Newman's aura is so great, as the protagonist, his fate is naturally worrying, but as far as the plot is concerned, the foundation is untenable. In the movie "The Shawshank Redemption", also about the escape, the protagonist is framed, and his actions are inherently righteous, even if they are illegal. And Luke, played by Newman, was actually sent to prison for a mistake. His mother died while serving his sentence. He should feel guilty for his reckless behavior. Thinking about how to escape from prison is even more wrong. The movie strives to create a heroic image who resists injustice and oppression, but lacks the most basic justice, and ultimately presents a movie with the main theme of a stubborn criminal being killed by heroic police officers. Some people say that the protagonist reflects the spirit of "freedom or death". Just imagine, if all criminals hold this belief, how can this society be at peace?
Of course, the movie tries to give the protagonist another meaning. As a war hero, he is at a loss when he returns to society, and lives his life by drunkenness. He also has the indomitable spirit of a soldier. A painless accountability. Entering the prison, the spirit of the protagonist is even more prominent. Even if he is beaten up in boxing, even if he wins the game of eating eggs, even if he is caught after escaping again and again, he has won the respect of the criminals. They don't care if he succeeds, they care if they see hope in him. So when someone made things difficult for him with a full meal, everyone would go over to help him share the burden, and when he begged for mercy and stopped running away, everyone was disappointed and even despised him. The fall of a spiritual pillar is more catastrophic than failure. In the end, although Luke was killed, no one underestimated him. Instead, he continued to preach his deeds to encourage himself to survive in such a bad environment.
Therefore, for the superficial plot of this movie, from the perspective of a prisoner, he is indeed a hero, and from the perspective of a policeman, it is just a reckless and wrong move by a prisoner trying to challenge the state machine. But at a deeper level, the protagonist's persistent and unyielding spirit is a universal shining point that can inspire everyone.
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