12-07-2019, 12:48 AM
Wow, Zack Snyder is the truly committed artiste' but Kevin Feige, the guy behind the most faithful comic films off all time, is bringing LESS elevated stories to the screen? So, for example, Batman vs Superman displays a commitment to telling an artistic, elevated story, whereas Avengers: Endgame is less focused on larger themes?
Ok, well, that does put a button on that discussion. I cannot think of any way to respond to that.
I saw a film! Well, a mini-series, really.
The Spy (2019)
Unlike a lot of Netflix flicks these days, this is one whole story told in a couple episodes, not a pilot season for a series.
The good: Sacha Baron Cohen is really quite good in the title role, and he has the most screen time. There are also a great many Middle-Eastern actors and actresses who are really great here, and will hopefully get more exposure as a result. The period details (though compressed and time-shifted, like most true stories) are really on-point and very compelling. And the film does a great job of gradually deepening of the plot and the real spy (also named Cohen)'s position in it.
The less good: probably the other main actor is Noah Emmerich, who you'll know as "Ohhh that guy from that thing!" when you see him. I like him just fine, but his accent here is dodgy as hell. It's all over from scene to scene. His storyline is also a bit overdone and hard to believe. It seems like a concession to the Israeli side of the story. The plot of the series as a whole is deliberate at the start, and then ramps up and speeds ahead very quickly in the last few episodes. Slight spoilers here
I'm sure it would've required a healthy dose of fictionalization, but this isn't a documentary, and it would've made the story better.
Overall, it's a pretty strong series that I'd recommend. Especially for people who like statecraft procedurals like Body of Lies, Charlie Wilson's War, or Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. I went online and saw that there are so many arguments about how "true" or "Hollywood" this is, which is a term thrown around without much understanding. There's an excellent interview with Sacha Baron Cohen here where he says the script was already complete when brought to Netflix. It wasn't changed to "Hollywood-ize" it. As near as I can tell, this is just a blind patriotic argument. People from the affected nations scream "that general never fell for that, he said it was all lies!" Well, of course he did. Cohen's family say "He never cheated on his wife or had wild parties! He was a paragon of morality!" Well, of course they do. Even the people who think it's Israeli propaganda... well, the series makes the Israeli government look pretty heartless and almost evil, except for one belabored character. So, I'd have to say this is probably the closest to a truly balanced story we'll ever get about this.
Ok, well, that does put a button on that discussion. I cannot think of any way to respond to that.
I saw a film! Well, a mini-series, really.
The Spy (2019)
Unlike a lot of Netflix flicks these days, this is one whole story told in a couple episodes, not a pilot season for a series.
The good: Sacha Baron Cohen is really quite good in the title role, and he has the most screen time. There are also a great many Middle-Eastern actors and actresses who are really great here, and will hopefully get more exposure as a result. The period details (though compressed and time-shifted, like most true stories) are really on-point and very compelling. And the film does a great job of gradually deepening of the plot and the real spy (also named Cohen)'s position in it.
The less good: probably the other main actor is Noah Emmerich, who you'll know as "Ohhh that guy from that thing!" when you see him. I like him just fine, but his accent here is dodgy as hell. It's all over from scene to scene. His storyline is also a bit overdone and hard to believe. It seems like a concession to the Israeli side of the story. The plot of the series as a whole is deliberate at the start, and then ramps up and speeds ahead very quickly in the last few episodes. Slight spoilers here
Overall, it's a pretty strong series that I'd recommend. Especially for people who like statecraft procedurals like Body of Lies, Charlie Wilson's War, or Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. I went online and saw that there are so many arguments about how "true" or "Hollywood" this is, which is a term thrown around without much understanding. There's an excellent interview with Sacha Baron Cohen here where he says the script was already complete when brought to Netflix. It wasn't changed to "Hollywood-ize" it. As near as I can tell, this is just a blind patriotic argument. People from the affected nations scream "that general never fell for that, he said it was all lies!" Well, of course he did. Cohen's family say "He never cheated on his wife or had wild parties! He was a paragon of morality!" Well, of course they do. Even the people who think it's Israeli propaganda... well, the series makes the Israeli government look pretty heartless and almost evil, except for one belabored character. So, I'd have to say this is probably the closest to a truly balanced story we'll ever get about this.
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