"The Die Hard", released in 2018, has nothing to do with Bruce Willis' famous film "Die Hard", but a remake of the classic film "Raptors" in the 70s.
What kind of discussion has been done on the above topics in the remake of "The Courageous Courage", a 44-year lapse of time?
one. The helplessness and inaction of the police
Whether it is the frequent occurrence of violent crimes or the violent law enforcement by social righteous police, these social phenomena are inseparable from the ineffective enforcement of the judiciary.
It is precisely because of the failure of the social justice system that those people who cannot claim justice through legitimate means have to take risks and resort to violent law enforcement to find justice.
Films on the subject of violent law enforcement by the righteous police, such as "Batman", "The Courage", and "Raptors" are inseparable from a corrupt or incompetent judicial institution. Judicial institutions that do nothing in the face of crime are the hotbeds of frequent violent crimes in society.
The two films "The Raptors" and "The Courageous Courage" both contain some fragments of the police's failure to solve the crime, but their nature is quite different.
The story told in "Raptors" took place in New York in the early 1970s . At that time, due to the limitations of criminal investigation technology, it was often difficult for the police to track down the perpetrators-even if they were tracked down, it was difficult to convict them with evidence. In the film, when the police were investigating the righteous policeman, Paul, they obtained very limited objective evidence. They could only use extremely limited evidence to reason about the details of the shooting.
Throughout the film, the police only got two valid evidence: .32 caliber pistol bullets, and a missing shopping list. But the experienced Sheriff Frank, through these two inconspicuous physical evidences, successfully locked the protagonist of the film, Mr. Kreis, who was a violent law enforcement officer.
After the second shooting, Chief Frank identified the two most important characteristics of the righteous police almost solely by reasoning: someone in the family was recently killed, and the marksmanship was likely to be a soldier.
In the middle of the film, Sheriff Frank also successfully identified Kreis’s home address with only a lost shopping ticket, and successfully found a cotton lump stained with his blood in Paul’s home. He is the social righteous policeman who violently enforces the law.
However, even in the face of such hard evidence, the criminal investigation technology of the 1970s could not identify Kreis as the real culprit of violent law enforcement, but could only use it to "shrink the scope of suspicion." With such conclusive evidence, the murderer still could not be convicted. It can be seen that the backward criminal investigation technology at that time brought much trouble to the police in investigating the case.
Therefore, the frequent occurrence of violent crimes at that time had a lot to do with the inadequate criminal investigation technology. Criminals are often able to escape after committing a crime; when the police are investigating cases, they often get into trouble due to insufficient clues, and it is difficult for them to bring the criminals to justice through conclusive evidence. In the face of numerous violent crimes, the inability of the police to do anything actually contains a considerable amount of helplessness.
When Mr. Kris went to the police station to inquire about the progress of the case, there was a very interesting episode: a middle-aged black woman who was robbed repeatedly described the situation of her being robbed to the police, and the police had nothing else. The clues and evidence can only allow her to repeatedly describe the situation at the time.
No witnesses, no surveillance video, no advanced criminal investigation technology, how can the police investigate the case? They can only ask the victim repeatedly about the situation at the time-if the victim is lucky and is still alive. This fragment more or less reflects the plight of the police at the time.
When Mr. Kris asked the police about the progress of the murder case, the police replied like this: "If I give you too much hope, then I would be too dishonest, Mr. Kris."
More helpless words are still to come: "In this city, things are like this!" This reflects the deep sense of powerlessness of the police at the time.
Although the criminal investigation technology was backward at the time, thanks to the veteran experience and brilliant reasoning of Chief Frank, the plot line of the "police chasing the righteous police" in the film was not left behind. As Chief Frank approached Mr. Kreis step by step, the audience could also directly feel the escalating tension.
This kind of plot design is very clever: on the one hand, this attributed the social problems that frequently occurred in violent crimes to the immature criminal investigation technology, rather than the ability of the police itself; on the other hand, the film also passed the experienced Frank police Long, it successfully mobilized the tension of the audience, so that the deputy line of the police to track down the violent volunteers did not collapse because of the incompetent police.
Although the New York police have a fig leaf of "technological backwardness", they are undoubtedly a failure in maintaining public order and performing judicial duties: the police have neither the ability to solve the social problems that frequently occur in violent crimes, but also to a society where violent law is enforced. The righteous police could do nothing. Instead of fighting crime and maintaining the dignity of the judicial system, they put media and public opinion in a more important position. From these perspectives, the New York police are quite a failure; their behavior and attitude are also one of the reasons for the frequent occurrence of violent incidents in New York City.
And Kreis, the "alternative criminal" who used violence to control violence, achieved a role that the entire New York judicial system could not achieve with just a pistol and a few bullets: he only used one person to increase the rate of robbery on the streets of New York. Reduced by 50%-the film seems to imply that incompetent police may not be necessary at all. This is a very radical and very bold expression of values.
In contrast, the values contained in the 18th edition of "Chasing the Courage" are relatively more conservative; and the sub-line of "the police chasing the violent police" is also much inferior in comparison.
2. My grandma knows criminal investigation better than Chicago police
Although the two films tell the same story, the background of the times when the stories happened are quite different. The police in the 18th edition of "Chasing the Furious" obviously have more advanced criminal investigation techniques and investigative methods. So here comes the question: what measures did Dr. Cauchy, who violently enforce the law in the film, take to evade police investigation?
The answer is shockingly simple: Dr. Cauchy used only one anti-reconnaissance method throughout the film, which is to cover his face with the picked-up pullover sweater, and it actually worked? ! You can't find people without seeing your face. The Chicago police are too unprofessional, right?
When Dr. Cauchy escaped from the scenes of several shootings in the film, he did not care about erasing his fingerprints, bloodstains and footprints. He left all the evidence he could leave, and he had to send a copy to the police. I took a selfie, but the Chicago police simply didn't catch him.
Here is a point to be explained: In the 74 version of "Raptors", the police actually knew that Mr. Kreis was a violent policeman in the latter part of the story. However, considering the sharp decline in public opinion and violent crimes, Instead, he chose to let him go; and in the 18th edition of "The Courage", the police can't catch Dr. Cauchy, but there is no consideration of public opinion, they just really can't catch it. This is the difference between the police in the two films.
The most outrageous thing is that the detective Ryans in the film unexpectedly discovered through a coincidence in the middle of the film that the righteous police gunman was left-handed. What kind of operation is this? ! Can you ignore such obvious and important clues in the shooting video? You are too unprofessional as a police officer!
With such an important clue in hand, the police even went in the wrong direction and suspected that Dr. Cauchy's brother was here. Just because someone slammed you two sentences, do you suspect that he is violent?
In the 18th edition, the police can grasp and use more evidence than the 74th edition. In the whole film, Dr. Cauchy left countless obvious evidences, but the police ignored them all—to be honest, it is really difficult to ignore so many obvious evidences. My grandmother can solve this case, and the younger brother policemen in Chicago are so well-versed in their work.
Even more outrageous is yet to come: At the end of the film, when Detective Ryans finally had conclusive evidence and confirmed that Dr. Cauchy was a righteous police officer in violent law enforcement, he actually gave him a thumbs up, thinking that he This is great!
When I saw this, I really squirted out a mouthful of salt soda. Please, you are a policeman who represents the judicial system. You let others go because of your personal feelings. Isn't this acting for personal gain? Is the judicial system of society a decoration? Does violent law enforcement need not bear the consequences? If this is the case, what do the people of Chicago want you policemen to do? Everyone revenges for grievances, revenges for injustices, won't it be over if you grab a gun and do it?
If it is said that the inability to catch criminals is due to the insufficient capacity of the police, then the choice to release violent police officers because of personal emotions is a matter of professional ethics. Covering up is going to jail! Detective Ryans, you are adding one more crime to knowing the law!
In the 74 version of "Raptors", the police officers decided to release Kreis in order to compromise with the media-and in the end he was expelled from New York by the police. But in this film, the police decided to let Dr. Cauchy go because of personal sympathy? ? Not only did Detective Ryans fail to fulfill his duties and obligations, but instead helped violent volunteers put up a cover? Dr. Cauchy has also become a hero recognized by the judicial system? If the police representing the judicial system disregard judicial justice, then this society deserves to be chaotic.
The several major shootings and murders in the film, in the end, were left without a follow-up. Co-author of such a large number of shooting cases, you said you would not investigate if you didn't investigate it? Master Bao, you are such a great official!
As the audience, we of course sympathize with Dr. Cauchy and hope that he can complete his revenge. But Detective Ryans represents a completely different point of view: as a policeman, he must not regard personal emotions as more important than judicial justice.
You can sympathize with Dr. Cauchy, of course-everyone will sympathize with him as a hapless person; but because of personal feelings and blasphemy of their duties and ignoring judicial justice, this loses the basic bottom line of law enforcement officers. Detective Ryans can sympathize with Dr. Cauchy, but he has no power to replace the judicial system to judge whether Dr. Cauchy is guilty or not-if Dr. Cauchy is guilty and not guilty, you have the final say, then the judicial system is required. What are you doing, aren't you above the judicial system? From this point of view, Detective Ryans has become an alternative criminal outside the judicial system. From this point of view, Chicago in the film is really a villain.
Detective Ryans, help, stop being a policeman in Chicago and screaming the common people, go home and farm, somehow you can contribute some food to the society.
In the film, the police paddling the water completely destroyed the tension and excitement that should have been shown in the "police chasing violent volunteers". After watching the movie, no one would think that Dr. Cauchy’s anti-reconnaissance methods are so powerful, but everyone can find that the Chicago police are really a bit stupid. This is in sharp contrast with the sophisticated police force and the intense and exciting plot line in the 74 version of "Raptors".
In the 18th edition of "The Courageous Courage", the police are both unable to fight violent crimes, and they also pervert the law for personal gains, because their personal feelings cover up the violent police, and even themselves become alternative criminals who disregard judicial justice. It's no wonder that Chicago can be messed up like that. After all, even the police themselves don't care about justice. In this city, whoever is right or wrong can only speak with his fists.
three. Lucky for this hapless guy
The two films with very different Chinese translations actually have the same English name: "Death Wish", which expresses the protagonist's will to die due to family changes. The reason why the 18th version of the film was translated into "The Courageous Die Hard" was mostly because I wanted to rub off the heat of Bruce Willis's early fame film "Died Hard".
The name of the film is miserable. Is the protagonist in that film a veritable "want to die" or a false moan without illness? After a series of major changes, what changes have taken place in the ideological values of the two protagonists? To discuss these issues objectively, we have to start with the plot lines of the Avengers in the two films.
In the 18th edition of "Chasing the Bold", there is a very clear main plot line for tracing the murderer of the wife; but in the 74th edition, there is no line of revenge at all. What Kreis kills is just a few. Street bastards who have nothing to do with the murder of his wife. This is another very important difference between the two films. First, let’s talk about "The Courageous Courage" with a clearer plot line of revenge.
The role of Dr. Cauchy can be said to be a very lucky old man: unfortunately, his originally happy middle-class life was turned upside down by three robbers; and fortunately, his road to revenge It went smoothly.
Dr. Cauchy, a middle-aged middle-aged man who honestly makes money to support his family, has no guns, no guns, and no social resources to track down the enemy. So how exactly did he overcome the difficulties and achieve revenge? What about?
Because he is the protagonist! For this film, this slogan turned into a truth: the reason why Dr. Cauchy was able to complete his revenge was entirely because of his luck and the strong aura of the protagonist.
After being beaten up for the first time, Dr. Cauchy found that if he wanted to be chivalrous, he had to defend himself with a pistol to be more confident; however, guns purchased through regular channels were easily tracked by the police. Doctor Cauchy encountered the first problem on his road to revenge here.
Zheng worry did not move, a sticky bean bag fell from the sky. Dr. Cauchy was worried that there was no use of a gun. A pistol fell out of the clothes of the patient on the operating table, and it just happened to fall at his feet—what a coincidence! Dr. Cauchy then found an illegal pistol that the police couldn't trace.
This illegal pistol, which was obtained without any effort, not only became the main tool in Dr. Cauchy’s road to revenge, it also carried a very important narrative function-it was this accidental gun that opened it. The doctor's entire journey of revenge; it is precisely because of this pistol that Dr. Cauchy will embark on the path of using violence to control violence. In other words, the Avengers plot line of this film was opened by a coincidence, and Dr. Cauchy's role in it was not great.
The main clue to the murderer of the wife was also picked up from Dr. Cauchy’s magical operating table: just as the police investigation was making no progress and Dr. Cauchy’s revenge was hopeless, a robbery accomplice wearing a doctor’s lost watch again Appeared on the operating table. It was through his mobile phone that Dr. Cauchy obtained information about the murderer of his wife. (It is recommended to take this operating table home and give it away)
This coincidence also carries a very important narrative function: the previous shootouts were just for the crappy gunman to practice his hands, and the main plot line of the film's revenge is officially started from here. In other words, the main plot line of the film's Revenge was further developed through a coincidence.
In other words, the Avengers plot line of this entire film is driven by coincidences—and even the locations where the coincidences occur are exactly the same, but the protagonist does not play a big role here. This makes the role of Dr. Cauchy seem quite passive, because his efforts for revenge are actually quite limited-he is only responsible for picking things up.
The coincidence in the film not only played the role of opening and developing the plot line of the Avengers, but also in the several shootouts in the play, it was luck and coincidence that made Dr. Cauchy alive.
In the scene of the robbers in the first street shootout, the robber who fired the first shot did not hit Dr. Cauchy, which gave him a chance to fight back.
In the later gun battles in the loot bar, the role of luck was further magnified. Dr. Cauchy entered the stolen goods bar to find clues to the murderer of his wife, and was caught by one of the criminals who came here, "Yu Zi". When Dr. Cauchy was forced to a dead end, a dropped bowling ball hit the head of the hapless fish, and the doctor took advantage of the momentum to kill him.
Similar coincidences are countless in the film, and it can be said that Dr. Cauchy’s old life was completely preserved because of his luck.
The ubiquitous coincidence factor in the film-commonly known as the aura of the protagonist, has played a big role in both the main storyline of revenge and the fighting design of the shootout. This makes the action design in the film a bit boring, because almost all crisis events are solved by coincidence. In the process of fighting with criminals, Dr. Cauchy did not show the wisdom and strength that he should have as the protagonist. .
This kind of coincidence-led plot design makes the actions and will of the protagonist, Dr. Cauchy, seem a little irrelevant. In the film, Dr. Cauchy has always played the image of a victim who was forced to fight back. Almost all of the five shootouts in the film were provoked by criminals. Dr. Cauchy was to save his own life. Had to fight back in self-defense.
Compared with the term "violent law enforcement social police", "victims forced to fight back" obviously fit the character setting of Dr. Cauchy more closely. The film progresses to the end. The purpose of Dr. Cauchy's violent law enforcement and the pursuit of the murderer is more to protect himself and his daughter, rather than to pursue so-called justice and revenge.
Now we can turn our heads back and discuss the question of whether Dr. Cauchy wants to die-of course he doesn't, he still has a daughter to raise! Dr. Cauchy's daughter woke up at the end of the film—and lost her memory. The plot of this amnesia is quite intriguing, because it means that she has walked out of that painful experience and can start a new life again. Because of this, Dr. Cauchy's life has new hope.
The 18th edition of "Chasing the Courage" has a very happy ending: Dr. Cauchy gets revenge, his daughter also walks out of the shadows, and the family begins a new life. At the end of the film, the doctor's shooting action was only a tribute to the original work, and did not intend to continue to fight crime.
In this way, Dr. Cauchy is not worthy of the title "Death Wish"-because people didn't even think about going to die, most of the time he shot, just to protect himself; the film also denies violent law enforcement. Attitude: Violent law enforcement can't solve practical problems, good luck is enough, so the big guys still watch the movie, and let's just YY, don't really go out to the street to be a social righteous police!
The difference is that Chris in the 74th version of the "Raptors" has lost his beloved wife and her daughter has also been mentally ill for life. Chris himself was eventually expelled from New York by the police and bid farewell. Past life. With a more tragic ending, is Kreis worthy of the title "Death Wish"? What is he willing to sacrifice his life for?
Four. Dialogue between two generations of Americans
Unlike the 18th version of "Guardian", the 74 version of "Raptors" does not have a main plot line for the protagonist to chase the murderer. In the film, Mr. Chris killed some with his wife. Unrelated criminals. What is the purpose of the film being designed like this? If hunting down the enemy is not the main line of the plot, what is the main line of the film? If it wasn't for revenge, why did Mr. Kris risk his life and take to the streets to fight crime?
The plot line of Mr. Kreis's use of violence to counter violence and combat criminals in New York in the film may provide us with the answer.
At the beginning of the 18th version of the film, Dr. Cauchy was beaten by two street gangsters before he created a demand for guns; and he bought a gun for self-defense instead of going to the streets. Fight criminals. Therefore, throughout the film, Dr. Cauchy has always played the image of a victim of self-defense with a gun, rather than a radical and active violent policeman.
In the 18th version of the movie, the "pistol" is just a prop for revenge, and it does not contain other meanings; but in the 74th version of the movie, the pistol is given a deeper meaning: the one that was given to a friend in the west The revolver is not only a tool to fight criminals, but also a symbol of the western spirit of resistance. When Amy gave the exquisite revolver to Kreis, he also gave him the valuable spirit of fighting in the American West.
Although Dr. Cauchy was holding the pistol that the screenwriter had forced him into, he did not change anything. He was still the same as Dr. Cauchy. But Mr. Kreis relied on that pistol to complete his journey from New Yorker to Westerner. Change. This is another difference between the two films: Dr. Cauchy has not changed from start to finish, but Kreis has completed a huge change in values.
Through several shooting incidents, the film deeply shows the great transformation of Mr. Kris's heart.
Unlike the plot design full of coincidence factors in the 18th version of the movie, the plot of the 74 version of "Raptors" is dominated by the will and actions of the role of Mr. Kris; and the impact of coincidence factors on the plot, It becomes smaller and smaller as the plot develops.
In the first shooting by the lake in the park, the coincidence factor played a very important role-because if the hapless robber hadn’t met Kreis, the murder would never happen; but Kreis could The successful victory over the robbers was never because of good luck, but because he had already made preparations: he cut off the pockets of his coat so that he could shoot unexpectedly.
In contrast, Dr. Cauchy in the 18th edition is much more passive: he always waits until the criminals fire the first shot before shooting back, and then finally defeats the opponent by his luck (the protagonist's halo); But Mr. Kreis was very different, he fired the first shot that was full of meaning.
In fact, in the first shootout at the lake in the park, Mr. Kreis was not a violent law enforcement policeman: because the robber took the lead in showing the big baby, Kreis killed him in order to protect himself. ——This is more like legitimate defense than violent law enforcement.
However, the several shootings that occurred later in the film were fundamentally different from the first.
The little gangsters in the second shooting did not provoke Mr. Kreis at all, nor did they threaten his life-they were all cold weapons, and Mr. Kreis was holding a gun. of. If Kris just wanted to get around the passerby and light up his big baby, he didn't need to kill them at all.
However, Mr. Kreis still killed them all. This makes the nature of this shooting very different from the first one: Kreis did not shoot this time to protect his personal safety; although the three small gangsters hit people first, they were not guilty of death. Kris killed them purely because he wanted to kill them-our social police, here took his first step in violent law enforcement.
In front of him, those criminals who were usually arrogant and unruly, became victims who needed to escape. This feeling that God generally dominates everything may be exactly what Kreis pursues.
Later, when the plot of the film developed, Kreis even started to seduce the criminals: he first seduce the robbers to places off the beaten track, and then took out a gun to shoot them. In the second half of the film, Mr. Kreis encountered the robber not by coincidence, but because he was actively seduce the robber-he was like an experienced hunter, putting down the prepared bait and waiting for the prey Hooked.
The last few shooting incidents reflected the great transformation of Mr. Kreis’s character: he was a victim of violent cases at the beginning, and turned into an aggressive attacker who used violence to control violence; he shot and killed people. The purpose, from the very beginning to protect oneself, turned into a pure hunting of criminals. As the plot progresses, the coincidence factor becomes less and less important, and the inner change of the character of Kreis is the reason for the continuous development of the film's plot.
In the climax of the film—that is, in the last shooting in the film, Mr. Kreis continued to search for his prey, even ignoring the warning and surveillance of the police—in order to continue hunting criminals, he even began to openly confront society. The judicial system.
At the end of the film, Mr. Kris's inner OS should be like this: "You stinky police can't control criminals, yes, I will help you manage; but if you are in my way, then I dare to follow Ah, do it!" So we, American tough guys, really "worked" against the police. The police worked so hard to find him down, but he didn't appreciate it at all.
Unlike Dr. Cauchy, Kreis has a "lucky fortune in misfortune" ending. He lost his wife and his baby daughter is also insane for life. He who has nothing will regard fighting criminals as the whole meaning of life. This is also the biggest difference between Chris and Dr. Cauchy: Dr. Cauchy still has a daughter to take care of, and his daughter is the meaning of his life; and Chris has nothing.
However, the irony is that the police really have nothing to do with Chris, who dared to defy the social justice system. Because of his actions, the number of street robberies in New York City has dropped by as much as 50%. The police need to take advantage of this. He maintains the status quo; and public opinion in society and the media is also a factor they have to consider.
Kreis, a social righteous policeman who is already free from the law, has actually become a good medicine for treating New York's violence problem. This can of course be interpreted as a mockery of the incompetent police-after all, Mr. Kreis has solved the problem that the entire New York police circle cannot solve with just a few bullets.
But from another perspective, isn't it because those New York City residents who have no spirit of resistance have contributed to the arrogance of violent crime? ——There is no gangster who dares to make trouble in the Wild West, not because of the power of the police, but because everyone dared to resist there — but the people of New York are so lacking in the spirit of resistance. Two people who dare to stand up like Kreis and show off against criminals.
The people of New York are accustomed to beatings, and they don't know why they resist—this makes Mr. Kris appear, like a thunder on the ground, turning the whole city upside down. On the other hand, the residents in the western cities do not need social righteous police like Mr. Kreis to come out and fight for justice, because they all dare to resist.
If Kreis represents the rebellious spirit of the West and the self-defense tradition of old-school Americans, what his son-in-law Jack represents are those cowardly New Yorkers who evade evil and dare not fight back.
The primitive and wild West has bred rebellious old-school Americans; in the more prosperous and advanced New York city area, the cowardly citizens have bred evil—the ever-improving society has bred instead. The more and more cowardly people, isn't this a kind of irony to modern society?
Ironically, with the continuous advancement of the film industry and technology, the films produced by our filmmakers have become more and more conservative, more and more superficial, and less and less of their own opinions. , As if political correctness is everything. The 74 version of "Raptors" focuses on serious social issues such as violent crime, people holding guns, and the legitimacy of social righteous police; while the 18th version of "Going After the Furious" focuses on such a diverse movie. The theme has become a pure revenge story, but is silent on serious social issues—modern filmmakers have rarely had the courage to focus on social issues and offend political correctness.
From this point of view, our generation is actually the New Yorkers in the film-when we laugh at them, we are actually laughing at ourselves. How ironic it is!
Let’s go back and talk about whether Mr. Kreis deserves the title of "Death Wish" — of course he deserves it, because he has regarded fighting criminals as the whole meaning of life; the precious spirit of resisting , It is also worth his life for it.
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