a review of 英雄连

TheQuietGamer
TheQuietGamer @TheQuietGamer
英雄连 - 评论

World War II as imagined by a bunch of 12 year olds. The action sequences seem they like they were pulled straight from the minds of children playing army, as characters stand wide out in the open and mow down waves of Nazis while firing from the hip. It's ludicrous and very bloody, which could have been fun had the whole thing not been so repetitive. The film jumps from one similar feeling shootout to the next with the location being the only thing that really changes. The downtime in-between is dedicated to the alternate history plot where Hitler is in the process of putting the finishing touches on the first atomic bomb. An interesting concept that's brought down by dull characters and some of the corniest dialog I've ever heard. It's also one of those movies that's embarrassing to have associated with gaming. So many filmmakers have treated gamers like we're all a bunch of horny, exclusively straight male teenagers that need little more than near non-stop action and maybe a gratuitous nude scene to be entertained. Something that can be seen in the likes of DOOM, Hitman, and now this which have adhered to both conciets. For example, there's a unnecessary scene where the main, total pubescent fantasy protagonist sees the one female to have a significant role in this naked as she's getting into a bath and proceeds to gawk at her in a transfixed state. Yet, despite him being literally being a complete stranger to her at this point, she's doesn't seem terribly bothered by it at all. I guess because he's cute? So on top of not being very good, the film helps further perpetuate the bad stereotypes often associated with those who play video games by pandering to what is only a small portion of the much more diverse range of people that would have touched the PC title this is based on.