The condemned
Well, it's a good concept.
But a old recipe.
Before, there was “Rambo”, with Stalone,“The running man” with Arnold, now: “The condemned” with Austin.
I expected to see Austin in action all the way, but no.
Most of the time, it's the others you see.
Well, you need to see them of course, it's a competition.
But Austin appear from nowhere when you forget about him.
There was some wrestling moves, but under bad, shaking, “fight-camera” view.
I hoped to see one “stunner” at least; it's better than an “atomic leg drop” on the enemy.
Did I miss it? Nevermind that.
“The condemned” is the story of prisoners taken to an island for a dirty game.
But it's like they were low on budget, it sure could have been better.
The ending shows it, good for a comicbook: on the beach, Austin is 80 feets behind the boss, after taking his time against the badguy in the net-station.
He throws the bomb, direct it… at the bottom of the line of the movie budget.
Well, it's still an interesting movie because you hear Mr McMahon everywhere!
Like when he speaks at the crowd from the middle of the ring.
That speach. The one where he says:
“I create what you people like to see; I decide what you people like.
Every single week, you change the channel to this station… why? becose you like it!
You buy the ticket. You're mad at me because of what you see?
Be mad at yourself because it's your fault, you ask for it!”
(Well it's half true…)
You hear that in the middle of the movie, when the boss has a talk with his girlfriend.
Entertainment, it's all about that.
The cheap answer to keep the head proud.
Behind that: money (I can hear Ted Dibiase: “Everybody's got a price!”)
“And what about the teenagers?” ask the newsgirl.
“Teenagers need something to take out the pressure, and you need a creditcard to view the site” answered the boss.
(a great exemple of how the system work; a good idea from the people behind the script)
“Ok but what about the children” ask the newsgirl.
“It's the parents to decide what their children can view” answered the boss.
(another good idea from the people behind the script)
They switch on the newsgirl, a big close-up: “I'm not mad at this anymore, I'm sad”
Is that Mr McMahon's personal feelings, as a busnessman, in front of how things became? (He said it once.)
Or is it a way to push the people again at asking less violence?
Or is it only a mindgame? Because everything turn around busnesss and the more you show stupidity the more some people seems to like (look at JerrySpringer)
Maybe children and teenagers are different, but not realy: they are on a road to become adult, surrounded by “influences”.
It's up to us to say “yes” and “no” to a type of violence.
In the movie, when the boss gives his speach on tv, the people in the bar are disgusted.
(Looking at the “Stone Cold, Steve Austin” character, they look a bit too tender to be in one of his bar.)
But you can clearly see in their eyes this child who grew up.
You can understand their hatred for this “man-who-like-to-use-people”,
and how sad they are, like if they were thinking “Are we responsible for what the nation now offers?”
You're damn right!
(I have to say “sorry”… it's one of the two laugh I had while watching the movie; always in front of a disaster some people start to think)
Like all movies, it's in our eyes.
It's not becose we paid that we deserve shocking scenes.
It's not becose it's under a million dollar budget that it is acceptable.
Like that rape scene. That nightmare scene…
They use a sad guitar in the background to shout their excuse:
“We, in the movie industry, are not supporting that violence, it's disgusting.”
To heal the mental wound, they send Austin, making him throw heavy punchs, with steel sounds on each impact, for a public revenge.
But it's so an old recipe, that you feel nothing, the whole idea was stupid and they miss the spot.
You stay disgusted!
But, of course, it's part of the game, no?
Maybe that's why we stay blind…
I must say, the best moment in the entire movie is when the “badguy” enters the net-station.
But that's another mindgame, the concept of the badguy killing another badguy;
The actions is made by the one you hate, to confuse yourself; to turn “positive” a “negative violence”, but under the actions of a negative element.
The same recipe the WWE uses over and over again until you fall asleep in front of the tv.
But the reason I laugh was: finaly! the primary objective is down;
the thing that was supposed to happen, at the beginning, finaly take place!
When someone told you that he will throw you, with a bomb, on a island for his personnal pleasure,
you get mad, you want him and you have nothing to lose.
Your chance to die is 99% good!
First target: the net-station, the secondary objective: the cameras, the bonus objective: the technicians in the forest.
As a slave, you want your revenge. The more people with you, the better.
The people in the net-station are trap by their own game:
1-they can't kill you (you're the game).
2-if they kill you, they become murderer.
3-if someone die under the result of their actions, they're guilty.
4-they use weapons to control you, you have all what you need to defend yourself.
5-not only they play some people against you but they put a bomb on yourself, you have nothing to lose.
If you hurt them, it's their fault, but You don't have to kill… until it's necessary.
So, the objective is to take the station down and call security.
But you can also be wise and play the secret objective: do nothing and wait until security find the transmission point (if the others understand of course)
Oh well, “The condemned” was not a good movie after all.
But another interesting thing is the thing between politic and mercenaries for the dirty job…
The funniest part is when you hear the boss saying: “you won becose I decided to make you win!” that's MrMcmahon again ahah
Another sad thing, like the preview before the movie, (where people discover a house in the forest surrounded by traps,) is the music used more and more to turn the violence like if it was a joke.
To turn the thing in a sense of humor, to take down the drama that you actualy see (it's only a movie, no?)
Well if you saw the preview, you know what I mean.