As the era of angry youth dreaming of saving the world fades away, I have stopped following Hollywood action movies for a long time. Therefore, some conclusions of "Commuter Rescue" may be a bit out of date.
The beginning of the film has a striking momentum. This is a quick clip showing the male protagonist's daily actions in the morning. It gathers a series of life details of getting up, breakfast, talking nonsense with his wife and children, and taking the commuter train to work. This opening paragraph emphasized the use of repetitive techniques, that is, each scene was repeatedly arranged more than three times, combined with fast-paced music, and the image of a social screw uncle who worked hard for the public and home was quickly established.
The opening for the protagonist is a routine paragraph similar to an action movie, and the primary purpose is to arouse enough empathy from the audience. There is a term derived from the game industry called "立Flag", which refers to the design of "I will return to my hometown to get married after this battle" that often appears in film and television works. We can also regard the opening scene of this film as a "Flag"-the more the protagonist's family life resonates with the audience, the worse it may be later. In different movies, the process of "Flag" is different. For example, "Hurricane Rescue"'s presentation of the father-daughter relationship can more arouse the audience's sympathy, while "British Showdown" is more conservative and routine. As for the "Flag" design of "Commuter Rescue", I think it is still clever. This is not only because it uses a relatively fresh and efficient way to convey information, but also because of its looming social critical spirit:
Based on a large number of loans and a lack of deposits, the life of the male protagonist is both good and fragile. So when he was fired, it was as if all his back was cut off artificially. This "unemployment scene" made me think of the neo-realism "Bicycle Thief". After that, he stepped into a train with service conditions comparable to that of our country’s green-skin carriages. The camera showed a crowd of passengers of various colors. These portraits of people who were struggling to survive like the protagonist gave me a trance. The feeling of a disaster film. Anyway, this kind of atmosphere is really rare in Hollywood commercials. From the opening of the movie-to the hero's acceptance of the thunderbolt from the blue sky-to the train going home, the film is handled simply and uniquely. I thought I had "picked up". It's just that with the development of the plot, this surprise has been wiped out a little bit by the plot. The title of this article is also formed in the perception of the second half of the film.
Uncle Darianmu started from the mission of the mysterious female leader, the screenwriter was caught in the rhythm of "God Unfolding" and couldn't extricate himself from it. Whenever it is necessary to give the audience a shot in the heart, the movie will have a turning point in time. For action movies that stimulate the audience's hormones, this is the most basic requirement. But when the plot progresses 60% and the uncle is still scorched by various specific troubles, we should be wary of the screenwriter’s ability to justify himself. Especially under the 100-minute commercial film system, if there is no plan to make a sequel, then the screenwriter has less room for maneuver. The splendor of laying suspense is certainly valuable, but the process of revealing the suspense is the key to truly deciding whether a suspense action film can stand out.
It's a pity that the "puzzle solving" part of this movie is both clichéd and unconvincing. It's so boring that I don't even want to think about it again. The hero's experience can be summed up in general terms with "the rich and powerful conspiracy theory," and it is a conspiracy theory that has nothing to do with reality. Compared with the fight between Liam Nissen and the transnational human trafficking organization in "Hurricane Rescue", the protagonist in "Commuter Rescue" is more like a fight against an imaginary enemy. Now that the 21st century has passed 17 years, even if the United States is a beacon of democracy, there are many kinds of negative news released every year. However, the creators still use the old stalks of the 1990s to fill the hole. Isn't this a kind of originality? Step by step?
What's more regrettable is that the mystery of "mechanical descent" obliterates the rare and valuable ambiguity in the early stage of the movie. Do you still remember the protagonist line that the protagonist said to the economic man: "I will make your mother through the United States!" But When the crisis of the male protagonist is only because of political conspiracy or betrayal by friends, what does this have to do with the culture and ethos of the entire society? Because this is obviously caused by a small group of reactionaries and the protagonist being unfair to others.
Let me mention the visual effect of the film. The highlight is the derailment of the train over speed. This drama, which relies heavily on CG special effects, is arranged in the dark. It was originally a kind of showy. The well-proportioned light and fine models still can't give people enough realism. Another scene was a long-shot fight of Uncle Mu. Both the uncle and the young villain played cumbersomely. Young people can't express their fear of being young, and old people can't show their experience in the arena. If it is classified according to the action design, it belongs to the inferior "offensive and defensive conversion" design-I will bear you a few times and you will bear me a few times. Generally speaking, it is not very satisfying, at least there is no improvement compared with "Hurricane Rescue" ten years ago.
This is a medium production with a cost of 30 million U.S. dollars. Although it is not the same as the blockbuster film that can be seen everywhere in Hollywood and can easily exceed 100 million, it is not very low. Especially in recent years, North America has frequently produced works with small strokes. Compared with them, the cost of 30 million US dollars can not be regarded as beautiful.
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