one of the best aspects was the dialect created by the children as it felt organic and suited the setting. There is no charm in this film.
While it does desecrate the film series, it could stand up on it's own plot-wise, and without the self-absorbed pick-me sigma-warrior of a "max", but only if it didn't claim to be part of the same series, and it didn't claim to have the same main character. They are nothing alike and it hurts to see such a lovely protagonist fed to the dogs of money-orientated media.
Hell, if it didn't claim to be a Mad Max film I'd probably rate it 7 or above, but the way it destroys a well-crafted world is just... hideously profane. It's really not worth the time watching if you're a Mad Max fan, it enfuriated me what they did to "max"