Briefly:
First of all, the anti-war theme of this film is very obvious. The main story tells about a U.S. recruit who was killed after encountering the Afghan Taliban armed against U.S. imperialism and pro-American Muslims who were moderate to U.S. imperialism. The story of the team leader symbolizes the hero's transformation from an American invader to a war victim and anti-war.
Especially in the finale, the hero shot and killed the squad leader, which symbolized that the forces opposed to the war had the upper hand in the struggle against the forces that supported the war.
In this film, the deaths of several American soldiers are without pride and dignity. They are sad and pitiful. They are by no means heroes, but died as cannon fodder of US imperialism. A film that violates the main theme of the United States is absolutely not dared to be made by American directors, and military supporters are afraid that they will not come here. When the team leader said that he came to the Middle East to defend his family and the country, the male lead didn't believe it and didn't approve it.
Regarding the monsters in this film, there are puns, first referring to alien monsters, and secondly referring to war madmen and war monsters who have lost their minds in the war.
Regarding the metaphor of the alien monster in this film: First of all, the alien monster has a very obvious characteristic, that is, the strong vitality (fertility) rooted in the soil, the wildfire is endless, and the spring breeze blows again. The only reasonable explanation is Islamic culture. But it doesn't feel much like it. Of course, perhaps Westerners’ perception of Islam is very different from that of Chinese. Perhaps in the eyes of the director, Islamic culture is a monster.
The overall tone of the film is very depressing, very perplexed, decadent, and broken. Therefore, the score of this film will not be very high.
Some plots are also a little absurd. American soldiers suffered huge losses from roadside bombs and human body bombs in the early days of the Middle East War, so they generally dared not walk around in unsafe areas. In the film, two jeeps are galloping freely on the wide desert road, and the heart is too big.
Although burying roadside bombs is actually very particular, the guerrillas must step on them in advance to understand the route and cycle of the patrols, otherwise the patrols will not be able to step on the bombs, and they will only kill unrelated passers-by in the end.
The highlight of this film is the huge alien monster, but although the monster is big, its combat effectiveness is very weak. Three machine gunmen and one bullet are just seconds away. The setting of focusing exclusively on the point-to-point air strikes by the US military is a bit like a terrorist organization.
The male protagonist in the film is an adopted orphan. He grew up in a slum in the United States. He has a low level of education and likes to fight in his youth. This is actually a microcosm of the American soldier group.
View more about Monsters: Dark Continent reviews
